Home General 10 Ways to Get Over Travel Blues During Coronavirus
Family Globetrotters working on laptop with coffee outside

10 Ways to Get Over Travel Blues During Coronavirus

by Family Globetrotters

Are You Suffering from Some Serious Travel Blues Because You’re Being Responsible and Staying at Home During the Coronavirus Pandemic? Here Are Some Productive Travel Related Things You Can Do at Home to Circumvent Tripophobia.

According to the urban dictionary, tripophobia is “the fear of not having any travel trips currently booked.” I “suffer” from this condition and whilst we are all in self-isolation and self-quarantine during COVID-19, my travel blues have really set in. Our Australian borders are currently closed and the idea that I can’t leave my country makes me feel oddly claustrophobic. For now, we are being ultra-responsible and we are not leaving the house. We are only heading out to get essentials. No walks on the beach, no visits to country towns and no road trips.

Staying at home for long periods of time however means that I am presented with a new perspective of how to make this time productive. And in the last couple of weeks, I have been able to achieve quite a bit around the house, my online work and travel related tasks. I may not be able to physically travel, but I seem to have created a travel related routine at home to get rid of my travel blues. Here is what you can do to get over your travel blues during Coronavirus.

#01 – RE-ASSESS TRAVEL BUCKET LIST ADVENTURES

People always ask me what’s high on my travel bucket list. I have always found that difficult to answer because it is loooonnnnggggg! I find it almost impossible to narrow it down to a top 10 list. And in most cases when I finally decide to book a trip, it doesn’t always end up being a bucket list adventure.

While you’re stuck at home, take this time to re-assess your bucket list. When this pandemic is finally over and it’s safe to travel, where would you go?

A lot has changed in our world today which will affect that travel bucket list. You may have budget constraints now, you may fear visiting developing countries, the exchange rate may be dismal, you may not be ready to fly yet or your perspective of what you want out of a trip may be different.

Sit down and really think about your bucket list. As your children grow up, their needs change too. Ask your partner what they would like to do in the future. Just dreaming and having conversations about travel makes me happy.

#02 – MORE DOMESTIC TRAVEL

Your domestic borders will open before international borders will. So, if you’re itching to go on a trip when all this over, you may want to travel within your own country first.

The Australian countryside has been hit hard. Towards the end of 2019 and start of 2020, we saw the worst bushfires the world had ever seen. The statistics indicated that over 10 million hectares were burnt and 1 billion animals were killed.

The smaller communities that relied on tourism suffered so much with no one able to visit these areas. Local businesses had to shut down as they simply couldn’t survive. Luckily, the rains came and the fires stopped. And just when things were looking up, coronavirus hit.

For us personally, we would love nothing more than to support these local businesses and allow tourism to thrive again. We have already thought about a few places we could visit when it is safe to do so.

Let’s not forget that where we live is no doubt on someone else’s bucket list. Your backyard is someone else’s dream destination. So, when the time comes, perhaps plan a domestic trip first. Do all those things you always wanted to do like backroads touring, camping or simply parking yourself on a farmstead with a fabulous fireplace. Start planning!

Boogie boarding in the summer at the beahc with father and daughter

Boogie Boarding at our local beaches in Victoria, Australia. This photo was taken on the first day of summer when Andrew was so happy to finally be back at the beach!

#03 – SPRING CLEAN

This is the perfect time to do some spring cleaning. We live in a very small house so all our travel related accessories and items are everywhere! From our boogie boards and wetsuits, to bags and luggage of all shapes and sizes to digital and electrical accessories, it’s so messy!

Even our physical currency is in one big pile. Some of those coins I have, I’m not sure what country they belong to. This is going to be a great exercise to do with Hannah. We can organise them properly so next time we can just grab and run. And perhaps even think about what we want to do with a currency we know we may never use again or not for a very long time anyway.

We need to re-organise our garage and create better storage space. I know for a fact that if I am better organised, I would have so much more room. I would also like to be more organised in terms of not having to do so much when packing. It would allow us to be more spontaneous. For example, if we decided to go boogie boarding for the day, I can simply grab everything from the one storage box or bag, chuck it in the car and off we go.

YOU MIGHT LIKE:   A-Z City Armchair Travel with Kids

#04 – ORGANISING YOUR TRAVEL IMAGES

I’m sure that you have a ton of travel photos that need sorting through. Come on, admit it!

I have a ridiculous amount. In my small family of 3, we have 3 smartphones, 1 DLSR, 1 mirrorless camera and a go pro. We travel with all of these all the time. So, you can just imagine how many photos and videos we have! And they are all over the shop.

If you don’t already have one, perhaps you can look into getting a digital photo organizer like Zoner, digiCam, Google photos or Magix Photo Manager. I personally use Smugmug and have done so for over a decade and I love it. It’s easy to use and I’m able to share my photos with my friends and family.

I’m at a point where I haven’t even downloaded them from my devices! And sometimes when I do a mass clean up, I actually even forget what the photo is about. I downloaded everything, put them in proper folders, added captions to help me remember what we were doing, deleted pictures and videos I knew I didn’t need and most importantly, backed it all up on an external hard drive.

Surely, you can spend some time doing this whilst locked away at home?

Smugmug digital photo organiser

I am over 12 months behind in updating my digital photo organiser. Time to update it pronto!

#05 – TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

After you’ve spent hours and hours sorting through your photos, you may at some point think “wish I took a better photo of that” or “wish I knew how to use the camera better”.

Well, there is not better time than now to brush up on those skills! Get onto those You Tube videos and learn how to take better photos.

For me, I am always interested in learning how to take better photos with my iPhone. With the smartphones nowadays, you can take some great shots. There are always so many tips and tricks and with the newer iPhones, they are new features too.

I also wished I could take better family selfies. I have started learning that and looking at some new accessories.

Andrew is all about learning to use that GoPro better, especially when we’re boogie boarding and skiing.

What do you wish you could be better at?

YOU MIGHT LIKE:   9 Hacks On How To Take The Best Family Selfie
Best Family Selfie Paris

Giving family selfies a good go. Clearly we need help!

#06 – CREATE A TRAVEL MEMOIR

I am sure there are many of you out there that sometimes wish you have a better travel log. Well, there is no time like the present to start that journal, memoir or even a blog. You can write in a traditional travel diary, do some bullet journaling like my daughter does or write in a blog like I do.

It can be image heavy; it can be about your actual experiences and/or you can write about your feelings and emotions. The sky’s the limit.

Documenting your travels is a great way to reminisce and be nostalgic. It’s also a wonderful way to remember the things you did. Having travelled so much in my lifetime, I always remember the big things like how I felt when I first saw the Eiffel Tower or when I first laid eyes on the Statue of David in Florence. But it’s the little things that sometimes I remember that triggers emotions.

Hannah has an incredible memory and she sees things differently. She will sometimes mention things which I have totally forgotten and love that it was so much part of our trip. It’s those things that are worth writing down.

Are you suffering from travel blues because of COVID-19? Here are tips on how to stay travel productive while being at home. #travelblues #coronavirus #covid19 Click To Tweet

#07 – PLAN THE NEXT BIG TRIP

Just because we can’t travel now doesn’t mean we can’t start planning! It may be difficult to get accurate prices for flights and accommodation now, but you can plan your itinerary.

This is best time to be doing research and you can even do it slowly. Really work out some of the best things to do, see, eat at whatever destination you wish to go. Read those travel blogs, buy those magazines and look through social media.

Heck, plan the next 2 trips whilst you’re in isolation! And when it’s ok to travel again, bang! You’re all set to go.

If you were planning a big group holiday like I was, you can still continue the planning with your friends. It would be nice to have something else to talk about when you’re all on your virtual chats.

It’s also nice to be able to have something to look forward to. I don’t know about you but listening to the news constantly about the current state of affairs is so depressing and stressful. This is just my way of “detoxing” from COVID 19.

YOU MIGHT LIKE:   8 Tips for Planning a Group Holiday
How to Get Over Travel Blues During Coronavirus - Plan your next trip

Where shall we go next? This is our recent trip to Venice before the major floods of 2019 and now Coronavirus.

#08 – TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ONLINE SALES

Online sales have now started worldwide and there are some seriously good bargains out there that you can take advantage of if you can afford to do so.

This is a great time to get all those travel accessories you have always wanted to but never got around to because they were either too expensive or you simply just didn’t have the time.

The family needs a new set of luggage, you want to upgrade your camera, you need a more secure backpack, better walking shoes, more packing cubes etc.

I know when I travel, I always say “ah! I wish I had this or I must remember to get that next time” but never really get around to it.

Or perhaps you want to try something a bit different next time but don’t have the equipment for it. For example, you have decided it’s time to take the family skiing but don’t have all the accessories. You can now sit down and do some research and start purchasing a few things online and on the cheap.

YOU MIGHT LIKE:   14 Useful Tips for Planning Your First Ski Holiday

#09 – ALTERNATIVE TYPES OF TRAVEL DUE TO BUDGET

As a travel blogger in this current environment, my income has taken a nosedive. We’re a little stressed but not 100% dire straits yet. This however doesn’t deter us from still dreaming about travel. We just have to adjust our expectations and look at alternative types of travel to suit our budget.

We are not big road trippers but have recently wanted to do a drive holiday around the South Island of New Zealand. Doing some quick research on the prices of motor homes and caravan park costs, it was really affordable! I was so excited to know that we could still possibly have something to look forward to later on.

Camping is another great budget alternative. I have many friends who camp 3 or 4 time is in a year and mostly it’s not even about budget. Their families just love it. Even if you don’t camp, you can always head to camping sites and grab a cabin. A much cheaper option than those luxury hotels that’s for sure! And in most cases, the activities surrounding camping are mostly free. Go on those walks through the forest, swims in the river or bike rides along those trails.

Start looking at travel to less expensive countries. If you have always travelled to expensive destinations, you might like to start looking at cheaper alternatives. If a beach holiday to the Maldives was your normal, you may have to adjust it slightly and head to the beaches in Thailand instead.

How to Get Over Travel Blues During Coronavirus - Plan a trip to Queenstown

Out trip to Queenstown, South Island of New Zealand a few years ago. Would love to go back to explore the rest in a motor home!

#10 – BUDGETING PLAN

For those of us who are affected financially because of Coronavirus, this is a good time to look at your finances. I am being realistic and I don’t reckon we would be travelling internationally for another 12 months, at a minimum. In light of that, I am able to re-adjust my budget and re-deploy that somewhere else.

Even though my income has reduced, staying at home does also mean a lot of my other expenses have reduced so everything kind of balances out a little here and there. With school out, I’m hardly driving so lots of petrol savings, we’re not eating out so saving heaps by cooking at home, no social activities so no associated costs and with interest rates in Australia at next to nothing, those costs are also recuperated.

Re-think that budget. A good exercise not only for travel related expenses but an overall scrutiny on your entire household budget.

I have started doing all of these things and it has truly lifted my travel blues. Not in its entirety of course but it has made me feel a whole load better.

Just keeping busy and distracted makes staying at home in isolation so much more bearable. Once I worked out what I wanted to do, there is actually so much on the cards! I’m just getting through them slowly and spreading out the workload to stretch out the time.

I dream of travel every single day and that’s when I could actually travel. I don’t see why I can’t continue to do so just because I can’t. Surely these tips will help you get over travel blues during Coronavirus. Dream away my travel friends. Stay travel productive. Stay safe. Most importantly for now, stay home.

BONUS TIP #1 – RELATED ARTICLES

A-Z City Armchair Travel with Kids

15 Travel Tips for Clean Freaks Heading to Southeast Asia

9 Hacks on How to Take the Best Family Selfie

10 Ways to Get Over Travel Blues During Coronavirus

Disclaimer: The Family Globetrotter’s website contains affiliate links which help us to maintain this blog and assists us with our travels. Family Globetrotters have also posted articles based on sponsored products and/or services but all opinions are our own, truthful and unbiased.

32 comments

Ami Bhat April 9, 2020 - 2:55 pm

Practical and good suggestions in this time. Domestic travel is going to be high for most of us. And frankly, am all for it as there are so many unseen gems in our own backyard. I too, have been clearing my travel pics and sorting them out. Realized how many duplicates I have 😉 Am going to take your advice up on the travel memorials

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 11, 2020 - 10:16 am

I have heaps of duplicates too. I think especially with the iPhone, it’s so easy to just press that button multiple times. Yup, domestic travel is definitely on the cards. Great way to help local businesses too.

Reply
Yukti Agrawal April 8, 2020 - 5:32 pm

Wonderful ideas to get over travel blues during this crisis. I love to arrange my previous travel images and now clearing away all unwanted files and images from my hard disks and memory drives. Cleaning up is highly required for me and this time is best. Also making travel memoirs is great idea and I am planning on my travel album with all travel photos. Learning online photography is also a great tip for our next travel.

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 11, 2020 - 10:15 am

So productive Yukti! I have been very negligent when it comes to my photos. I am still at it and deciding which images to delete has been more difficult than I thought. So I’m keeping most of the ones I thought I didn’t need. Even ones which weren’t particularly good I’m undecided. Funny how they are so precious.

Reply
Joe Ankenbauer April 7, 2020 - 2:29 am

Great. tips! We’ve been utilizing the Spring Cleaning one and re organizing our bucket list haha! That and cooking!

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 11, 2020 - 10:12 am

I so need to stop cooking and baking. By the time I can leave my house, I won’t be able to get through the front door! Seriously!

Reply
Arnav Mathur April 6, 2020 - 12:20 am

Can relate to this so much! Seeing the current scenario, its highly unlikely, that i’ll be taking a foreign trip in 2020, however, i have been researching and planning my domestic Travel Bucket List which i tend to tick off once things start to get better. I am making the most of this time, glued to Pinterest and discovering new destinations and reading about them on a daily basis. Thats keeping me in good spirts for sure.

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 11, 2020 - 10:10 am

Yup, no international trips in 2020 that’s for sure! Very cool that you’re keeping so busy! Yeah, I’m been on Pinterest a lot too. Great place for travel inspiration.

Reply
Anna April 5, 2020 - 11:59 pm

such a good list! I need to do a spring clean haha but creating a travel album sounds so much more fun! Almost feel bad missing travel as I am grateful to live in a 1st world country during this lock down.

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 11, 2020 - 10:08 am

I agree with you! Feeling guilty that I miss travel too but the wanderlust is baaddddd! Enjoy spring cleaning!

Reply
Debra Schroeder April 5, 2020 - 12:04 pm

Great tips to keep travel alive while you can’t travel. I’ve been backing up my photos and trying to get caught up on blog posts. Spring cleaning is next on the list while the hubby has been building out our van.

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 5, 2020 - 1:15 pm

What do you mean building out your van? Are you making it travel ready? Spring cleaning is soooooo boring but I guess I have to get onto that at some point too.

Reply
Ha April 5, 2020 - 3:39 am

Due to this virus, we had to cut off our travel and have been in self-isolation for 3 weeks. We definitely miss our trips and feel bored while staying at home. We’ve been organizing our images as well but definite need to improve our photography skills! Thanks for the tips!

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 5, 2020 - 1:14 pm

Glad you’re using the time well and organise your photos! Good luck with the photography skills! Imagine how good they will be when you can travel again!

Reply
Iuliana Bucurescu April 4, 2020 - 11:28 pm

I resonate a lot with writing a memoir. Even though I have a travel blog in English, I prefer to write a book about each trip and publish it in Romania. The pleasure of writing in your native language is limitless and you can play with the words. I am at the middle of my first book, so wish me good luck.

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 5, 2020 - 1:14 pm

That’s amazing! I can’t imagine writing in a second language. I’m sure there are some words and expressions that you can’t find in English that you wish you could use. I’m sure your Romanian travel memoir will be so heartfelt. Good luck indeed!

Reply
Agnes April 4, 2020 - 8:10 pm

Our life journey was interrupted by a virus. After 8 months of traveling through America, we had to return to the country. I hope that the world will recover soon, and we will be able to complete this road trip. I’m glad we’ve seen so much for eight months. This quarantine time is stressful for everyone all over the world. All of us miss travel. During this time, I also organize photos from the trips. I write more blog posts. It is essential that we can still share memories and tips about our travels. When the world recovers, we will realize our dreams again. Great tips for this hard time! Stay safe!

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 5, 2020 - 1:13 pm

Thanks Agnes! At least you managed to get 8 months in, which in itself is just amazing! Glad you’re finding the time to be productive and making good use of it.

Reply
Blair villanueva April 4, 2020 - 4:36 pm

I miss traveling too. Just like you, we are stucked here in Victoria, and just trying our best to enjoy our self-isolation. Now I have time to arranged my blog contents since 3 years back, while waiting our lives be back to normal.

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 5, 2020 - 1:12 pm

No excuses for getting all your blog content organised now! Enjoy the productive, quiet time.

Reply
Disha Smith April 4, 2020 - 12:49 pm

I miss traveling so much! I actually just planned a trip for later this year since I was missing traveling so much. I feel like I have something to look forward in terms of exploring and it’s a good feeling waking up every morning in the anticipation of a trip.

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 5, 2020 - 1:11 pm

Yeah, it’s the anticipation part that I really miss. Something to talk about, something to plan for.

Reply
Lekha C April 4, 2020 - 12:16 pm

Tripophobia is indeed a real thing. Planning future trips is what has kept me going. I like the idea of alternative travels due to budget constraints!

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 5, 2020 - 1:11 pm

It really is right?? My friends laugh at me when I don’t have my next trip planned. Glad I’m not alone!

Reply
Chelsea April 4, 2020 - 10:59 am

Great tips! Personally I have been future trip planning and spring cleaning (I never ever get around to it normally 😂)
Taking this time to work on our budgets is also a great idea!

ALSO you should 100% do the NZ road trip! I have done both islands and it is AMAZING! So scenic and beautiful x

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 4, 2020 - 11:20 am

Thanks Chelsea! Good on you for starting with spring cleaning! Such a mundane but necessary task. I don’t have the excuse of travel to procrastinate anymore. And yes, totally want to do the road trip. I mean we love Queenstown but have never driven around. Definitely on the cards!

Reply
Clarice April 4, 2020 - 4:36 am

I definitely miss traveling and love your suggestion of organizing my pictures. I have been neglecting it for ages so, this hiatus is just the perfect opportunity. Thank you for sharing this.

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 4, 2020 - 11:19 am

You welcome Clarice. When I started mine, I have to admit I got a bit overwhelmed! Sooooo many photos and videos to sort. Good luck!

Reply
Lisa April 3, 2020 - 9:06 pm

I can really resonate with this post Amy. I’ve definitely got the travel blues, as well as a lot more anxiety over the severity of the virus. I really like the tips you’ve laid out, especially no. 6. I’m going to take your advice and begin compiling my travel memoir, I’ve plenty of memories to compile!

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 4, 2020 - 11:18 am

I bet you do Lisa! So much to pen down and remember. Yeah, I have heaps of anxiety about the virus too and it’s just so depressing! Stay safe Lisa.

Reply
Linda (LD Holland) April 3, 2020 - 8:47 am

We were lucky to have a great vacation for almost 3 months before we came home to self isolation. And we certainly came home with so many blog posts and travel images to deal with! But it did not take long before the travel blues set in! Domestic travel is still discouraged. But we are actively working on doing some pre-planning for epic bucket list trips like Antarctica. Right now we have lots to keep us busy. But the travel itch is there.

Reply
Family Globetrotters April 4, 2020 - 11:18 am

Antarctica! That would be such an amazing experience! I’m waiting for my daughter to grow up so we can make this trip. Yes, a couple of our states in Australia have their borders closed too but they will open before international borders will so we’re looking at some internal travel to satiate our travel blues!

Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.