Top 10 Things to do if you miss traveling!

For a travel addict like me, this 2020 has been a big disappointment in terms of growing your travel experience. I know that now you are allowed to go out and visit many countries (Although depending on your nationality, you might not be able to visit the countries that you want) but for some reason you might need or want to stay home.

That doesn’t mean however that we have to give up our wanderlust completely!

Here are 10 travel-based things to do at home in the meantime to cure your travel bug:

1.- Learn a New Language

Many of us are working less hours and watching extra Netflix, so there really isn’t any excuse left not to finally learn that new language. If you set aside 50 minutes a day, after a month or two you will really make a difference in having basic skills in a new language.

In my case, I practice my French and Portuguese trying to interact on social media with these languages. I also love putting some songs on Youtube or Spotify with lyrics and try to sing them.
You can search for someone in your community who is teaching a language online with platforms such as Zoom. More so, you can try to use Duolingo. It’s a free app that has 35 different languages you can start learning. I have been hanging out with some Russians lately, so I have come to memorize some fun words as Khoroshiy (Good!) Spokoynoy nochi (Good Night) or tantsevat’ (dance!)

2.- Read Foreign Books

Pick up the best spot in your house or a park nearby and then go and pick up a good book that takes place in an unfamiliar land. You can deep dive into literary classics or binge read some modern thrillers, whatever you enjoy reading the most. Just make sure the tale is set abroad in a different country so you can get lost in the culture.

I have been reading with deep interest books from Haruki Murakami that made me imagine life in Japan, from Isabel Allende that have transported me to the jungles in South America or the coldness or from Lobsamp Rampa that make me wonder about the magical life in Tibet.

3.- Watch Foreign Films

If reading is not your thing, you can watch a movie once a week with films in foreign languages (with subtitles in your language or in the original language if you are also learning languages), or you can simply watch Hollywood movies about travel or that are set in exotic places.
In my case I have tried and loved movies from France, South Korea, India, Japan, Brazil, Cuba just to name some. I love them in their original language. Plus, I find I learn a lot about small details in the culture and the way of living that the guide books won’t tell you about. Try Foreign movies on Netflix, or if you’re into Japanese Manga movies, I can recommend you to watch these kind of movies for free at WCO Forever.

4 Take Online Courses from Other cultures

Klub Alibre

Nothing says “I love travel” more than doing an online course on cultures or with people from other countries. I just had a course on the influence of Confucianism in Modern China with Klub Alibre and it was great! I have been also learning Indian Yoga with Yoga Enga and it has been a great cultural experience. It made me thing out of the box. I have also discovered that there are online Humanities course at Harvard. They have lots of super interesting courses, and yes they’re free, on subjects like “China’s First Empires” and ‘”Ancient Egyptian Architecture”.
Many big-name colleges offer free courses online, so do some digging and see if you can find one that will also inspire your travel curiosity.

5.- Learn Foreign Dances

Zoom Classes

One of the greatest pleasures for me is watching and learning other styles of dancing when traveling. Now, platforms such as Airbnb provide us with great ways to learn at home, exotic dance moves from Egypt, Greece, India or Kenya.

I am teaching an online Cuban Salsa class with Airbnb and Zoom and it has been very popular for people desiring to travel to Latin America and Dance. I am also teaching an online cardio dance online with Zoom with Alalibre, my company so you can have a grasp of many foreign dances.

6.- Eat Cuisine from Other Countries

Veggie Argentinean Empanadas at Rincón de Buenos Aires

One of the great pleasures of traveling is trying local dishes from other countries. if you have to stay at home, you can start to re-visit places you have visited through the meals you have tried; India, Italy, Morocco, Brazil and other cities in Mexico are some of my best memories.

Try making some dishes you’ve had abroad. Youtube has a lot of tutorials on how to do the most popular dishes of one country and make them to inspire you to travel there once you can! Airbnb Experiences also bring you an expert cook that can help you start with that. In my case, I am beginner in cooking skills but I have tried to cook some of them and it’s a great challenge.

If cooking is not your thing, you can always go a visit a foreign restaurant in your city. My favorite foreign restaurant in Vallarta is the Indian Gate, the Rincón de Buenos Aires, La Bodeguita del Medio or La Terraza di Roma.

7.- Get Ready for Future Trips

Have you ever started packing for a trip and suddenly realized that the zipper on your backpack was broken? Or you don’t have a traveling tooth brush? Or that your passport is expiring soon?

Use this time to take an inventory of anything you might need to repair, order, or fix before your next trip. I just recently renovated my Mexican passport. Is still empty, but ready for new adventures when I decide to travel abroad again.

8.- Research a New Destination

Not many people are looking up travel tips and guides because they can’t actually take the trip in this moment. However, taking the time to research a new destination, especially on privately owned travel blogs will not only help you get inspired, but it will help support bloggers.
Instead of reading the same old ‘big box’ sites that give you a basic summary of a country, try researching someone who has spent lots of time there personally and has some great insight to share. Reading travel journals, blogs, guides and tips prepared by writers and bloggers is a really great way to learn unexpected things about a destination.

9.- Make a Travel Bucket-List Board

While you are researching new destination ideas, put them all into a visual board or a diary list so you have something to look forward to! Just like many people make a vision board for all their life goals, you can also make one for your travel goals.
The board can be physical like something hanging on your wall or it could be digital, like a Pinterest board or a desktop collage on your computer. I have already make some fun Pinterest boards with places I want to visit in Asia, Africa or South America.

Doing a travel bucket list board might help to keep you positive and focused on the good that is to come.

10.- Become a Couchsurfer or Airbnb host


If you can’t travel, but you still want to experience the idea of meeting people from other cultures, you can join Couchsurfing and host people from other countries in your house and have a cultural exchange. Couchsurfers will glady appretiate if you have a spare couch to share with them, or even a floor when they can crash.

I have been doing it for 5 years and it’s great. If you have a nice empty room, you want to commit to be a great host and earn money from it, then move forward to Airbnb.

It’s important to add that in both cases, you should be committed to keep your house sanitized, specially during this 2020. If you join Airbnb, they will give you a list of tasks to make your house safer against Covid.

Which of these items in this list will you like to do?

You can search for someone in your community who is teaching a language online with platforms such as Zoom. More so, you can try to use Duolingo. It’s a free app that has 35 different languages you can start learning. I have been hanging out with some Russians lately, so I have come to memorize some fun words as Khoroshiy (Good!) Spokoynoy nochi (Good Night) or tantsevat’ (dance!)

2.- Read Foreign Books

Pick up the best spot in your house or a park nearby and then go and pick up a good book that takes place in an unfamiliar land. You can deep dive into literary classics or binge read some modern thrillers, whatever you enjoy reading the most. Just make sure the tale is set abroad in a different country so you can get lost in the culture.

I have been reading with deep interest books from Haruki Murakami that made me imagine life in Japan, from Isabel Allende that have transported me to the jungles in South America or the coldness or from Lobsamp Rampa that make me wonder about the magical life in Tibet.

3.- Watch Foreign Films

If reading is not your thing, you can watch a movie once a week with films in foreign languages (with subtitles in your language or in the original language if you are also learning languages), or you can simply watch Hollywood movies about travel or that are set in exotic places.
In my case I have tried and loved movies from France, South Korea, India, Japan, Brazil, Cuba just to name some. I love them in their original language. Plus, I find I learn a lot about small details in the culture and the way of living that the guide books won’t tell you about. Try Foreign movies on Netflix, or if you’re into Japanese Manga movies, I can recommend you to watch these kind of movies for free at WCO Forever.

4 Take Online Courses from Other cultures

Klub Alibre

Nothing says “I love travel” more than doing an online course on cultures or with people from other countries. I just had a course on the influence of Confucianism in Modern China with Klub Alibre and it was great! I have been also learning Indian Yoga with Yoga Enga and it has been a great cultural experience. It made me thing out of the box. I have also discovered that there are online Humanities course at Harvard. They have lots of super interesting courses, and yes they’re free, on subjects like “China’s First Empires” and ‘”Ancient Egyptian Architecture”.
Many big-name colleges offer free courses online, so do some digging and see if you can find one that will also inspire your travel curiosity.

5.- Learn Foreign Dances

Zoom Classes

One of the greatest pleasures for me is watching and learning other styles of dancing when traveling. Now, platforms such as Airbnb provide us with great ways to learn at home, exotic dance moves from Egypt, Greece, India or Kenya.

I am teaching an online Cuban Salsa class with Airbnb and Zoom and it has been very popular for people desiring to travel to Latin America and Dance. I am also teaching an online cardio dance online with Zoom with Alalibre, my company so you can have a grasp of many foreign dances.

6.- Eat Cuisine from Other Countries

Veggie Argentinean Empanadas at Rincón de Buenos Aires

One of the great pleasures of traveling is trying local dishes from other countries. if you have to stay at home, you can start to re-visit places you have visited through the meals you have tried; India, Italy, Morocco, Brazil and other cities in Mexico are some of my best memories.

Try making some dishes you’ve had abroad. Youtube has a lot of tutorials on how to do the most popular dishes of one country and make them to inspire you to travel there once you can! Airbnb Experiences also bring you an expert cook that can help you start with that. In my case, I am beginner in cooking skills but I have tried to cook some of them and it’s a great challenge.

If cooking is not your thing, you can always go a visit a foreign restaurant in your city. My favorite foreign restaurant in Vallarta is the Indian Gate, the Rincón de Buenos Aires, La Bodeguita del Medio or La Terraza di Roma.

7.- Get Ready for Future Trips

Have you ever started packing for a trip and suddenly realized that the zipper on your backpack was broken? Or you don’t have a traveling tooth brush? Or that your passport is expiring soon?

Use this time to take an inventory of anything you might need to repair, order, or fix before your next trip. I just recently renovated my Mexican passport. Is still empty, but ready for new adventures when I decide to travel abroad again.

8.- Research a New Destination

Not many people are looking up travel tips and guides because they can’t actually take the trip in this moment. However, taking the time to research a new destination, especially on privately owned travel blogs will not only help you get inspired, but it will help support bloggers.
Instead of reading the same old ‘big box’ sites that give you a basic summary of a country, try researching someone who has spent lots of time there personally and has some great insight to share. Reading travel journals, blogs, guides and tips prepared by writers and bloggers is a really great way to learn unexpected things about a destination.

9.- Make a Travel Bucket-List Board

While you are researching new destination ideas, put them all into a visual board or a diary list so you have something to look forward to! Just like many people make a vision board for all their life goals, you can also make one for your travel goals.
The board can be physical like something hanging on your wall or it could be digital, like a Pinterest board or a desktop collage on your computer. I have already make some fun Pinterest boards with places I want to visit in Asia, Africa or South America.

Doing a travel bucket list board might help to keep you positive and focused on the good that is to come.

10.- Become a Couchsurfer or Airbnb host


If you can’t travel, but you still want to experience the idea of meeting people from other cultures, you can join Couchsurfing and host people from other countries in your house and have a cultural exchange. Couchsurfers will glady appretiate if you have a spare couch to share with them, or even a floor when they can crash.

I have been doing it for 5 years and it’s great. If you have a nice empty room, you want to commit to be a great host and earn money from it, then move forward to Airbnb.

It’s important to add that in both cases, you should be committed to keep your house sanitized, specially during this 2020. If you join Airbnb, they will give you a list of tasks to make your house safer against Covid.

Which of these items in this list will you like to do?

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