How comfortable are you with the idea of jumping back on the travel bandwagon in 2022?
My parents didn’t wait for restrictions to even ease before they booked two cruises, one at the end of this year and the next one early in 2023.
After being denied a fantastic European holiday I had planned for 2020, I’m also starting to get itchy feet, but my wife isn’t really comfortable with the idea yet, and she is not alone.
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Whether it is still being cautious and not wanting to immerse yourself in large groups of people, either on a plane or in a tourist hotspot. Or concerns about borders snapping shut and trapping you in an unfamiliar location. Or just post-traumatic stress disorders trying to chase up refunds from travel providers after previously cancelled holidays. There are many reasons people are wary of travelling this year.
If you are not quite ready to venture into the big bad beyond in 2022, here are some alternative ideas you can consider this year.
Explore your local environment
As previously mentioned, my wife isn’t quite ready for a big trip just yet and I’m cool with that. Throughout the pandemic years and in between various lockdowns we have still managed to get away and explore our home state.
We’ve managed trips to the Halls Gap, Anglesea, Warrnambool, Sorrento and Queenscliff in the past couple of years and we were not alone.
Read: 10 tips to ease your anxiety around travelling
As it was the only option available, domestic tourism has soared in the past two years and it is still a really enjoyable and viable option for those not ready to venture off on bigger journeys.
Make multicultural friends
For mine, the best thing about international travel is the friends that you meet along the way.
Mixing with people from different cultures and learning new things is what travel is all about.
Of course, there is nothing stopping you from making those friends from the comfort of your own home.
Australia is a richly diverse country and if you are willing to step outside of your usual circle and routine, you could learn plenty from people of different backgrounds who are living right near you. The friendships you make could be much longer lasting as well.
There are various ways to find these connections: join local clubs, volunteer for an organisation, start or continue a hobby, enrol in a course or join a community garden.
Read: The emotional stages of going on your first post-lockdown trip
Painting
If you fancy impressing future dinner guests with a new piece of art on the wall, YouTube has plenty of beginner tutorials for learning the basics of painting with acrylics or watercolours. You’ll need a set of paints and brushes, a palette, a surface to paint on (canvas or paper).
Take up yoga
There are plenty of great online resources that can help you to build a gentle daily yoga practice in the garden or your living room. There are classes for all levels and abilities available on YouTube.
Chair yoga is a great option for those with limited mobility. Yin and restorative yoga are both designed to achieve pleasant stretches without ever pushing you to, or beyond, your limit. Vinyasa and Flow yoga are faster and designed to get your heart rate up while giving your body a good stretch.
Learn a language
Just because you are not ready to travel yet, doesn’t mean you can’t start preparing yourself now for your next big trip.
Babbel is a learning app that has expertly crafted courses for everyone from absolute beginners to those who simply want to fine-tune their skills.
The app engages you in conversation and gives you real-time feedback, so you can learn how to start talking with confidence on many topics. There are 14 languages to choose from and a lot of learning material to keep you busy.
Duolingo is another easy-to-use app that can be downloaded on your smartphone or tablet. It is free to use and offers courses in 32 languages!
How comfortable are you with the idea of jumping back on the travel bandwagon in 2022? Why not share your thoughts in the comments section below?
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