With the international travel situation still highly variable, a lot of people are wondering how they can bring their vacations a little closer to home.

Sure, you might not be allowed to travel overseas, but that doesn’t rule out creating similar experiences for yourself on domestic soil. 

In this post, we discuss how to staycation when international travel is canceled. It’s time to get pumped up and let your imagination run wild. 

Go Camping

Camping has become a popular pastime during COVID-19. Not only is it a chance to get away and experience nature, but it’s also relatively safe too. You just drive to the campsite and pitch your tent at a safe distance from your closest neighbors, and that’s it. Then you’re free to enjoy the great outdoors without a high risk of transmission. 

Camping is also incredibly inexpensive—great for people tightening their belts right now. You can wild camp (if you’re allowed) or just pay a campsite a small fee to stay the night. It’s not expensive at all compared to the cost of staying in a hotel.

Create a Themed Day Related to Your Dream Travel Destination

Okay, so you can’t go to Bora Bora. That’s a shame, but nothing is stopping you from having a themed day in honor of the destination. 

Think about it. You could quite easily prepare a special meal using the island’s local ingredients, such as sweet potatoes, breadfruit, papaya, mangos, pineapples, fafa (a green veggie), and fish marinated in lime juice. 

You could do something similar for China, Japan, France, or Brazil. Just recreate national dishes in your own kitchen, with all the trimmings. A themed movie night and outfit will pull the experience together to give you the next best thing to your dream vacation.

Bring the Spa Experience Home

Let’s say that you wanted to travel to a foreign country and get pampered in a luxury hotel-spa but your provider canceled it last minute.

Disaster, right?

Well, not exactly. 

It turns out you don’t actually have to travel at all to get the experience. Why not indulge in some at-home pampering services using the vacation money you saved? You could bring the spa to your place by hiring a masseuse or getting a traveling manicurist to come to your place. It’s super simple and affordable.

Invest in Your Own Pool

California pool builders have seen an explosion in business over the last few months. And the reason is simple: vacationers who can’t go want to bring the pool to them. 

For many of us, being able to sip a cocktail on a sun lounger besides a pool in a beautiful location is an experience that we need to complete the year. We haven’t truly relaxed until it happens. 

But now many forward-thinking travel-lovers are wondering whether things are ever going to be normal again. Even if COVID-19 goes away, there could always be another pandemic with yet more shutdowns, quarantines, and restrictions on travel. 

For that reason, a lot of people see building a pool as a long-term investment. We could still be dealing with the aftermath of pandemics for many years to come. And that could mean that going away in future years could be difficult.

For inspiration, just take a look at Mark Wahlberg’s lagoon-style pool, complete with waterfalls, hidden grottos, and tropical landscaping!