While most parts of the world try to fight the Coronavirus Pandemic, let us lighten up the lives of those travel addicts whose hopes of fulfilling travel plans seem bleak. Here are a few things that you can do from your home during this quarantine/lockdown phase, which will certainly give you those travel-related experience that you desire.
1. Travel-related books
Being home-bound means you can travel through the eyes of a good book. Gather knowledge with inspiring stories from across the world.
- The Geography of Bliss – a humorous travel memoir in search of the happiest place in the world.
- Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail – author describing her 1100 mile hike.
- Dark Star Safari: trip taken by author from Cairo to Cape Town – an insightful book on Africa.
- Vagabonding – the art of long-term world travel
- Lands of Lost Borders – a journey along the Silk Road.
2. Travel-related movies
You must have already watched several shows and movies online during the lockdown and are desperate for something new to come your way. We can help you with a list of inspiring travel movies that will indeed take you from your sofa to a whole new destination!
- Into the Wild
- The Darjeeling Limited
- Midnight in Paris
- The Motorcycle Diaries
- Crazy Rich Asians
- Mamma Mia
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
- Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood
- The Farewell
- Tracks
3. Enjoy a virtual museum tour
Although museums around the world are closed, virtual visitors can enjoy online collections. Visit their website and browse through their collections to bring the art and culture into you!
- The Metropolitan Museum, New York
- The British Museum, London
- The Louvre, Paris
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
4. Discover a new language
Dreaming to travel to Thailand? Or Cape Town? Or Sri Lanka? Immerse yourself in your most wanted destination by learning the local language. Make productive use of quarantine time to make a bucket list of things to do in Sri Lanka and learn popular phrases in anticipation of your future holiday. Several apps are available to help you learn a new language. Soon you’ll be speaking like the locals!
5. Travel-related podcasts
Break the monotonous lockdown routine by listening to some travel podcasts. Settle in your couch with a mug of hot coffee and your headphones plugged in to listen to fascinating stories about Alaska’s backcountry and the Australian indigenous community. Run through this list and take your pick – whether you are looking for just an audible travel adventure or particular destinations that stir your interest.
- Burnt Toast – explores the intersection of food and culture, influenced by past events.
- Rough Translation – studies real-life stories influenced by different cultures.
- Awaye – art and cultural topics with members of the Australian indigenous community.
- Armchair Explorer – storytelling approach that takes you on an adventure.
- Throughline – examines the WHY behind certain cultural and historical topics.
- The Moth – personal stories related to specific themes.
- She’s in Russia – topics related to Russian culture and politics.
- Amateur Traveler – Episode 202 talks about travel to Sri Lanka.
- The History of Rome – takes listeners through the rise and fall of Roman Culture.
- The Sporkful – food obsession, in connection to cultures, history, and heritage.
- The World Nomads Podcast – Sri Lanka
6. Travel-related games
A fun way to test your travel knowledge is through travel games and quizzes. Get together with members of your house and turn lockdown nights into quiz nights. Do your research on sustainable destinations and stunning architecture around the world. A good game is to tell the difference between lookalike cities. It is harder than you think!
7. Travel-related playlists
Interesting travel playlists can actually give you the experience of vibrant scenes in different parts of the world. Inspire your virtual journey or plan a future trip with interesting travel playlists: festival vibes, road trip tunes, indie favorites, African disco, old country roads, Bollywood beats, Tokyo bars, melodies, and more can be found on your preferred music app.
8. Virtual trips
Advanced technology facilitates the possibility of exploring a new city within the comfort of your own homes. Look out for some virtual city tours that let you experience a holiday from home during quarantine, and that too within a single day. Get searching for your preferred destination now!
9. Online visit to popular tourist attractions
Amazing videos and photography uploaded on the internet allow us to embark on some famous landmarks such as the Seven Wonders of the World, Eiffel Tower, Pyramids of Giza, Sydney Opera House, and much more.
10. Virtual performances
Sit back and relax with popcorn in hand as some of the world’s best performances can now be experienced from home. Take your pick from these high-end organizations and treat yourself to a night of impressive theatrical performances.
- The Berlin Philharmonic – the German organization provides free access to its Digital Concert Hall; videos of its well-applauded performances.
- The National Theatre (London) – offers free screenings of favorite Live Performances every Thursday night on YouTube.
- The English National Ballet (London) – free online ballet classes for professional dancers.
- The Metropolitan Opera (New York) – offers a free daily encore presentation from its Live in HD series.
11. Explore the outdoors from home
Are you getting bored of the view outside your home window? A change of scenery, a chance to bring the outside, indoors, is possible with wildlife camera streams and videos of Mother Nature. Play one of these on your computer and transport yourself on mountain tops, deep blue straits, observing African wildlife in their natural habitat, and much more. Here are some examples you can key into your search engine:
- Robson Bight, Canada: ecological reserve on the northeastern shore of Vancouver.
- Machu Picchu, Peru: an online portal to see the ancient structures via webcams.
- National Parks, USA: experience stunning landscapes through the NPS webcams.
- Laikipia County, Kenya: switch between live cameras to observe wildlife on their daily routine.
- Channel Islands Kelp Forest, USA: an exclusive underwater experience with a live camera.