For Australians, going on holiday is a chance to get away, take a break from work and spend some time with family or give yourself me-time. While a lot of the world is currently locked down due to the pandemic, this makes taking off up Cancun, New York or even Auckland not possible right now.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun right in your own backyard with a staycation. Picture it: you get a holiday without having to worry about picking out a destination, pre-booking flights and hotels and the extensive planning process. Sounds like a dream, right? You’ll admit that as exciting and fun as a holiday can be, it can also be overwhelming.
This is where staycations come in, and they can be a welcome change from all of the normal hustle and bustle that surrounds a typical holiday. You’ll be able to relax, spend time with your family and save money along the way. There are also so many staycation ideas floating around that you can plan a few and have a blast. Look below for some inspiration!
Staycation Meaning
Simply put, a staycation is where you plan a holiday in your own country without travelling to a foreign one. A lot of the time, a staycation means you stay home and take your family (or yourself!) to local attractions. You could even choose to stay in a local hotel and enjoy all of the amenities that come with it without stepping outside.
Since the staycation is a very popular idea, many hotels now offer staycations in their holiday theme lineup to cater to people who choose this option over a traditional holiday. This is great news for you, but you can also stay home and host your own themed staycation at your leisure! Read on to discover the top 7 staycation ideas which we’ve put together for you.
7 Relaxing and Fun Australian Staycation Ideas
If you want to stay home and enjoy your staycation, the first thing you want to do is pick out a theme. If you have a multi-day staycation planned, you could have multiple themes or one long-running idea. Just make sure you have enough activities to keep everyone entertained!
Host a Spa Day
When you think of holidays, relaxation is usually one of the top perks you can enjoy. Well, you can now host a fun spa day right in your own home. You could see if any of the local spas offer a one-day package if you want to get out for a bit. But, if you want even more bang for your money, buy a few face masks, get a few treats and pick up some mani-pedi supplies. Have a DIY spa day while you lounge by your spa or swim spa.
If you have friends in your bubble, invite them over and spend a few hours relaxing and catching up with each other. For the adults, you could even break out some nice bubbly, set up a charcuterie board and have a high-end home spa experience that is both relaxing and luxurious. You’ll be able to unwind, pamper yourself and feel the stress melt away. Need more staycation ideas? Read on!
Play Tourist in Your Town
Many of us spend our days running endless errands, going to work, stopping by the same spots every day or two and heading home. How well do you really know your Australian town or city? If you live in Sydney, you could miss out on a host of attractions. Even some of the smaller towns like Woolloomooloo offer interesting sites.
For this staycation idea, you’ll pretend to be a tourist in your own town. Spend a day, two days or even a full week visiting local attractions, museums or historic districts. Think of all of the places you’d bring a visitor to. Doing so can help you see and discover fun places right in your own backyard. If you wanted to make it more official, you could even come up with a travel itinerary for each day. Visit restaurants, walk around and buy a few souvenirs to remind you of this fun staycation.
Set up a Caravan or Pitch a Tent
Even if you can’t slip away into the wilderness for a camping trip, there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from enjoying the beauty Australia offers from your backyard. Take a day and dig out your camping gear or borrow a tent from a friend if you don’t have one. If you have a caravan, set it up in your backyard and stock it with any amenities you may need. If you’re in Sydney, whether it’s Liverpool, Cronulla or Bankstown and have a pool, pretend it’s a lake or spring where you can take a dip.
Make s’mores and fire up that campfire. Sit around the fire (unless the area or season prohibits it) and tell spooky stories with a flashlight. Look up at the stars and point out constellations with your kids. You don’t need a campground to give your entire family the feeling of being out in nature. The best part is, you’re close to all of the modern amenities you need if you need them.
Host a Film Festival
If your invitations to the Australian Film Festival got lost in the mail, why don’t you plan to host your own single or multi-day film festival from the comfort of your own couch? If you want to make it last longer, try screening a series like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars. You could also pick out a theme and pick movies that fall into it.
Set up a snack bar with popcorn and your favourite treats. You could even set up an outdoor festival by your backyard pool. To make it more fun, print and hand out tickets and have special seating. Cordon off an area and roll out the red carpet. Your kids will have a blast walking to their seats and being treated like celebrities. If the kids have costumes to go with the films, have them dress up.
Spend the Day Outside
Maybe you’re sick of being cooped up in the house and the kids have too much energy that they don’t have the space to burn off. If so, your staycation idea could include getting outside. Australia has no shortage of outdoor activities to do, both by yourself or with your family. You could lace up your boots and hit the walks in the Blue Mountains. By the way, when is the last time you visited them?
Walk along any close beaches or visit a nearby park like the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. If you don’t want to leave your yard, dive into your pool, whether it’s a plunge, family or lap pool, and encourage the kids’ imaginations to go wild. They could snorkel, or you could toss toys into the pool and have a diving competition!
Take a Day Trip
Another one of the great staycation ideas. Although you may not be able to leave your state or territory right now, there are plenty of opportunities to take a day trip to a local town, city or destination. Load the family into the car and drive for a one-day getaway to somewhere close to you. Maybe you live a stone’s throw away from an area you’ve never taken the time to explore the area. If so, go exploring.
Even taking a quick drive to an unfamiliar suburb or a small nearby town in your own city can turn into a fun day trip. Don’t forget to put together a fun playlist to get everyone excited. You could even set up a few fun attractions to visit when you get to your destination, or you could get the kids involved and have a quick trivia contest while you drive featuring your destination.
Host a Cooking Night
Tired of the too conventional staycation ideas? Are you a foodie who typically eats their way around new locations? If so, transform your kitchen into a fun and innovative dining destination for the night. Invite a few friends of family members over who are ready and excited to try out new recipes, and have fun serving up an exotic meal right in your own kitchen. Pick out a cuisine or culture if you’re feeling daring and turn your cooking night into a multi-course meal. Add dessert, beverages and set up festive decor.
If you want to take your cooking night to the next level, host it outside by your pool. Let the kids play in the water while the adults cook and catch up. When it’s time to eat, bring everyone around the table and experience good food from another culture. Ask whoever you want to invite for input or if they have a dish they’d like to contribute that matches your theme.
5 Staycation Benefits
So, why choose a staycation over a traditional holiday? There are several benefits that you’ll get if you choose to go this route. If you’re on the fence, take a look below and see if any of them sway you to host a staycation of your own.
First Benefit: Relaxation
Holidays are thrilling when you’re a kid, but they’re a lot of planning and work for adults. Since you’re not going anywhere for a holiday, you don’t have to worry about catching a plane on time. You won’t have to lose sleep trying to coordinate transportation or hotel stays, and you don’t have to stay on a strict schedule for fear you’ll miss out on something. All you need to do is lie back and relax. It’s a great way to get away from your typical burnout-inducing routine and just unwind.
Second Benefit: Cost-Effective
Let’s focus on one of the materialistic benefits of acting on some of these staycation ideas. Face it, regular holidays can be expensive. This is especially true if you take the whole family. However, a staycation means that you don’t have to spend money on items like foreign accommodations, flight tickets or tour expenses. You won’t have to pay to eat at restaurants. Having a staycation allows you to save a lot of your money or stock it away for a future trip.
Third Benefit: Indulge Your Pets
Since you’re not going anywhere, you don’t have to worry about arranging care for your pets or trying to figure out the logistics of taking them with you. You also won’t have to deal with hotel or flight restrictions for them. You can usually take your pets with you wherever you go on a staycation. This is one way to enjoy your time with your pets and make it much more memorable for everyone involved.
Fourth Benefit: Work Detox
Going on staycations means that you don’t necessarily have to take a long break from work, but you do need to detox from it while you are on your holiday. Maybe you just need a few days to feel rejuvenated and not so burnt out. Put your phone down or switch it to silent as much as you can. If it’s not possible to disconnect 100% of the time, carve out set windows that you check in at work, and stick to them. This will give you downtime to recharge while staying present during your vacation and caught up with work obligations.
Fifth Benefit: More Family Bonding Time
Staycations give you more time to bond with your family, and you’ll be able to rediscover and reconnect. You could spend a few days with your parents or go on a hiking trip with a sibling. Something as routine as shopping can be fun with a best friend. You could even use the time to set up your own swimming pool, like fibreglass swimming pools that are a beautiful place to relax and enjoy your staycation.
Install a Compas Pool to Create the Perfect Staycation Idea
At Local Pools & Spas, we’re all about giving people the relaxing environment they need to have the perfect staycation with their entire family. Although we hope you liked the list of staycation ideas we’ve compiled for you, we truly believe that relaxing (and having fun) by your own pool can really make a huge difference.
If you’re ready to talk about your dream pool, get in touch with us or request a free pool quote. We’re available in the Greater Sydney region, covering but we cover all the areas to the south of CBD including Bankstown, Cronulla, Hurstville, Penrith, Narellan, Strathfield and many more. We can’t wait to outfit your yard with the perfect pool for the entire family to enjoy!
