Travel Alternatives To Keep Your Wanderlust Alive

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Sure, everyone wants to get away, a vacation to relax and rejuvenate. But what if you can’t travel right now? Maybe you don’t have the money to travel, or the time. Started a new job? Have another big life thing to do, like buying a house? Well the good news is you don’t have to be traveling 52 weeks a year to be able to scratch that travel itch. There are travel alternatives to keep you happy while you wait for that next trip.

Of course right now there’s another reason you might not be planning any trips. The global Coronavirus outbreak. If you would rather stay at home and don’t want to risk travel then that is completely understandable. But there are still ways you can fuel your love of travel for when it is a better time to travel. Here are a few ideas:

Save up for your big dream trip

Instead of going on a couple of vacations this year, how about saving your vacation time (if you can) and money for a bigger, better trip next year. As travel alternatives go this one is pretty good, because at the end you get an extra special trip.

Don’t just travel for the sake of traveling – go somewhere you really want to go. Use this guide to travel saving tips to help conserve some of your funds this year and put it towards a dream trip in the future. I have a couple of ideas for some bigger trips that I want to save up for and saving a little vacation time this year will help me make those a reality next year.

Learn a language

Plan for future travel by spending your extra time learning a new language. It can make you feel more connected to travel and other cultures, all from the comfort of your own home. If I want to travel somewhere I like to at least learn a few words to help me. But imagine how better I would be if I planned so far in advance that I had time to take a course in that language.

Take a teaching course

Want to travel again in the future but don’t have plans this year? How about taking a TEFL course to learn how to teach English as a foreign language? That’s what I did in the past. I spent two years living, working and traveling around China and supported myself by working as an English teacher. I took an online course through i-to-i. Another company that does a similar course is Footprints Language Education Ltd. Learn a new skill that allows you to travel and get paid. Now these are travel alternatives I think everyone can get behind.

Sample foreign foods

Nothing gets me more excited about traveling than the food. It’s one of the best parts of traveling – finding new foods to eat. So why wait until you go away? Try out some cuisine from around the world in your own city. Heck, it might just give you ideas of where you want to travel to next. Read this post about some of the best restaurants in Vancouver which I tested out in their annual Dine Out Vancouver festival. I even got to try some Nigerian and Tibetan food that I usually wouldn’t have thought of trying. Don’t want to go out? Order your food online to your home.

Craving some authentic food from another country? Miss running around foreign grocery stores decoding products you don’t understand? Travel alternatives don’t come much more exciting than signing up for a food subscription box. For example Universal Yums sends you snacks from different countries around the world. An awesome way to get your kids excited about travel and eating new things too.

Remember to take a reusable water bottle with you on your travels, like this one from FastTech

Take a cooking class

Always something I like to do while I’m traveling. I took a cooking class in Thailand which was amazing, and this one in Hanoi Vietnam. Both gave me some good tips to create some of the food I love once I got home. But there are travel alternatives right in your backyard. OK maybe a little further, but cooking classes are available in a lot of cities, maybe even yours. Here in Vancouver where I live, I recently took an Italian cooking class and learned to make gnocchi from scratch. It’s my new favorite thing to make. But I’ve also found other cooking classes in my city from French to Japanese, Middle Eastern to Chinese.

Read a travel book or 5

Get your inspiration flowing by finding some good books about travel. It doesn’t all have to be travel guides either. A lot of stories can get you thinking about new places to visit just by reading them. Here are some of my favorite travel themed books that will inspire your wanderlust and are great travel alternatives. And if you do pick a place you want to travel to, then read up on it. Find a great guide, a local’s perspective, a travel writer’s experiences and read all about it. Check out the National Georaphic store online to get some really inspirational material.

Display your old travel photos

Who doesn’t take a bazillion pictures while you’re traveling. Gone are the days where you can only take 36 photos on a roll of film. With digital photos you can take hundreds if not thousands on a good trip. But what do you do with them after posting your select 5 to social media? Why not print some off and put them in an album? It makes a great gift for your significant other or family member. I did this recently for my parents, made an album of all the trips we’ve taken together. Super proud of your photography skills? Get a couple of them framed to display in your house and remind you of your amazing trips.

Scrapbooking your travels

Want something a little more unique to do with those travel photos? How about scrap-booking your travels. Mix in some photos with a few mementos from a trip like boarding passes, attraction tickets, maps and postcards. Hit up your local craft store and get arranging your travels into the most amazing travel book you’ve ever seen.

Be a traveler in your own city

Have a staycation, get to know your city like tourists do and really enjoy where you live. I love playing tourist in my own city of Vancouver, it’s one of my favorite travel alternatives. There’s actually so much to do if you look for it, and sometimes you don’t even need to look that hard. Go to that museum you’ve always wanted to check out, try the local walking tour and learn something about your city’s history. The best part about learning about your own city is you can share that with others when they visit. I’m sure friends or family will come visit you sometimes. What better way to connect with them than to do a bit of exploring.

Watch travel related movies

In reality a lot of movies can make you inspired to travel just by where they are set, but then there are the actual travel movies that really get you itching to book a trip. I mean Eat, Pray, Love might be a bit of an obvious one but still good. Then there’s Roman Holiday, Lost In Translation or Wild. Settle in for a night in front of the TV that will make you want to pack your bags. Subtly drop travel hints to your partner by picking a movie that you can then drop in “it’d be nice to go there, wouldn’t it?”. Can you tell I’ve done that before? There are plenty of travel movies out there.

Games night

Yes there are travel games you can play. Have a marathon game of Monopoly to really learn something about London or New York, or whichever version you have. Battle out your friends and buy up all their properties or build hotels. Want something a little less divisive? What about a trivia game? You can get a group of friends over and play a little National Geographic Global Pursuit. Or even find a map or travel related puzzle to do.

Start a travel blog

If you’re like me you love traveling but still hold a full time job. If you want a creative outlet to scratch that travel itch why not start your own travel blog? If you’re passionate about travel, love to help others find the perfect trip, and like to write or take photos this is a great alternative to traveling all the time. When you get to travel it gives you a reason to take those extra photos, pay a little more attention and write down your thoughts. Then come back and communicate them with the world. People love to travel and read about travel, even when they can’t go anywhere. If you want to start a travel blog, here are a few ideas to help you get started.

Travel alternatives that really work

I would love to be able to travel all year long, pack in every vacation I want and visit every place at the drop of a hat. But for me, like most of you, that isn’t an option. It’s amazing how many of these things you can do right from your own home. Feel like you’re traveling even when you’re just getting home from work, or on a weekend. Find great ways to incorporate travel and other cultures into your everyday life and really get your travel itch scratched without leaving home.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this post and enjoyed some of these travel alternatives leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. What do you like to do at home to feel connected to travel when you can’t go anywhere?