When you have the travel bug, sometimes, the symptoms are dormant. Then, as if out of the blue, they can activate and mess with you. Here are some tips I’ve developed when my budget or my responsibilities have had to become pronounced and travel is a bit restricted for a while.

1. A New Hobby, at Home

I have taken up some hobbies lately, that have been working together to help the desire for home to grow. Mosaics, photography and some hard work. My apartment has become a refuge for creativity, and some friends. Through hunting down the perfect second hand furniture or through some well placed travel related decor, my apartment has become better than any hotel, at least to me.

Making where you are home, or at least what you hope home to be, means that you have a higher correlation between staying put and contentment. Itchy feet for a traveller has a high recurrence rate, but when your home is your favourite place… well, there truly is no place like it.

2. Local tourism

Sometimes, you need weekends and some localised exploration. If you live in a city then you have more hope for this to prolong non-travel. I’ve been taking random tiki tours lately. Going a few suburbs over and up. Trying restaurants from the urbanlist, or scooting around my neighbourhood means finding new gems near my place.

3. Friends in far or, local places

In Australia, I have reunited with an old friend, who lives about 3 hours drive away. I make it my favourite habit to visit this awesome human and her family regularly. I have found quality people and a few adventures nearby makes me appreciate what I have around me, which is often realising that the humans in my world are some of the best ones. Gratefulness has an amazing ability to provide a balm to much of the need to fly.

4. Research

When that is not working, when the force is strong, I google, pour over websites or tripadvisor. I peer, longingly, at ideas for place to go, and all the colours of what I may find there. I can get lost in photos and reviews. I love pouring over blogs and articles to inspire me. Side note: Pictures of Paella do not satiate like the real thing.

5. Making plans

I love to plan travel. For myself, obviously, but also I love to develop travel ideas with friends in mind, as I think of what their interests might be. Because I romance places and ideas, these plans can become full blown stories, so usually I send the summary idea:
For example, chapters become, “maybe checkout Hot Clube de Portugal… one of the oldest Jazz clubs in Europe, its in Lisbon, Portugal, Dizzy Gillespie played there, Sarah Vaughn and Count Basie did too”. As in this example, nostalgia and whimsy usually colour my plans but I guess that is part of the wonder that is found in travel.

Note: These tips may only distract from milder cases of itching. Severe cases of travel itch are only remedied by high altitudes, i.e. 30,000 feet.