I am fortunate to be able to travel with my children often. However, sometimes the travel bug bites, but I don't have the time, energy, or budget for a true vacation. When that happens, I plan a staycation close to our home in Washington, DC. Although staycations admittedly don't have the same thrill as a full-fledged international trip, they can still be a lot of fun.
Discovering new things together, away from the demands and routine of daily life, is how my family and I have made some of our best memories. I discovered that booking a hotel a few blocks away from home can be almost as memorable as a trip halfway around the world — if I plan correctly.
The only downside of staycations is that my children now want to take them all the time. Though it's not feasible to take one every month, I usually plan a staycation a couple of times a year as a surprise.
I keep the logistics simple and switch to vacation mode
There are no hard-and-fast rules for staycations, but I try to stick to hotels within two hours of home. We usually go away for one or two nights, although I often wish I had planned to stay longer. Sometimes, I plan in advance, and other times I scroll to see if I can find a good last-minute deal if we happen to have a rare weekend without any obligations.
To make the most of our staycations, I always ask for early check-in and late check-out. Even if that's not possible, the hotel will usually store my luggage and give us access to hotel amenities like the pool for the entire day we check in or out, which can make our time away feel much longer.
I also don't wait for a time that works for my entire family. While I love having my family of six together, that's not always possible because of school, work, and sports schedules. At times, I may bring one or two of my four kids on a staycation, because if I waited for everyone's schedules to align, I might find myself waiting forever.
During staycations, I switch to vacation mode, even if we are within a few minutes of home. I allow my kids to order soda and dessert, rare treats during our everyday lives. We often stay up late, playing UNO or Clue, games my kids love, but we somehow can't manage to fit in during the business of everyday life.
I always pick a hotel that has a pool
My family's first staycation started with my son's request to go swimming on his birthday. Swimming was the only present he asked for, but since he was born in the depths of winter, it wasn't easy to make it happen. My solution was to book a nearby hotel with an indoor pool for a night.
My entire family had so much fun that now, I will only book hotels with pools when we take a staycation. However, after we once checked into a hotel and discovered the pool was closed for renovations, I now call to verify the pool will be open before booking.
I book staycations at hotels with on-site activities or easy access to activities
Since staycations are short, time is at a premium. Some of my family's favorite staycations have been at nearby resorts with on-site activities. Nearby Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center often hosts events, so we don't have to leave the premises at all. Another favorite staycation destination, Great Wolf Lodge, has a huge waterpark and nightly dance parties that my kids love almost as much as the Caribbean resorts we have visited.
When we stay somewhere without a ton of on-site activities, I try to at least book near places we want to go during our staycation. I also include at least one special activity that my kids have been asking to do. One particularly memorable staycation was at the historic Watergate, not far from Georgetown's waterfront and museums on the National Mall, which kept us busy. A couple of times, ice skating was the highlight of our staycation. Once, it was a kid-friendly interactive exhibit at a local museum.
In some ways, staycations are even better than vacations
These staycations actually have significant benefits over faraway vacations, beyond cost and shorter duration. They are easier to plan because I am already familiar with the area, I know how to get around, and I don't need to research things to do or where to eat.
Additionally, after I return from a staycation, I truly feel relaxed and refreshed even if I have only been away for a night or two. When I take trips that last a week or more, I often feel depleted from constantly being on the go, so it's a nice change. And unlike longer vacations farther from home, I don't have a mountain of laundry to do and piles of mail to sort through once the staycation is over.
I still enjoy taking vacations whenever I can, but I also treasure the time my family spends together during staycations
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Jamie Davis Smith is a writer, attorney, and storyteller who shares insight about parenting, adventure, and everyday life. Whether navigating cobblestone streets of European cities or trying to solve her latest parenting challenge, Jamie is happiest with a coffee in her hand. Her work has been featured in National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, Fodor's Travel, Afar, The Washington Post, and several other publications. When she’s not on the road, Jamie is based in Washington, D.C., planning her next adventure with her four children in tow. Follow her on Instagram.
