How to Get Your Travel Fix When Stuck at Home
Traveling provides so many benefits, and for many of us travel seems to be in our blood. But I’ve got several suggestions for how to get your travel fix, even when you are stuck at home.
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There are many reasons travel may not be an option for you right now. Maybe you have already used up all your vacation days. Perhaps the kids have to be in school. Travel may not be in the budget right now. Your health may preclude you from traveling. Circumstances beyond your control may have flights grounded or borders closed.
Regardless of the reason, if wanderlust is in your heart you simply must get your travel fix!
These are some of my favorite ways to fuel my travel desires until I’m able to get out and explore the world again!
Create a Travel Bucket List
Even if you can’t travel at the moment, you can always dream about traveling. By creating a travel bucket list you can organize your travel wishes and have a better chance of making them a reality.
I’ve developed a 7 step process to create your travel bucket list. Follow these steps and begin creating the roadmap that will help prepare you for future travel.
Research Destinations
With your travel bucket list in mind, start researching some of your priority destinations. For me, traveling planning is a huge part of the fun!
Learning about your chosen destination will increase your anticipation of an upcoming trip and help ensure it comes to fruition. Plus you will be able to save money and time the more you know about lodging options, transportation services, and museum passes before you arrive.
Book Your Next Trip
Use your newfound research and book your next trip.
Even when I can’t travel I love knowing that I have my next trip planned and something to look forward to.
If you will be heading across the pond to Europe, I highly recommend Tripmasters. Create your own itinerary online, which bundles flights, lodging, and city to city transportation for a very reasonable price.
If a road trip across the US is something you have been longing to do, contact your local AAA office for guidance, travel brochures, and roadside assistance.
Read Travel Books
There are tons of books out there that can help transport you to just about any destination. Pick up a travel guide at a book store, online, or at your local library. Rick Steves offers tons of great options for European destinations!
No need to limit yourself to non-fiction. There are plenty of great travel-themed novels that will transport you to a sandy beach, a pizzeria in Italy, or the Appalachian Trail.
A few of my favorites travel reads include The Map that Leads to You, Love and Gelato, Eat, Pray Love, and The Walk series.
Listen to Travel Podcasts
When I’m on the treadmill or on a long drive, I love passing the time with a good travel podcast. Travel experts and enthusiasts speak right into your ear with priceless travel inspirations and tips.
Some binge-worthy podcasts on my playlist include: Fly with Chris and Di, Dream of Italy, The Know Before You Go Travel Show, and Travel with Rick Steves. If these don’t jive with your travel style just search for one that does as there are tons of niche podcasts for all kinds of travelers.
Watch Travel-Themed Movies
You can also learn a lot and get inspired by watching travel-themed movies. No matter which streaming services you subscribe to you will find hundreds of movies set in the destinations of your dreams.
Laugh along with Couples Retreat as you take in a tropical paradise. If you aren’t up for reading the book, Eat, Pray, Love can also be consumed in movie format, and you’ll get to experience three transformative destinations. If your travel dreams include roughing it, then check out Resse Whitherspoons’ The Wild. And if you are up for a family road trip, it doesn’t get any better than National Lampoon’s Vacation.
The options of travel-themed movies are endless so get binging!
View YouTube Videos
When I’m not in the mood for a full-length film, I can find plenty of short travel-themed videos on YouTube to satisfy my travel itch.
You can find highly produced videos featuring every destination imaginable as well as homemade videos from everyday people who love sharing their travel adventures. I find value all across the spectrum, but these are just a few of my favorite YouTube channels for travel videos: Woltors World, Hungry Passport, and How To Switzerland.
Get Social
Wanderlust is contagious and social media can really help it spread!
Find a travel-themed Facebook group to join, and you will instantly have thousands of travel enthusiasts to chat with 24/7. Or follow your favorite travel influencer on Instagram and be visually transported to exotic locations. While Pinterest is more of a search engine than a social platform, it is a great place to find travel inspiration. So create a travel board and get pinning.
Take a Virtual Tour
Did you know that several world-class museums offer virtual tours? Wander the galleries of New York’s Guggenheim Museum from the comfort of your home. Or gaze at Monet’s artwork in the Musee D’Orsay in Paris on your laptop.
You can even explore many US National Parks with 360-degree virtual tours. Enjoy revisiting the parks you have explored in the past or virtually wander through one of the parks you haven’t made it to yet, but plan to one day!
While these virtual tours can’t take the place of seeing famous works of art or hiking through nature’s beauty in person, they may be the next best thing. Don’t you just love how technology makes our world a little bit smaller and a whole lot more accessible?!
Cook a new cuisine
If you are a chef in the making, then test out your culinary skills with a variety of cuisines from around the world. When I travel, food often takes center stage. Try making some of those same dishes at home and then pretend you are lounging in a European cafe.
Try your hand at french crepes. Whip up an English trifle or a shepherd’s pie. Host an Italian themed dinner party complete with tortellini, chianti, and cannoli.
If you get the chance, take a cooking class during your travels and then you can bring the recipes and your new cooking skills home as souvenirs to enjoy for years to come!
I hope these suggestions help you keep travel in your heart, even when you can’t leave the house!
How do you satisfy your desire to travel when you can’t just get up and go? Comment below and share your tips.
Wherever the road takes you, make it a joyous journey,
Traveling Tanya
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