Ideas for Travelling From Home: Explore the World from Your Living Room

“While many of us travel-lovers would be on the road as often as possible, there are inevitably times when we’re unable to travel. When that’s the case, there are thankfully many ways we can explore the world… even without leaving our own homes. While there may be nothing like actually travelling, we think these ideas for travelling from home come pretty close, or at least keep our wanderlust alive for whenever we do get a chance to take a holiday.

Without further ado, here are some of the best ideas to travel from home!

Ideas for Travelling From Home
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1. Take a virtual tour
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We’re fortunate enough to be living in a time where we can find just about anything online, and that includes virtual tours of some of the world’s most beautiful spots. From Yosemite National Park to Petra to the Great Wall of China, you can virtually explore nearly every part of the globe without ever leaving home.

Read more: The Best Virtual Tours Around the World

2. Take a virtual tour of a museum or gallery
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Always dreamed of visiting the Louvre in Paris, or New York’s Museum of Modern Art, or St. Petersburg’s Hermitage? You’re in luck… they all have online tours! Scroll through thousands of art and artefacts, or virtually walk through the halls of the galleries themselves. Many websites even have video tours and extra information about the objects you’ll find in the museum, too. This is an especially fun activity to try with kids!

Read more: The Best Virtual Tours of Museums and Galleries

3. Curl up with a book about travel
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If you’re craving some adventure, head no further than your own bookshelf. Whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, you can instantly escape to another world by simply opening a book. No matter where in the world you’d love to travel, there’s bound to be an excellent book based there; it’s also the perfect time to research authors from the countries you’re interested in and check out their work. Your armchair is probably more comfortable than an airplane seat anyway!

Read more: The Best Books to Inspire You to Travel

4. Watch a travel film
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Clearly we’re not the only ones obsessed with travelling if so many movies have been made about it! From the classics like Roman Holiday to more modern travel films like Wild, there are plenty of films to choose from. There’s nothing like watching a film and thinking, “Hey, I’ve been there!”

Read more: The Best Films to Inspire You to Travel

5. Reflect on your past holidays
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If a holiday isn’t on the horizon for a little while, now’s the perfect time to look back on all of our past holidays and reminisce about how much fun we had. Look through old photos and videos, read your travel journals, chat with your travel mates about your trip, and share memories from the times you had. If you’re feeling especially nostalgic, try scrapbooking or creating online slideshows or videos. Even if they’re only for yourself, they’re a fantastic reminder of the amazing travels you’ve already experienced… and will most likely get you even more excited to travel again one day soon.

6. Learn a new language
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Always dreamed of visiting Vietnam, or Argentina, or Ethiopia? If your holiday isn’t for a while, now’s the best time to start learning the language of the country you’re dreaming of visiting. Not only will you learn a valuable new skill, you’ll learn so much about the country while you do it. Even better, when you do get to visit, you’ll practically be fluent!

7. Learn about a country’s culture from afar
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While there’s nothing like actually stepping foot in a country to learn about its culture, there are a lot of ways to study it before your holiday! Learn the language, listen to the local music, research popular authors, and read and/or watch as much as you can about the country online. Not only will it make you excited about your holiday to come, it’ll mean you’re well prepared and ready to embrace the country’s culture to the fullest.

8. Follow your favourite travellers online
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Social media is a beautiful thing sometimes! If we’re not able to go on holiday ourselves, we can always travel vicariously through others. Read travel blogs, watch travel YouTubers, scroll through travel Instagram feeds, and more. While it’s certainly no substitute for the real thing, it can be extremely inspiring.

9. Travel through cooking
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One of the best ways to travel from home? Experiment with cooking from around the world! With millions of recipes online, it’s not difficult to find your favourite dish from abroad online. Experiment with making your own pasta, try your hand at rolling sushi, or research the very best guacamole recipe. Not only will you have a taste of the country you’re dreaming of, you’ll become a better cook along the way!

10. Allow yourself to dream
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It can be frustrating to be at home when we don’t know when we’ll travel next, but there’s something to be said about letting your imagination wander and dreaming about your next holiday anyway. Wanderlust is extremely powerful, and instead of suppressing it, it’s okay to imagine yourself on that beach in Thailand, or that safari in Tanzania, or that mountain hike in Chile. It’s those small glimmers of travelling that eventually lead to great adventures.

Want even more inspiration? Make sure to check out our Explore by Expedia homepage, where you’ll find lots of travel articles! Also use our search bar to see if we’ve already written about the destination you’re interested in.”