A common piece of advice that you see about travel is that if you can’t afford to go abroad, go somewhere at home instead. Sometimes, that’s good advice and there are a lot of benefits to a UK holiday. However, staycations aren’t always everything they’re cracked up to be and there are a lot of drawbacks. If you’re trying to decide whether you should go away or stay in Britain, don’t forget to consider these downsides to staycations.
They Aren’t Always Cheaper
The main benefit of staying at home instead of going abroad is that it’s cheaper, but that isn’t always the case. If you’re paying full price for a holiday then it’ll be cheaper to stay at home but a lot of the time you can find last minute holidays cheaper than a staycation. The thing to remember is that the cost of living is cheaper in a lot of the countries that you’ll visit so it’s the flights and accommodation that make it more expensive to go abroad. But if you can find cheap last minute deals, you can usually do it cheaper because you’ll save a lot of money when you’re out there.
You Miss Out On New Cultures
The best thing about travelling is immersing yourself in a new culture and discovering everything that it has to offer. While you will find new attitudes and traditions in different areas of Britain, you won’t find a culture that is so wildly different to your own. You also won’t be able to involve yourself in the history of a new country. If exploring new cultures and trying new cuisines is one of the things that draws you to travelling, you might be a little disappointed with a staycation.
Bad Weather
For some people, getting away from the rain is the main reason they go away. They want to get out of rainy Britain and head for somewhere like Spain or Portugal where they can lay on the beach and soak up the sun for a week. While the weather isn’t always as bad as people make out over here, you’re not going to find the kinds of climate that you can find elsewhere. If relaxing in the sun is your priority, you’d be better off with a cheap package holiday somewhere in Europe than you would staying at home.
You Can’t Switch Off
Holidays are a chance to get away from all of the hustle and bustle of modern life and forget about all of the stresses of work for a while. But that’s often harder if you’re staying in Britain. Even though you’re away from home, you’re still in the country and you’ll probably get emails coming through to your phone and there’s a chance somebody might call you up to ask questions. When you’re abroad and you’re completely cut off from the world back home, it’s much easier to switch off.
Staycations aren’t always bad and if you’re working on a tight budget and you can’t find any cheap deals, they’re a good option. Just be aware that there are some downsides.
