Like many people, we've had to hit pause on our travel plans for the time being, but that doesn’t mean we’re not still thinking about all the places we’ve been—and all the places we hope to get to sometime soon. After all, so much of travel trickles into our lives both before and after a big trip, whether it’s the hours we spend scouring the internet for inspiration on where to go next, or the ways a place influences us long after we’ve left, from the food we cook and the souvenirs we fill our homes with to the music we listen to. “It’s important to remember that travel is also a state of mind,” U.S. editor Jesse Ashlock wrote last week. “And that you don’t necessarily have to go far away to feel far away.” With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of 101 ways to travel without leaving your house, which we hope will help you feel a little more entertained, a little more inspired, and, most importantly, a little more connected with the rest of the world.
Indulge your wanderlust
1. Gawk at some of the world’s most beautiful libraries
2. Daydream about sailing along Turkey's Turquoise coast
3. Take inspiration from our favorite hotels, destinations, and more, as voted by you in the 2020 Readers' Choice Awards
4. Make a list of all those places you'd like to go next
5. Visit your favorite U.S. National Parks on Google Earth (and a few you've yet to see, too)
6. Pick a trip that has to be booked one year in advance
7. ...And then create a Pinterest board to gather inspiration for it
8. Consider an epic train trip for the future and start plotting your route
9. Take a look at some of the most colorful places in the world
10. ...Or plan an itinerary around Pantone's color of 2020
11. Bookmark beautiful Airbnbs for the future (and maybe get some home decor inspo while you're at it)
12. Watch walking tours of places you haven't been, or want to revisit
13. Explore the most beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Sites
14. Start a Google Maps list filled with bookmarked restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries, museums, bookstores, and more that you dream of visiting one day
15. Steal a little travel inspiration from your favorite celebrities
16. Spin around Google Earth with the I'm Feeling Lucky button
17. Fantasize about which hidden beaches you'll hit next time you're in Italy...
18. ...Or if you're so inclined, Hawaii
19. Imagine sleeping underwater, right on the Great Barrier Reef
20. Subscribe to Condé Nast Traveler! (We know. We're shameless.)
Hone your photography skills
21. Discover how Gray Malin made these trippy photos of Bolivia's salt flats
22. Up your astrophotography game
23. Follow some of our favorite travel photographers on Instagram
24. Improve your own iPhone photography
25. ...Or go a little retro and make photo books out of your old vacation photos
26. Research a new camera like the pros do
27. ...And then get their tips on how to nail that shot
Lose yourself in our favorite reads
28. Read memoirs by some of the world's most adventurous women
29. Browse our extensive list of the travel books
30. Escape with the best travel books recommended by ambassadors
31. Pick up a book that will transport you
32. Find out what the Women Who Travel team have been reading
33. ...And then load up your Kindle with everything you've just bought
34. Read some of our favorite authors on what home means to them
35. Add some travel inspo to your coffee table with some of these tomes
36. And if you're feeling motivated, start journaling about your own travels
Soothe with some retail therapy
37. Buy a luxurious pair of pajamas that you'll never be ashamed to travel with
38. Splurge on something from that shop you dream of returning to one day
39. Buy destination-inspired scented candles and have them burn all day long inside your house
40. Stock up on all your K-Beauty favorites without a trip to Seoul
41. ...Or shop for French beauty products
42. Bring the tropics to your house with some exotic plants
43. Treat yourself to one of our editors' favorite travel gifts
44. Pick up a coffee subscription and get to know beans from around the world—it will making your WFH caffeine routine way more fun
45. Shop at one of our favorite hotel gift shops, like The Hoxton or even The Ritz
46. Revamp your apartment (or beauty cabinet or closet) in the style of Paris
47. ...Or if you're more of an Italy person, shop for locally made products, like a custom bag from Florence or a coffee maker to perfect your espresso
48. Represent your favorite national park with gear from the Parks Project, and feel good knowing that your dollars go back into backlogged projects in the parks
49. Feeling anxious about being cooped up at home? Order some CBD oil—and then add it to your dopp kit the next time you travel.
50. Make your online shopping work for you by getting maximum travel points with your credit card
51. ...And start earning points toward your next hotel stay while you're at it
Dabble in some self-improvement
52. Learn a new language with a digital classroom
53. ...And then jump into a foreign language film
54. Figure out if you have what it takes to become a pilot
55. Practice visualization meditation to get a head start on figuring out your next trip
56. Donate to carbon offset charities to shrink your footprint before flying again
57. Learn the art of Japanese calligraphy with this book
58. Finally take the time to practice becoming an organized traveler
59. Keep your fitness up with these hotel room workouts
60. Do a little redecorating inspired by your favorite hotels around the world
Find something new to talk about during your Zoom happy hour
61. Tour the world's most beautiful abandoned places
62. Use this Google tool to see how World Heritage Sites have changed
63. Take a peek at how Olympic stadiums have evolved over time
64. Get into a bit of slow TV (trust us, it's pretty soothing)
65. Find out what a night at a space hotel might look like
66. Jump between the Arctic's Lonely Island and Pukapuka in the Pacific, in Judith Schlansky's Pocket Atlas of Remote Islands
67. Learn about Sardinia's annual pagan exorcism (seriously)
68. Get to know the fascinating history of Jewish temples in the Caribbean
69. Enjoy some of the world's greatest museums, symphonies, and operas from your couch
70. Read up on the ancient history of destinations you hope to visit in the future, like these ruins right in the middle of Lima
71. Marvel at Bolivian architect Freddy Mamani's otherworldly architecture in La Paz
72. Absorb a digital art exhibit like this mesmerizing one on Ireland’s Connemara mountains
73. Go back in time to the golden age of travel
74. Or if it all feels a little too high-brow, watch a livestream of these pandas
Expand your music repertoire
75. Check out Bad Bunny's favorite spots in Puerto Rico
76. ...And then turn up the volume on some noise cancelling headphones
77. Escape to Lisbon with Portugese fado music
78. Get to know Women Who Travel podcast guests Ibeyi, whose music fuses Cuban, French, and Yoruba influences
79. Start streaming a random radio station from somewhere far away with the Radio Garden project
80. Search a country's top 50 hits on Spotify to listen to music from around the world (right now we're listening to France and Japan)
81. Have a dance party and blast some calypso soca music from Trinidad
82. Research all the jazz clubs you'll want to hit up when you finally get to New Orleans
Bring the world to your kitchen
83. Transport yourself with these international cookbooks
84. Crack open that bottle of wine you brought home from your travels
85. Make yourself an indulgent New York–style brunch, using these places as inspiration
86. Get take-out from your favorite restaurants and chefs
87. Learn how to recreate dishes from the legendary Osteria Francescana in Modena with Massimo Bottura's virtual cooking lessons
88. Allow yourself to pine for dishes you miss—then try your best to recreate them
89. Get yourself a bunch of Biscoff cookies—an airplane staple—and eat them next to your window
90. Try to imagine Alison Roman cooking up a feast for 45 people in Portugal—or just read about the one place she always hits when she travels
91. Order in from that restaurant you've never managed to get a table at
92. Make your own Italian apertivo hour—and use these places as inspiration
93. Order wine from around the world to sip on
Binge on pop culture
94. Compare the real destinations that inspired your favorite Disney movies to the animated interpretations (thanks Disney+!)
95. Rewatch old seasons of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, and learn about places you've never been to
96. Watch our favorite travel movies on Netflix right now
97. Look for shows filmed right in your home city or state, and remember how lucky you are to be, well, where you are
98. Subscribe to the Women Who Travel podcast and listen to travel stories from Elizabeth Gilbert, Lynsey Addario, Jessica Nabongo, and more
99. Travel to a galaxy far far away
100. Dive into this list of road trip movies
101. And then work your way through the greatest travel movies of the past 50 years—after all, you finally have the time to.
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