How to have an amazing staycation

Staycations are the perfect option if you’re looking to save a bit of money, want to explore more of your home country or you’re just looking for a quick break away. I’m a big fan of the staycation and have had my fair share of them over the years. Here’s how to make sure you have an amazing staycation. 

City vs countryside

Personally when it comes to staycations we usually opt for cities. That’s because they’re usually much cheaper, easily accessible and you’ll find loads of activities to do, a lot of which are often free. Country breaks are often more expensive and depending on the time of year you can often end up paying almost as much (if not more) than you’d pay for a holiday abroad. Due to my job we’re tied to staycations in the school holidays and let me tell you a countryside break does not come cheap in the school holidays! Cities on the other hand are much more budget friendly. Just keep in mind that some cities will be more expensive than other when it comes to food, drink and activities though.

When your deciding between the city or the countryside you really have to factor in what you’re wanting from your break. If you’re after something quite and relaxing then you’ll want to head to the countryside. If you’re after something where you can fit lots of activities in then you’ll probably want to head to a city. That’s not to say that the countryside is exclusively relaxing and a city is exclusively busy though.

Two of our favourite cities for staycations are York and Liverpool and because we know them so well and have visited many time we’re able to now chill out a bit more when we visit there because we’ve done all the tourist stuff and we know our way around really well.

Travel

If you’re travelling by train book tickets in advance on sites like Raileasy and The Trainline. You can book up to 12 weeks in advance and save quite a hefty amount. Cities are pretty accessible so it might work out cheaper to catch a train rather than driving. If you are driving make sure you’ve looked into car parks and costs and factor that in too.

Other ways to travel cheaply include taking a Megabus or National Express coach. Sometimes these journey can be pretty long though so you need to factor in this and decide if the often very cheap price is worth the long journey time.

If you’re travelling from one end of the country to the other flying is always a good option too. Driving from London to Scotland would take you over 7 hours where as jumping on a plan would only take you around an hour and a half.

 Accommodation

When it comes to accommodation unless it’s for a special occasion you’re basically just looking for a clean place to sleep and shower. I know I’d rather spend money on exploring and eating some good food rather than on a room I’m not really going to see because I’ll only be sleeping in it. We always stay in a Travelodge and haven’t had anything to complain about yet. We’ve recently discovered Premier Inn Hub too and let me tell you, they’re amazing!

Of course if you’re having a staycation to celebrate something special then it’s always nice to pick a good hotel, just make sure you’re using comparison sites to get the best deal.

Make sure you factor in how far away your hotel is from the train station/airport/bus station etc for when you travel there. And make sure you look at how close it is to the main hub of activity. You’ll want to find somewhere that strikes a good balance between being close to good restaurants and tourist spots but that isn’t right in the centre of loud pubs and bars.

Itinerary 

Research what you’d like to see and do before you get there, that way you’ve more time to explore. Definitely check out the free attractions as well. Some of the best places we have visited have been free. It doesn’t hurt to look if you’re not paying! Find other blogs to read too for recommendations on what to see and do in your chosen location.

If your’re only going away for a short amount of time them planning is essential as you don’t want to waste your time while you’re away trying to find things to do and getting booked into places. If you’re going away for longer than obviously you can be a bit more chilled out and factor in a bit of downtime or time to explore at your leisure.

Do you like going on staycations? Where is your favourite staycation location? Let me know in the comments.

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