Photo by Dave G. Houser/Houserstock
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Staycations? Forget 'Em—It's Time to Leave Home
By Laura Daily, January & February 2010
The term staycation entered our travel vocabulary in 2009 because of high gas prices and a bad economy. But deals abound these days
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If you’re sick of staying home, now’s the time to line up a vacation to remember. Try one of these staycation alternatives:
Neigh-cations
If your tush can tolerate six hours a day in the saddle, try an
equestrian getaway. You can gallop along Ireland's beaches, trot
through Spain, France, or Argentina, and even take an equi-safari in
Kenya or Botswana. Operators Equitours (800-545-0019) and Hidden Trails
(888-987-2457) match riders to
horseback-riding holidays on six continents. Typical tours start at
$1,300 to $1,500 a week, including lodging, meals, guides, horse, and
gear. Closer to home, Holiday on Horseback (800-661-8352) runs pack trips into the
mountains of Canada's Banff National Park; two-day trips start at
$488 CDN; six-day trips, $1,243 CDN (tent) or $1,406 CDN ( lodge).
LEI-cations
believe it or not, you can find bargains in Hawaii. For packages
especially, competition among destinations is hotter than an erupting
volcano. Pick your hotel, resort, or condo and expect to score
value-added deals; some perks are free bonus nights, food and beverage
credits, and golf and spa discounts. The Hawaii Visitors &
Convention Bureau (800-464-2924) provides
links to partners offering package deals. We found one from Classic
Vacations that trims up to $500 off the airfare. Locally based
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts (800-688-7444) has Waikiki beachfront
hotels that recently started as low as $169 a night, including free
Internet. Book an Outrigger Maui condo and you could get free
groceries. Once you arrive in the islands, savings continue with chic
restaurants touting prix-fixe meals, and farmers' markets
featuring fresh-picked produce perfect for stocking that in-room
refrigerator.
Clay-cations
If you want to express yourself and get your hands dirty (or
maybe re-create that sexy potter's-wheel scene from Ghost
), we've found art schools where you can have serious fun with
clay. Two miles from the south entrance to Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts (865-436-5860) in Gatlinburg,
Tennessee, keeps its 20 potter's wheels spinning from June to
mid-October. It offers 19 one-week workshops ($485 plus fees), from
the basics of pottery wheels to more specialized techniques. In
Williamsburg, Massachusetts, Snow Farm (413-268-3101) fires up its kilns for
beginners and intermediates for weeklong workshops ($705) from April
through October. Participants can take a break to wander Snow
Farm's painting, textile, photography, and glass studios or
explore nearby Smith, Amherst, and Mount Holyoke colleges. Just
outside Phoenix, snowbirds sample less formal daylong, weekend, and
weeklong workshops at Mesa Arts Center (480-644-6520). Try five clay
techniques over five days with five instructors ($110, or $25 a day),
March 15 through 19, 2010.
SPEEDWAY-cations
NASCAR races such as Daytona, Bristol, and Talladega draw more than
100,000 spectators each, so trust us—when you go to a race, you
want to leave the driving both on and off the track to someone else.
Tour companies such as RacingTours.com (877-326-0525), There And Back
Again Adventures (800-782-8222), and
Lynch Tours & More (888-722-3868) handle the
nitty-gritty—and yes, that includes getting you to the track and
back in one piece. Most packages also promise great seats, lodging,
breakfast, or a tailgate party. Typical packages run $400 to $800 per
person. And for the die-hard gearhead, there is Lynch's 11-day
Lowe's Motor Speedway Race Fan's Dream Tour to Charlotte,
North Carolina—including two weekends of racing, tours of shops
where cars are built, racing-museum visits, lodging, and
more—for about $2,800 per fan.
SAY-cations
Learn français in France, Español in
Spain, or Deutsch in Germany. Though nearly every country
offers language-immersion schools, distinguishing the fluent from the
fly-by-night can be tricky. Our advice: Let a professional operator do
the vetting. Agents include BridgeAbroad (866-574-8606), Cactus Worldwide
(888-577-8451),
and World Link Education (800-621-3085). All
either own or partner with language schools worldwide. The setups are
similar: four hours in a classroom each morning, followed by
extracurricular activities such as sightseeing, cooking classes, or
restaurant visits to test your new skills. Accommodations are often
included. We found a Spanish package in Nicaragua for $400 per week,
two weeks in Rome for $1,910, and four weeks in Beijing for $4,440.
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