15 ACTIVITIES TO SPARK YOUR WANDERLUST WHEN YOU'RE NOT TRAVELING

When your travel plans are put on hold because of budget, illness, or whatever reason, you can start to feel a little too stuck. Usually, a vacation is a getaway from the frustrations of daily life. Even when you’re not traveling, it can still be an escape even while staying home. I’ve put together this list of travel-related activities you can still enjoy even when you’re stuck at home and aren’t traveling.

Travel-Inspired Activities For When You Can’t Travel

1. Watch a Travel-Inspired TV Show

If you want to be whisked away to a new and exciting destination every hour or half-hour, then you can’t go wrong with watching a travel-inspired TV show!

For foodies, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown on Amazon Prime or Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix are great options. Dark Tourists on Netflix is perfect for those travelers interested in sites associated with death and tragedy.

For reality TV, go with The Amazing Race on Amazon Prime. And for documentary / travelogues, check out Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father on Netflix and An Idiot Abroad on Amazon Prime.

2. Watch a Travel Movie

If you want to immerse yourself more in a foreign destination, go for a travel movie. You can spend an entire night virtually exploring the Italian countryside or exploring the deserts of Egypt.

In Under The Tuscan Sun, you can discover the incredible beauty of the Tuscan countryside. The Indiana Jones series takes you from Peru to Nepal to Egypt and more. You can go on a journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia in Eat. Pray. Love.

There are so many more great movies out there with fantastic settings. Just pick a destination, pop some popcorn, and start watching!

3. Read a Travel Memoir or Fictional Book

A lot of great travel movies started as travel memoirs. Even though most libraries and bookstores are closed, you can still find great titles available on Kindle.

All these excellent travel memoirs are available on Kindle, as audiobooks, and maybe even in your library’s e-book program:

For fiction, I recommend these titles:

Check out 30 more great travel books to read here!

4. Take a Virtual Tour of a Museum

Museums and art galleries may be closed, but you can still explore and learn! Museums all over the world offer online resources and virtual tours so that you can discover their collections from afar.

You can tour the Lourve in Paris, explore the collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., or tour the British Museum in London.

I’ve even put together a list of all the virtual tours I could find in Atlanta, including the High Museum of Art and Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park.

5. Watch Live Webcam at Zoos and Aquariums

What could be more relaxing than watching cute animals go about their day? Plenty of zoos and aquariums worldwide allow you access to their animals 24-7 through live webcams.

The National Zoo in D.C. has 6 webcams, the San Diego Zoo in California has an astounding 13 webcams, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has 10 webcams. If there’s a zoo or aquarium near you, they’re probably live-streaming their animals for your entertainment!

If you’re looking for animal webcams in Atlanta, then check out Zoo Atlanta and the Georgia Aquarium. These webcams are becoming my favorite activities while I’m not traveling!

I’m a huge bear lover, so I’ve put together a list of the best bear webcams around the world so you can watch brown bears, panda bears, and even sun bears playing all day!

6. Cook Travel-Inspired Meals

Dig out those exotic spices and try making a dish you’ve never made before!

You could try recreating a meal you had on previous travels. You could even make something you’ve never tried before! Pick a country’s national dish, and try your hand at that! If you want to pick a country at random, use this Random Country Generator to decide, then search for the best foods from that country.

Curry, sushi, fajitas, dumplings, pasta — there are so many foods you could make!

7. Order From a Local Restaurant

If you’re like me and aren’t a fan of cooking, you could order take-out. This is a great way to support local businesses while still practicing social distancing. Many restaurants use delivery services or are offering curb-side pickup to keep in business during this difficult time.

Pick a restaurant or a food that you’ve never had before. Be adventurous!

If you need some inspiration, check out local travel bloggers and see what they recommend for your area. Then see if any of those restaurants offer delivery or pickup services.

8. Buy Some Travel Décor or Gear for Your Next Trip

Online retail therapy, anyone? If you have a lot of time on your hands, now is a great time to research that new camera you’ve always wanted or to fill your home with wanderlust.

If you’re looking for cute travel décor, you could check out Etsy and support independent artists who share a passion for travel.

If you want to make sure you’re up to date on all the latest travel gear, you can check out my travel essentials list. Now may also be a good time to get some Christmas shopping out of the way.

9. Learn a Foreign Language

Learning a new language is a great way to pass the time while also preparing for future travels.

Right now, Kevin and I are using our extra hours to learn Spanish on Duolingo. Its free features are really easy to use and are fun. And since it’s all on your phone, you can learn from anywhere: your home office, your couch, your kitchen. You know, all the places you’d go during self-isolation.

There are also more intensive, paid options for learning. Rosetta Stone is a highly rated option if you’re looking to invest more in your learning.

10. Create a Bucket List on Pinterest

Pinterest is a great place for finding travel inspiration. It’s basically a search engine that’s based on visuals.

Create a board for a destination you’ve always wanted to visit. Then browse Pinterest and add your favorite pins, articles, and blog posts to that board.

Look for inspiration like: things to do, what to eat, where to stay, and what to pack. That way, you’ll have a bunch of useful resources for planning a trip later.

11. Read a Bunch of Travel Blogs

Travel blogs (like this one!) are packed full of great tips and inspiration for your next trip. They have travel tips, destination guides, inspiring photography, and so much more!

Pick out some of your favorite travel bloggers and just go down the rabbit hole reading their posts. I personally think this is one of the best activities to do while you’re not traveling!

Think back to the bucket list you made on Pinterest and find bloggers who have covered that destination. See what they have to say and what insight they can provide. Travel bloggers are so useful for planning your next vacation once this is all over!

12. Watch Travel YouTube Videos

Just like travel bloggers, travel vloggers have tons of information to share! They just do it through a different medium.

If you’re more visual, you’ll probably like watching travel YouTubers better than reading blogs. These videos are also great to watch while you’re on your lunch break.

Start by searching for a destination and then let YouTube guide you through suggestions to discover more fantastic vloggers. You’ll be instantly transported to a new country without even having to leave your house!

13. Listen to Travel Podcasts

First bloggers, then vloggers, and now we have travel podcasts! It’s incredible the many ways you can find travel inspiration!

If you’re more of an audio person, you’ll love listening to travel podcasts.

Podcasts are great to listen to while you do your other work. If you can’t work and listen at the same time, you can always put your favorite travel podcast on while you make supper or clean the house.

14. Scroll Through Instagram for Some Vacation Inspiration

Want to see an endless scroll of beautiful places? Then head to Instagram for some amazing vacation inspiration!

Instagram has this nice little “Save” feature. You can save your favorite pictures of all those beautiful vacation spots. That way, you won’t forget where you wanted to go and what you wanted to see.

Use hashtags and the location search to find and save pictures of your bucket list destination.

15. Plan Your Next Vacation

You’ve done a lot of research! By now you should know exactly where you want to go next.

Take your Pinterest bucket list, pull up your favorite travel blogs, and start mapping out your next vacation.

Keep your plans close by so you can book your trip right away when you’re ready!

Ready to take a vacation? Plan your trip with these tips.

Cheers!

Paige

What activities spark your wanderlust when you’re not traveling? Let me know in the comments!

The post 15 Activities to Spark Your Wanderlust When You’re Not Traveling appeared first on Paige Minds The Gap.

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