I love New York City in the rain – shifting, dotted waters and rust and brick buildings. But as much as I may enjoy walking through half-deserted streets, Netflix is equally compelling. So here are a few ways you can travel without getting your feet wet or dusty or muddy.
1. Netflix documentaries.
Oh Netflix. How do I love you? Let me count the ways. In addition to the endless TV (Gilmore Girls!!) and retro classics, Netflix also has some amazing documentaries, many of them in far away lands. Our recommendations? If you want something funny, go for UnHung Hero, when a man with a smaller-than-average penis travels the world looking for a way to feel better about it (but really). Feel the call of the wild? National Geographic has an extensive piece on the Appalachian Trail. A foodie or comedy fan? British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon eat their way through England and Italy in two installments of The Trip, a based-on-real and kind-of-fake documentary.
2. Virtual Tours
Go to the Louvre. Right now. But really. Virtual tours are now a thing. Before it was just a way for realtors to make their crappy pictures look cooler (they’re not pictures. They’re a virtual tour), virtual tours are now used to help financially strapped travelers explore other cultures. Our favorites are The Louvre and AirPano (which is a bunch of 360 panoramas around the world).
3. Read Travel Blogs
Just because you can’t go on your own adventure doesn’t mean you can’t live through someone else’s. Travel blogs are great because not only are you helping a fellow traveler with her or his endeavors (your views = money), you can also get into the grit of other cultures. Many blogs have very specific themes, so there’s a site out there for everyone. If you’re a fan of roughing it, Expert Vagabond famously hitchhiked across America and is a great source of wild adventures. Literary minded people will love Nowhere Mag, a travel writing website that features quality travel essays and short pieces. Seriously, if you have a niche interest, there’s a travel blog for it. Happy googling!