6 Tips for Planning the Perfect Daycation

1. Pick Your Destination.

The first thing to consider when doing a daycation is your destination of course. When travelling for a day, I would recommend going somewhere that is maximum 2 hours’ travelling distance from your home or base. I say this because you need plenty of time to get there, explore your city and get home in good time. When we went to Cambridge for example, it was an hour drive from our home so we had plenty of time to get there, spend 6 hours exploring and get home before it was too late.

Bath Abbey, England

2. Make an Itinerary.

I must admit, we are AWFUL at doing this but when going to an unfamiliar place, it’s always good to plan which landmarks, restaurants, activities and parks you are going to visit because that way, your day is structured and you are not wandering around aimlessly. A good place to start your planning process is your chosen city’s tourist guide website (or our blog!). They normally have the top tips for you to use on your day out. If you’re more familiar with your chosen city and you already know where you want to visit, then I would suggest using google maps to create a visual overview and a timeline of your day.

3. Decide Where you are going to eat.

Whilst we’re on the subject of planning, planning where to eat is a must! In the past, G and I could never decide where to eat and we would waste so much time on the trip looking at restaurant menus, reviews and locations. Nowadays, we make our restaurant reservations ahead of time in order to structure our day so we know what we’ll be eating.

Crescent Street, Bath, England

4. How are you going to travel?.

If travelling by car, you need to know where you will be parking your vehicle in order to avoid any unwanted parking charges. Big cities often have car and parking restrictions so using a Park & Ride might be a good idea. You might prefer to use public transport. I love public transport because I can sit back and relax, especially after a long day of exploring.

5. BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET!

Number 5 seems like a pretty obvious one but making a budget is an important consideration. When we do our budget, we like to decide what we want to do first (step 2 and 3) and that will usually decide what our budget will be. You can do it differently of course and you can have a set budget at the beginning and then decide what to do according to this. Having a budget is good because it keeps your day focused and it will help to avoid overspending.

River Thames, London, England

6. Safety First

Unfortunately, there are people who are always looking to take advantage of unassuming tourists, so
If you are going to be sightseeing, especially in tourist “hotspots”, watch out for scammers and pickpocketers. Make sure you keep your belongings, especially wallets, keys and phones out of sight. Also, if you ask someone to take a picture of you, ask someone who is either a professional or a fellow tourist. If travelling alone, let family and friends know your itinerary and check in with them so they know you are safe.

Lastly, enjoy your day, take too many pictures, laugh a lot, eat a lot of food and make memories that last a lifetime!