Keeping Creative at Home: How to travel the world from your sofa

It’s summer – traditionally a time for holidays, relaxation, travelling abroad, school trips and residentials. But this year ‘staycationing’ will be taking on a new meaning for most of us, with many holidays confined to our local area (or living rooms). However, using the wealth of online content available along with some creative ideas, you can still visit somewhere new from the comfort of your own home via a virtual vacation.

During lockdown, I have been spending many weekends going on virtual trips. Some places I had been before, and other places are on my bucket list to go in future. Even if you are planning on attempting a real-life trip this summer with your children, a virtual holiday is a great way to fill a rainy day – and is also much cheaper and safer!

Most of the ideas below will require some technology and internet access, but there are some crafty ways to spend time away from a screen too. They are suitable for all ages with adult support and can even be done with friends and family in other houses – I successfully achieved this with joined up itineraries and lots of video calling! To get the most out of it, I would recommend planning your trip in advance.

1. Choose your destination

It could be somewhere you have visited as family before so you can relive some of your memories, somewhere you want to visit, or somewhere you think you might never get the chance to go.

Having now virtually travelled across the world on my own adventures, my advice would be to choose a destination that has some cultural opportunities that interest you. Enjoy good food? You might want consider Italy for the cookery lesson potentials. Love wildlife? How about somewhere you can go on safari, or maybe a trek in the Amazon jungle. A history buff? Take a trip to somewhere that has archaeological sites or online museum collections you could virtually tour.

Don’t discount destinations closer to home either. The New Forest and Scotland are great for those who want to enjoy some scenic countryside. Why not do a tour of all those UK sites you’ve never found the time to visit before? How many of us have never walked the streets of Bath, glimpsed Stonehenge or seen inside the Houses of Parliament?

If you are a teacher, you could encourage students to visit the same destination as a summer project, or visit somewhere together in September – especially if your residential or much anticipated school trip has been cancelled.

Travel guides often have lists of top things to do in a city – Lonely Planet even recently put together some lists of virtual destinations.

2. Set the scene

Once you have your destination, transform your table (or TV area) into a space you can use as your travel base. You might want to make it feel different, so you aren’t just in the same place you’ve been sat for the past three months!

If you are going somewhere in the countryside, you could gather all the house plants together to make it feel a bit more like a forest. If it is a place you have visited before, dig out your photos and souvenirs.

If you will be spending lots of time in Parisian cafes, you could make a pretend restaurant table. You could even paint, draw or make famous landmarks for a backdrop – I made an Eiffel tower out of cardboard and stuck it to the wall for a nice view from my ‘café’. You could make a shop and role-play visiting, or even erect a tent and pretend to be camping!