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round trip travel and lifestyle blog

13 Ways to Travel At Home During Quarantine

April 2, 2020
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Being quarantined is a hard, emotional experience, especially if you love to travel. Although for very good reason, these travel bans can be tough to process if you got a case of wanderlust. Being a travel blogger, I feel you. It’s hard when one of the things you love most in life seems to have been taken away from you — even when you know this quarantine is for a good reason.

Lucky for you, I’ve rounded up the 13 best ways to “travel” at home during quarantine. From travel podcasts to travel-themed crafts, here are the best ways to satisfy that wanderlust of yours while keeping our community safe and healthy.

This post includes affiliate links, which means I may earn a kickback from links clicked. These help me run my blog and come at no extra cost to you. All opinions are my own.

Read a travel-themed book

Is there a place you’ve dreamed of visiting? Or maybe it’s an intense nostalgia for that summer abroad? Reading is a great way to spend your quarantine time and an even better way to transport you to another place on earth. Right now I’m reading Mademoiselle Chanel by C.W. Gortner, a biography on Coco Chanel.

If you’re looking for a lighter read instead of a novel, I have several coffee table book recs for you. One of my favorite travel bloggers, Brooke Saward, published a beautiful book called World of Wanderlust, which gives you the best tips and destinations for a seamless trip.

Another gorgeous book every traveler needs for her coffee table is Paris in Color by Nichole Robertson. This photography book takes its reader throughout the City of Lights by color.

Not sure where to begin or what to read? Check out Goodread’s best picks for travel.

Plan for a future trip

One day this coronavirus madness will subside, and life will get back to some type of new normal. We will get to travel again, and what a beautiful day that will be! Take this extra time to plan and dream of where you’d like to visit. Being quarantined has made me realize how short life is and how much we take for granted.

Spend an hour (or nine) on Pinterest and start looking up new destinations. Make a board for your different trip ideas. Ask friends about some of their favorite trips. Obviously, we won’t be able to travel for awhile or get anything in stone, but making a list of places you’d like to travel is a great way to satisfy that wanderlust and to stay hopeful.

Read travel blogs

I might be biased, but I love reading blogs. I get to hear from a real person about her story and how she’s doing life. Some of my favorites are Helene from Helene in Between and Brooke from World of Wanderlust. Travel bloggers are having to pivot these days and have new ideas for you as we’re in this period of waiting.

Watch House Hunters International

Call me a 34 year-old woman with three kids and a mortgage, but I love House Hunters International. It’s such a great way to explore new parts of the world and get a brief rundown of what that city is like. It introduces you to places you might not have considered visiting. Currently, this show is available on Hulu and YouTube TV among others.

Whether or not you watch House Hunters International, you gotta follow @househunters_screens. As much as I love this show, I know it’s not the most realistic; I just like getting to see expensive houses and different cities. But this account takes screenshots of some of the wackiest things said on the show, and it never fails to make me laugh.

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A post shared by House Hunters Screens (@househunters_screens)

Watch Our Planet on Netflix

If you love learning about the earth’s finest flora and fauna, this is the show for you. This documentary has eight episodes spanning different types of ecosystems: coastal seas, deep sea, frozen areas, jungles and beyond. I find it relaxing and educational.

Watch a travel-themed movie

Watching a movie is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in quarantine-style travel. Whether you want a travel-themed chick flick or thriller, this list of 11 movies is your saving grace.

Learn a language

If you have spent even a minute with me, you know I love French and France and French things and French food — the list goes on. And although I’m not the least bit surprised, I found out today that my graduation trip through the south of France was canceled.

And I’m upset, especially because we’ve been planning this for about a year now, paid it off and everything. I know I’ll get to return to France one day, but in the meantime, I’m using my (many) quarantine moments to continue learning French.

DOWNLOAD my Quarantine Survival Guide Workbook, which includes 21 pages of guided journaling, boredom buster ideas, budgeting ideas, scheduling templates and motivational goal setting.

I wrote a post on the 7 best ways to learn a foreign language, so regardless of what language you want to learn, I have the best resources. Kanopy.com also has a show called Learning French, which I started watching. This show walks you through basic French and teaches you about the francophone world.

Whether it’s Greek or Egyptian hieroglyphs, Kanopy.com is a fantastic resource if you’re looking to learn a language.

Najac, France

Make a travel-themed craft

Next, with all this downtime, it’s a good idea to get your hands busy. Maybe it’s a travel-themed coloring book. Or maybe you want to put yourself up to a more in-depth craft.

I’ve written several DIYs on travel-themed crafts including a travel mason jar, a travel bulletin board and travel-themed prints. All of these crafts are relatively simple and are a great way to “travel” at home during quarantine.

Make a photo book

We have all these great intentions of keeping a travel journal and making a cute photo book to commemorate our trip memories. But then life gets busy and we completely forget about it.

Now that we have literally all of the time in the world, go back and make a photo book from a recent (or not so recent) trip. Collect old memorabilia that’s been sitting in your closet such as ticket stubs, brochures and wrappers. This can be as time-consuming as you make it.

Some deals to take advantage of: Make a free Shutterfly photo book with my link. Get $20 off your first book from Blurb. Get $10 off your first order from Parabo Press with my code: EEDLJS.

Listen to a podcast

Travel with your mind via podcast. Duolingo has foreign language podcasts in Spanish and French. Personally, I love listening to The Land of Desire, a French history podcast. It sounds dry, but it’s fascinating.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Land of Desire Podcast (@thelandofdesire)

Here’s another eight travel-themed podcasts you might want to look into.

Redesign your room

I believe everyone needs a quarantine hobby to stay sane, and for my mom, it means redesigning the dining room. I have collected so many knickknacks, books and scrapbooks over the year that I will be able to decorate my first home without a problem. Use this extra time to redesign your bedroom, bathroom, guest room, kitchen or living room all with your travel memorabilia.

I made a vlog about how I designed my bedroom to showcase my travels for an affordable price.

Take my budgeting course

Travel might be at a standstill, but educating yourself for your next adventure is not. This year I launched The Ultimate Guide to Travel Budgeting, and thousands of students have already enrolled. In my 30-minute online course, you’ll learn:

  • Concrete ways to earn extra cash outside of your 9-to-5
  • Simple ways to save and maximize your travel fund
  • What your travel values are and how that influences your budget planning
  • How to make a travel budget

Want free access to my 30-minute travel budgeting course?

Start budgeting now

Yes, money is tight right now. But when times get tight, we have a chance to look at our budget again and analyze what’s most important to us. Your income might have dropped some, but chances are you’re eating out less, buying Starbucks less, etc.

Maybe saving for a future trip is not at all in the cards right now. That’s okay! All these layoffs and pay reductions are scary, and as someone who is set to enter the job market next month, I’m worried, too. One great quick way to get cash back for items you’re already purchasing is through Rakuten. Seriously, my best life hack right there for you. Sign up and get $10 free.

But if you’re fortunate enough to still have a steady income, think about setting aside some money or percentage for your travel fund. I interviewed Faith about how she and her husband saved religiously, which allowed them to travel for five months. It also keeps you motivated and gives you something to look forward to.

These times are uncertain, hard, scary and less than desirable. I’m sad that I can’t travel and that my big trip to France with my family got canceled. I hear you, I see you. We’re in this together. In the meantime, I hope these 13 ways to “travel” at home during quarantine will satisfy your wanderlust.

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Comments

  1. Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle says

    April 2, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    These are great tips. I’m updating my travel goals as we speak. 🙂

    Reply
    • roundtriptravel says

      April 2, 2020 at 8:25 pm

      Hey Rochelle! I’m so glad you enjoyed these tips. Wishing you good health and happiness in these tough times 🙂

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Kristin. I'm a content creator teaching English in southern France. I'm all about exploring new places, practicing my French and sharing blogging tips. Allez-viens!
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Not to be dramatic or anything, but those nine day Not to be dramatic or anything, but those nine days truly changed my life😍 About 7 years ago, I was taking AP European History and heard about a summer trip to Europe with my high school. London, Paris, Florence and Rome.

Yep, we were that group of students walking around Europe with our lanyards and headsets. I got those jitters when I saw Europe in its glory for the first time. And I still do.

If you would’ve told me then that I’d move to France during a global pandemic, I’d tell you you’re complètement fou.

But here’s the thing: that trip with @EFtours stirred something inside of me, and it has yet to settle. It was a longing to see and experience the world with my own two eyes. And it inspired me to start my travel blog, to continue with my French studies, to study abroad and to move to France.

This ain't sponsored (but I sure wish it were!), and I mean with my whole heart those few days in high school set me onto this path. And for that, I am beyond grateful.

🤔What about you? Can you point to a specific moment or experience that set you on the path you're on today, all these years later? Tell me about it⬇️

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One thing you rarely hear about life abroad: so mu One thing you rarely hear about life abroad: so much dang paperwork and many complicated processes🙈

💰I have several bank accounts in the U.S. and France. I'm paid in euros, but I still have recurring subscriptions on my American credit card. I'm also all about growing my savings and getting those credit card points on my American account.

What👏to👏do?👏

❌I tried sending money directly from my French bank account to my American credit card bill. It worked, but there was bigger fee. And it was only to pay off charges, not grow savings.

✅But then a friend introduced me to @TransferWise and now I am set! I can easily transfer between my different checking accounts for the lowest rates I ever did see. Plus,  I'm still able to grow my savings and investment accounts in America.

❓OK but what is it?! @TransferWise is a third-party site that transfers money between accounts from all over the world. They price compare their rates with other companies. Their site is super easy to use and explains the whole process. And the rates were crazy low and not as high as the transfer I made directly through my banks.

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Have you ever had one of those “it’s a small w Have you ever had one of those “it’s a small world” moments?🌏

☀️Back in 2017, I spent a summer in Toulouse. One weekend, my friends and I went on a road trip to a slew of villages in southwestern France. They were truly some of the best days of my life: we stayed in my friend’s castle🏰(casual), we swam in the river + sunbathed, we drank wine + played games, we explored idyllic villages.

One of my favorite spots with the sweetest of nostalgic memories was in a small village called Laguépie. Population: ~600. Whenever people asked me my favorite place in France, nobody ever knew where I was talking about. It wasn’t in the magazines or travel blogs. (Ahem, it’s on mine!)

➡️Fast forward to 2020. I’m preparing to leave for France and am keeping a close eye on my teaching program’s Facebook page. An American girl posted in the group about her time in Marseille, and we began messaging. She helped me with a million and one things during my move to France, and we’ve stayed in touch and become good friends.

Earlier this month, I visited Albi to see her along with her French boyfriend, who’s from a small village. He never told me the name, but as we were sipping wine and eating saucissons, he said something about Laguépie.

“WHAT?! Did you say Laguépie? I’ve been there and fell in L O V E!” He said, no, we can’t be talking about the same place, no one ever goes to my hometown😂 But after showing him my photos, including ones the village’s castle @chateau_louvielcastel reposted, it was one and the same.

Can someone queue “Invisible String” because what a small world this is that we’re all connected. Do you have any wild stories like that? Tell me in the comments⬇️

#laguepie #laguépie #viaur #franceprofonde #lafranceprofonde #microinfluencer #tarn #garonne #occitanie #frenchvillage #vivelafrance #stmartinlaguepie #bloggersunder5k #bloggersunder2k #bloggersunder1k #bloggersunder10k #itsasmallworld #smallworld #jaimelafrance #patrimoine @occitanietourisme
What do you like searching for on Pinterest?📌 What do you like searching for on Pinterest?📌

✈️I love finding travel destinations + itineraries, easy recipes and decorating ideas. My guess is that you've found some blogs and ideas you love through this site. 

😍I'm even more obsessed with how @pinterest serves to grow my blog and brand.

Currently kicking myself for not getting on the Pinterest for Business train sooner because this site is truly a game changer. I went from a personal account with a wedding board and gluten-free board with recipes I’d never tried to a bustling business board with more than 400,000 monthly visitors. And most of that is not from advertising.

📈I took a free @jennakutcher webinar on how to use Pinterest for Business and saw massive growth. And the best part? You can schedule out content for an entire week in just 30 minutes to an hour. 

⏩Pinterest is my top driver of traffic, and if you want to upgrade your blog like a pro, this is where you need to invest your time, hands down.

Want to learn how you can use Pinterest to grow your blog, brand or biz? Head over to link in bio for my best blogging tips💯

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Best day trips from Nice No. 4: Èze🏰 This med Best day trips from Nice No. 4: Èze🏰

This medieval village enchanted me so much so I almost teared up as we left because I just didn’t want to go. If there are castles, sea views and charm, I’m so there. And Èze checks all these boxes✅ 

😍This medieval village is a labyrinth of cobblestone and windy paths, but the steps are worth it. There are shops and restaurants along the way to the top where you get sweeping views of the Mediterranean Sea. 

🌵Once you make it to the top, you have to pay to enter the Jardin Exotique d’Èze, and I can't recommend it enough. (Be sure to ask about the combo deal that includes both the garden in Èze and the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild nearby.)

🚗🛤️Distance from Nice: 30-minute drive or 15 minute train ride

Craving more photos + day trip ideas from Nice? Head over to link in bio ❤️

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How's your sense of direction?↪️🗺️I am th How's your sense of direction?↪️🗺️I am the queen of getting lost — and not on purpose😂

When I lived in Toulouse in 2017, I took a day trip to a nearby town to visit a friend. Wanting to get the best deal, I booked the 6 a.m. train. Unfortunately, I didn't think it all the way through🙃

I left my apartment on time, but when I got to the metro, it hadn't started running yet. I was nervous about getting to the train station on time, but if I hurried, I could make it.

Alas, I made it to the metro stop where I was supposed to switch metro lines. I had one job, and I failed🙈

⚠️I went the wrong direction, and once I realized it, I quickly got off the next stop and ran up to the street. I was unbelievably lost, and the sun hadn't even come up. Eventually, I made it to the train station but had completely missed the train.

And defeated, I sat down in the bakery, cried and FaceTimed my mom. Some kind French girl saw my tears and approached me to help me book a new train.

Since then, I've gotten lost many more times😆 But it's taught me to not be so hard on myself because getting lost is part of the journey. (And if it's not a good time, it's a good story, eh?😜)

 #blogginglife #dametravel #dametraveler #blogger #girlswhotravel #travelquotes #quotes #inspirational #bloggerunder5k #bloggerlifestyle #bloggersofinstagram #bloggervibes #bloggersgetsocial #travelblogger #instablog #microinfluencer #microinfluencers #quotable #eze #ezefr #tapif #assistantdelangue #tapifusa
Have you ever dreamed about making money from your Have you ever dreamed about making money from your hobby?✨

I remember when I first decided I wanted to make money from my blog. I thought to myself, I’m not qualified and no one is going to buy this. I’m just a 19 year-old girl! 

❌Wrong, wrong, wrong! You have expertise, you have knowledge, you have know-how. Blogging isn’t often a get rich quick scheme; it takes a lot of time and effort. But the fact that you can make money from doing what you love on your own time online is the coolest!

📚When I started monetizing my blog, I started out selling my paperback books, and I made money from these self-published books at the ripe age of 19. I’ve found better luck selling digital products such as ebooks as the profit margins and logistics are much simpler.

Tell me about your dreams in the comments⬇️And if you're looking to monetize your blog, bop over to my link in bio on how to do exactly that🤑

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