Mar 21

Mar 21 10 of the Best Ideas for a Travel Themed Staycation

Woman in a black and white dress sits on a rope and wood swing over a sandy beach looking out at two kayaks, the ocean and some high cliffs.

So you’re stuck at home instead of off traveling. Such a bummer! That doesn’t mean that a fun vacation is totally off the table, though.

These travel-themed staycation ideas cost little to nothing, can fit into a day or weekend, and don’t even require leaving your house or yard. Most work for a big family, couples, or even solo staycationers.

The goal is to get creative, so take these suggestions and build on them, adding your own ideas and travel interests. Be sure to document your staycation to share it with family and friends!

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Turquoise colored ocean washes up onto a white sandy beach with a wooden beach hut on the left and an island in the center distance.

Backyard Beach Vacation

You can pull this one off with just a patio if you need to, but the more space the better. A pool will make it extra authentic! Turn your backyard into a beach oasis and spend the whole day chillaxing as you would on the sand.

Start with the setting — an oversized towel or lawn chair to nap on under the sun, a splash pool or sandbox for the kids to play in, oversized floats propped up here and there, the scent of sunscreen, the sounds of beach pop, and that big pile of magazines you’ve been storing.

You’ll want to stay outside as much as possible, so pack a cooler with sandwiches, lemonade and fresh fruit. And for the most authentic beach picnic experience, pretend to shoo a seagull away from your lunch every few seconds.

For dinner, set up a candlelit table outside and throw on sundresses and Hawaiian shirts. Seafood or tacos say “beachy restaurant” and a fan with a tropical car air freshener strapped on will mimic the ocean breezes if you have a strong imagination.

Prep for a Beachy Staycation

Foreign Language Immersion

Use your in-home staycation to finally cross the threshold into conversational in that language you’ve been meaning to learn forever.

If you’re new, start by downloading Duolingo and powering through the basics. You can also listen to audio lessons while you exercise or watch the kids play outside.

Make a challenge in the house to only speak the language you’re learning for a whole day, even if you need to lean on Google translate for help. Try to find some films to watch in your chosen dialect, or turn the foreign subtitles on to your favorite show and read along.

Seven men in red cloaks and tall hats line up with instruments in front of a crowd of people in South Korea with buildings and mountains in the background.

Cultural Theme Day

Pick a destination — country, state, city, or island — and plan a whole day to learn about it and celebrate the local culture. If it’s one you’ve been to, you can recreate your favorite vacation moments by pulling out your souvenirs, flipping through old photos, and cooking the best meal you ate there.

If it’s somewhere still on the bucket list, start the adventure by researching the culture, food and history.

Set the scene in your house by decorating a space to remind you of your chosen destination, even if it’s totally cheesy. Dress how you would if you were visiting, whether that’s beachwear for the Greek Islands or a wool sweater to go Nordic.

Fill the day with cooking dishes that are popular in your theme country, playing music the region is famous for, and reading books and watching movies set in the destination. You could even learn a few phrases in the local language and practice them on family members.

Need some ideas? Have a Hawaiian luau in the backyard complete with ukelele music, frozen pineapple drinks, and hula lessons from YouTube. Throw an English tea party — don hats, bake scones and marathon a few episodes of “The Crown.” For Mexico, read about the Maya civilization, cook enchiladas and dance to mariachi on the patio. Make pasta noodles from scratch, sculpt playdough or paint a canvas, and watch “Roman Holiday” for Italian vibes.

Prep for a Travel Themed Staycation

A walkway crosses over a turquoise pool surrounded by plants with palm trees and a four-story hotel block in the background.

In-Home Resort and Spa

This one probably works best with no children in the house, but you can take turns and treat them to include everyone. Think of all the uber lux experiences you dream of experiencing at one of those super ritzy resorts. One person in the house will need to be “the giver” on spa day (i.e. the massage therapist, aesthetician, attendant, chef, etc), but you can take turns or do this in teams if you have kids.

Start by sleeping in — because every relaxing day needs a slow start. Prep ahead by clearing the clutter from your bedroom and pretend you’re at a hotel, which obviously means ordering room service for breakfast and wearing a fluffy bathrobe.

Move on to some reading, light yoga and meditation before heading to the “spa” for a massage and foot rub from the designated technician. When it’s time to soak in the tub, draw a luxury bubble bath with salts, flower petals, scented candles, soft music, a face mask, and a sugar scrub.

For meals, stick to light and healthy. Fresh fruit for breakfast, salads and wraps for lunch, cucumber water throughout the day, and a candlelit dinner prepared by the designated chef.

Prep for a Spa Staycation

Film Festival

Level up vegging out to the TV by turning it into a film festival. Let everyone participate and pick a movie, or stick to a theme like 1996 Oscar nominations, films set in Paris, cheesy rom-coms, movies starring Tom Hanks — you get the ideas.

You can do this loads of different ways. Make it slumber party sesh with pillows, popcorn and pajamas. Create a “drive-in” setting with blankets and burgers in the backyard. Go Hollywood and glam up to pose on the red carpet. Or, if you’re binging a movie series, you could even dress as your favorite characters and make foods that fit the theme.

TRAVEL GIFT IDEAS FROM SMALL BUSINESSES

A building on column stilts with an a-frame roof surrounded by a low fence sits in the middle of a pond next to a patch of trees. The water reflects the scene.

Travel Photography Workshop

Spend a day or two getting your travel photo game in order.

First, the past. It’s finally time to get all those vacation pictures that have been stacking up in order. This might mean scrapbooking a few family trips, putting in a canvas or print order, catching up on your Facebook albums, or sorting, editing and digitally backing up your photo library.

When that’s done, prep for your next trip by stepping up your photography skills. Shop for a new camera or learn all the functions on one you already own. Take a digital course about angles or editing. Practice using your tripod or selfie stick to fit the whole family in one shot. Set up a photoshoot indoors or out and snap your kids, pets or a pretty recipe you just mastered.

Let the whole family join in by taking turns being the photographer — for littles, you can print their photos and let them craft frames while older kids can make a video with theirs for the family to watch.

Olympic Games

Who needs the hassle of traveling to the actual Olympics when you can recreate the games in your own backyard. This works best with a family or group unless you’re really competitive with your significant other.

With the right equipment and space, you can play actual games like table tennis, basketball, touch football, cricket, croquet, and cornhole. But, don’t be afraid to get creative with sack races, trampoline tumbling, outdoor Jenga, DIY obstacle courses or whatever else you make up.

You can even bring it indoors with board game tournaments and cards.

Make a poster board scorecard to keep track of who stands on the podium. And let creative kids flex their strengths by singing the national anthem, putting on a closing ceremony performance, and crafting prizes for the winners.

Prep for an Olympics Staycation

A woman in black, blue and white elephant pants and a white shirt with long brown hair walks on a dirt path with her back to the camera. Ahead of her is an ancient stone building with windows and doors and a charred black roof.

Travel Planning

An actual trip may not be in the cards or the budget for some time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start daydreaming and planning to make sure it’s the best vacation ever when the time finally comes.

If you’re starting from scratch, look up some travel bucket lists to narrow down which destinations look the most interesting to you. Pinterest is excellent for this! From there, pick a country or two and research, research, research.

Look up the best seasons to visit, top cities and towns to see, modes of transit to get around, cost ranges for flights and hotels, museums to visit, where to hike, and so on. Since you’re prepping so far ahead, you can even take time to find those lesser-visited places to get off the beaten track.

Keep a document with everything you learn handy for when it comes time to book. Google docs can be shared with multiple people so you can all contribute ideas and Google Maps allows you to virtually pin destinations you’re interested in.

Combo this idea with the cultural theme day to really get into the zone of your next destination!

Camping Adventure Day

You’ll need a backyard for this outdoorsy day. To keep things authentic, pack up in the morning and only go inside for potty breaks — nothing else!

Start with an exploration hike, whether that’s within your fence line identifying birds, bugs and blooms or in the neighborhood beyond with a nature walk through a local park. Lunch should be picnic-style, of course, packed up in a cooler ahead of time.

Be sure to set up camp while you still have daylight. Break out tents, sleeping bags, and lamps and flashlights. A grill can serve as your campfire for cooking up hot dogs and roasting marshmallows. Bonus points awarded, though, if you have a fire pit to gather round for ghost stories. Stay up for some stargazing after lights out if they’re visible where you live.

Prep for a Camping Staycation

The deck of a cruise ship with a pool and big screen on the right, rows of lounge chairs on the left, and a green mountain with melting snow in the background.

DIY Cruise

Can you actually recreate a cruise from home? Why not try!

Start the day with a carbo-loaded breakfast before turning on the sprinklers outdoors or heading to the neighborhood pool for some “deck time” (refer back to the beach day idea for more things to do here). Lunch should be something like burgers or pizza eaten outside in swimwear.

For dinner, either prepare a “buffet” of everyone’s favorite dish or go classy with lobster and steak followed by tiramisu. You can don evening wear and take cheesy photos if you decide it’s a formal night.

Fill the night by singing karaoke, playing board games or trivia, doing puzzles, marathoning talent contests on TV, or streaming a musical or magic show. Be sure to turn on ocean sounds to go to sleep — all in one room.