How to Plan a Staycation on a Budget

Maybe you just can’t get enough time off to make travel worth it this year. Perhaps airline waits are just more than you want to mess with. Or maybe, for whatever reason, leaving home on vacation just isn’t in the cards this year.

No problem. You can take a staycation instead! The staycation, the stay-home vacation, is a great way to find balance between budget and adventure while still giving you that sense of well-being you get after a vacation.

What is a Staycation?

A staycation is when you act like you’re on vacation, only you stay home. The staycation allows you to play the tourist in your own backyard, sleep in your own bed at night, and avoid the hassle of packing up all the things. 

You can even try a hybrid, hotel staycation. We’ve done some lovely ones. While there was the expense of the hotel, we joined the best of both worlds: familiarity of being in our hometown with the added luxury of having someone else make the beds. 

However you swing it, a staycation is great to add to your kids’ summer vacation or the family’s fall bucket list 

The best part? You save money with a staycation. It’s a great way to live within your means.

Why Plan a Staycation on a Budget?

Consider this hypothetical trip for a family of 4:

• plane tickets from one major city to another: $2,016
• rental car for 4 days: $200
• hotel for 3 nights: $864
• meals for 4 days (@ $10/person/meal): $480 minimum
• activities, incidentals: $440

Total spent for a 4-day vacation: $4,000

I make no qualms about spending big money on travel with kids if you really want to go to said major city and have the funds to do so. However, if you don’t, then I propose a staycation until you do.

The things my husband and I love about traveling with our kids include:

• adventure
• unplugging
• a slowed pace
• a shared experience
• getting out of our comfort zones

You don’t have to be rich to experience these things. They can be achieved through budget travel as well as through the staycation.

How to Plan a Staycation

Staying at home is free, but there are some tricks to making it vacation-like.

1. Set a budget.

While we’ve already estabilished that a staycation will cost less than a full-blown vacation, it’s still good to set a budget. It’s not exactly going to be free if you want to do some touristy things or simply go to the movies.

Some line items to consider in your staycation budget:

• fun food or convenience items to make meal prep easier
• take out or restaurant fare
• day trips or other touristy things
• parking or toll roads to get to said tourist attractions
• extra entertainment costs, like a new streaming service or a fun new game to play as a family
• souvenirs – we’re pretending we’re on vacation, right?
• incidentals for outings that you might not already have (supplies for a picnic kit, sunscreen, a new beach umbrella, etc.)

Establish a sinking fund for your staycation as soon as possible.

2. Clear your calendar.

Research shows that it’s the mental distance from your everyday that brings a true sense of well-being, not the actual going someplace else. So clear everything off your calendar for the duration of your staycation. 

Tell work and school that you’ll be gone for the dates of your staycation. You don’t need to tell anyone where you’re going; this is a vacation.

Protect these dates as if you were taking a flight somewhere else. Reschedule dentist appointments and home maintenance jobs for when you get “back”.

Silence the phone and send calls to voice mail. Set up an autoresponder for emails so you can really take a break. 

Got bills to pay, urgent emails to answer, or errands to run? Do those now or make a point to do them when you get “back from staycation”.

3. Clean the house.

Stage your home as if you were lending your home to company for a vacation — only you are the guest! Clean things up and refresh your spaces.

Pack away projects and clutter so that they won’t distract you during your staycation. Change sheets and bedding. 

Fresh flowers, new towels, and a scented candle are fun touches to make your own home feel special. 

(If the budget allows, hiring cleaners to do the work for you is peak level staycation vibes.)

4. Plan great meals.

You gotta eat, and the advantage of staycation meals over travel food is that you have your own kitchen to cook in. What bliss!

There are a few tricks to make your meals during a staycation be easy and delicious:

• do some prep work – clean out the fridge, stock favorite drinks, etc.
• cook to freeze
• plan no-cook meals
• enjoy a splurge or two
• use the Good Cheap Eats System to maximize your savings

I’ve put together a simple guide Staycation Meals that covers these ideas in depth for optimum enjoyment. It even includes a dozen meal menus and a printable meal planner!

5. Plan for rest, relaxation, and novelty.

The great things about vacations include resting, relaxing, and having fun. You can do this at home as well as away. In fact, sleeping in my own bed without an alarm set is next level awesome.

Sleep in. Definitely plan some outings and adventures during your staycation, but make sure to include some late night movies and mornings to sleep in. Nap when you want to; it’s vacation!

Relax. What does it take to really wind down for you? Talk about this with your kids and spouse in advance. Even children are able to articulate what stresses them or in many kids what stresses you!

Have fun.  Don’t let time off at home be sucked up by the same old, same old. Set some guidelines for unplugging so that everyone doesn’t revert to screen time in place of face time. 

Instead, play a board game, take a walk, or go bike riding. A movie that everyone would like to see is a good call, as is hiring a babysitter so Mom and Dad can have a real date night.

Be the tourtist. We tend to get tunnel vision during our day-to-day and forget the wide world around us. Explore your town as if you were a tourist! 

Trip Advisor is a great resource if you’re not sure where to start as are social media accounts for your city. Contact your local visitor’s center to see what they have to offer. 

Ask friends what they enjoy doing. Or simply go for a drive and be open to the possibilities. You may discover some great place to explore right in your own backyard!

6. Start it off with a celebration.

When you go on vacation, there’s a clear departure between your everyday and vacation mode, usually getting in the car or boarding the plane. You don’t have that on a staycation without planning for it.

Mark the start of your staycation with something significant. You may even yuck it up with the kids by packing bags in the car, driving around the block, and arriving at your destination.

Include a special meal or dessert out while you’re at it, and you’ve got the makings of a fun start to staycation. (Think Sunday Dinner but on the eve of your stay-at-home vacation.)

Travel with kids is a great thing. When budget won’t allow you to get out of Dodge, enjoy a staycation and have fun!

Don’t forget to grab the Vacation Bundle while it’s on sale! It’s jam-packed with money-saving tricks for every type of vacations from staycation to full-blown travel.