How to enjoy travel when you’re social distancing
All around the world, many of us are staying indoors, cancelling our travel plans and practicing social distancing. It’s certainly disheartening to abandon or postpone eagerly awaiting trips, but it’s a time for putting our health (and the health of others) first. It’s not all doom and gloom though – we’ve been pleased to see so many people helping others and it’s especially heart-warming to see people singing together on their balconies in Italian towns. To keep you all inspired and looking forward to future travels, we thought we’d share some ways that you can continue to enjoy travel while you’re at home and social distancing.
Use this time to look back fondly over past travels, reminiscing about all the amazing place you have travelled to in recent years. This could be the perfect time to finally do something with all those travel photos and create a photo book full of memories or perhaps start a blog sharing your favourite travel memories. Stage a slideshow of your photos in your living room, discussing anecdotes from your adventures with the rest of your household.
Plan ahead for future trips, making a bucket list of all the places you’d love to visit one day or making a detailed itinerary of a dream trip that you can book when this is all over. Hopefully everything will go back to normal soon but don’t be tempted to book flights while you’re stuck at home (travel insurance for trips booked now won’t cover you for cancellations). Instead, focus on doing research online or buy a guidebook to pour over in detail while you actually have time to read it.
While you have plenty of time on your own, enjoy reading inspiring travel articles and daydreaming over beautiful travel photos. Read your favourite travel websites and blogs and make the time to discover more. Follow travel influencers on Instagram and pour over their recent content, enjoying the fleeting escape from reality.
Fight boredom by reading books or watching films and documentaries. If you’re missing travel, focus on books and films that about travel or are set in your favourite destinations. Daydream of road trips while reading Jack Kerouac, order Bill Bryson’s back catalogue online or travel around the world from your armchair with a copy of Eat, Pray, Love. Delight in how films can transport you around the world for just a couple of hours. Visit Europe through Before Sunrise, take a train journey through India with The Darjeeling Limited and escape to Thailand with The Beach.
You’re likely to be spending very little money during social distancing. Think about how much money you usually spending on travelling, eating out, going for cocktails or even just commuting to work. Take this opportunity to set up a fund for future travels, transferring a small amount into a saving account each month.
Embrace the slowness that the virus is forcing upon us. We very rarely have time for ourselves or to simply relax, so use this time to focus on yourself. If you have a garden or balcony and the sun is shining, sit outdoors and soak up the fresh air. If you close your eyes you could almost imagine you were on a beach, waves lapping against the shore. If you aren’t on lockdown, take yourself for an (isolated) walk in the evenings, discovering new pathways and admiring the spring blossom.
Think of all the small things that you enjoy whilst travelling – the sights, sounds, tastes and smells – and try to find ways to discover these at home. You could listen to music from another country, cook eclectic dishes from around the world or try to plant some of your favourite flowers that remind you of past travels.
