• home
  • about
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Work with me
  • Plan a Trip with Me
  • Best Travel Cards
  • Read the blog

ashley on the move

  • Travel Planning
  • Destinations
  • Blog

Destinations · May 6, 2021

How to travel without leaving home

Ashley on the Move is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Read the full disclosure here

Looking for more ways to travel in the midst of a pandemic? I’m listing out several ways to travel without leaving home.

While people are getting more and more comfortable with traveling now that Covid seems to be becoming a mainstay in our lives and the vaccine becomes more readily available… not everyone is quite ready to jet set off quite yet. And that’s totally okay. You do you, boo! However, if you are finding yourself reading this travel blog and haven’t left your hometown since March 2020 you’re most likely suffering from a baaaad case of wanderlust. Or you’re like me and always suffering from wanderlust and can’t leave whenever you want because you have a 9-5 job. Whatever the reason may be, you don’t have to leave your home to feed your wanderlust. 

Table of Contents

  • Make an international cuisine
  • Take a day trip
  • Eat at an exotic restaurant
  • Watch a foreign film
  • Learn a new language 
  • Get a photo book of your past travels made 
  • Take a virtual trip
  • Plan a trip somewhere you’ve always wanted to go
  • Read a book placed in another country
  • Learn a new hobby
  • Explore your own backyard
  • Read a travel blog


Make an international cuisine

Eat around the world without leaving your home - Ashley on the Move
source via Pixabay

Flex your cooking skills and make a dish from another country! Head to a market and pick up some ingredients you may not find at your local grocer and get to cooking! Up the ante by decorating your living room in decor from whatever country your dish is inspired by and make a date night out of it.

Take a day trip

Dismal Loop, Caesar's Head State Park, Greenville, SC

How many incredible places are right near you and you don’t even know?! From Columbia, there’s day trips to the beach or the mountains, to an amusement park, to a bigger city, a huge professional golf tournament, and a lake! I’m sure there’s also more that I don’t even know about. Type a quick google search of “day trips from *your city*”, and get to exploring! While the world is a huge place, don’t forget about everything you have to explore in your own back yard.

Eat at an exotic restaurant

 I’m not talking about your local Mexican restaurant, either! While I’m absolutely guilty of sticking to what I know, many cities have great international cuisine restaurants. You may not make it to Ethiopia this year, but you can enjoy food from an Ethiopian restaurant! Try something new and get out of your comfort zone. This is a great way to explore a new culture and travel to a new place (figuratively) without leaving your home.

Travel to France without leaving your home - Ashley on the Move
source via Pixabay


Watch a foreign film

Travel the world in a couple hours flat by choosing a film made or set in another culture. Bonus points if it’s actually in another language! I’m also a huge nerd and like to watch National Geographic. If you have access to Disney+, there are TONS of great nature documentaries. This article shares 23 movies that will make you want to travel and now a bunch are on my to watch list!


Learn a new language 

Don’t remember any of that high school Spanish? Luckily, nowadays there are so many different ways to learn a new language without formal instruction. I personally use DuoLingo, but there’s Babble, the old faithful Rosetta Stone, and plenty more! I also love the idea of a language club. Get prepped for that next trip abroad by picking up the local language!


Get a photo book of your past travels made 

Lisbon, Portugal - Travel without leaving home - Ashley on the Move

If you don’t have any new travels in your planner, take a look back on some of your past travels! Finally get around to organizing those hundreds of travel photos you took by having a photo book made! I love the idea of a family yearbook or an individual book for each country or trip you take. I’ve used Shutterfly in the past, but think I’ll be using Artifact Uprising in the future.


Take a virtual trip

One thing that exploded during the pandemic is virtual experiences. With the amazing Internet, we have everything at our fingertips. So many tourism boards, restaurants, and museums created virtual tours and experiences so you could still experience the world without leaving your couch! From trying a famous cocktail recipe from your favorite restaurant to using Google Maps for a virtual road trip, you can travel without leaving your home! I love Smarter Travel’s guide on Virtual Vacations.

Plan a trip somewhere you’ve always wanted to go

I know, I know. Plan a trip when you’re intentionally not traveling? Seems cruel and unusual. But hear me out! I am constantly planning trips that may never happen. I love falling deep into Internet rabbit holes to plan trips to touristy destinations and off the beaten path locales. Aside from maybe being able to use the plans in the future, I am able to learn a little bit more about another place in the world–even if I never see it. Maybe I’m an outlier, but there’s something incredibly exciting about planning an excellently detailed trip, as well.


Read a book placed in another country

The easiest way to fall deep into another culture? Read about it! Non-fiction or fiction, biography or guide, reading makes it easy to get a taste of far away lands. I personally love fiction books about other cultures like Pachinko by Min Jin Lee or anything by Isabel Allende. I’ve also been known to dive into biographies like I am Malala and Educated by Tara Westover (not another country but definitely a world a lot different from mine!). Fuel your wanderlust with a good read. The best part is you can still be home by dinner!


Learn a new hobby

One of the best parts of travel is exploring something new, right? Learning something new, getting out of your comfort zone, and getting out of the norm. You can emulate that by just picking up a new hobby! Whether it be a new sport, crocheting, or building something, a new hobby will make you feel like you’re in a different world!

Explore your own backyard

This is one of my favorite ways to feel like I’m traveling without leaving my hometown! For so long, I was guilty of dreaming of far away travels to new countries and forgetting about everything my own hometown had to offer! Try a new hiking trail, a new brewery, or new restaurant. Attend local festivals and explore the resources your town has to offer. I like to use ColaToday emails to stay up to date on the happenings in Columbia and Offline to get deals to try new places in Raleigh.

Read a travel blog

Dublin, Ireland - The Temple Bar - Ashley on the Move

Shameless plug, am I right?!!? But really. I started my blog during a pandemic, knowing there wasn’t going to be much travel going on in the immediate future. There was something comforting about finding creative ways to travel and reliving old experiences that just made me dive in. I also discovered some of my favorite new travel blogs and shamelessly stalked the old posts as well as rediscovered some old favorites that initially sparked my desire to travel more. While I hope you stick around here, if you’re looking for some new travel blogs check out a few of my favorites here, here, and here.

Okay friends! I hope you enjoyed this list and it got you thinking about ways to travel without leaving your home. What have you done over the past year or so to get out of your rut and explore in new ways? I’d love to hear in the comments!

If you liked this, you’ll love…

  • The ultimate bucket list for every wanderluster
  • The ultimate Columbia, SC Staycation Itinerary
  • How to plan and pay for a big trip

In: Destinations

You’ll Also Love

Wax palm tree towering over the Cocora ValleyThe Best Guide to Hiking the Cocora Valley, Colombia
Dreher Island State Park - Best Day Trips from ColumbiaVisiting Columbia, South Carolina? Here are the best things to do
Yellowstone + Grand Teton VLOG!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post >

NC Bucket List (MASSIVE list of all the best things to do in North Carolina)

meet ashley

Hi friend! I’m Ashley, a 20-something newlywed, dog mom, and pediatric physical therapist. I have incurable wanderlust and when I’m not working, I’m dreaming up our next adventure. We utilize credit card points and miles to see the world for nearly free and I’m teaching you the same thing. I’m so glad you’re here!

free credit card consultation

Not sure what credit card you need to meet your travel goals? Fill out the survey to get a FREE personalized credit card recommendation.

connect on instagram

Can’t wait to add another girlie pop to our squa Can’t wait to add another girlie pop to our squad!!!!
🚨Exciting news!! Personalized travel planning j 🚨Exciting news!! Personalized travel planning just entered the chat. 

I’m so grateful and excited to have partnered with Fora Travel to to help you book your next bucket list trip as a travel advisor. Fora has partnerships with over 2,000 hotels and tour companies around the world so you can get VIP perks anywhere you wanna go. Whether you want to just book a hotel for the perks or want a full customized itinerary. 

As such, it’s time to retire this account because it just doesn’t match the vision of my travel advising business. I would LOVE for you to follow me over at @ashleyrice.travel to keep up to date with my blog and travel business. This account will still remain as more of a personal/Raleigh-Durham account. Whether you follow my business account, stick around here, or decide it’s time for us to part ways—thanks for being apart of my journey. 

I’m so excited for what 2023 has to bring! If you have questions about my new venture as a travel advisor, want to book a trip with me, or just see what all the fuss is about, follow me @ashleyrice.travel or send me a DM on either account. I can’t wait to hear from you!

#traveladvisor #travelplanning #luxurytravel #adventuretravel #frequentflyer #firstclass
In 2022, I started to see the potential of what my In 2022, I started to see the potential of what my life could be. Thanks to the blog, Instagram, and burn out in my professional life—I traveled more last year than ever. And 2023 is shaping up to be the same way! My advice remains the same as always: take the damn trip. Use the PTO! Explore on the weekends. Life is short, make it worth it!! 

#travelinspiration #travelreels #travelblogger #luxurytravel #businessclassflyer #frequentflyer #weekendwarrior #sheisnotlost #womenwhotravel #traveladvisor
“Ashley, you just asked for PTO last month” I “Ashley, you just asked for PTO last month” I can’t hearrrr youuuuu 🙉

Who can relate?? Do you have a goal to use more PTO this year?

#travelblogger #travelinspiration #sheisnotlost #womenwhotravel #luxurytravel #pointsandmiles #travelmore #travelreels #traveladvisor
Ready to finally travel more like you always said Ready to finally travel more like you always said in 2023?! Avoid these 3 things and… 

follow @ashleyonthemove_  for more travel tips, travel hacks, and itineraries!

#travelblogger #travelmore #travelinspiration #travelvibes #travelreels #traveladdict #luxurytravel #adventuretravel #womenwhotravel #sheisnotlost #travelcouple
——- See ya, 2022! 👏🏻👋🏻 It was a ——-

See ya, 2022! 👏🏻👋🏻

It was a great year: we bought a house, went on tons of weekend trips, visited 2 new countries, and I changed jobs. 

This space grew by about 100%… even though it’s still small I’m proud of the community here! Instagram is easy to get burned out on and even through my wild inconsistency (lol) I’ve made so many new connections and learned a ton. 

The blog grew by over 60%, too! I’ve been much more consistent over the last 5 months and it’s paying off big time. 

But of course, I’ve got huge goals for 2023 and I can’t wait to make them happen. Thanks for being along for the ride!

#travelblog #travelblogger #sheisnotlost #womenwhotravel #travelcommunity #travelwriters #ncliving #pointsandmiles #pointsandmilescommunity
Plan 👏🏻 ahead👏🏻when👏🏻using👏🏻points!
 
If you really want to maximize your points earnings and use, you need to be thinking about travel 1-2 years out! High ticket items like business class flights and luxury hotels have limited award space… and they go fast. Many hotels and airlines release 360-370 days in advance and award availability goes quick! Like, sometimes same day. 

If you want to book your dream trip with points, you can! Just plan waaaay ahead. Need help figuring out how?! Comment “plan ahead” below so we can chat about what card and points you need for that dream trip!

#pointsandmiles #pointsandmileslifestyle #frequentflyer #luxurylifestyle #luxurytravel #travelhacks #travelhacking #firstclassflight #firstclass #businessclass #businessclassflyer #airportlounge
Cloud over the Andes mountains in Sale to, colombi Cloud over the Andes mountains in Sale to, colombia 🙌🏻 What was your favorite view of 2022?

#travelblogger #travelviews #luxurytravel #frequentflyer #businessclass #firstclassflight #firstclasstravel #pointsandmiles #travelhacks #colombiatravel #salentoquindio #cocoravalley

latest pins

the archives

trending now

work with me

  • Travel Design
  • Brands / General Inquiries

join the club

Read more

  • home
  • about
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Work with me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Blog
  • About

Copyright © 2023 ashley on the move · Theme by 17th Avenue