The ultimate stay-cation: How to holiday in your home town

Ahhh the summer holidays! They might have only just finished for most of us, but they already seem a distant memory, consigned to the “good old days” of last month.

Next summer is just too far away, so it’s time to plan the ultimate stay-cation, and find ways to enjoy being a tourist in your own town until your next holiday rolls around.

Here are our top tips for holidaying in your home town:

• Think like a tourist – google the top tourist attractions for your home town and book in to do any that you haven’t done before. It could be a river cruise, a guided city tour, a trip to an aquarium or a visit to a local theme park – anything where you’ve thought “I’ll do that one day”!
  
  
• Get outdoors – whether it’s wandering around the botanic gardens, riding the forest trails or swimming at the local beach, every town or city has something that you can explore outdoors. Getting out in the sunshine and doing some exercise will kick-start those happy hormones, beating the post-holiday blues.
  
  
• Enjoy the local culinary delights – cute little cafes, hidden away bars or fine dining restaurants, whatever you fancy, take the time to explore and enjoy the local food scene.
  
  
• Partake in a cultural experience – stage shows, local theatre, the movies, sporting events, museums, galleries, exhibitions…pick one that you wouldn’t normally attend and experience it for the first time.
  
  
• Pamper yourself – Forget the chores and other things you’d normally do if you were stuck at home and book yourself in for a day of pampering. A bit of shopping, a massage and some attention to your hair and nails might be just what you need to feel as relaxed as you do on holiday.
  
  
• Sleep somewhere else – For the ultimate stay-cation, you need to leave the house for the night. Book into a nice hotel or B ‘n’ B and enjoy the change of scenery. A couple of hours by the hotel pool followed by a relaxing evening with room service you’ll have totally forgotten that you’re just a short drive from home.
  
  
• Stretch it out… - Your stay-cation might last just a day or a weekend, but you can stretch that holiday feeling out even longer by taking lots of photos to post online or add to a photo book, making it easy to remember that feeling of relaxation later on.

So off you go! Get googling and booking and plan your next stay-cation in your home town.