Travelers Guide to Not Traveling

Right about now we’re all probably getting a little tired of social distancing. Or perhaps you’re reading this at a later time when you just aren’t able to travel (money, pto, etc.). Either way, if you thoroughly enjoy traveling and you’re not at the moment for whatever reason, then I’m guessing you’ve been a little bummed out. Well, this travelers guide to not traveling has just a few ideas of activities you can do during this time.

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Live Streams

So many places have live streaming cameras these days. As I’m typing this, I’m watching sea otters playing at the Georgia Aquarium. (I love sea otters!) From aquariums to national parks, zoos, and even museums and libraries. If there’s something you really want to see when you’re stuck at home, I bet it’s possible! Before you start looking at them though, just a couple of notes. If you’re looking at these during the unfortunate COVID issue, some of these may not seem as exciting because people are not out. So just enjoy the scenery! Some of these are also very dependent on what season it is, but they’ll run highlights when it’s not in season. For this travelers guide to not traveling, here are some of my favorites (there’s a lot):

Georgia Aquarium

• Sea Otters
• Beluga Whales
• Ocean Voyager (This has whale sharks!)
• Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef
• African Penguins
• Jelly (This can be really calming if you’re stressed!)

San Diego Zoo

• Baboons
• Polar Bears
• Apes
• Koalas (Be prepared for very little action but they’re cute!)
• Condors

Polar Bears International

We got to actually go up to Churchill last year during polar bear season and see why it’s called the polar bear capital of the world!

• Polar Bears Cape East – Wapusk National Park
• Northern Lights
• Polar Bears Cape West – Wapusk National Park
• Polar Bear Tundra Buggy

Africa

In the U.S., watch these earlier in the day because their sunset is about 11:00am-ish central time (obviously this will change throughout the year, and what part of Africa you’re looking at). You can still watch at night, and may see something, but not as much as during the day!

• Djuma Private Game Reserve – South Africa
• Laikipia County Watering Hole – Kenya
• Olifants River – South Africa
• Tau Waterhole – South Africa
• The Naledi Cat-EYE – South Africa
• Table Mountain – Cape Town, South Africa

Europe

Again, these are better in the first half of the day in the United States.

• Tromso – Norway
• Rialto Bridge – Venice
• Eiffel Tower – Paris
• Trevi Fountain – Rome
• Piazza Navona – Rome
• Bruges – Belgium
• Santorini – Greece
• Mykonos – Greece
• Jokulsarlon Lagoon Glaciers – Iceland
• Western Wall – Jerusalem

South America

• Buenos Aires – Argentina
• Cocachimba – Peru
• Margarita Island – Venezuela

Random Others

• Isla Mujeres – Mexico (Click on the webcams tab at the top of the page to see a list of all of the webcams they have in Mexico!)
• Pipeline Surfing – Hawaii
• Parson Island Orca Lookout – Canada
• Sauces Bald Eagles – California
• Decorah Bald Eagles – Iowa
• Mississippi River Flyway – Wisconsin
• Wolong Grove Panda Yard – China (highlights)
• Explore.org (Has lots of these listed and more!)
• Sea Otters – Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Koalas (Great to watch early/midday in the US since they are mostly nocturnal.)
• Sydney Harbour
• Queenstown – New Zealand
• Old Faithful – Wyoming (At the bottom of the page there is a video they got of wolves and bison in the park. It was a little stressful to watch, but no one got hurt.)

Virtual Reality is a Great Addition to Your Travelers Guide to Not Traveling

For those places that you’d like to see, but there isn’t a live camera, there’s always Google Earth. If you have a VR headset then you should check places out with that! (My brother has it and I tried it out once. Despite getting a little motion sick, it was awesome!) If not, a good old computer works too! Type in anywhere you want to see! I could seriously look at these allllll day. Another site is AirPano. They’ve got great aerial views! For more museum, arts & culture items, check out Google Arts & Culture. I’ve wasted enough time looking at these myself right now, so here are just a couple of ideas to get you started!

• Yosemite – California
• Arches National Park – Utah
• Bryce Canyon National Park – Utah
• Bora Bora – French Polynesian
• Great Barrier Reef – Australia
  • Knife Reef
• Maldives
• Pyramids of Egpyt
• Dubai
• Antarctica
• Great Wall of China
• Galapagos – Ecuador

Learn a New Language

We’ve all traveled somewhere we wished we knew the language, so now is your chance to make that a reality. There are so many tools online you can use. Think about where you want your first trip to be once you can travel again, and learn that language! A couple of resources you could look at are Duolingo and Babbel.

Photo Album/Scrapbook

Look at some of your past trips. Do you have a ton of photos just sitting on your computer? Take this time to get them printed off and put together either a photo album for the trip, or create a scrapbook. Get creative! It will also be a great way to reminisce about a great trip you’ve had!

Puzzle Time

Dust off those puzzles you have of Paris and Venice. If you don’t have any, hop online and order one. Bonus, you can even make your own. You can use sites like Shutterfly to upload your own photo and have it made into a puzzle and mailed over to you. Another option, that’s free, is a puzzle app on your phone. Every day I do one of those, usually of waterfalls, beaches, or cute little villages.

Cook Travel Inspired Meals

This is a great time to try a dish from a country you want to visit (to make sure you’ll like it of course) or make something that you loved from a previous trip! So, order those groceries up online for pickup or delivery and start cooking up some deliciousness!

Spring Clean / Reorganize / Projects

Okay, this one isn’t as fun and you may not think it should be included in the travelers guide to not traveling. However, everything runs smoother when your house is in order, so take this time to clean out those closets, pantries, spare bedrooms, and basement storage. Who knows, maybe you’ll find something you got on a previous trip that you forgot about and it will bring back happy memories. This is also a great time to work on some of those house projects you never seem to be able to get to. Or yard work!

Check Your Toiletries

What kind of travelers guide to not traveling would this be if we didn’t do some things to help get us ready for when we can travel? So take a look at those toiletries that you usually take when you travel. Typically, when I get back from a trip I will refill my shampoo, moisturizer, cleanser, etc. right away, but sometimes I forget. Go through everything, you should be keeping it all in one place, and either toss things you have too many of or refill things you use!

Make a New Travel Playlist

You know when you’re sitting on a plane or in the airport listening to music, but you keep switching songs because they’re just not what you want to hear when you’re trying to get excited about sitting on a beach or seeing kangaroos? Create a new travel playlist for the next time full of songs that will bring you lots of joy…or even ones that will be soothing to listen too when you’re trying to doze off!

Decorate / Redecorate With Travel Items

Look through your house. If I walked in right now would I get the idea that you liked to travel? Why not!?!? Make sure all of those trinkets you buy when you’re traveling are on display. They’ll bring you joy every time you walk by them. Or go through those photos again and get some of your favorites printed on canvas to hang up. Breathe your travel life into your home life!

Watching Travel Movies as a Part of Your Travelers Guide to Not Traveling

Instead of binge-watching the latest hit series, watch some travel-themed movies, or ones that take place in countries you loved or want to go to. Some recommendations: Roman Holiday, Out of Africa, Under the Tuscan Sun, Eat Pray Love, Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Crazy Rich Asians, Into the Wild, The Bucket List, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Letters to Juliet, Leap Year, Mama Mia, Lion, any Indiana Jones movie, and Holiday in the Wild. These are just a few. There are a ton out there, so give them a watch!

Create a Vision Board

All of those places you’ve pinned on Pinterest or dreamt about visiting, go put them together somewhere. That way when you’re going to work, paying your bills, and doing other mundane things, you’ll see it and be inspired! Be inspired not to go out to dinner again this week, to not buy those shoes that could cost a plane ticket, or to just stay positive and look to the future. While you’re at it, update your bucket list as a part of your travelers guide to not traveling.

Save Money

Many people would say that finances are a big reason as to why they don’t travel, but that shouldn’t be something that holds you back. (Granted, if it’s during this pandemic then there are other reasons why you can’t travel as well.) Perhaps you need to start paying more attention to your finances and look at them in a different light in order to help make the changes you need that will allow you to travel more in the future. Now is a great time to review what you are spending money on and to see where you can make some changes! Check out a previous post of all of the different ways you could be saving money.

Exercise Should be a Part of Your Travelers Guide to Not Traveling

Okay…this is probably the one that we should be doing the most of, at least I should be. You know all of those awesome IG photos you see with the girl sitting on the beach in her bikini? That will never be us if we eat non-stop while we’re stuck at home. Or if we never get off the couch from watching all of those travel movies. We need to move! If you don’t have exercise equipment at home then go outside and take a walk, or look up some workouts online. I know, without a doubt, you can find a workout online that you can do at home! Not only will this help us get/stay in shape, but it will also help with our attitudes!

So these are just a few ideas for your own travelers guide to not traveling. And maybe it’s not because of a major world crisis. Whatever the reason, you should have enough things here to keep you fairly busy during that time. What are some other things that you would suggest or that you enjoy doing when you’re not traveling?

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