Between travel restrictions, travel bans, airlines cutting service, and general hysteria (click here to find out why you should NOT be panicking!), there’s not a lot of travel going on these days! For those of us who use travel for stress-management, self-care, or a huge reward for our hard work, the thought of not traveling at all or being required to stay in quarantine for 14 days is alarming at the very least! So to alleviate your anxiety, here are a few things you can do to survive without travel—it’s just temporary. We can do it!

10. FaceTime with Friends and Family

Y’all, it’s the 21st Century! Even my parents have the ability to FaceTime, Skype, e-mail, and make a good old-fashioned phone call! There’s no reason to be bored or miss out on quality time with friends and family as long as you have a device and an Internet connection. So check on your family, make a coffee date with a friend, and do it all on a video chat!

9. Organize Your Closet for Travel

Okay, hear me out! You will feel so good when your closet is organized for your travels. Organize all those travel-size toiletries, switch out those winter clothes for spring and summer pieces, and start a box of clothing and other items to donate. Help yourself and help someone else while you’re at it!

Need some travel toiletries? Try out these Solid Toiletries to save space in your liquids bag—and the planet!

8. Look through Pictures from Past Trips

You took 8,000 pictures on that trip last summer… when was the last time you looked at them? Not since? You’re not alone! Take a little time (you’ve got plenty to spare) and reminisce for a while. You could even channel your creative energy and make a photo book with Mpix, SnapFish, Shutterfly, or MixBook to keep those memories around you forever. They can also make all kinds of other things with your photos (calendars, mugs, puzzles, etc.), so take your pic and create your pick!

7. Write that Book You’ve Been Meaning to Write

That’s write! (See what I did there?) This is the perfect time to work on that book you’ve been meaning to write all your life. I’m personally working on two books (one of which is travel-related!), and this is a great time to make it happen, everyone!

Not a writer? Make Your Own Creative Retreat to work on your pet project!

6. Take a Virtual Tour of a Museum

This is an incredible thing museums have started doing all over the world! It’s great that museums have been including touch-screens and interactive exhibits in their facilities, but at the moment, touching things that zillions of other people have touched is not the right thing to do! So museums have come up with ways for the general public to see and interact with their museums from home.

• Had to cancel your trip to Paris? You can still visit the Louvre!
• Promised your kids they’d see dinosaurs on spring break? Check out the virtual tour at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History!
• Really wanted to see George Washington’s home during cherry blossom season? Check out Mount Vernon’s virtual tour!
• Wishing you could visit the British Museum in London? They’re virtual, too!

Just do a quick Google search for the museum of your choice, or simply search for “virtual museums in the world” and start exploring!

5. Binge Watch

Under normal circumstances, I would never recommend binge watching, but these are definitely not normal circumstances! Some of my favorite travel-influenced shows that I usually watch at the gym, on a flight, when I’m sick, or while I’m quarantined are:

• Amazon Prime Video: Magnum, P.I. (all seasons of the original available), Murder, She Wrote (first five seasons available), Amazing Race (seasons 1-29 available), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (all current seasons available), and Wings (all seasons available)!
• Netflix: The Crown (all current seasons available), The Great British Baking Show (seven seasons available), Cable Girls (dubbed from Spanish, all current seasons available), and the movies Running for Grace (set in Hawaii) and Falling Inn Love (set in New Zealand)!
• Hulu: Survivor (34 seasons available), Amazing Race (seasons 1-29 available), Timeless (both seasons available), and Expedition Unknown (two seasons available)!

4. Make a Dent in Your “To-Read” Stack

Anyone else have about six books on their night stand right now? Just me? All the books I was waitlisted for on the library came ready for me within two days of each other! Between running my own business, writing my books, and keeping the house clean, I don’t let myself take time to read as much as I’d like to. I’m guessing you might be in the same boat, so go ahead and put “read” on the top of that quarantine to-do list! Next on my travel reading list:

Need some book suggestions, you’ll find all my past summer reading lists here!

3. Travel from Home

Seem too good to be true? Well, maybe it is, but it’s worth a try when it’s your only option! Get a little creative with trying out new coffees from far-flung places that grow coffee, or throw a “theme night” where you have a party (for yourself and/or the people you live with—do not send out invites!) themed around a country you want to visit! However you think you can bite back at the travel bug from the comfort of home and the people you live with, make it happen.

Want more ideas? Check out 5 Ways to Travel from Home!

2. Work Out

My husband Steve and I have two hobbies: travel and fitness! Both are good for our mental and physical well-being, so if travel’s not an option, we have to get our fitness in. It’s easier than ever to workout anywhere these days, even in your own home! The Kira Stokes Fit app (get the 7-day FREE trial to find out if you like it before subscribing) and her Instagram account are both amazing, and she always has new content using little or no equipment. Think you can’t work up a sweat using your own body weight? Think again!

There are tons of things you can do at home with a little bit of equipment if you feel like you need it. Here are my favorites!

Check it all out on my Health and Wellness Page!

1. Plan Travel

This is the time! Sign up for flight deal alerts on sites like Hopper, SkyScanner, Kayak, and more so you’ll get an e-mail when deals come up for your dream destination. Stalk your favorite airline’s website and social media outlets for deals. Hop on Trip Advisor or your favorite travel planning app to figure out what you want to do when you get where you want to go. Create a new Pinterest board for all your travel inspiration, then fill it up! There are so many ways you can be excited for travel, even in quarantine!

Read more: How to Find Cheap Flights
and Flight Finding Tools

Bonus: Road Trip!

When you get truly stir-crazy and you just have to get out of the house, take a short road trip! You can stay totally self-contained in your car while enjoying the budding springtime scenery. Get a little creative to keep your sanity!

Want more? Check out my Health and Wellness Page for all my health and wellness travel tips!

Love this post? Pin it for later!