Sometimes you just cannot afford to travel but that does not mean you have to spend your vacation on DIY projects. Travel to the place you know best (or at least think you do), your home town.
The advantages of vacationing at home:
- Free accommodation
- Minimal transportation costs
- Local knowledge
- No jetlag
- No language barrier
To make sure you enjoy your vacation at home, take these steps:
- Have your mail and papers stopped for the vacation period to reduce distractions. Limit email access and direct calls to voicemail as well.
- Tell friends you are going on vacation but be circumspect about your destination.
- Research your town by reading guide books and blogs. You will be surprised what you do not know about the place. Reject anything that you do regularly, the idea is to experience a different side of your city.
- Plan an itinerary of one to two sights a day, leaving time to enjoy the vistas or cafes.
- Avoid your favourite haunts, restaurants and cafes, we all play safe at home so stretch your boundaries.
- Write a journal, create a scrapbook or photo record of your vacation to share with friends.
Travel is not about the distance traversed or the number of countries you visit. It is about connecting with the place, and expanding your horizons and home is a good place to start.
Have you vacationed at home, leave a comment and tell us about the experience.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Lauren // Oct 21, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I haven’t holidayed at home, but it’s such a great idea I don’t think it will be too long before I will! It’s funny … we all spend so much money seeing what’s out there in the wider world, but often we miss the things that are in our own backyard. It’s true what they say - sometimes the best ideas are the simplest.
2 SteveMadsen // Oct 22, 2007 at 12:04 am
You can use the same concept for a weekend at home. When we first moved to Seattle, every weekend became a holiday because we were only staying a short time.
As two years stretched into eight, we stopped exploring and just did the same things over and over (A few years Mariner Season Tickets did not help).
3 Five Reasons to Travel Home this Holiday Season // Oct 30, 2007 at 12:49 am
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4 Make the Great Escape // Nov 15, 2007 at 7:08 am
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