Don’t Travel, Watch A Travel Vlog Instead
It’s not cheating. It’s just another way to experience the world.
I thought I would be itching to travel considering the state of the world in 2020. The more you can’t travel, the more you want to go somewhere, right? Maybe not.
I don’t find myself wanting to drive across the state or plan any future trips anywhere around the world. I would still love to go to New York City or visit France, but that’s not happening. And it’s actually really, really okay.
It’s okay because I remembered something that changed my mind about how we can experience travel. We don’t have to physically be somewhere to experience it.
Instead of traveling, watch a travel vlog.
Of course, it isn’t the same. But it’s close enough.
There are so many countries I’ve never been to…. But I’ve watched a ton of travel vlogs that have made me genuinely feel like I have.
It’s not cheating. It’s just a more affordable way to travel. And considering the fact that they are FREE to watch, it’s an amazing bang for your buck!
If you want to travel the world virtually, here are a few tips.
-Pick a country or a theme.
Pick a destination, not a channel. If there is a particular country or region you are interested in visiting one day, watch a lot of different vlogs about it. You don’t have to stick with a channel and watch every single vlog they make.
I first started watching travel vlogs when I was looking for something about Latvia. I watched three different vlogs from three different vloggers visiting that country. The only reason I watched them was because they were visiting a specific country I wanted to learn more about. That’s it.
Live through their experiences and see parts of the world through multiple lenses.
Here are the Latvia Vlogs I watched…
The Endless Adventure in Latvia
-Pick certain people to follow around the world
If you are someone that needs to be attached to people in order to watch them ride a bus for twelve hours across Central America, then watch a few videos from different bloggers and see who you grow attached to. (I would recommend watching more than one video from a channel)
Once you’ve found some people you feel connected to, check out as many of their vlogs as possible. Travel the world with them. You may just find yourself feeling like you’re watching your friends explore the world.
-Pick a mode of travel
If you don’t care about the people or the location but are more interested in the mode in which they travel, then look around for people traveling by trains and watch all their train travel videos. Or RV videos. Or planes. Or cruises.
Interested in van life? There are countless travel vlogs to watch about people traveling around the US in vans. Whatever the mode of transportation or style of travel, there are more than enough travel vlogs out there to entertain you.
Here are a few ways to enjoy a good travel vlog.
-Make it an event
Once you’ve found your preferred brand of travel vlog, make an event of watching them. Eat the food from the country or drink the wine. Make it an experience.
-Look at it as research
Pick a country you are interested in traveling to and watch a few other people experience that culture. Use their finds and fails as a learning tool. Figure out the best way to travel around that place.
Would you do something they did? Would you try and avoid something they did? Well, now you know. So, if you ever visit there, you’ll know better.
-Look at it as entertainment
A good travel vlog is episodic documentary filmmaking. You are following raw and realistic travel experiences. Some are better than others so find one that entertains you.
So don’t travel, just watch a travel vlog instead.
Get your fix virtually. In times where traveling can be even more dangerous than usual, travel vlogs are a great alternative to scratch the traveling itch.
Go back into the archives of a travel vlog channel. Watch their experience from the beginning. Follow them around the world and see what you learn about the world and yourself. And do all this from the comfort of your home.
It’s not cheating. It’s just another way to experience the world.
Here are a few of my favorite Travel Vlogs Youtube Channels:
