SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Think the staycation is so last year? Think again.

Last summer’s recession-driven travel trend, the stay-at-home vacation, has returned for another visit — with a related, economy-minded twist: When people do hit the road this summer, they’ll likely travel shorter distances and spend fewer days at their destinations, according to travel experts.

If they’re not actually staying home, they’re staying closer to home.

Take Christine Young, 31, who lives in Lincoln, Calif., with her husband and six kids.

“We’re hanging out at the pool and doing things around here,” said Young, who’s blogging about money-saving summer travel on her site, www.fromdatesto diapers.com.

“If we do any last-minute travel, we’ll take road trips. With a family of eight, summer or not, we love road trips. We pack the kids and everything we need and just drive. We’re always looking for ways to save even the tiniest bit.”

Sacramentans Wendell Alderson and Ken Nather got married last summer, but they haven’t yet scheduled a honeymoon. They’ve done a bit of traveling — grabbing bargain airfares to a niece’s wedding in North Carolina this spring, for example — but Alderson said they’re delaying a full-fledged honeymoon until the economy settles.

“Our main problem is that we can’t get time off together,” said Alderson, 56, a registered nurse. “Plus, we’re kind of hunkering down because of the economy. Not that we’re in trouble — we both have great jobs — but it’s just that we feel we ought to be careful with the way things are.”

That sense of caution, echoed in household after household across the country, has led to a travel industry eager to deal.

The forecast for summer 2009 travel indicates fewer travelers spending far less money. A new Associated Press-Gfk Poll shows just 42 percent of Americans have leisure travel in mind this summer. People are waiting longer to make their plans, according to the travelhorizons quarterly survey, not only because of economic uncertainties but also to grab last-minute deals.

“Prices are better than a year ago,” said Tim Leffel, Nashville-based author of “The World’s Cheapest Destinations” and other guides to low-priced travel. “That’s a giant trend. You don’t have to spend as much to catch a flight or rent a beach house. This is a great time to go.”