Is your wanderlust consuming you, but you can’t travel right now? Whether it’s down to a lack of funds, a stingy holiday allowance at work or erm… a global pandemic, most of us can’t jet off as often as we’d like to. But this is 2020, so we CAN indulge in a spot of virtual travel when our street is looking grey and unexciting.
The best part of world travel is how it broadens your mind and teaches you about things that you might not otherwise encounter in your home country.
Fortunately for all of us travel lovers, virtual travel – either with or without a fancy VR headset – offers us an immersive experience that gives us a window into other worlds when we can’t leave the house.
Whether you crave the beauty of New Zealand or the urban rush of New York City, your laptop or phone can take you there while the real deal is out of reach. Travelling virtually is safe (unless you drink too much rosé while gazing longingly at the screen), free, and usually, pretty enlightening.
Virtual travel: How To Travel Without Leaving Your Bed
Do you want to learn how to become a virtual tourist? See the world from the comfort of your own home with these 16 easy, cheap virtual travel apps, tours and other sneaky ways to travel virtually.
1. Ride for free at Disney World
Experience the thrill of some of the most popular rides at Disney World parks with this Youtube channel, which has created an ‘interactive 360º video environment’. You can watch videos documenting other park-goers’ wild rides.
For an immersive experience of Virtual Disney World 360º’s videos, watch with a VR headset or, if using your phone, a Google Cardboard.
2. Take virtual museum and gallery tours
Craving a dose of culture to break up those Netflix binges and long trips to the fridge? Museums and art galleries around the world offer virtual tours that replicate a high-brow outing.
From the Vatican to the Louvre to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in South Korea, a litany of institutions have created online tours of their main exhibitions. Lose yourself in a digitally augmented walk around a museum you’ve always wanted to visit. It’s bound to be more educational that whatever’s on your Facebook feed today.
3. Wander the globe with Google Street View
Hear me out. Is there a place you’ve been to in the past that you long to revisit? Or a heavenly destination you frequent in your wildest dreams, but perhaps don’t expect to ever see in reality? Google Street View can transport you directly there.
Wander along Hollywood Boulevard or Champs-Élysées. Teleport to Copacabana Beach in Rio and imagine the palm trees swaying above your head, then when you tire of that vibe, pop over to Dubai Marina for a look at some super yachts. No check-in queues necessary.
4. Satiate your wanderlust with travel vlogs
Watching other people’s travels on Youtube is a great way to get inspiration for your own future trips. The best travel vloggers show both sides of a destination and provide helpful tips and insights throughout the video to help you make your own adventure better.
Might I point you in the direction of my own Youtube channel? Wander through the souks of Marrakech, kayak through the Norwegian Fjords or come for a bar crawl around Warsaw with me!
5. Peruse an aircraft on an airplane tour
Aviation nerds, this one’s for you. If the journey is just as important as the destination in your eyes, you’ll love snooping around Emirates’ world class fleet of airplanes with the 3D tours on the airline’s website. Nothing beats that rush of excitement as you step onboard a flight somewhere, and the tours recreate that sense of wonder.
Envision yourself sipping cocktails in the A380 Onboard Lounge or imagine you’re cocooned in one of the First Class seats, about to refresh in the onboard shower. You can even take a video tour of the swish airport lounges. One can dream….
6. Download free VR travel apps
Virtual reality has shaken up the travel industry, and there are free apps you can download that will haul you out of your bed and into a far-flung destination through your phone’s screen.
The Ascape VR: Travel App – 360° World Traveler app works with or without a virtual reality headset, you just have to rotate your phone around to look in any direction. The app offers a 360 glimpse into 100s of destinations around the world – no passport required. You can even virtually go skydiving or snorkelling!
7. Lap up luxury via virtual hotel tours
The majority of us won’t get to experience paradise in the form of a fabulous resort in the Maldives or Mauritius in our lifetime. But we can get a taste of how the rich holiday, by salivating over the virtual tours that various posh hotels publish online.
As a sampler, take a look at Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort & Spa’s 360 tour of their incredible underwater bungalows, or whirl around the Kempinski Hotel on Dubai’s uber lux Palm.
8. Relive your own travels
You know all those videos you diligently shot on your last trip? The ones that got lost in your camera reel amid selfies and dodgy screenshots? Now is their time to shine!
If you can figure out how to put them on your telly, do it. Grab some snacks and settle down to watch all of your past holidays play out. It will put a smile on your face and remind you to be thankful for the places you’ve already been.
9. Cook a meal from your favourite country
It sounds simple, but eating something you’ve once demolished abroad can really transport you back to that place. Challenge yourself to cook a foreign dish and inhale the aromas, imagining yourself back there. As you eat your meal, play music from that country and treat yourself to blasting the heating, if the cuisine comes from a warm destination.
Check out this list of national dishes from around the world if you need some inspiration. Or have a go at creating your own Spanish tapas night at home.
10. Watch live webcams showing tourist attractions
Some of the world’s most famous tourist attractions stream live online. It’s surprisingly mesmerising to watch the world go by in one of these places while you sit scoffing crisps in your pyjamas!
Check out how Times Square in New York looks right now or see what’s going on at Sydney Harbour in Australia. The best thing about remote viewing? No other tourists.
11. Check up on zoo animals online
Just want to see some cute animals? Some zoos around the world livestream from their animals’ enclosures. Edinburgh Zoo has webcams on the pandas, amongst other animals.
Admire the majesty of some of the most fascinating animals in the world from afar.
12. Stroll through an iconic park virtually
New York City’s iconic Central Park has a guided tour you can take online. You can see Lennon’s Imagine mosaic, the charming Alice in Wonderland statue and other famous attractions within New York’s largest green space, all while you learn about the history of the park.
Alternatively, check out one of these virtual national park tours created by Google and the National Parks Service. Find yourself in Bryce Canon in Utah or Kenai Fjords in Alaska.
13. Take a virtual dive
The Natural Marine Sanctuaries have created virtual reality voyages using 360-degree images to show off the animals, habitats and cultural resources in each underwater park. For someone who is terrified of diving like me, it’s the only way I’ll see this stuff!
You can virtually swim through Florida Keys Natural Marine Sanctuary or glide soundlessly through the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, past colourful coral and other marine life. No wetsuit required.
14. Listen to the sounds of the Rocky Mountains
15. Go on a virtual trip to space
Space cadets, this one’s for you. Explore the Moon, watch the Saturn V launch, and more via augmented reality! The Space Center Houston app is free to download and gives you an audio tour of the Center.
You can use the app at home to see 360 degree images of the gallery. It’s educational and will blow your mind.
16 Experience a destination’s famous attractions from your couch
Plenty of tourist boards around the world are taking advantage of technology to showcase their best-loved sights. New Orleans does this really well, with swamp tours, cooking school tours and more on their list of virtual tours.
If you’re dreaming of sun, sea and sand, swap your living room for one of Florida’s beaches using their online Beach Finder. You can explore the Sunshine State’s 825 miles of beaches using Google’s Street View Trekker technology. These 360-degree images, captured one footstep at a time, are integrated into Google Maps, allowing digital tourist to experience interactive views of Florida’s world-renowned beaches.
Of course, none of these ways of travelling virtually can compete with real-life adventures – not even in full screen mode. The feel of a wall of heat as you step off a place somewhere exotic. The tang of a freshly squeezed juice in Jamaica. The delicious feeling of sand between your toes, or the crunch of snow beneath heavy boots. Nothing beats the real thing.
But for now, just for now, it’s all we have.
The world will still be there in a few months. Our loved ones may not, if we don’t stay home and wait this thing out. Use virtual travel to satiate your yearning for other climates and, of course, let it help you plan all those trips you’re going to take when this blows over. Where will you go first?
You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter for more travel inspiration, both in the UK and further afield. I also have a Youtube channel!
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Chloe says
This is so innovative, I love it!
Chloe X
Rohit Singh says
Thanks for these great ideas.
Emma Smith says
This is something out of the box. Great. Kudos to you!!