How To Guide: Staycation in the UK

1. What Is a Staycation?

A staycation is a holiday booked in your own backyard, well almost, it's a holiday booked in your home country as opposed to abroad. So... end-of-summer blues got you down? Need a break but are limited by time? We've got you. Back before we started travelling full-time, we were living in the UK and hated this time of year until we found a solution: Staycations!

2. Why Choose a Staycation?

There are lots of reasons to choose a staycation in the UK. Firstly, unlike holidays abroad, it's not going to take you days and days to get there - thus it not only gives you extra time to relax, it also means you can slip in a holiday where you normally wouldn't be able to. Perhaps like most people you only get a weekend off, that's not really long enough to go abroad, but it is long enough for a staycation.

And, unlike holidays abroad, the prep time is minimal: jabs? No need. Learn some phrases to get you by? No need. Local customs? You already know about them. Currency exchange? No need. Forgotten something at home? It doesn't matter, just pop in to Boots/ Tesco/ Topshop. Last, but certainly not least, the UK is an incredibly beautiful country with so much to discover, people spend years exploring it and still don't even see half of it. We've got history, we've got culture, we've got fun cities and incredible nature - we might not have the weather but we've still got something for everyone!

3. Where to take your staycation: some ideas

Here are three example staycations that we took:

Liverpool staycation

Photo credit: Loco Steve

Liverpool, home to the Beatles, is the fifth largest city in the UK with great connections to the rest of the country and a lot to offer for a staycation - luxury hotels, fancy restaurants and oodles of things to do. Highlights include the Titanic Museum, Tate Liverpool, seafood, and (if it's your thing) the football! We visited Liverpool for one night when we were living in Birmingham. We took the train up and stayed at the awesome Sefton Park Hotel. We loved our trip, the only downside being the weather (note, it's cold in November!) Find your perfect staycation hotel here: Liverpool staycation

Bristol staycation

Photo Credit: PizzaBike

If you're looking for something a bit more arty, hipstery and down-right hippy-like try Bristol

Bristol is filled with organic vegan cafes, quirky bars, vintage second hand shops and more art than you can shake a stick at. It's even home to the mysterious Banksy - the talented graffiti artist who paints thought-provoking pieces, often with a political message. We took many staycations in Bristol, as it was right in our backyard - sometimes we stayed with friends and sometimes we choose to have a true staycation and get away from everyone! Book your Bristol staycation here: Bristol staycation

Bath staycation

Photo credit: Heather

For those looking for a relaxing, luxury staycation, you won't go wrong with Bath. Bath is, you guessed it, filled with beautiful, healing, ancient Baths. It's also got some classy places to have high tea and shops to die for. We spent a whole week in our staycation in Bath and it was absolutely perfect, the Baths are so stunning and the history behind them is absolutely incredible. We stayed with Oldfields House Bed and Breakfast and were blown away with their service. Find your perfect staycation hotel here:Bath staycation

4. How to Easily Book a Staycation

The things about staycations is you want to keep your booking process simple and easy. This isn't the kind of holiday where you pour over guide books for months, or pay a travel agent. You want it to be done with minimal hassle - and preferably in one place. Take Expedia for example, here you can find competitive rates on hotels in the UK (and beyond of course). You can choose to sort by criteria that actually mean something to you - whether it's price, distance to city centre, guest rating, best deals and more.

And it doesn't just stop there, you literally can book everything in one place as they cover transport too: not just flights (which may not be relevant to you in the UK), but car hire and even trains too:

And if you're a Nectar point collector you can collect Nectar points here too!

Wrap Up: Staycation in the UK

I can't tell you how much I recommend a staycation, it's the perfect way to beat Seasonal Affective Disorder and to discover more of the beautiful UK. Let us know in the comments below where your staycation will take you, or find us on Facebook and Instagram. Also, all these brit cities reminded me of a vlog we made of our trip to Brighton, in case you're planning your Staycation there -- enjoy :)

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ABOUTME

We overland. We eat plants and fungi. We live outside as much as possible. We are all connected. A female travel blogger overlanding and writing about ecotourism, ethical and sustainable travel, socially conscious travel and housesitting. An online travel magazine since 2015.