As a frequent traveler I always get to asked whether I prefer staycations or vacations and in the end choosing either comes down to a personal choice. Recently I was approached by UAE’s leading news paper Khaleej Times to talk about whether I preferred a luxury staycation or vacation for their bloggerhead column. In this blog post I wrote the whole article which was published in the Khaleej Times magazine (checkout the link here)
Should you opt for vacation or a staycation ?
The great staycation vs vacation debate is truly never ending. Should I explore a new area near my home or should I travel to an exotic new location? I know many people who choose staycations as a popular alternative to vacation because spending your holidays at home is often cheaper, easier, and a safer option than traveling to remote or exotic places.
You can read full original article on Khaleej time’s weekend magazine HERE.
While I love staycations, but if given the choice I will always choose a vacation abroad, even if it’s mini vacation. Don’t get me wrong, a staycation is an amazing way to spend some good quality time with friends and family or just to be a tourist in my own city exploring new hot spots, however the thrill of the new and unknown is what really speaks to me. There are so many different opinions on whether traveling is worth the money and all that trouble of planning and getting out of your comfort zone but trust me, if you have traveled even once and experienced the richness and wonders of a faraway location, you will never want to settle for a staycation if the alternative option is available to you.
There are several reasons why traveling outside of your own home city or country is a better alternative than a staycation and some of the biggest reasons I will always choose traveling over staycation are the thrill of unknown, the wonder in exploring new places, the knowledge gained from learning about new cultures and the relationships you make when you meet people from different parts of the world. Traveling to remote and distant places not only gives you a source of inspiration and wonder but also broadens your perspective on how much of our world is beautifully interconnected in many more ways than one could possibly even imagine. Every place has its own unique stories to tell and new stories waiting to be made. Of course, that’s not to say that you can’t still have new experiences even if you’ve already visited a place; sometimes on a first visit, you may miss the details that really makes you remember and appreciate your visit.
If you’ve acquired the travel bug like myself and love to travel to new places where you’ve never been before, I’m sure that you would agree that traveling has given you some of your most exciting memories in life. Not only that, but I genuinely think that traveling makes you a stronger person by teaching you to be more self-reliant through all the planning, learning, exploring and getting lost. I truly believe that traveling is a journey of self-discovery that teaches you to grow as a person and encourages you to have a different perspective on life, people and cultures that once may have seemed quite foreign.
As much as I love traveling to faraway places, that’s not always the most important. Remember that you have to find what you love yourself about traveling. You may not want or need to travel to someplace really distant or somewhere expensive, as this is your story. You could definitely start closer to home and still get a rich and empowering experience from traveling to the town next to you with the cool building or the nearest country with a name you can never manage to pronounce quite correctly.
Although the destination is important, I have no doubts that the journey is equally important, and whether you’re a fan of exotic destinations or cozy staycations, this journey is about writing your own story and making meaningful connections and learning to appreciate this beautiful yet small world that we all share.
What do you prefer a staycation or vacation ? let me know in comment below.
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🙂 P.S Travel safe Stay Blessed 🙂
Amazing blog post. I loved the content and the photos too. well done!