If you are feeling the crunch of our double-dip recession with no pay rise and increasing living costs, why not go on a staycation this year? A staycation is when you stay at home but go on days out with the family instead of having an expensive holiday abroad.
Where to Go
There are many places you can go on a staycation and they don’t have to be too close to home if you are prepared to get up early and get home late in order to have your great family day out. Ideas for staycations can include days out at the beach or local park, which can be extremely cheap and fun if you take a picnic and a football or outdoor game. Slightly more expensive days out could include visiting a local safari park, stately home or theme park.
Cheap Staycation Ideas
If you are lucky enough to live close to a beach, this can be an extremely cheap day out that will always include plenty of fun for the children. If you are going to the beach, remember to take your picnic with you, plenty of buckets and spades and lots of sunscreen. Even on a windy, rainy day the beach can still be fun. With the appropriate outdoor clothing, you can walk up and down the beach in the rain and will usually have the whole beach to yourself as others hide away from the weather. If you are visiting the beach with small children, try taking along a scavenger hunt. You could explore any rock pools in the area as children love to find things and the winner can always get an extra bar of chocolate or a treat from the ice cream shop.
Other cheap staycation days out could include visiting one of the many National Trust properties located throughout the country. If you invest in a National Trust membership, you could visit the majority of the properties with no additional costs. During the summer holidays, National Trust properties put on special events aimed at younger members of the family and entertaining them whilst they visit. These events include treasure hunts and fun dressing up sessions in themed costumes.
Safari Parks and Theme Parks
If you are prepared to pay for your family fun, visit a safari park in the UK. There are several safari parks throughout the country including Woburn, Knowsley and Longleat. When you visit a safari park you can see the animals roaming around in the simulated wild whilst driving your car through their enclosures. If you are not a car driver, most safari parks include a bus service, which will take you through all the animal enclosures before you visit the rest of the attractions at the park. Nearly all safari parks have petting zoos, where you can interact with some of the smaller animals, rides, mazes and historic houses that you can enjoy whilst on a day out.
Theme parks are great for families with older children who want to experience thrills and roller coaster rides on their day out. Many theme parks have historic houses, large grounds and plenty of food outlets. If you are being cash conscious, you can take a picnic into the theme park as the majority have tables and areas where you can eat your own food.
There are many different locations you can visit during the summer holidays that are not expensive and can provide great family fun for your staycation.
This post was contributed by a guest blogger writing on behalf of Knowsley Safari Park, for further visitor information, please click here.
Image by Moyan_Brenn
