Being stranded at home is tough for travel buffs.
Unfortunately, even the most seasoned travelers tend to get stuck at home sometimes. That might be due to price hikes in the high season, inclement travel weather, or other obligations. Regardless, it can be a tough pill to swallow, especially for those who live in smaller towns with limited social events.
Fortunately, there’s a way to scratch that travel itch without paying for any airfare—or even leaving your couch. For a decade, the concept of virtual travel has slowly evolved. Thanks to booming interest during 2020, virtual travel options are now more extensive, advanced, and memorable than ever before.
Virtual travel is available for anyone who has a functional smart device and a solid Wi-Fi connection. All you need to do is find a platform that offers a virtual tour, then get yourself set up for a digital adventure. But where should you go and what should you see?
Here are some of the best virtual travel options in popular categories.
Entertainment: Head to a Virtual Casino
Did you know that casinos were some of the first websites to launch online in the 1990s? Since the early heyday of virtual casinos, these platforms have evolved to include more immersive games and experiences. If you’re a fan of roulette, for example, you can feel the game’s excitement straight from your home.
To get started playing online, new users can sign up using a trusted and popular platform, then choose which roulette variation they’d like to play. Most platforms offer different versions of the same game, which means no two playing sessions are alike. The cherry on top? Unlike brick-and-mortar casinos, virtual platforms don’t have a dress code.
Culture: Explore a World-Class Museum
Virtual casinos are a great option for travelers who like to focus on entertainment when on the road. But it’s just as common for travelers to focus on culture and art, as well. If you’re interested in exploring world-class museums, you’ll have hundreds of options to choose from.
From Le Louvre to the Guggenheim, almost every single acclaimed museum has a virtual tour available online. Some are 360-degree tours that use point-and-click navigation. Others are more fully-fledged virtual tours that are available via browser or VR headsets. Almost all tours are free to the public.
Nature: Dive into an Exciting Livestream
What about travelers who are dreaming of connecting with nature? That’s a bit harder to solve in terms of virtual travel than finding great casino entertainment or museum tours. Thankfully, however, there are tons of ways to experience the rugged wonders of the natural world from home.
Live streams, for example, can take you straight onto the Serengeti or straight into popular exhibits at top-tier zoos. If you have a specific place or zoo in mind, simply search online for live streams of the area or establishment. You can also look at live stream platforms like Twitch for exciting options. And expect to be surprised—there are truly zany projects out there.
For example, the Netherlands devised a clever way to help fish navigate in and out of a dam. Using something called a ‘fish doorbell’, remote viewers can tune in live to see whether fish are waiting at the door, so to speak. There’s even a button for remote viewers to press in case fish are waiting, which opens the door to let them through.
Astronomy: Soar into the Farthest Reaches of Space
In case you don’t know, astrotourism is the idea of space travel purely for recreational purposes. Though astrotourism is still in its infancy, that’s not the case for virtual travelers. To help curry interest in outer space and help demystify the industry, programs like NASA have made virtual tours an important part of their educational scheme.
Aside from virtual tours from programs like NASA, fans of travel and astronomy can find virtual tours and experiences available from a wide range of organizations. For example, the Hubble Space Telescope offers a similar experience, while museums like The Museum of Flight have also made their exhibits available digitally.
