Unmissable Travel Experiences To Have From Home

By now, it’s fair to say that we have baked all the banana bread we can stomach and felt that familiar pang of guilt as Netflix asks if we’re still there. Of course we are Netflix, now play our sixth episode of Ozark in a row and be quiet.

With the majority of us now two weeks or more into staying at home, it’s time to mix things up a bit and broaden our horizons, albeit without venturing too far from the sofa. These are some of our favourite travel experiences and you can see them all from home, thanks to the power of the internet. We’re still determined to show you the world and if we can’t take you to Norway this year, we’ll bring Norway to you.

Virtual Travel Experiences

Anne Frank House

Anne Frank’s family home in Merwederplein is arguably the highlight of any mini cruise to Amsterdam and Google Arts & Culture brings it to life with an interactive tour complete with insightful captions sharing the story of her time in hiding in 1942.

Hurtigruten’s Norway

With the world on lockdown, slow TV is the new slow travel. Live broadcast ‘Hurtigruten: Minutt for Minutt’ broke Guinness World Records and won awards when released in 2011, with every minute of the 134-hour journey from Bergen to Kirkenes recorded aboard Hurtigruten’s MS Nordnorge. We hold a special place in our hearts for the Norwegian Fjords and, until we can cruise there again, the documentary is undoubtedly the best way to see them.

Yosemite National Park

It’s impossible to do Yosemite National Park justice without seeing it in person – it’ll blow you away – but this virtual stream is a fantastic tool for anyone planning a visit to America next year. As you pan around the park, you’ll have the opportunity to experience over 200 locations in 95% of its vast space. It’s one of the best virtual tours out there.

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil at Sea may be on hold with the MSC Cruises fleet temporarily grounded like the rest of us, but the awe-inspiring stunts are being streamed straight to living rooms in the meantime. Get your fix of flips on the Cirque Connect website, where hour-long shows are being uploaded exclusively each week, along with exclusive insights behind the scenes in hair and beauty, plus workouts with the acrobats (an alternative to those back-breaking Joe Wicks PE classes with the kids, perhaps…)

Sunset safari in South Africa

Unlike most wildlife webcams, this one from Wild Earth runs in real time. Join an expert game ranger in reality TV as its meant to be: unscripted and unpredictable. The guides use traditional safari vehicles, drones, remote cameras and even hot air balloons to scour the landscape of the Sabi Sands for wildlife at sunset every day. Until we can tick a safari off our bucket list in real life, this is keeping our sense of adventure fuelled.

DisneyWorld

There’s never a bad time to go to Disneyland, even virtually. Totally immersive 360-degree videos let you skip the line and experience over 20 of the theme park’s best rides from the comfort of your own home. We can’t recommend it enough if you’re isolating with kids and running out of ways to keep them occupied. Just be prepared for the ‘when can we go?’ question to come up soon after…