Staycation round up: is it still worth going on a staycation instead of going abroad?
It’s been long enough now that many people have been on holiday since lockdown was lifted and travel opened up again back in May. Many people have been travelling since, and despite some foreign countries being safe enough to travel to, the majority of people have been sticking to staycations as they feel more comfortable staying in their home country.
However, now that lockdown restrictions have eased even further, has this changed people’s opinions on travelling? And how have their holidays changed as a result of the coronavirus?
July 2021 lockdown update
As of July 19th 2021, almost all of the current restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic have ended. This includes restrictions on social distancing, limits on private gatherings and hospitality events, no longer requiring face coverings in most places and, most importantly for us, freedom to travel to more countries.
More specifically, the government have removed their official guidance on recommending against travelling to countries put on the amber list of the traffic light system. It is important to remember that this does not automatically mean these countries are now completely safe to visit, the coronavirus still exists and it is important you research whether or not the risk level is worth travelling for.
You will not need to isolate upon returning from an amber list country if you have had both doses of your vaccination two weeks before you go travelling. The amber list currently has the largest amount of countries in (you can see the full list here), which is exciting because so many countries are now open for exploration again. However, don’t forget that even though we are allowed to travel to these countries now, it doesn’t necessarily mean that these countries are open to us. Before booking anything, check that the country you wish to travel to is accepting tourists. For example, Australia is on our green list and is considered very safe to travel to, but the country is closed off to the majority of visitors, unless you meet specific criteria beforehand.
With all that in mind, is it worth travelling abroad just yet or is it more worthwhile booking a staycation still?
Staycation stories
Rosie, who had visited recently got back from camping Great Langdale in the Lake District, spoke to us and said that although she had an amazing time, there were a few snags that she encountered as a result of the pandemic.
For example, due to the high demand for people wanting to holiday in the UK, the campsite was fully booked on the weekends until October, so they could only stay during the week. The cost of booking a spot on the campsite was also high, however she did not believe that prices had increased as a result of the current demand.
Despite this, the campsite took campers’ safety very seriously and had lowered the number of pitches available, so that the tents that were there could be more spaced out from each other and there would be less demand for the facilities such as bathrooms and shops.
Overall, Rosie will continue to look at travelling domestically unless she finds it safer to go abroad in the future. She is even cautious about travelling to places like Scotland, but is hopeful to get back to travelling when she finds it safe enough to do so!
I have also recently been to the Lake District, and having been to the same place several times in the past, I did not find my experiences this time to be much different in terms of actual holiday activities. The only times where restrictions were noticeable were in shops and restaurants, which is totally normal.
We did not have any issues booking the holiday, as the accommodation was owned by friends, however we did notice that the small town had a large amount of tourists, which makes sense during the summer months, but this heavily implies that most holiday stays appeared to be fully booked. Currently, I share a similar view to Rosie in regard to travelling abroad. I feel more compelled to staycation and stay in the UK until it is safer to go abroad. However, if you are planning to travel outside of your country, be sure to check out our detailed travel guides on our website here.
Plans for the future
It’s hard to predict what the future of travel looks like, but things are certainly looking positive in the UK as it stands. The traffic light system is being constantly updated and as amber countries are no longer being recommended against to travel to, we might see countries being added to the red list more frequently.
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Written by Joe Corfield.