Simple and Fun Staycation Ideas for Children with Autism

Vacationing with children is usually a stressful experience for parents. Packing, traveling, waiting, and keeping track of them in unfamiliar, often crowded places can be a lot. While these adventures can create lasting memories, the noise, unpredictability, and sensory overload of travel can be especially overwhelming for many children with autism.

That’s why staycations can be such a wonderful option. With a little planning and creativity, families can capture much of the excitement and sense of discovery that comes with a traditional vacation. By staying close to home, activities can be adapted to suit each child’s individual needs and preferences.

Outside the home experiences

Look at your city or town with the fresh eyes of a traveler coming to see the local sights. Local parks, zoos, and museums can offer ordered exploration options.

It is helpful that many venues also include peak hours of operation information online. This can help to decide the least stimulating time of day to attempt an outing. 

Create scavenger hunts for observed or pick-up items on close-to-nature walks in local parks (e.g., acorn, favorite leaf, pinecone). 

If your child uses sensory items to help calm and regulate feelings, create a designated sensory bin with favored items for planned staycation outings. 

At-home experiences

If your child prefers to stay at home, that’s not an issue. If you want them to have fun, the last thing you should do is stress them out by forcing them to do something they don’t want to.

Luckily, there are a lot of fun things you can do at home that your child and your whole family can enjoy together.

Swimming and backyard games

If you have a backyard pool, consider a multi-activity pool time with fun items to throw or dive for and structured games like Marco Polo.

If you have no pool, running through a sprinkler or a slip-and-slide is also great fun.

Beyond the step of let’s go outside and play, set up stations with various backyard game options for an exciting carnival event feel.

They may include cornhole, horseshoes, croquet, and ladder toss, among others.

Set up table “vendors” for prizes or one for snacks. Go big with it. It’s a vacation!

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Backyard or indoor camping

Build a fort out of blankets, or set up a tent outdoors or indoors for a cozy camping experience. The farthest sight available to human eyes is in your backyard: the stars. 

Travel is about finding joy and wonderment in new experiences, and stargazing is about as universally accessible as wonder can get.

Cooking s’mores over a fire is also a delicious upgrade to the experience. 

Movie marathon

Your child can excitedly choose their favorite movies or TV shows for a planned movie marathon. Create a cozy movie-watching space with pillows and blankets.

Arts and crafts

Plan simple and engaging arts and crafts activities based on your child’s interests. Use materials like clay, colored paper, or beads for creative projects.

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Virtual tours

If your child is not ready for an in-person exploration of a local museum, zoo, or other publicly accessible enrichment that aligns with your child’s interests or potential ones, explore virtual tour options. 

Build up the experience as an outing, as your child is still going there and should be included in feeling that sense of anticipation and excitement about a new experience.  

Cooking exploration

Have your child help with simple baking or cooking tasks. Following the step-by-step process could be a welcome feature of order that your child may respond to positively. 

Themed days

Consider planning different days around specific themes, such as a superhero day, animal day, or favorite color day.

Adapt activities and decorations to match the chosen theme. Of course, flexibility with the activities based on your child’s comfort level is key. 

Reflecting on the experience

Asking your child to communicate or verbally reflect on encountered experiences at the end of each day in the staycation can be a healthy discussion of “cool things that we did today!”

It can also be an opportunity to learn what aspects of new experiences were negative so that these factors can be improved for future attempts.

This can create a positive and enjoyable staycation experience that can also be a learning experience for parents. 

Good luck planning your family’s next staycation! Who knows, it may be one you’ll remember as one of your favorites.

This article was featured in Issue 163 — Autism and Travel: Family Getaways 

FAQs

Q: Where is the best place for an autistic child to relax?

A: The best place for an autistic child to relax is typically a quiet, familiar environment with minimal sensory distractions, such as their bedroom or a calm outdoor space like a park. Many autistic children feel most at ease in spaces where they have control over sensory input and access to preferred calming activities.

Q: Can you take an autistic child on vacation?

A: Yes, many autistic children can enjoy vacations with proper planning and accommodations tailored to their sensory needs and routines. Choosing autism-friendly destinations and preparing in advance can make the experience more enjoyable for both the child and family.

Q: Where is the best place to take an autistic child on vacation?

A: The best vacation spots for autistic children are sensory-friendly destinations, such as quiet beach resorts, nature parks, or autism-certified attractions like certain theme parks. These places often provide sensory accommodations, quiet areas, and staff trained to support neurodivergent visitors.

Q: How can you fly with a child with autism?

A: To fly with an autistic child, prepare by contacting the airline for accommodations, practicing airport routines beforehand, and bringing comfort items or sensory tools to ease stress. Many airports also offer programs like “quiet rooms” or pre-boarding to make the experience smoother.