Have you considered a ‘staycation’ lately?
SOME call it a ‘Staycation’ while others simply call it having a break closer to home. The word ‘ holiday’ is one loaded with positive connotations, igniting feelings of recuperation and leisure.
When people think ‘ holiday’ they always imagine holidays abroad in summer for a week or more. This isn’t an untruth. It’s just more and more people are catching on to the fact that ‘a holiday’ in wintertime can now mean anything from a weekend away, to a night in a luxury hotel.
Lifestyles have changed and ‘ holidaying’ is now being moulded to suit these changes. Nowadays there are many great hotels, guest houses and B&Bs offering excellent value and people are quickly catching on to the opportunity of stealing a few days away, but not so far away as to miss work on a Monday morning or a long ways from family.
For example, 2015 figures released by Fáilte Ireland show that Kerry was the fourth most visited destination in the country for overseas tourists, a trend that remained strong throughout 2016. Cork was the second most visited county in the survey. With this in mind, wouldn’t you think more people would sample for themselves what it is that visitors appreciate most about the southwest?
Okay, so you already drive, walk, cycle or run the county every weekend. But have you ever thought of making a weekend of it? Do you ever feel like booking accommodation and staying a night (or two) somewhere local rather than just hopping back into the car and heading home? This way you’ll gain a greater sense of rejuvenation, so you should consider it. The southwest is known the world over for its beauty and it would be wise for us natives to stop and stay a while to sample the hospitality of your favourite ‘ local’ destination.
Another benefit of a staycation is that it reduces stress. Holidays are bookended by lots of travel, which means it takes time to get to and from your destination. Nothing very informative about that I hear you say, except I’ve yet to hear of someone speak about how much they enjoyed their time travelling to and from a holiday destination! This is where stress enters the equation. So choosing a weekend away, just a short drive from home, leaves more time for actual holidaying.
This is a quiet time of year which means you’ll have all the beaches, walkways and historic sites in the county to yourself, plus a cosy and quiet accommodation to return to when it’s time to relax, have a meal and enjoy an evening far away from the madding crowds. You’ll also be spending money at home and helping to sustain jobs during the quietest time for the sector. So be sure to treat yourself to a staycation near you… soon.