36 Ways to Be A-Okay Whilst You’re Not Allowed to Travel

The ultimate guide to coping with the restrictions of a lockdown when all you want to do is travel the world

Published in

Life Trod Lightly

10 min readMay 5, 2020

I first travelled for more than a week when I went to Iceland in 2017. Coming back to the UK three months later, I never fully settled.

In 2018, I began a long-distance relationship with a friend I made on that trip. Now, annual leave and my holiday fund were put towards making trips to the US, and spending time together when he came here.

Figuring out plans

By June 2019, we were looking at how we could be together more, and I was considering what I wanted out of life. It took time and soul-searching. Ultimately, I was frustrated with being stuck in one location. Having employment that always needed me back by a fixed date wasn’t working anymore.

I learnt how to earn money as a freelancer and my path became clearer. I became more frugal, constantly driving my food bill lower and rarely going out if it would cost over £10. Finally, I was able to set a date when I could leave my job and freelance full-time.

I planned to apply for a green card to live in the US eventually, but first I wanted to spend a few uninterrupted months with my partner. Then I started to picture the other places I’d have the freedom to slow travel in my new remote-working life. The forests of Norway and the mountains of South America competed for first place.

I booked my flight to Boston for the day after I would leave my job. I desperately counted down the days until I could exit the country.

And then COVID-19 spread to Europe, the US closed their borders from the UK and air travel became impossible.

An abrupt end

I had let my property, so I’ve now moved back into my parents’. It’s the last place I expected to be right now. As with a lot of other long-distance couples, I have no idea when I’ll be able to see my partner again or travel anywhere.

I know that many, many people have recently found themselves in worse situations. Still, I had a little cry of finality when I was stood in a shop mid-March and a friend messaged me a link to a news article about Trump’s UK travel ban. I’ve been gradually peeling away any remaining expectations since that day.

What do we do now?

Even after initial lockdown restrictions lift, we may not be able to travel as easily for the next few years. We’re likely to see social restrictions of varying severity until a vaccine is available and can be distributed effectively.

Therefore, it’s better for the soul to make peace with our limited geographical mobility as soon as possible.

If you can figure out your own reasons why you travel, you can replicate the same feelings whilst substituting the activities. I’m going to share some tips that can be followed from home but will still give your wanderlust a run for its money.

Explore your environment

A lot of us travel to see new places. To observe breathtaking scenery, take in city vibes, find new favourite spots in which to while away the hours.

But how well do you really know the immediate surroundings of your own home? Have you been down every road, connected all the dots between A and B?

A few weeks ago I realised something — at the heart of travel often lies an unspoken desire to satisfy our sense of adventure. But curiosity lives within us. It’s not in a remote location we have to seek out to find.

1. The next time you can go for a walk, run or cycle, take yourself down a road you haven’t explored before. Be curious about what’s around the next corner
2. If you already know your local area intimately well, observe the subtle differences in sound and weather conditions from day-to-day

Every place offers value of some description. It’s about exploring what that value looks like for you.

Learn about new cultures

Travellers tend to love soaking in the culture and history of a foreign country. This can be visiting a museum, or staying with locals for a week. Even observing the subtle differences in how people greet one another or realising you can accidentally offend in the most obscure way.

There’s nothing quite like being amongst the Egyptian pyramids. But you can at least learn about them from your home. You can even take a virtual tour of Ramesses VI’s tomb.

3. Go to Google Arts & Culture — my favourite part is the Street View feature. Here, you can virtually walk around museums, famous houses, ancient sites and even the International Space Station. In Explore, you can visit an exhibition or take in the view from the tops of high buildings (without having to do the walk)
4. Head down the Wikipedia rabbit hole and see where it takes you. Here are some of its strangest articles
5. Pick up a book on a new subject. I’m learning about prehistory ‘properly’ for the first time
6. Both the Met Opera and National Theatre have been streaming live shows regularly during lockdown
7. Travel Man is probably a lot like going on a short break with comedian Richard Ayoade

Seek out nature

I’ll never forget when I sat on the Eldfell volcano in Heimaey, Iceland and discovered it was still warm from the last eruption:

Or when I looked up at the Milky Way from a lakefront in Maine, USA:

But what does the nature on your doorstep have to tell you?

A 2019 study showed that spending just 20 minutes outside in green space improves subjective wellbeing. Being around nature also expands our thinking and helps us to find more meaning in life. We feel these benefits no matter where that nature is. We can connect with the natural world as a whole and not just when we’re in a foreign place.

8. Stop for 30 seconds and listen to the birds
9. See how many types of tree can you find — then try to name them
10. Pitch your tent in the garden for an impromptu camp out. Drag your bedding out to make it comfier, but keep the sleeping bag for authenticity
11. If you like searching for little surprises (and if it’s available in your area right now), go geocaching
12. Sit out at night and look at the stars
13. If you’re not able to go outside during quarantine, what can a nature documentary teach you? Did you know, the Lyre Bird can replicate the noise of a chainsaw? Anything featuring David Attenborough’s majestic voice can’t go far wrong

(Image by Sebastian Coman Photography from Pexels)

Create new food & drink experiences

Do you miss restaurants? I do. Especially independent restaurants that you stumble across whilst travelling. Heck, even a trip to the supermarket is intriguing when you’ve just arrived in a new country.

But you can satisfy your desire for new flavours from home too.

14. Look for an exotic vegetable from the store and learn to cook with it
15. Try a new drink with your next shop
16. Eat dinner in a different place in the house, or even in the garden, for a change of scenery
17. Go to a virtual wine tasting — Acker Wines (America’s oldest wine shop) are one of many places offering free BYOB tastings a few times a week. They tell you in advance what they’ll be trying so you can order it in
18. Turn your dining area into a fancy restaurant table for two. Draw up a ‘fixed’ menu, light a candle in the centre of the table, dress up and turn off your phones. It’s your choice whether you order in or cook from scratch

(Image by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels)

Work on self-improvement

There’s a sense of achievement when you’ve journeyed a new place solo, or realised that your language skills are good enough to interpret the local road signs. It’s easy to perceive that travel is some magic key to making us more well-developed, mature people.

But having fewer things to do and places to go can be a great time to develop new or existing skills. We don’t have to wait to leave home to better ourselves.

19. If you can’t do the same activities or sports as before lockdown, find other ones
20. Set your own personal fitness goal and smash it (record it on Strava too, for motivation)
21. Draw or paint your current view of the world
22. Take a course. Lots of websites are offering discounts on learning materials during quarantine, including Centre of Excellence (£29 during May for each course with the code LEARNATHOME14 at checkout)
23. Write poetry in a classic poet’s style
24. Explore the technical side of photography and use what you learn in your local area. For example, you could take a tripod down to the nearest lake for some long exposure shots
25. Start and finish a novel within a month
26. Learn the basics of a new language in preparation for your next trip

Make new friends

It’s often easier to make friends whilst travelling than when at home. If you’re a hostel regular, you probably use variations of these to strike up conversation:

“Where have you come from?”
“Where are you heading to next?”
“Have you been to the waterfall yet? What did you think of it?”

If you enjoy talking to others besides your partner or cat, consider this — how often have you met people, got their number but then unintentionally dropped communication with them during ‘normal’ life? People you thought were hella cool but never got a real chance to know?

27. Essentially, send a message to an acquaintance you had lost touch with

Now could be your chance to build a friendship virtually and look forward to meeting again out in the real world.

Plan your next trip

A paper in 2010 compiled several studies and found that the anticipation of planning a trip often brings people more happiness than actually being on holiday.

Now’s a good time to think about the kind of traveller you want to be in the future. Create travel plans to get excited for, and remember that this lockdown won’t last forever.

28. Read travel stories and get inspired by other people’s adventures
29. Lust over the most beautiful places in the world and look them up on Google Images too
30. Set up a travel fund and make regular payments into it
31. Get an airline credit card and start building up points for free flights and accommodation now
32. Learn more about responsible travel so you can plan your next trip thoughtfully
33. Lonely Planet’s guidebooks have always been the easiest way to choose restaurants and points of interest for exactly where you’re heading. Now they have an app too — which means the information will stay up-to-date for more than a year

Take care of yourself

Travel is a great opportunity for a change of scenery from our usual work and home environment.

This lockdown can be especially difficult because we’re seeing the same four walls far more often. It’s important that we still focus on leaving the mundane behind.

34. If you’re working during quarantine for an employer and vacation is available, make sure you still take it as usual. Don’t sacrifice opportunities for rest just because you can’t travel

Ask yourself honestly — what are your typical behaviours when you’re away from home?

35. You’re probably more active when travelling because you want to explore new places. Incorporate an hour of movement into your day to prevent stagnation and counteract the negative physical effects of sitting
36. You probably also have less screen exposure, because who wants to sit staring at a phone all day when there’s a hike to go on? Limit yourself to checking social media once or twice a day and consider disabling notifications you don’t care about on your phone

Your sense of adventure is precious. Don’t let it be killed by a lousy quarantine.

Instead, rest, recuperate and look forward to the day when we can all create travel memories again. 🌎🛫

How to Make Your Own Toothpaste (Using Just 3 Ingredients From Your Cupboard) ← P R E V I O U S

N E X T → Furoshiki: Change the Way You Carry Stuff

Originally published at https://carolineisawriter.com.