Holidaying at home
James and I had initially planned on heading down south for Labour Weekend to participate in the Xterra Waihi trail running event. However, the week of race day the event organisers were told that due to the amount of rainfall no vehicles could park at the event venue instead all entrants would need to be bused in from Waihi.
James and I weren’t overly keen on that (catching a bus) and since we had yet to officially sign up we decided just to flag it in it’s entirety, choosing to stay home and holiday instead.
staycation
steɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/
nouninformal
noun: staycation; plural noun: staycations; noun: stay-cation; plural noun: stay-cations
a holiday spent participating in leisure activities within driving distance, sleeping in their own bed at night.
I’m quite partial to holidaying at home – I am after all I am somewhat of a home body. It’s not that I don’t like traveling, it’s just that I always feel like I “have” to see everything – you know, like a tourist. After all you may never get another opportunity in your lifetime! Why else would anyone choose to spend an entire day walking around London (in a heatwave) so that they can see EVERY SINGLE landmark?
Laura & I at the end of a long day in London
I do prefer active holidays, I’m not one to be content laying in the sun reading a book – after all I can do that at home but I think there is a fine line ..
Staycations offer the best of both worlds – you get to visit new areas (or re-visit old ones) but you don’t have to pack up the car with single thing that you own.
Here are some of the reasons why you should consider holidaying at home;
Stress Less
Holidays are so stressful! You need to book the flights and the hotels, work out how to get to and from the airport (usually at some ungodly hour) find things to do in your intended destination and run from one landmark to another (been there, done that – see above). Even traveling within NZ is stressful especially if you get stuck in the holiday traffic!
Save More
Traveling involves a lot of expenses with accommodation, food and entrance fees to various tourist attractions. When you holiday at home you don’t need to pay for the hotel room and you can continue your regular eating habits. This way, the holiday’s budget is greatly reduced. Although I tend to spend some of those savings on eating out, because no one wants to cook on their holiday. 😉
Creature Comforts
Another great reason to take a staycation is because you can relax and enjoy your holiday from the comfort of your own home. You won’t need to deal with sleeping in a tiny and usually noisy hotel room or try to find a decent place to eat. Honestly, there is no place like home.
Become invested
Holidaying from home means that you’re likely develop a better appreciation for your local environment. You might even discover things you never knew were there, (which is always exciting) or make the time to re-visit places from your past.
Give Back
When you holiday from home, you’re putting your money back into the local community. Even if you aren’t paying for accommodation you’ll still be traveling by car or public transport and perhaps most of important of all, eating ice cream cones, after all a holiday isn’t a holiday without ice cream. 😉
“Time Out”
Perhaps the best thing of all about staycations is that you don’t need to wait for an official holiday to take one, you could have a wee holiday anytime you want even if it’s just a day out in the country or in my case – out on the trail.
Till next time
