Armchair Travel: How to Mentally Escape

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all safe and healthy and AT HOME. It’s super important right now, as much as those $49 plane tickets might tempt us, to stay at home. One of the major problems with this pandemic is that people can be contagious and carrying the virus even if they aren’t showing any symptoms. So to protect yourself and others around you who may have underlying conditions or are immunocompromised, it’s best to isolate for as long as this thing is hanging around.

Trust me, I don’t like it either. I have a travel blog and am in the midst of starting a travel business so it’s not exactly what I was hoping to do during these next few months, but if we are going to get past this, we have to stick together by staying apart. SO. If you are like me, and constantly trying to plan your next trip, wishing you were elsewhere in the world, daydreaming about Mediterranean beaches, or even if you’re just starting to feel antsy at home, I’m here to help. I’ve compiled some things that can help us all “virtually” travel. I’ve been using these to keep myself from going stir crazy and imagine I’m somewhere else from my couch at home.

Google Maps/ Street view to wander a new city

I caught myself wandering the streets of a small Italian town on google maps’ Street View the other day when I had just gone on google maps to look up something I had read about from an article. I felt like I was really in this little town, admiring the flowers in the window boxes, looking in tiny shop windows, and discovering twisting alleyways. It’s a fun way to really feel like you’re in a place, immerse yourself, explore the streets, and even get a glimpse of some ruins or historic sites. Additionally, google maps sometimes extends into certain museums, galleries, or restaurants allowing you to actually go inside and see the art and food in that place.

Major museums that have virtual tours or galleries online to look at collections

Did your trip to Florence, Washington DC, or Mexico City get cancelled? Fear not, you can still get a little culture from those places. Many museums all over the world offer virtual tours through their galleries, or have their collections online that you can browse and read about. If you were really looking forward to a particular exhibit or seeing some ancient artifacts and art, you can still do it from the comfort of your home! Click Here for a list of museums offering online galleries and tours.

Zoos and aquariums that have online viewing of animals

Maybe you’re not so much into art but you are into animals. There are plenty of live stream cameras on animals all over the world, but some zoos and aquariums are doing special “home safaris” online during this time. Watch penguins wander an aquarium or my personal favorite, see Fiona the Hippo being cute and sassy at the Cincinnati Zoo. Click Here for more animal live cams.

National Parks doing online tours

Were you hoping to go camping or visiting national parks for spring break? Although yes, being in nature by yourself is still isolating, you’ll likely have to pass through small gateway towns to get into National Parks which don’t have the resources to handle a pandemic in their local hospitals. Even if you feel fine, you could still be carrying the virus, so please stay home and opt for one of these virtual National Park tour options instead. You can still ride on horseback through a canyon in Bryce Canyon National Park or kayak through glaciers in Kenai Fjords National Park. The sounds of nature and views of vast landscapes are bound to bring your anxiety down. Click here for National Park Virtual Tours.

Craving some music and culture?

Stream an Opera from the Met! Never seen an opera? Now’s the time to try it out! Based on your anxiety level of the day, choose a tragedy or a comedy to transport you to one of the world’s best operas. Click here to stream a different opera every night. Be in your seats by 7:30 PM ET to catch the show!

One of my favorite ways to mentally escape, Podcasts!

Download and listen to podcasts about travel or about other places to feel like you’ve been transported and help you daydream about your next trip. Some of my favorites are:

Read some travel blogs

Curious about traveling in a particular place or looking for some pretty photos to transport you all over the world? Browse through and read some travel blogs. You could of course start with mine, and even browse through the photo galleries on my website as well for some inspiration. :) Or check out these people who have been all over and can make you feel like you have too! Some of my favorites are:

  • Hey Ciara- For beautiful photos and insights like how to make travel a reality for you, check out this blog and her Instagram for more interesting and useful tips!

  • The Catch Me If You Can - This woman just finished visiting EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY in the world! She’s incredible and a great resource for literally anywhere you’re interested in!

  • An American in Rome - One of my favorite Rome specific blogs, she posts beautiful photos and tips on traveling in and around Rome.

  • El Camino Travel  - Helpful tips for visiting Latin America and how to travel more responsibly in general!

And of course, there’s always reading Travel books or books set in faraway places

If you want a laugh I highly suggest reading anything by Bill Bryson but my favorites of his are A Walk in the Woods, Neither Here Nor There, and Notes from a Small Island. For short inspiring travel essays, The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton is nice to pick up for a quick break here and there. For a novel that will transport you to the magic of Colombia, 100 years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is best.

And last but certainly not least, plan a trip!

Although you can’t travel right now, that doesn’t mean you can’t start planning a trip for late summer or early fall to relish in freedom after quarantine and isolation are over! Planning a trip won’t only help you feel some of the same satisfaction you get out of going on a trip, but also help those industries who will be impacted by this pandemic! Travel supports restaurants, hotels, taxis and uber, airlines, and local artists/artisans. Without tourists in their peak season, businesses and people in these industries will suffer. So instead of canceling your travel for this year altogether, try to postpone, even if it’s not during the best weather or the same time as a festival you were trying to make it to. You will still see all the attractions you want to see, you just might need to bring a jacket and jeans instead of a bathing suit and sandals. :)

I hope these suggestions and options are helpful and give you a mental break from the doom and gloom and the isolation you might be feeling. In the meantime, stay home, stay healthy, and be ready to jump back into travel once this pandemic is past us!

Thanks for reading!

-Sami