6 Ways You Can Feed The Travel Bug At Home

When you can’t travel, how do you feed the travel bug?

This question is something I used to answer on my blog in the sense that you could feed your wanderlust in a number of ways, while also planning and budgeting for a future trip (or working on creating your work + travel lifestyle).

With 2020 came the coronavirus pandemic, and most planes were grounded, borders were shut to visitors, and people were told to “stay at home.”

Well, no one saw that coming!

One year ago I was in Hawaii, discussing a trip to Malta for Summer 2020 to meet my (now ex-boyfriend’s) extended family. We never would have even guessed a global quarantine would happen a year ago.

Though borders are beginning to reopen this summer, there are still many restrictions in place and there is a lot of confusion on who can travel where…plus regulations seem to be changing almost constantly.

For example, Greece is opening its borders to tourists this summer, while the EU is making decisions on which countries they will allow visitors from. The USA is likely to be excluded from that list, at least at the start of the summer.

You can see some more insight to how travel will look in Europe and other continents in this Forbes article.

Personally, I can’t wait to travel. My friend Cristina and I had planned an entire trip all over Nicaragua in May/June and set up multiple travel blog campaigns over there.

When our flights got cancelled, we tentatively pushed Nicaragua to late August/early September…but as of now (end of June), Nicaragua’s borders are closed to foreigners indefinitely.

Plans to go sand-boarding down a volcano in Grenada, surfing in San Juan del Sur, and going scuba diving in on Little Corn Island were in the books - but now seem like a distant dream.

*Dreaming of returning to Positano, Italy*

Of course I believe the health and safety of people around the world come first, but…ya know, I’m just itching for a trip over here!

Also, my passport expires this December, and I sent it in for renewal months ago as most countries require at least six months remaining time on the passport when you visit as a foreigner.

Once the pandemic began, non-emergency passport operations halted, which means my passport has been sitting in a stack of 1.6 million others awaiting renewal…in some office in Texas…I can only hope that I’ll get it back soon.

Until then, road trips, local travel, and making the most of our time at home seem to be the best bet for feeding the travel bug.

Here are a Six ways you can feed the travel bug at home:

1. Decorate your home with items you’ve collected from around the world

Find your travel treasures/chic souvenirs from trips abroad and place them around your home.

For example, I have a small Moroccan lantern on my desk and use a hanging basket from Bali in my closet to store belts and sunglasses.

Maybe you can visit Etsy and peruse exotic home decor pieces created by small business owners and bring a piece of dream destination to you!

⁣
2. Cook an exotic meal based on recipes from your favorite country or dream destination.

Do multiple courses if you’d like and play traditional music from that country to feel like you’re there.

This has actually been on my list of dinner party ideas for a while, so I might be doing this with my friends soon!

Not sure where to find specific ingredients from the country/region you desire?

Support your local international markets if you have any near your house, or even try using the internet to buy them online.

*Japanese ramen during my visit to Beijing, China*

3. Create an at-home "retreat center”

Place an essential oils diffuser in your room/hallway/wherever for at-home yoga or meditation sessions and dim the lights.

Turn on nature sounds on Spotify to make it feel like you’re doing yoga on the beach or in the jungle.

Ultimate relaxation!⁣

You can take this even further and create an itinerary for a half-day on a weekend that is filled with yoga, meditation, journaling, or other forms of self-development and self-care.

4. Frame your travel photos or create a book to keep on the coffee table or send as a gift

Showcasing your travel photos is another way bring the world home to you. Cherish your memories and know that one day we will be able to go out and see the world!

Looking to create a custom travel photo book? Check out Motif - you can see the book I made from my collaboration with them here.

*My Motif Photo Book in La Jolla, California*

5. Find travel shows or movies to watch on Hulu and Netflix

A few of my recs:

Budget to Baller on Hulu by The Vagabrothers
The movie Midnight in Paris starring Owen Wilson
This new Netflix reality show called Singapore Social (it reminds me of The Hills a little bit)
Queer Eye on Netflix has a special 4-episode season in Japan and a bonus episode in Australia

6. Consume travel content from your favorite creators online

There are plenty of travel blogs, YouTube channels, and social media pages from creators all over the world, who have been all over the world!

Support their content and feed your travel bug by going into their blog archives, watching their YouTube videos, and listening to travel podcasts (I talked about travel as a guest on this podcast as well as this one recently).

I have also been doing a #GSETravelStories series on my Instagram page, where I am sharing deeper behind-the-scenes stories from my past travels that will give you all the #vibes.

They’ve gotten great feedback so far, check them out on my profile or by searching the #GSETravelStories hashtag!

View this post on Instagram

#GSETravelStories 🇨🇳 CHINA. 2015. The vibe: Asia⁣ ✨ I awoke to a jolt and a loud car horn. “Sorry, the road is busy,” my driver said. Looking out the window into the night sky I see a building lit up with bright red Chinese symbols and a sea of cars surrounding us in stop-and-go traffic.⁣ ⁣ Oh right, I’m in Beijing, I remembered through the jet lag. Just an hour earlier, my plane landed from Seattle. I had my favorite Kygo remix playing through my ear buds at the end of the journey flying over the Pacific, and a wave of both nerves and excitement washed over me as I realized I landed in Asia - my third continent.⁣ ⁣ As a travel-obsessed 23-year-old working an 8-5 job, I made a goal to step foot on all six inhabited continents in my 20s. Mixed with equal parts curiosity for new cultures and a challenge (I only had 10 days vacation per year), I was up for the adventure to step outside my comfort zone.⁣ ⁣ Beijing was the location of the int’l conference I was working for.⁣ ⁣ As I slid the key card into my hotel room door, I hear another door open down the hall. A head stuck out, looking both ways.⁣ ⁣ “Ally?”⁣ ⁣ “Jordan! Hey!” Jordan was one of the faculty members I worked with during the previous summer in Europe.⁣ ⁣ “Hey! I can help you with your stuff.” Jordan walked over and held the door as I brought my carry-ons into the room, then sat on top of the dresser.⁣ ⁣ “I don’t know if anyone else is here yet,” Jordan said enthusiastically. “I heard your door and was like, ‘Hey, I should see if it’s someone I know.’ I just woke up from a really long nap. I’m not getting any sleep tonight!”⁣ ⁣ “It’s so cool we’re in China! I’m so jet lagged.” I dramatically flopped on the bed - it was as hard as a brick. “Oof”⁣ ⁣ “Yeah, these are traditional Asian beds,” Jordan said. “Hey! Let me show you the sink.”⁣ ⁣ Jordan leapt off the dresser. I followed his tall 6-foot-plus frame where he pointed out two faucets. “The water isn’t drinkable. The small faucet is filtered though,” he said.⁣ ⁣ “Also,” he continued, — ⬇️ CONTINUED IN COMMENTS ⬇️

A post shared by ALLY ARCHER | Travel & Inspo (@allyarcher) on Jun 18, 2020 at 9:28pm PDT