How to plan your travels for after the COVID-19 pandemic

Last, we looked at how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting everyone, from those stranded at sea to those stuck at home to those at risk of losing their jobs. We also showed how it’s possible to stay home and see the world thanks to all the options for ‘virtual reality’ travel, which is just one of many travel technology trends right now.

Still, as much as you might get a kick out of watching travel videos or doing an in-home scavenger hunt to keep the quarantine blues at bay, nothing beats the real thing. But since nobody knows when you can travel again, the best you can do right now is prepare for the trip of a lifetime (which has the added benefit of being good for your mental health).

Indeed, while last week’s post looked at the best travel books and other sources of inspiration, now’s a good time to invest in a practical travel guide, ideally one that can help you avoid the biggest errors travellers make. It’s also a good idea to consider using a travel agent, many of whom have proved their worth during this tricky time.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR TRAVEL SKILLS

Another thing you can do right now is improve your ‘travel skills’, be it by learning a foreign language (so that you don’t end up as one of those tourists who only speak English), taking a course in travel photography (or urban sketching if you’re up for something more challenging), or trying your hand at visual storytelling (through travel documentary filmmaking or even wildlife filmmaking). Indeed, even if you’re under lockdown or quarantine and can’t go out to capture photos of a hushed world, there are plenty of photography projects you can work on from home.

Speaking of which, you can also use this time to organise your travel photos from a previous trip, perhaps with the intention of getting your travel pictures published and even writing a great travel article to go with them. Indeed, reliving your best travel experiences should prove that it’s always possible to learn something new on a trip, even if it’s just the realisation that, as David Cain writes, nothing can be saved for later: 

“We can create as many records and depictions of life as we want. But it’s life itself that we actually appreciate, and life can’t be saved for later.”