Staycation is one of the newest travel buzzwords, a snazzy way of describing something very, very simple: the replacement of an overseas vacation with a break closer to home as many of us cut back in the face of the recession.
Luckily, Canada is blessed with an abundance of natural wonders and a wide array of fantastic festivals to keep us all interested on our holidays at home. Who needs Spain or France when you can stay "local"? Ooh at The Canadian Rockies or aah at the Cabot Trail, don your Stetson for the Calgary Stampede or soak up the culture in Montreal. At the risk of sounding like a tourist board advertisement, it's all yours to enjoy.
Don't be fooled into thinking that just because you're escaping airport stress, the laidback vacation vibe will reign supreme on your first day off. You'll have to put in a little bit of effort to feel properly on vacation. Cheapflights' top tips for staycationers include:
- Switch off the computer and cell phone. Be incommunicado to all.
- Switch around your routine. If you are usually battling the traffic at 7pm, plan to be on a terrace somewhere enjoying a glass of wine at that time.
- Eat out in restuarants you've never been to before.
- You live in Toronto? What do you mean you've never walked across the glass floor of the CN Tower? Live in Burnaby and never crossed the Capilano Suspension Bridge? You read Anne of Green Gables and never visited Prince Edward Island?
- Relax and pamper yourself. The golden rule of staycationing is to feel like you've had a break without frazzling yourself.
This year, staycationers have an ally in saving money. The Federal Government is freezing entrance fees for all national parks in an attempt to encourage cash-strapped Canadians to visit more often.
Of course there is always the option to take up the other hot travel trend: the naycation, which means not vacationing at all!
© Cheapflights Ltd
Updated March 2010
