“Focus on the step in front of you, not the whole staircase.”

Covid-19 has impacted travel in ways we never imagined possible. I mean, no one predicted that in this day and age with all the advances in science and technology, we would face a global pandemic that saw countries go into hard lockdowns, the science community scramble for a vaccine and travel come to a complete halt.

For some of us with wandering souls, having borders closed and all flights grounded indefinitely meant an uncanny suffocation to the soul. For me, it doesn’t matter how big a country is, the idea of just not being able to get on a plane and go somewhere made me feel suffocated and claustrophobic like I had never felt before. I know so many of my fellow travel bloggers have felt the same. For us, the world is our playground and being stuck indefinitely in one country is like being cooped up in a 8 x 2 room with one small window.

While travel will continue to be limited as the pandemic continues to worsen and the second wave now hits so many countries, I’d like to believe that we shouldn’t stop dreaming about travel and still continue doing the usual things we would when searching for inspiration. In fact, the simple act of planning a trip means that at some point in the distant future, you have something to look forward to. That in itself is motivating and inspiring… and well, makes me feel less claustrophobic. So while we might not able to physically book and confirm that flight now, we can reminisce, plan, explore (online) and dream as much as we want.

Here are some quick and easy tips for curing the wanderlust bug right now while we’re all sitting at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Create a dream board on Pinterest

Pinterest is my first stop when planning a trip. It provides a whole lot of travel inspiration from photos to videos to must try foods and essential experiences. You’ll most likely find some unheard of secrets about the place you’re planning to visit as well. Use Pinterest as your virtual dream board to pin the pictures, articles and anything related to the place you’re planning on visiting. It will store here for as long as you like, so you can keep adding to it or pull it out later just before you actually book that trip.

Follow my Pinterest Page here.

Watch some travel inspiration videos

If you haven’t caught on to the TikTok trend, well here’s your push. While TikTok is great for posting short videos about pretty much anything, I use it for travel and bullet journal inspiration. Watch other people’s TikTok’s about the place you’re planning to visit and get some inspiration that way and when you feel brave enough… why not pull out your old unedited crazy on-the-go videos from your past travel experiences and start making some of your own travel inspired TikTok’s?

Explore your options

Do a little bit of research on how to get to your planned destination and explore some of the more unusual routes that you wouldn’t normally take. You’ve got all this time on your hands so now is the best time to do your research. That cheaper airline you’ve always seen but never heard of? Read up on it. That connecting flight into Istanbul? What can you do on a 16 hour layover? SkyScanner is a great site to see possible routes to pretty much anywhere in the world.

Create a Travel Savings Account

This is a pretty great time to 1) pay off any credit card debt from your last splurge of a trip and 2) start saving for your next trip. Since we literally can’t go anywhere (and I mean anywhere… even to a restaurant depending on the lockdown level), it’s the best time to save as much cash as possible.

You can still travel (virtually)

One of the really great things I’ve started seeing on social media is live streaming virtual tours of different cities and towns to boost the tourism industry. It’s a great way to still explore places but from the comfort and safety of your own home. It’s also a great way to plan if you really do want to visit a place because you get to see it live streamed! That’s a win-win if you asked.

Go on a (virtual) museum tour

It’s the same for museums… because of the lockdown, so many museums and galleries have started offering virtual tours. In fact, Google has collaborated with over 2500 museums and galleries to start showing online exhibits. These include the Guggenheim Museum in New York as well as the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

Start your museum experience here on Google Arts and Culture.

Reminisce (and finally do something) with your past travel photos

So here’s one of my vices… I take as many travel photos as I can when abroad and then end up with literally hundreds of photos just sitting on my computer, phone, camera and SD cards. But what comes of them? Nothing. I often look back at them and plan to do more with them, but I rarely ever find the time. Well, if anything, the time has come! Lockdown has forced so many of us to just sit at home and really, if you aren’t going to start working through your travel photos and videos now then when will you ever start?! Take some time and think about what you want to do with your photos – maybe create a scrapbook, or a DIY map of memories?

Here’s how to create your very own DIY Map of Memories!

So tell me, what have you been doing to cure your itchy feet during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Share your tips with me in the comments below!