How do you reignite your wanderlust when you can’t travel?

It seems that my last post, about feeling like you’ve lost a little bit of your identity when you can’t travel, really struck a chord within the travel community.

It’s been so interesting to read people’s responses to it. Lots of you can’t wait to travel again, while others have said it’s actually given you the time and money to focus on other areas of your lives.

But while some people are planning and looking ahead to future trips, others said they just cannot think about it at the moment and that they have lost their passion for travel.

So what can you do to reignite your wanderlust if you’re feeling this way?

Well, I must admit, I’ve been feeling the same for the last six months or so. 

Ever since we had to cancel our planned holiday to Albania, I’ve been reluctant to organise trips, so that I don’t have to face the disappointment if they are cancelled due to the ongoing situation with Covid-19.

But at the start of the year I decided to make a conscious effort to stop feeling so negative about it all.

Travelling is such a huge part of my life and I missed being able to talk, write and daydream about it. Although nobody can say right now when it will be safe to travel again, this change in mindset has really made me feel more positive, despite the absolute chaos going on around us right now.

So, for anyone else looking to do the same, here’s some ways you can reignite your wanderlust, even during a pandemic. 

Connect with other travellers to reinvigorate your love of travel

I cannot stress this one enough. Finding your tribe when it comes to travel is really important. There’s such a huge number of travel enthusiasts online and whatever your travel style or budget, your community is out there.

After a little break I’ve loved reconnecting with other travel fans on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, to daydream about future trips and talk about the things we miss about travelling. In fact, I’m missing it so much I’m even missing things I never thought I would!

Look back over previous trips to remind yourself what you love about travelling

One of the things I really love about all of the photo/phone apps we now have is when they flag up what you were doing one / two / three years ago. Often for me, those photos include travel memories and even just talking about them or sharing them with family and friends brings me so much joy.

Talking about our previous holidays has also allowed Mr A and I to start thinking about where we’d like to go on future trips.

Plan for the future to keep your spirits up

The biggest thing that is helping to reignite my wanderlust right now is planning for the future. While trips this year may still be up in the air, we’re hoping that by next year the world will have opened up a little more, in large part thanks to various vaccines. So we’re tentatively beginning to plan what we hope will be a big family trip for next year.

From the moment we started talking about it, I could feel my excitement levels and my optimism beginning to rise.

The mind is a powerful thing and I think that sometimes it just needs to be allowed to daydream and roam free, without being constrained by the ‘what ifs’ which we have no answers to at the moment.

Read books / magazines to inspire your wanderlust

On that note, if you don’t even know where to begin with kick-starting your passion to travel again, why not get some inspirations from magazines or a book?

There are some great value deals on travel magazines that come direct to your door to give you a monthly dose of wanderlust.

I’ve also read some brilliant travel books over the past year for #travelbookclub and whether it’s imagining myself trekking along the South West Coast Path thanks to The Salt Path or being transported through different countries by rail in Around the World in 80 Trains, a book can always whisk me away from reality for a few hours.

Honestly, the more I read, the more my travel list grows!

Start writing again so you can do something you love

I think for a long time many travel bloggers didn’t feel comfortable writing about their travels. After all, in the grand scheme of things, our holidays are not exactly important right now, are they? 

For a while I felt like that too. It felt embarrassing to be writing new blog posts when there are so much bigger things going on in the world. 

But as I watched people seeking sanctuary in their hobbies, finding solace in their baking and easing their anxiety with exercise, I realised that we all need to do a little of what we love, especially in these times.

So I wrote a post about my newest little adventurer and then I wrote another about what it’s like to be a travel blogger at the moment and now I’m writing another. And little by little, these posts have given me fresh energy and pushed me to start looking to the future.

Take small adventures from home so you never lose that sense of excitement

As we are all very aware, there are lots of unknowns in the future right now. Who knows when it will be safe to travel again or what travel will look like when we do?

But if there’s anything this last year has taught me, it’s to appreciate the small adventures around us. Ever since the first lockdown we made it our mission to force ourselves to get out and about as much as we can (obviously pretty essential when you have a very active toddler!)

I’ll admit, it hasn’t always been easy. But it’s always been worth it. And one of the things I love now is that whenever we say to our little adventurer “Shall we go on an adventure?” (aka a Government-allowed walk) she always gets so excited. The other day we crossed a bridge over a dual carriageway and she couldn’t stop talking about it! Seeing the world through her eyes has really made me realise how anything can be an adventure if you want it to be.

I’d love to hear any other tips you’ve used to reignite your wanderlust!