Where To Travel This Summer: Trip Ideas Near You

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2020 was the year of staying close to home. We spent the majority of the year either locked up at home or with severe restrictions on getting out and about. There were a lucky few who planned their annual vacation in January and February so they got a last trip before the world went to s#*t around March. I, like many of you, was not one of those people. My last international trip was the end of November 2019, and it’s looking likely I won’t be leaving Canada anytime soon. Not a bad place to get stuck you might think. You’d be right. But whether here or where you live I thought this was a great opportunity to look at where to travel this summer with some local travel ideas.

Why travel local?

Well, the big reason is that you don’t have much choice. Many countries are still in a national lockdown and are encouraging travel outside of your country only if you really need to. Even if you can leave your country not everyone will want you to enter theirs. Or the opposite: Canada is on a list of places that people will accept tourists from, but our own borders remain closed. Even if by some chance you are both allowed to leave and allowed to enter another country, strict quarantine rules are usually still in play. Meaning 14 day quarantine either side of the flights. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend 5 weeks vacation to leave Canada for a week.

Some European countries have agreements with neighboring countries to allow entry without quarantine. Here in Canada and many other countries, that is not the case. So when you end up looking for where to travel this summer, local travel is probably it for this year. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make it fun. I bet you most of you haven’t spent much time exploring where you live. Too busy finding the next flight out of here. Me too. The appeal of other countries always outweighs the place “I can see anytime I want”. But we usually don’t. So with the summer fast approaching, I’ve been planning some local trips and wanted to give you a few ideas of how to enjoy where you live a little more in 2021 so you can still travel. For more on why domestic tourism is important right now, read this post.

Book a staycation

I don’t know about you but one thing I’m missing while being at home what feels like 24/7, is a nice luxury hotel stay. Crisp white sheets, fancy toiletries, a nice dip in a cool pool. I can’t be the only one. So why not take advantage of your local hotels (and potential local resident deals) and book a hotel stay for a night. Treat yourself, your partner, your friends and relax with someone taking care of you for a change. Perhaps there’s a hotel you always wanted to stay at, or you live in the suburbs and want some city-living for a night (hand up over here). Either way, you’ll be supporting local businesses, not just the hotels you are staying at but local restaurants and services all around. And you’ll have a fantastic experience.

Visit a local attraction

Summer is usually pretty busy where I live. Vancouver is a summer destination for millions of international visitors. That usually means that in the summer I steer well clear of any and all tourist activities, especially on weekends when I am usually off work. But no international tourists means those places are quieter. Time to experience them like the visitors do, but without the crowds. And again, supporting local attractions that have had to shut their doors for the last few months and are in desperate need of visitors. Check for local resident specials at places near you.

Go camping

Dust off that tent, search for those fold up chairs and pack up the cooler. I don’t know about you but I live in a fantastic part of the world, with an abundance of camping options. British Columbia is full of glacier fed lakes, coastal getaways and rugged mountain trails. There’s camping for every comfort level. From park the car and walk 10 steps camping, to haul everything on your back for a half day hike to your own private oasis camping. Camping with kids, friends or even solo for a couple days. For my fellow Canadians who didn’t manage to book the provincial camping sites in time, there is still hope. Some sites are first come first served so start your weekend early and go claim a spot in the middle of nowhere. In BC? Try Sasquatch Provincial Park, near Harrison. It’s amazing!

Go glamping

Roughing it not your thing? Don’t worry, I’ve got some ideas of where to travel this summer for you too. And it doesn’t have to be that luxury hotel stay either. Although… No, I’m talking about “glamping”. Which is for those who want to feel like they’re camping but without the sleeping on the ground part. Win-win! Book a cabin, or a traditional yurt (Oregon has a ton of these, amazing!). You can roast marshmallows by a campfire then retire to a comfy bed. Best of both worlds by far, right? Want something completely unique? Search your local area for some totally one-of-a-kind accommodation like these amazing treehouse pods on Vancouver Island.

Road trip

If you have a car then you are lucky and should definitely take advantage of that. Don’t car? Make friends with someone who does! Road trips have never been more popular than since 2020. Get far enough away from home that it feels like a vacation, but close enough that you don’t need to worry about jet lag. Plus, the benefit of road trips? Stop whenever you want, and no luggage fees…unless your friend is a real stickler! Pack up the car, book a couple of cabins, hotels or an Airbnb or two and go where the road takes you.

Day trips from your town

Done everything there is in your hometown but don’t want to book a trip away just yet? Why not look for day trip options from where you live? There’s the lake options above, or a nearby hike you might have been wanting to do. Get out of town and spend the day somewhere else. Recently my friend and I went on a little day trip to try out a new local brewery outside of Vancouver. Spent a couple of hours getting there with some stops along the way, had a nice relaxing drink in the sunshine and did some walking, then came home. My boyfriend and I have also been looking at nearby hikes like this one in North Vancouver.

Remember to take a reusable water bottle with you on your travels, like this one from FastTech

Ocean and lake fun

I live by the ocean here in Vancouver which is nice. That means that there are lots of coastal areas I can check out and islands. British Columbia, as I mentioned earlier, also has a lot of lakes. If you are lucky enough to have these options close to you why not book a nice seaside hotel stay, a quiet cabin by a lake or even just head out there for a day of relaxing, swimming or boating. When I think about where to travel this summer, anywhere near the water is high on the list.

Visit a National, Provincial or State Park

Parks are the best, and might very well be near the top of the “where to travel this summer” list. Being close to them is a great way to get outdoors and either go for a hike, camp or just a quick picnic with a book and a couple of friends. Last summer I planned a trip to nearby Banff National Park, full of outdoor adventures. I was able to stay away from hordes of people that I might find in the city and enjoy some nature and views. If you’re not near a National Park, there may be state or provincial parks near you to check out. So grab a local map and start scouting out your nearest open space getaway.

See another city/town

I get it, you might have spent so much time in the last few months in your own city or town that you just have to get out of there. What other places are close by? For me in Vancouver one of our usual weekend city getaways is Seattle. With the border closed we still have Whistler or Victoria though. Both great places to spend a weekend somewhere that isn’t where we live. There are also some smaller towns that are worth seeing. Squamish BC is a great little town surrounded by mountains, Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast is an idyllic town with lots of trails around it. Venture further and discover somewhere new.

Book a local tour

If you don’t have a car, and haven’t yet managed to buddy-bubble up with someone who does, there are options. You could take a local tour. Some of them are private tours, or you can go on a public tour if there are options you are comfortable with. I know most tours in Vancouver are operating at a fraction of regular capacity so that people can still enjoy them and feel safe. Here in Vancouver it’s whale-watching season so I thoroughly recommend booking a whale watching trip. Or book a walking tour of your town/city. You never know what you might learn about the place you live.

Virtual travel

If all else fails and you really don’t want to or cannot go anywhere, there’s always the miracle that is the internet. Maybe in your quest for where to travel this summer you only came up with places you want to save for when you can travel properly. Either way, get yourself online and transport yourself anywhere you want around the world with some virtual travel. In some cases you might even feel like you’re really there. Take a virtual tour of some of the world’s top museums, virtually stroll down the main street of your favorite European city, or check out wildlife cameras from the other side of the planet so real you’ll expect David Attenborough to be narrating. Here are some great ideas to get you started.

Where to travel this summer

Wherever you decide to go (or not go) this summer, you have to admit that you probably live in a really cool place that has plenty of things to see and do if you just look hard enough. After all, most of us wouldn’t choose to live where we are if there wasn’t something we liked about it, right? The domestic travel movement of 2020 was unfortunately borne of necessity and lack of choices, but I also think it could be the thing that makes us really appreciate where we live even more. And give us some great ideas for future travel. I can see many long weekends in the coming years trying to visit all the cool places I’ve discovered are only a short distance from where I live. I hope you can too.

If you’ve enjoyed this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Have you figured out where to travel this summer near your home?