Why a Staycation?

Metro Manila staycation is fast replacing traditional vacations in recent years as the new lifestyle routine. This is because many people from Metro Manila feels that taking long-distance trips are tedious to plan and are of course expensive.

Furthermore, people from Metro Manila are into very fast-moving and volatile careers or businesses so they would not want to be too far away in case of any crisis that might occur.

The typical stereotype staycationers are young professionals, working students, newlyweds, families with young kids, or empty nesters.  Their schedules are usually quite full of commitments and they usually have wide circles of friends.  Hence, they prefer to use their vacation to reconnect with family and friends or accomplish some long-deferred activities.  Or they could also be saving for a rainy day, especially for their wedding, house, retirement, or future medical needs.

Advantages of Staycation

  1. With staycation, you don’t need to look up the Internet for cheapest air fares (which usually come up at odd times of the day) and to have to spend for renewing your passport and paying terminal and travel taxes.
  2. Perhaps the biggest advantage of staycation is that you don’t need to plan too hard for your activities.  You can even decide what to do at the spur of the moment.
  3. You don’t need to worry about bringing any emergency supplies in case of any contingency, because you can easily go home or to your own neighborhood hospital.
  4. You don’t need to spend extra money for prepaid cards for your phone or iPad if you want to stay wired.  Instead, you can use your hard-earned money to try out that restaurant you’ve always wanted to eat at but didn’t have time because you were too busy.
  5. There are many local attractions to enjoy at local hotels and malls. For instance, there’s ice-skating at SM Mega Mall so you don’t need to travel to the temperate zone just to do this.  You can try ziplining in Antipolo which is less than an hour away.  You don’t need to go on an African safari to meet wildlife, just head to Avilon Zoo.
  6. There are so many interesting places that are located only an hour or two away from the metro area where you can do wall-climbing, football, bowling, swimming, and other sports.  These can all be reach by just a day trip.

Disadvantages of Staycation

While the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, you may still want to know about the cons.

  1. If you’re the type who really wants something very specific (for instance, Alpine skiing or drinking at the Ice Hotel bar), then staycation may not be your cup of tea.
  2. Of course, Metro Manila places will not exactly replace the ones you might have in your bucket list.  You can just contend with shooting the rapids at nearby Laguna instead of going whitewater rafting in faraway Cagayan de Oro. Nearby beaches in Cavite or Batangas will never be comparable to those in Batanes, Hawaii, or the Maldives. And your only staycation alternative to the cool mountain air of Baguio would be the air-conditioning in malls, hotels, or at home.
  3. And since you’re not completely away from home, your day trip could be cut short by emergencies at the office or shop.

Making Staycation Count

The bottom line is to choose places and activities that you truly want to do within reasonable limits and boundaries.  Here are some great tips:

  • Make a list of where you want to go and what you want to do.
  • Research local sites to get information and recommendations.
  • Go with a group to make it more fun.
  • Bring your camera to capture the moment.
  • Take your time and keep your itinerary flexible.
  • Above all, don’t do work. Remember, you’re on vacation!