Are you an avid traveler like me now stuck at home with not many thing to do during quarantine? I know, it is frustrating, de-motivating and just plain sad. But try to look at this situation as a GIFT OF TIME. I am sure there are lots of things to do for planning your next trip so use this time to do them and get prepared for your next adventure. Here are some ideas of travel related things to do during the quarantine:
THINGS TO DO DURING THE QUARANTINE
1.Check you gear
There is no better thing to do during quarantine is to check on your travel gear and make repairs and adjustments where there is need. Does the toilet in your RV keep malfunctioning? Do you you have a loose wheel or handle on your travel bag? Is your favorite travel shirt missing a button? This is the time to fix these things before your next trip.
Make a thorough travel gear audit. May be some of the issues are not fixable anymore and you simply need a replacement, which leads me to the second item on my list of things to do during the quarantine.
2. Buy travel gear
If you are missing an item or have a poorly functioning one or simply too old item of travel gear, this is the best time to look for replacement on-line. Spring is typically the time for sales on all winter travel gear from clothes to skiing accessories so there is a high chance of scoring a great item at a deep discount. And since the economy is slow right now you may be able to also find incentives for the items that are not typically on sale this time of the year such as camping gear.
3. Plan your next trip
It is never too early to plan your next trip. In fact, this is one of those absolutely essential things to do during quarantine for two reasons.
First of all, planning a dream trip requires time. Lot’s of popular destinations in California, for instance, get booked out a year in advance. It took me more than 2 years to plan my Yosemite trip because reasonably priced hotels within this national park get fully booked 12 months in advance.
Second of all, planning a trip will most likely put you in a good mood and don’t we all need a big doze of endorphins right now?
Don’t know where you would like to go? For travel inspiration, sign up for Family Road Trip Guru newsletter to get my FREE travel planning checklist that will get you started!
Then once you decide roughly on where you would like to go or what you would like to do, check if you need any travel guides and start reading through relevant travel blogs. Family Road Trip Guru is here for you with dozens on cool itineraries that are:
- detailed
- ready to use
- inspirational
- fun
- educational
- affordable
On my blog you can choose an itinerary by a geographic destination in the “Categories” section or by an area of interest in the tag cloud (ex. beach trip, mountains, wine tasting, etc.).
You may also be able to score good discounts on travel bookings right now. Since you have lots of time on your hands, check as many travel booking sites as you can for the best deals.
4. Learn a language
Are you planning a trip to a foreign country? Take this gift of time to start learning the local language. May be it is not the easiest thing to do during the quarantine but certainly one of the most rewarding. Two yeas ago we made a fantastic trip to Quebec and New Brunswick. I brushed up on my French before going and then at Montreal Botanic Garden they charged me “local resident” price for 4 tickets not even asking me for an ID (saved me a ton of money!) 🙂
5. Learn a skill
Will you need a special skill for your next trip? May be you always wanted to improve your photography and/or video making skills – this is the time to do it. I have to confess, this is on top of my personal list of things to do during quarantine. I am currently learning macro photography.
Another cool idea: learn about wine and wine tasting for future visits to great wineries in California and beyond. I have an earlier detailed post that walks you through what you need to know to feel comfortable with wines: basics of wine tasting for beginners. Some of the wineries are actually hosting FREE on-line (Live) wine tastings during the quarantine which you can easily participate in from the comfort of your home. We watched a cool educational Sculpterra winery wine tasting last weekend and we loved it. We learnt about a couple of grape varieties as well as wine and food pairings – such a fun experience!
And how about learning to cook some international dishes? This skill will come handy for my idea #9 below.
6. Watch country specific movies
Take a virtual trip to a country of your choice through watching movies made in that country. Not the Hollywood movies made about a country but actually locally made movies. I love French and Italian movies and also some German and Japanese ones. Here are a couple of my favorites that are great for a stay-in movie night. Watch them in the local language with English subtitles for more of an immersive experience:
7. Read exciting travel books
There are so many great travel books (fiction and non-fiction) that take you on amazing adventures from the comfort of your home – armchair travel at its best! Grab a glass of wine or a cup tea, whatever makes you happy, and hop on board! Check out my recent post about my most favorite books about journeys, travel and discovery that I highly recommend.
8. Travel virtually
Armchair travel is a great escape during the time of quarantine. There are lots of resources currently available on-line for virtual travel. From my blog’s library I can recommend two fun and educational virtual travel itineraries:
9. Have a theme dinner
A big part of traveling experience is enjoying local food. Why not bring the food experience home? You can either cook a meal yourself or order from a local restaurant to support a small business. Pair the dinner with a movie from/about the country the food of which you are tasting that day and you will have a great theme party.
10. Play travel themed games
Travel themed games are an excellent addition to your theme party I talked about above. Playing games is a great way to spend an evening as a family and not just during the quarantine. Below are my favorite travel themed games that are both exciting and educational:
Do you have any tips to share about things to do during the quarantine? Please, share them in the comments below!
If you found these tips about things to do during quarantine helpful and enjoyed this armchair travel experience, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some nice giveaways!
Traveling during quarantine may not be the most feasible thing to do right now, but I like how creative these tips are. It shows that one can get involved in a travel-like experience without having to leave the house and put their health at risk. Great read!
I am so glad you find this useful! I hope you are able to do some of these things to lighten up your quarantine days.