Summer NOT on Holiday Challenge: Spa / Adventure Days
Welcome back to Weekend Three of the Summer ‘NOT on Holiday’ Challenge. The theme this week is ‘Spa or Adventure?’, so here are some ideas for making your precious two days off feel like more of a holiday.
Because everyone’s different, on Weekend Three you can tailor your experience: choose between a mini ‘spa break’ and a little ‘adventure holiday.’ Or you can do one day of each to change things up, it’s completely up to you.
No-cost & low-cost spa ideas
For the spa or pampering option, here are a few affordable ideas to get you inspired. For example, you could try:
- Having a soak in the bath
- Exfoliating gently with a body brush, mitt or scrub cream
- Doing your own manicure or pedicure
- Putting on a viral face mask, Korean sheet mask or sleep mask
- Giving yourself a foot rub, foot scrub or putting on foot cream
- Taking a refreshing cold or cool shower
- Deep conditioning your hair
- Using up beauty products you were ‘keeping for best’
- Playing some nice relaxing music and putting your feet up
- Using an aromatherapy oil diffuser (like this Oliver Bonas one)
- Changing into a fluffy robe or pjyamas and taking it easy
- Drinking lots of water and eating fresh healthy food
- Having an early night, maybe with some nice pillow spray and eye mask
- Using a relaxation or nature sounds app
- Go somewhere nearby for a swim and sauna
- Doing some slow yoga, meditation or tai chi
You can do these on your own, or make some of them a group activity. There are probably plenty of other ideas that you can come up with yourself too.
There may also be some affordable beauty services near to you to book in for, such as a haircut, walk-in back rub, or eyebrow threading. I’ve enjoyed using:
- Wowcher UK for spa days and pampering
- Treatwell UK for bargain salon services (and points to use on other services!)
Both platforms have reviews and feedback from previous customers, which is very useful indeed.
Affordable or free mini adventure days
If you’re choosing an adventure, depending on your individual tastes, it might include:
- Going for a hike or ramble (try a map or an app, or join a group walk)
- Trying the climbing wall at the local leisure centre
- Hiring a rowing boat in the biggest nearby park
- Using a trial voucher for a gym or fitness centre
- Trying outdoor fitness facilities or a green gym
- Camping (even the back garden counts)
- Go to a local park with lots of stuff for the kids
- Joining in with a group cycle, run or skate
- A cheap game of tennis, pickleball or padel
- A water park or an aquarium trip
- Something spooky, like a trip to the London Dungeon or a ghost walk
Have a bit more to spend? You could look for discount vouchers for a theme park, a water park, a treetop walk, a zipwire or anything else you like the look of. For example, National Rail’s Days Out Guide has 2-for-1 discounts for Thorpe Park, Sea Life Manchester, Alton Towers and more, and the official government Summer Savings website has loads of offers for families with kids.
You could also try:
All the sites mentioned above have extra discount codes on their home pages on a regular basis, especially if it’s a payday weekend. Always check for those.
Enjoying this post? You may also like:
- Summer NOT on Holiday Challenge Schedule
- Summer NOT on Holiday Challenge: Getting Ready (optional)
- Summer NOT on Holiday Challenge Week 1: Food & Drink
- Summer NOT on Holiday Challenge Week 2: Go Sightseeing
- Summer NOT on Holiday Challenge Week 4: Relax by the Pool
That’s it for this weekend. Which one of these will you be choosing: Spa Time or Adventure Time? Or maybe both?
Enjoy your days off!
