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The Case Against Travel

By Agnes Callard

What is the most uninformative statement that people are inclined to make? My nominee would be “I love to travel.” This tells you very little about a person, because nearly everyone likes to travel; and yet people say it, because, for some reason, they pride themselves both on having travelled and on the fact that they look forward to doing so.

The opposition team is small but articulate. G. K. Chesterton wrote that “travel narrows the mind.” Ralph Waldo Emerson called travel “a fool’s paradise.” Socrates and Immanuel Kant—arguably the two greatest philosophers of all time—voted with their feet, rarely leaving their respective home towns of Athens and Königsberg. But the greatest hater of travel, ever, was the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa , whose wonderful “ Book of Disquiet ” crackles with outrage:

I abhor new ways of life and unfamiliar places. . . . The idea of travelling nauseates me. . . . Ah, let those who don’t exist travel! . . . Travel is for those who cannot feel. . . . Only extreme poverty of the imagination justifies having to move around to feel.

If you are inclined to dismiss this as contrarian posturing, try shifting the object of your thought from your own travel to that of others. At home or abroad, one tends to avoid “touristy” activities. “Tourism” is what we call travelling when other people are doing it. And, although people like to talk about their travels, few of us like to listen to them. Such talk resembles academic writing and reports of dreams: forms of communication driven more by the needs of the producer than the consumer.

One common argument for travel is that it lifts us into an enlightened state, educating us about the world and connecting us to its denizens. Even Samuel Johnson , a skeptic—“What I gained by being in France was, learning to be better satisfied with my own country,” he once said—conceded that travel had a certain cachet. Advising his beloved Boswell, Johnson recommended a trip to China, for the sake of Boswell’s children: “There would be a lustre reflected upon them. . . . They would be at all times regarded as the children of a man who had gone to view the wall of China.”

Travel gets branded as an achievement: see interesting places, have interesting experiences, become interesting people. Is that what it really is?

Pessoa, Emerson, and Chesterton believed that travel, far from putting us in touch with humanity, divorced us from it. Travel turns us into the worst version of ourselves while convincing us that we’re at our best. Call this the traveller’s delusion.

To explore it, let’s start with what we mean by “travel.” Socrates went abroad when he was called to fight in the Peloponnesian War; even so, he was no traveller. Emerson is explicit about steering his critique away from a person who travels when his “necessities” or “duties” demand it. He has no objection to traversing great distances “for the purpose of art, of study, and benevolence.” One sign that you have a reason to be somewhere is that you have nothing to prove, and therefore no drive to collect souvenirs, photos, or stories to prove it. Let’s define “tourism” as the kind of travel that aims at the interesting—and, if Emerson and company are right, misses.

“A tourist is a temporarily leisured person who voluntarily visits a place away from home for the purpose of experiencing a change.” This definition is taken from the opening of “ Hosts and Guests ,” the classic academic volume on the anthropology of tourism. The last phrase is crucial: touristic travel exists for the sake of change. But what, exactly, gets changed? Here is a telling observation from the concluding chapter of the same book: “Tourists are less likely to borrow from their hosts than their hosts are from them, thus precipitating a chain of change in the host community.” We go to experience a change, but end up inflicting change on others.

For example, a decade ago, when I was in Abu Dhabi, I went on a guided tour of a falcon hospital. I took a photo with a falcon on my arm. I have no interest in falconry or falcons, and a generalized dislike of encounters with nonhuman animals. But the falcon hospital was one of the answers to the question, “What does one do in Abu Dhabi?” So I went. I suspect that everything about the falcon hospital, from its layout to its mission statement, is and will continue to be shaped by the visits of people like me—we unchanged changers, we tourists. (On the wall of the foyer, I recall seeing a series of “excellence in tourism” awards. Keep in mind that this is an animal hospital.)

Why might it be bad for a place to be shaped by the people who travel there, voluntarily, for the purpose of experiencing a change? The answer is that such people not only do not know what they are doing but are not even trying to learn. Consider me. It would be one thing to have such a deep passion for falconry that one is willing to fly to Abu Dhabi to pursue it, and it would be another thing to approach the visit in an aspirational spirit, with the hope of developing my life in a new direction. I was in neither position. I entered the hospital knowing that my post-Abu Dhabi life would contain exactly as much falconry as my pre-Abu Dhabi life—which is to say, zero falconry. If you are going to see something you neither value nor aspire to value, you are not doing much of anything besides locomoting.

Tourism is marked by its locomotive character. “I went to France.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to the Louvre.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to see the ‘Mona Lisa.’ ” That is, before quickly moving on: apparently, many people spend just fifteen seconds looking at the “Mona Lisa.” It’s locomotion all the way down.

The peculiar rationality of tourists allows them to be moved both by a desire to do what they are supposed to do in a place and a desire to avoid precisely what they are supposed to do. This is how it came to pass that, on my first trip to Paris, I avoided both the “Mona Lisa” and the Louvre. I did not, however, avoid locomotion. I walked from one end of the city to the other, over and over again, in a straight line; if you plotted my walks on a map, they would have formed a giant asterisk. In the many great cities I have actually lived and worked in, I would never consider spending whole days walking. When you travel, you suspend your usual standards for what counts as a valuable use of time. You suspend other standards as well, unwilling to be constrained by your taste in food, art, or recreational activities. After all, you say to yourself, the whole point of travelling is to break out of the confines of everyday life. But, if you usually avoid museums, and suddenly seek them out for the purpose of experiencing a change, what are you going to make of the paintings? You might as well be in a room full of falcons.

Let’s delve a bit deeper into how, exactly, the tourist’s project is self-undermining. I’ll illustrate with two examples from “The Loss of the Creature,” an essay by the writer Walker Percy.

First, a sightseer arriving at the Grand Canyon. Before his trip, an idea of the canyon—a “symbolic complex”—had formed in his mind. He is delighted if the canyon resembles the pictures and postcards he has seen; he might even describe it as “every bit as beautiful as a picture postcard!” But, if the lighting is different, the colors and shadows not those which he expects, he feels cheated: he has arrived on a bad day. Unable to gaze directly at the canyon, forced to judge merely whether it matches an image, the sightseer “may simply be bored; or he may be conscious of the difficulty: that the great thing yawning at his feet somehow eludes him.”

Second, a couple from Iowa driving around Mexico. They are enjoying the trip, but are a bit dissatisfied by the usual sights. They get lost, drive for hours on a rocky mountain road, and eventually, “in a tiny valley not even marked on the map,” stumble upon a village celebrating a religious festival. Watching the villagers dance, the tourists finally have “an authentic sight, a sight which is charming, quaint, picturesque, unspoiled.” Yet they still feel some dissatisfaction. Back home in Iowa, they gush about the experience to an ethnologist friend: You should have been there! You must come back with us! When the ethnologist does, in fact, return with them, “the couple do not watch the goings-on; instead they watch the ethnologist! Their highest hope is that their friend should find the dance interesting.” They need him to “certify their experience as genuine.”

The tourist is a deferential character. He outsources the vindication of his experiences to the ethnologist, to postcards, to conventional wisdom about what you are or are not supposed to do in a place. This deference, this “openness to experience,” is exactly what renders the tourist incapable of experience. Emerson confessed, “I seek the Vatican, and the palaces. I affect to be intoxicated with sights and suggestions, but I am not intoxicated.” He speaks for every tourist who has stood before a monument, or a painting, or a falcon, and demanded herself to feel something. Emerson and Percy help us understand why this demand is unreasonable: to be a tourist is to have already decided that it is not one’s own feelings that count. Whether an experience is authentically X is precisely what you, as a non-X, cannot judge.

A similar argument applies to the tourist’s impulse to honor the grand sea of humanity. Whereas Percy and Emerson focus on the aesthetic, showing us how hard it is for travellers to have the sensory experiences that they seek, Pessoa and Chesterton are interested in the ethical. They study why travellers can’t truly connect to other human beings. During my Paris wanderings, I would stare at people, intently inspecting their clothing, their demeanor, their interactions. I was trying to see the Frenchness in the French people around me. This is not a way to make friends.

Pessoa said that he knew only one “real traveller with soul”: an office boy who obsessively collected brochures, tore maps out of newspapers, and memorized train schedules between far-flung destinations. The boy could recount sailing routes around the world, but he had never left Lisbon. Chesterton also approved of such stationary travellers. He wrote that there was “something touching and even tragic” about “the thoughtless tourist, who might have stayed at home loving Laplanders, embracing Chinamen, and clasping Patagonians to his heart in Hampstead or Surbiton, but for his blind and suicidal impulse to go and see what they looked like.”

The problem was not with other places, or with the man wanting to see them, but with travel’s dehumanizing effect, which thrust him among people to whom he was forced to relate as a spectator. Chesterton believed that loving what is distant in the proper fashion—namely, from a distance—enabled a more universal connection. When the man in Hampstead thought of foreigners “in the abstract . . . as those who labour and love their children and die, he was thinking the fundamental truth about them.” “The human bond that he feels at home is not an illusion,” Chesterton wrote. “It is rather an inner reality.” Travel prevents us from feeling the presence of those we have travelled such great distances to be near.

The single most important fact about tourism is this: we already know what we will be like when we return. A vacation is not like immigrating to a foreign country, or matriculating at a university, or starting a new job, or falling in love. We embark on those pursuits with the trepidation of one who enters a tunnel not knowing who she will be when she walks out. The traveller departs confident that she will come back with the same basic interests, political beliefs, and living arrangements. Travel is a boomerang. It drops you right where you started.

If you think that this doesn’t apply to you—that your own travels are magical and profound, with effects that deepen your values, expand your horizons, render you a true citizen of the globe, and so on—note that this phenomenon can’t be assessed first-personally. Pessoa, Chesterton, Percy, and Emerson were all aware that travellers tell themselves they’ve changed, but you can’t rely on introspection to detect a delusion. So cast your mind, instead, to any friends who are soon to set off on summer adventures. In what condition do you expect to find them when they return? They may speak of their travel as though it were transformative, a “once in a lifetime” experience, but will you be able to notice a difference in their behavior, their beliefs, their moral compass? Will there be any difference at all?

Travel is fun, so it is not mysterious that we like it. What is mysterious is why we imbue it with a vast significance, an aura of virtue. If a vacation is merely the pursuit of unchanging change, an embrace of nothing, why insist on its meaning?

One is forced to conclude that maybe it isn’t so easy to do nothing—and this suggests a solution to the puzzle. Imagine how your life would look if you discovered that you would never again travel. If you aren’t planning a major life change, the prospect looms, terrifyingly, as “More and more of this , and then I die.” Travel splits this expanse of time into the chunk that happens before the trip, and the chunk that happens after it, obscuring from view the certainty of annihilation. And it does so in the cleverest possible way: by giving you a foretaste of it. You don’t like to think about the fact that someday you will do nothing and be nobody. You will only allow yourself to preview this experience when you can disguise it in a narrative about how you are doing many exciting and edifying things: you are experiencing, you are connecting, you are being transformed, and you have the trinkets and photos to prove it.

Socrates said that philosophy is a preparation for death. For everyone else, there’s travel. ♦

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By Camille Bordas

‘To Travel is to Live’: 24 Quotes that Will Inspire You to Wander the Globe

By silvia mordini.

In the spirit of full disclosure, you must know I am an admitted travel addict and spiritual explorer. My life and the traveled paths I have chosen have been inspired by the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Make as many experiments as possible.”

For me, travel is the greatest experiment. It brings forth curiosity and the urge to investigate the experience of being alive. When we travel we get out of the old and settled habits of our daily lives and feel inspired to see the world anew. This heightened sense of awareness stays with us when we go home and permanently influences our perspective on life.

As Kate Douglas Wiggins puts it, “There is a kind of magic about going far away and then coming back all changed.” Once you allow yourself to get a little lost, reduce any over-controlling tendencies, and lose the sense of urgency, you no longer want to return to your old habits. You feel like life is offering you a new beginning, and it is.”

Let these quotes bring travel inspiration to your life as they do to mine!

1. “Travel brings power and love back into your life.” – Rumi

2. “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” – Terry Pratchett,  A Hat Full of Sky

3. “Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” – Wendell Berry. A Place on Earth.

4. “The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.” – Christopher McCandless

5. “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,

To gain all while you give,

To roam the roads of lands remote,

To travel is to live.”

– Hans Christian Andersen. The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography .

6. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad/Roughing It.

7. “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

8. “There are several ways to react to being lost. One is to panic. Another is to abandon yourself to lostness, to allow the fact that you’ve misplaced yourself to change the way you experience the world.” – Audrey Niffenegger. Her Fearful Symmetry.

9. “What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? – it’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” – Jack Kerouac. On the Road.

10. “But that’s the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don’t want to know what people are talking about. I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.” – Bill Bryson. Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe.

11. “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” – Ernest Hemingway

12. “Traveling outgrows its motives. It soon proves sufficient in itself. You think you are making a trip, but soon it is making you – or unmaking you.” – Nicolas Bouvier. The Way of the World.

13. “Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

14. “Personally I like going places where I don’t speak the language, don’t know anybody, don’t know my way around and don’t have any delusions that I’m in control. Disoriented, even frightened, I feel alive, awake in ways I never am at home.” – Michael Mewshaw

15. “We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.” – Pico Iyer

16. “I travel light. But not at the same speed.” – Jarod Kintz. The Days of Yay are Here! Wake Me Up When They’re Over.

17. “I am infinitely curious and almost infinitely patient with mishaps, discomforts, and minor disasters. So I can go anywhere on the planet””that’s not a problem.” – Elizabeth Gilbert. Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage.

18. “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things: air, sleep, dreams, sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

19. “There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match the nature of a day, so do I.” – John Steinbeck

20. “The value of your travels does not hinge on how many stamps you have in your passport when you get home — and the slow nuanced experience of a single country is always better than the hurried, superficial experience of forty countries.” – Rolf Potts. Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel.

21. “Only it seems to me that once in your life before you die you ought to see a country where they don’t talk in English and don’t even want to.” – Thornton Wilder. Our Town.

22. “We want to make good time, but for us now this is measured with the emphasis on “good” rather than on “time”….” – Robert M. Pirsig. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values.

23. “There is a kind of magicness about going far away and then coming back all changed.” – Kate Douglas Wiggin. New Chronicles of Rebecca.

24. “Travellers understand, instinctively and by experience, that travel and adventure change and elongate time, even while navigating the deadlines of airline and train departures.” – Paul Sheehan

Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

ABOUT THE WRITER

Enthusiasm to love your life is contagious around Silvia.  Her expert passion connects people to their own joyful potential.  Silvia lives her happiness in such a big way that you can’t help but leave her classes, workshops, trainings and retreats spiritually uplifted!  Born in Ecuador, raised traveling around the globe, she is an enthusiastic citizen of the world and spiritual adventurer. She has over 10,000 hours and 15 years of teaching experience, owned a yoga studio for 9 years and after being run over by a car used yoga to recover physically and emotionally. Silvia leads Alchemy Tours Yoga Retreats and Alchemy of Yoga RYT200 Yoga Teacher Training. Join her on Twitter to keep inspiring greater happiness by answering the question #YRUHappy. Connect with Silvia on  Twitter  and  Facebook  and learn more about her story at  www.alchemytours.com  or  www.silviamordini.com .

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• THE BIG IDEA

Why travel should be considered an essential human activity

Travel is not rational, but it’s in our genes. Here’s why you should start planning a trip now.

In 1961, legendary National Geographic photographer Volkmar Wentzel captured two women gazing at the surf off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. This and all the other images in this story come from the National Geographic image collection.

I’ve been putting my passport to good use lately. I use it as a coaster and to level wobbly table legs. It makes an excellent cat toy.

Welcome to the pandemic of disappointments. Canceled trips, or ones never planned lest they be canceled. Family reunions, study-abroad years, lazy beach vacations. Poof. Gone. Obliterated by a tiny virus, and the long list of countries where United States passports are not welcome.

Only a third of Americans say they have traveled overnight for leisure since March, and only slightly more, 38 percent, say they are likely to do so by the end of the year, according to one report. Only a quarter of us plan on leaving home for Thanksgiving, typically the busiest travel time. The numbers paint a grim picture of our stilled lives.

It is not natural for us to be this sedentary. Travel is in our genes. For most of the time our species has existed, “we’ve lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers moving about in small bands of 150 or fewer people,” writes Christopher Ryan in Civilized to Death . This nomadic life was no accident. It was useful. “Moving to a neighboring band is always an option to avoid brewing conflict or just for a change in social scenery,” says Ryan. Robert Louis Stevenson put it more succinctly: “The great affair is to move.”

What if we can’t move, though? What if we’re unable to hunt or gather? What’s a traveler to do? There are many ways to answer that question. “Despair,” though, is not one of them.

In this aerial view from 1967, wall-to-wall seaside sunbathers relax under umbrellas or on beach towels in Ocean City, Maryland .

A 1967 fall festival in Guadalajara, Mexico , starred traditionally costumed musicians and dancers.

We are an adaptive species. We can tolerate brief periods of forced sedentariness. A dash of self-delusion helps. We’re not grounded, we tell ourselves. We’re merely between trips, like the unemployed salesman in between opportunities. We pass the days thumbing though old travel journals and Instagram feeds. We gaze at souvenirs. All this helps. For a while.

We put on brave faces. “Staycation Nation,” the cover of the current issue of Canadian Traveller magazine declares cheerfully, as if it were a choice, not a consolation.

Today, the U.S. Travel Association, the industry trade organization, is launching a national recovery campaign called “ Let’s Go There .” Backed by a coalition of businesses related to tourism—hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, airlines—the initiative’s goal is to encourage Americans to turn idle wanderlust into actual itineraries.

The travel industry is hurting. So are travelers. “I dwelled so much on my disappointment that it almost physically hurt,” Paris -based journalist Joelle Diderich told me recently, after canceling five trips last spring.

(Related: How hard has the coronavirus hit the travel industry? These charts tell us.)

My friend James Hopkins is a Buddhist living in Kathmandu . You’d think he’d thrive during the lockdown, a sort-of mandatory meditation retreat. For a while he did.

But during a recent Skype call, James looked haggard and dejected. He was growing restless, he confessed, and longed “for the old 10-countries-a-year schedule.” Nothing seemed to help, he told me. “No matter how many candles I lit, or how much incense I burned, and in spite of living in one of the most sacred places in South Asia, I just couldn’t change my habits.”

When we ended our call, I felt relieved, my grumpiness validated. It’s not me; it’s the pandemic. But I also worried. If a Buddhist in Kathmandu is going nuts, what hope do the rest of us stilled souls have?

I think hope lies in the very nature of travel. Travel entails wishful thinking. It demands a leap of faith, and of imagination, to board a plane for some faraway land, hoping, wishing, for a taste of the ineffable. Travel is one of the few activities we engage in not knowing the outcome and reveling in that uncertainty. Nothing is more forgettable than the trip that goes exactly as planned.

Related: Vintage photos of the glamour of travel

Travel is not a rational activity. It makes no sense to squeeze yourself into an alleged seat only to be hurled at frightening speed to a distant place where you don’t speak the language or know the customs. All at great expense. If we stopped to do the cost-benefit analysis, we’d never go anywhere. Yet we do.

That’s one reason why I’m bullish on travel’s future. In fact, I’d argue travel is an essential industry, an essential activity. It’s not essential the way hospitals and grocery stores are essential. Travel is essential the way books and hugs are essential. Food for the soul. Right now, we’re between courses, savoring where we’ve been, anticipating where we’ll go. Maybe it’s Zanzibar and maybe it’s the campground down the road that you’ve always wanted to visit.

(Related: Going camping this fall? Here’s how to get started.)

James Oglethorpe, a seasoned traveler, is happy to sit still for a while, and gaze at “the slow change of light and clouds on the Blue Ridge Mountains” in Virginia, where he lives. “My mind can take me the rest of the way around this world and beyond it.”

It’s not the place that is special but what we bring to it and, crucially, how we interact with it. Travel is not about the destination, or the journey. It is about stumbling across “a new way of looking at things,” as writer Henry Miller observed. We need not travel far to gain a fresh perspective.

No one knew this better than Henry David Thoreau , who lived nearly all of his too-short life in Concord, Massachusetts. There he observed Walden Pond from every conceivable vantage point: from a hilltop, on its shores, underwater. Sometimes he’d even bend over and peer through his legs, marveling at the inverted world. “From the right point of view, every storm and every drop in it is a rainbow,” he wrote.

Thoreau never tired of gazing at his beloved pond, nor have we outgrown the quiet beauty of our frumpy, analog world. If anything, the pandemic has rekindled our affection for it. We’ve seen what an atomized, digital existence looks like, and we (most of us anyway) don’t care for it. The bleachers at Chicago ’s Wrigley Field; the orchestra section at New York City ’s Lincoln Center; the alleyways of Tokyo . We miss these places. We are creatures of place, and always will be.

After the attacks of September 11, many predicted the end of air travel, or at least a dramatic reduction. Yet the airlines rebounded steadily and by 2017 flew a record four billion passengers. Briefly deprived of the miracle of flight, we appreciated it more and today tolerate the inconvenience of body scans and pat-downs for the privilege of transporting our flesh-and-bone selves to far-flung locations, where we break bread with other incarnate beings.

Landscape architects work in their Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , studio in 1955.

A tourist photographs a towering century plant in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 1956.

In our rush to return to the world, we should be mindful of the impact of mass tourism on the planet. Now is the time to embrace the fundamental values of sustainable tourism and let them guide your future journeys. Go off the beaten path. Linger longer in destinations. Travel in the off-season. Connect with communities and spend your money in ways that support locals. Consider purchasing carbon offsets. And remember that the whole point of getting out there is to embrace the differences that make the world so colorful.

“One of the great benefits of travel is meeting new people and coming into contact with different points of view,” says Pauline Frommer, travel expert and radio host.

So go ahead and plan that trip. It’s good for you, scientists say . Plotting a trip is nearly as enjoyable as actually taking one. Merely thinking about a pleasurable experience is itself pleasurable. Anticipation is its own reward.

I’ve witnessed first-hand the frisson of anticipatory travel. My wife, not usually a fan of travel photography, now spends hours on Instagram, gazing longingly at photos of Alpine lodges and Balinese rice fields. “What’s going on?” I asked one day. “They’re just absolutely captivating,” she replied. “They make me remember that there is a big, beautiful world out there.”

Many of us, myself included, have taken travel for granted. We grew lazy and entitled, and that is never good. Tom Swick, a friend and travel writer, tells me he used to view travel as a given. Now, he says, “I look forward to experiencing it as a gift.”

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Travel Home

Design with a global spirit.

• ISBN: 9781419733833
• Publication Date: September 24, 2019

Also available from:

• Barnes & Noble
• Books-A-Million

Travel with interior designer and stylist Caitlin Flemming and design writer Julie Goebel through 20 sophisticated homes of designers deeply influenced by their international adventures abroad.

“The book is a study of how travel informs our taste.” ―Goop

“In Travel Home , the authors take readers on a visual journey, stopping to visit over a dozen creative homeowners—including the likes of Nate Berkus, Jeremiah Brent, Justina Blakeney, and John Robshaw.” — House Beautiful

A road map for bringing far-flung design ideas back home, Travel Home shows us how to curate interiors that reflect our favorite places and experiences in ways that are beautiful and authentic. Touring the homes of leaders in global design who share a deep affection for travel, the book explores interiors with influences as widespread as:

• And many more!

Flemming writes in her introduction, “Our hope is that this book will serve as an inspiration, a rare opportunity to learn from those who have traveled deeply and are experts in the fields of design. We have learned so much while making this book, and we hope you will experience the same revelations by diving into these stories of design and travel. While some of us may travel less, we can all learn to look at the world with fresh eyes.”

Vivid full-color photography by Peggy Wong is supplemented with insightful essays, interviews, and hardworking tips for cultivating your own global home. For globetrotters and armchair travelers alike, Travel Home showcases the interplay between travel and design, revealing how we can take inspiration from the beauty we experience in the world and bring it into our everyday lives.

“Upon finishing Travel Home I felt inspired in the same way that I feel inspired after a big trip. It’s a book you’re going to want to take notes in, take pictures of, and share with your friends. It will be a book very well loved.”   designer, author, and founder of Jungalow, Justina Blakeney —

“There are so many books about interiors, but this book is a genuine opportunity to get to know the people and the mentality behind their spaces.”   authors and television stars on Nate & Jeremiah by Design, Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent —

“Travel Home  is a feast for the eyes. The personal pictures, alongside interviews with the homeowners about their journeys, speak to the places travelers are dreaming of today.”   author of My Tiny Atlas, Emily Nathan —

"The book is a study of how travel informs our taste—and a beautiful illustration of the creative potential a mother-daughter partnership can yield." GOOP —

"If you buy one design book this year, let it be  Travel Home: Design with a Global Spirit . From mother-daughter duo Caitlin Flemming and Julie Goebel, it’s a celebration of beautiful design, encouraging readers to “curate interiors that reflect your favorite places and experiences in ways that are beautiful and authentic.” Rue —

"In  Travel Home , the authors take readers on a visual journey, stopping to visit over a dozen creative homeowners—including the likes of  Nate Berkus ,  Jeremiah Brent ,  Justina Blakeney , and  John Robshaw —in all corners of the globe, whose personal spaces have been indelibly influenced by travel." House Beautiful —

" Travel Home will inspire you to design adventurously." Lonny —

"The book is full of inspiration and stories that will ignite your desire to hop on a plane and explore." Amber Interiors —

"So what’s  the  must-have design book for Fall 2019? Without a doubt, it’s Travel Home by Caitlin Flemming and Julie Goebel." Anne Sage —

"Offering a peek inside the homes of tastemakers all over the world, the book is like a masterclass in how to infuse the ideas and finds you scoop up on the road into your digs back home." Chairish —

"This is one of those home design books that i get really excited to share, because not only does it feature beautiful and inspiring interiors, it also inspires you to travel and to bring back a bit of your ‘mental mementos’ and incorporate that culture and your personal experiences into your home design." SFgirlbybay —

• Imprint: Abrams Books
• Trim Size: 8 1 ⁄ 2 x 10
• Page Count: 288
• Illustrations: 200 color photographs
• Rights: World/All

Caitlin Flemming is an interior designer, stylist, and founder of the style and interior design blog Sacramento Street . Flemming lives in San Francisco.   Julie Goebel is the founder of Travelers Conservation Foundation. Her design work can be found in the San Francisco Chronicle , Better Homes & Gardens , and Romantic Homes . Goebel lives in San Francisco.

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Travel Home: Design with a Global Spirit

Caitlin flemming , julie goebel , peggy wong  ( photographer ).

288 pages, Hardcover

Published September 24, 2019

About the author

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Welcome to Our Travel Home

Jayne Gorman

March 23, 2021

After lots of deliberation and some helpful input from readers, I’ve decided to shake things up around here with a brand-new name and a new blended focus on travel AND home décor.

Travel will always be my first love but the crazy circumstances of the last year have meant that I’ve needed to find a new focus, both personally and professionally.

Surely, if ever there was a time to pivot it’s during a pandemic?!

A new name for Girl Tweets World

I don’t think there is something a blogger agonises over more than the name of their website. Which is funny really as when I asked for everyone’s input on Instagram last week one person politely pointed out they had no idea what my blog was called – they just swiped up and read it!

So, why bother changing?

Well, because the truth is, the name Girl Tweets World bothers me! Since I became a parent, and then shortly after along came the blooming pandemic, I felt more and more like the content on this site was no longer in alignment with the name of it.

Even more so, I felt like I was no longer the person I was when I named my blog Girl Tweets World and so the site’s identity didn’t fit with me.

I chose that title ( my second name for this blog which began in January 2010 as ‘40 Countries Before I’m 30’) in 2014 when we had just moved to Australia, and I literally felt like an enthusiastic girl about to take on the world and tell everyone about it.

These days I feel less like an enthusiastic girl and more like a frazzled mum. I no longer associate with being a world traveller, my world (like many of us) has been found within the walls of my home.

What’s Our Travel Home?

At the start of this year, I created a new Instagram account to chart the progress of turning our new build house into a travel-inspired home. I’d felt a bit lost creatively without being able to travel and thought I’d try my hand at starting a new account that I didn’t need to leave my house to create content for. Within days I was hooked!

I had no idea just how much enjoyment I was going to get from posting about our home décor and chatting to other interior’s addicts. I’ve posted almost every day since I started the account and the feedback and encouragement I’ve had has been awesome. I feel like I’ve found a new passion at 36. I guess, if there was ever a time to get obsessed about your home it has to be now right?!

The success of this account made me think once again about rebranding my blog. I’ve always worried about the fact my social media handles don’t match the title of my blog and so it just seemed to make sense to use the name Our Travel Home over here too.

What will you blog about?

For the moment, at least, you probably won’t notice much difference! All the content from Girl Tweets World will remain live and I’ll continue to blog about travel and personal stories that are important to me.

You may have noticed I’d already starting sharing a few posts about decorating our home and I will continue to add to these as we makeover more rooms. I am by no means an expert in this topic. I have no interior design background, although I did take an awesome home styling course with Three Birds Renovations at the start of the year.

I’ve always just blogged about what I’m most passionate about and at the moment that’s vintage art and panelling!

In time, I’d love to expand the remit of Our Travel Home. I’d love to feature the properties of global travellers, perhaps interview them about where they find inspiration and how they source a bargain in a flea market.

I’d love to share some of my favourite places to shop for the home – both near and far. As well as some interior styling tips for anyone who wants to bring a feeling of travel to their home, beyond popping a map on the wall.

The new name, for me, has given me a renewed sense of purpose and motivation. (And lord knows we’ve all been lacking some of that for the last year!)

I feel like I have a new (same, same but different) focus to build a portfolio of content around and I hope I’ve piqued your interests enough to convince you to stay with me on this journey.

Fancy following along?

I’ve created a brand-new mailing list for Our Travel Home. Pop your email below to subscribe to my monthly newsletter which will contain all the best posts from the blog, plus some behind the scenes goss.

Subscribe to Our Travel Home newsletter

You can follow my personal travel account on Instagram at @jayneytravels and my home account @ourtravelhome .

For any questions, my inbox is always open at [email protected]

Thanks again for being the most awesome people to talk to online. I’m so grateful for all the new connections I’ve made in the last few months as well as everyone I have shared my life with for the last 11 years on here. For those of you who have been around since the 40 before 30 days, our relationship goes back further than my marriage! Isn’t that mental when you think about it!?!

Share this:

I’m Jayne, a travel blogger, content creator and mum to a 4-year-old son. I’ve been blogging since 2010, travelled to 65 countries and share travel guides and tips to help you plan stylish, stress-free trips.

How To Add Character To A New Build House

Toddler staycation essentials – best travel items for toddlers, 8 thoughts on “welcome to our travel home”.

I love your personal insta and started following your home account a while ago but thanks to the wonderful algorithm hadn’t seen your posts for a while and realised your stories were waaaaay along the list! Glad I saw this post and have signed up to the mailing list so I’ll still keep up even if insta doesn’t play ball!

Aw thanks Tasha! I hate how the algorithm does that but at least I know it’s worth sending a newsletter to make sure new posts don’t get lost now!

Looks AMAZING Jayne. I love it. And I love how you’re not afraid to try new things. Excited for you, and so happy you feel super passionate about this next stage in your #bloglife!

Thanks Vix. A change is as good as a rest right?!

All of this looks so amazing! I am very happy for you, Jayne.

Thanks so much!

Congratulations on the rebranding! It’s always fun to see bloggers evolve and find new passions to share with their audience

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Savvy Travel Advice

Travel Home Decor: Travel Themed Home Decorations

Last updated: December 4, 2023 - Written by Jessica Norah 96 Comments

A great way to fuel your wanderlust in between trips is to have travel inspiration and reminders in your home or office, and we’ve put together a long list of wonderful handmade travel home decor items.

We have a number of travel themed home decor items in our home including rugs, coffee mugs, blankets, wall art, photo frames, shower curtains, towels, and decorative globes.

We’ve put together a list of over 75 travel themed home decor in this article for those looking for a way to express their own love for travel, searching for a gift for a traveler, or just looking for inspiration about what types of travel themed home furnishings are out there.

Our list contains dozens of home decor items that are well-suited for a variety of spaces, budgets, and decorating tastes. Many can be personalized or customized so you can get a one of a kind piece. We give suggestions for items suited for all the rooms of your house including the kitchen, bedroom, living room, bathroom, nursery, and office.

We have physically reviewed many of these items and hope you enjoy this list of wonderful travel themed home decor items. Perhaps you’ll discover your new favorite home furnishing pieces along the way!

Table of Contents:

Handmade Travel Home Decor: Home Decoration for Travelers

I love travel themed items and have previously written posts on some of my favorite handmade travel themed wedding products and travel themed jewelry . I love globes, vintage maps, vacation photos, old postcards, etc. and love when I find items that incorporate travel themed elements into useful home decorations and furnishings. So we decided to put together another list on some great handmade travel themed home decor items.

These include pieces for all parts of the home from the office to the bedrooms and include everything from fridge magnets and lampshades to wall art and shower curtains. The items were also chosen to fit a wide range of decorating tastes and budgets with most items ranging in the USD $20 to $150 range.

Just so you know, many of the home decor items on this list we physically reviewed. Some were items we purchased or received as gifts, and others were given to us by artists for review. The other pieces are just ones I loved when searching for travel themed home furnishings online.

The majority of the items on our list are handmade or hand customized items, made by a single artist, family, or a small business. We love supporting these great individual artists and small businesses.

One of the things I love most about shopping for items on Etsy is that most artists can do personalized or custom items. Many of these items on this list are truly unique and many of them can be personalized for you.

We strove to include travel home decor pieces from around the world and items came from a number of places in North America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia. However, the majority are from artists in the United States and United Kingdom.

If you are looking for a gift for your favorite traveler, but don’t find it here, consider checking out our guide to gifts for travelers . It contains 75 gift suggestions that should suit any budget or type of traveler!

We are happy to answer any questions you may have about any of these items included. We hope that this list helps inspire you to show your wanderlust in decorating your own home!

Travel Themed Home Decor for the Living Room & Lounge

Many people spend a lot of time in the living room or lounge in their home, and it is often the place where you gather with family and friends. It is a great room to display your love of travel, whether it is through displaying your favorite travel photos, throw pillows, blankets, candles, or coasters.

Here are a number of travel-themed home decor items that would be great for the living room to give you some decorating ideas.

Wooden World Map Cutout

This amazing 3D wooden wall world map creates a 3D effect due to its unique raised areas, anywhere from 6 mm to 18 mm. With over six contrasting shades of wood, it is one of the most stylish wall maps we’ve seen online. You can use pushpins in it if you wish to mark specific travel locations. The maps are available in a variety of sizes and color shades.

This would make a great piece to accentuate a focal wall in any room, and would also make a wonderful gift. Check out Igor and Maryna’s Etsy store here.

Fun Printed Animal & Tropical Lamp Shades

This bold and eye catching zebra lampshade was created by UK artist Kelly Stevens-McLaughlan. Kelly is known for her unusual and whimsical animal art and designs. She works with galleries and some of the leading interior designers worldwide.

Whether you want to reminisce on adventures from your past or you dream of a safari trip in the future, this statement lamp shade will create an instant focal point in any room, and is sure to be a conversation piece. Take a look at more of her designs in Kelly’s store .

Wood Mountain Shelf

These sweet mountain shelves have three peaks and are custom made from knotty pine. They add a great piece of interest to any home and immediately make us think of our time in the mountains. They are easy to hang on the wall with two simple nails and come in a variety of stain colors.

Please note that they are made to order, so be sure to allow plenty of time for shipping if buying as a gift. Sasha has loads of other wonderful handmade minimalist pieces of home decor in her store .

Custom Travel Photo Blanket

These custom photo throw blankets are perfect for displaying your favorite travel memories. The blankets come in a variety of polyester fabrics, including fleece and woven styles. You can use one photo or use several photos to create a collage. Photos are sublimated into the fabric (rather than screen printed) to help prevent fading, cracking, and peeling. 

You can see more blanket styles and other personalized gifts at Julie’s store .

Wooden Vacation Photo Frame 

Use a personalized vacation photo frame to proudly show off your best vacation photos in your home or office. You can choose a ready-designed one to personalize or have it entirely customized with your own design. All frames include a stand for tabletop display and hook for wall hanging display.

We love taking the time to print some of our best travel photos and displaying them in our home so we can look at them every day. You can find more at Richard & Tatiana’s Store .

Travel Photo Throw Pillows

This beautiful hand sewn pillowcase is made from weather- and fade-resistant 100% spun polyester poplin fabric. The pictured pillowcase features a photo taken by the artist on Route 66 in the USA, but you can choose from hundreds of different photo designs and custom orders are also possible.

Katya also makes a number of other handcrafted items with travel and nature photos including phone cases, shower curtains, wall tapestries, duvet covers, and travel journals. See more at Katya’s store Lost in Nature .

Custom Country Heart Pillow

Why not use these pillows to give a rustic look to your home and show off the places that you love.  This b urlap fabric pillowcase comes with cotton lining and an envelop closure. The pillowcase is hand embroidered with a country outline of your choice and heart in the location of the city of your choice.

The pictured pillowcase is 16 inches  X 16 inches  (40 cm X 40 cm) and shows the UK with the heart over London.

Various pillowcase sizes and designs are available, but please note that the pillow insert is not included. Pop over to Puja’s Store to see more designs.

MOVA Solar-Powered Globes

I am in love with the solar-powered globes from MOVA . We first spotted them spinning in a window display in a shop in Venice, Italy. We assumed they were spinning because of their base so were surprised when the shopkeeper put them in our hands and they kept spinning!

The globes spin on their own using solar power and magnets so they don’t need to be plugged in and there are no batteries to be changed. They just need light, either indirect light from the sun or indoor lights. They can also be put onto about any base.

In addition to world maps, they also sell ones depicting planets, the moon, artwork, and sports teams. They come in a variety of color schemes with several base options.

The companies sells their globes both on the MOVA website and on Amazon . Just be sure to buy them from an authorized site and register them once you receive them to benefit from the warranty.

If interested in purchasing one, we have been given a 5% off discount code that can be used for any 6 inch or 8.5 inch MOVA globe purchased from their website. Just put in coupon code TRAVELCATS at checkout.

Travel Themed Coasters

Travel themed map stone coasters are a great way to add a bit of travel decor to any room. We especially love that these can all be personalized or customized as much as you want. The map design is decoupaged to the stone tile and treated with commercial grade paver sealant on both front and back, and felt backing is applied to the bottom of the coasters.

We have a  set of these personalized coasters that include the places where we met, our first road trip, where we got engaged, where we got married, and our first home together! 

Coasters can be made of ceramic or natural stone and a number of customized elements and designs are available. They can also be hung on your wall as a decoration if you’d prefer (just request that wire loops be added). See more at Brenda’s store: Hand to Home Concepts

Personalized Travel Tree

The Travel Tree Starter Set is unique product consisting of a white metal stand and base with attachable metal signs showing various travel destinations. The stand and travel signs are made of steel and aluminum and the travel signs are printed on high-quality vinyl stickers.

Each starter kit comes with the base, stand, title sign, and three customized travel signs. Additional personalized travel signs can be added.

This is a  great way to track and show your travels in a unique way, and you can keep adding to it as your list of visited cities or countries gets longer. In addition to travel destinations, trees can also be customized for golf courses, baseball parks, marathons, or other accomplishments. You can see more products from Maria in her store . 

Map Throw Pillow Set

This set of 4 throw pillowcases includes four different designed focused on maps, travel, and geography. Pillowcases are 18 inches by 18 inches, made of cotton, and have a zipper closure. They do not include the pillow inserts.

See more travel-themed pillows on Amazon here.

Antique Map Pillar Candles

Fans of antique maps will love these wonderful decorative candles which are ivory, vanilla-scented candles with map transfers of antique city maps from around the world. Available in two sizes.

Note that if Terri doesn’t have any candles listed in her shop, you can contact her for a custom order with the city map of your choice. You can find out more handmade home decor items over on Terri’s store .

Custom Travel Slide Lamp Shade

Can you imagine turning your family slides into a gorgeous decoration for your home? That’s exactly what the team at BlinkLab are doing, with their magnificent lamp shades . A great conversation piece and a perfect way to repurpose all those family slides.

Each shade requires 64 standard cardboard mounted photography slides which are affixed together to form the round lampshade. Then a diffusion material is attached to the interior of the shade which gives the slides a beautiful glow and a crystal clear view of the images.

You can find more of Blink Lab’s handmade repurposed industrial home decor in their store.

If you don’t have your own travel slides to use, this shop makes travel slide lampshades using vintage photographic slides.

Vintage Suitcases

Add a pop of color to your home with these vintage retro suitcases . Not only do they look great, but they also make great storage solutions as coffee tables, side tables, or bedside tables. They come in stacks of 3, 4, 5 or 6 and can be used for in a number of different ways for the home and for events.

Anthia will usually send you a mixture of colors such as cream, brown, navy, black, teal, grey, green, and blue. But if you have very specific color or size requirements, send her a message and she might be able to help you. She has a beautiful collection of handmade and vintage products in her store .

Travel Themed Home Decor for the Kitchen

It’s true what they say, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It is a place to make delicious food and share memories with the people you love. From tea towels to mason jars to wine stoppers, here are some of our favorite travel-themed kitchen decor items to showcase your memories from around the world.

State Shaped Cutting Boards

You can celebrate your home state or favorite USA vacation destination with these state shaped cutting boards . Each board is made of high-quality bamboo wood and they are handcrafted in a workshop in Florida. They can be personalized with an engraving of your choice. Can be used as both a cutting board and serving board.

The boards are available in the shape of all 50 states. See a range of other handcrafted goodies at Left Coast Original .

Map Magnets

Our refrigerator is covered in souvenir magnets brought back from travel destinations around the world. These classic glass magnets with real paper atlas map paper can be customized to allow you to choose your favorite locations in the world, either places you have been or places you want to go! The magnets come in various sizes and shapes.

We love that you can pick your favorite locations in the world and be reminded each time you open your refrigerator door! See more at Lil & Jill’s store Lil and Jill

Custom City Tea Towel

It seems that you can never have enough tea towels in the kitchen! These custom printed ones come with a map of your own home town or any location you choose! They are made from 100% cotton and  m easure at 28″ x 14″, while the map can cover a range of 11.5 miles x 6 miles.

These towels would make for a perfect house warming gift! Butler and Hill have a number of map and travel-themed products available, including personalized map jigsaw puzzles, keepsake boxes, clocks, and more.

Custom Map Wine Stoppers

These heavyweight, food-grade wine bottle stoppers are a perfect gift for wine lovers. They fits all standard wine bottles and the silicone seal makes for a perfect fit. The wine stopper features a map location of your choice under a crystal clear glass dome, so you can remember your favorite destinations around the globe while protecting your wine.

You can also get custom flag and U.S. state designs. You can find plenty of other gift ideas and personalized products over at Tammy’s store Bjeweled Vintage .

Painted Mason Jars with Travel Decals

These subtle but sweet mason jars add a pop of color to your kitchen with customizable state or country outlines. The jars themselves are quart sized, handpainted, distressed, and sealed for a beautiful matte and rustic look. Color options include turquoise, mint green, yellow, duck egg blue, and more.

The jars displayed have Michigan state decals, but Jennifer can do a custom order for just about any state, region, or country outline. She can also paint them just about any color. For more hand crafted products, take a look at Jennifer’s store here .

Custom Handpainted Dishes & Serving Platters

If you want something to commemorate a special day or trip, consider a custom handpainted dish or serving platter. These custom cityscape dishes can be personalized to denote the city landscapes or city landmarks of any town or city. Or this large custom serving platter can be personalized to depict or say whatever you wish.

Whether you are looking for a decorative serving platter or an entire set of dishes, there are artists who can create handpainted ceramic dishes that are truly unique. See examples from shops Cotton Table Ceramics and Your Dish is My Command .

Map Design Reusable Sandwich Bags

One of our favorite travel-themed sustainable products has got to be these reusable sandwich bags ! These natural, safe, and plastic-free items can be used to store sandwiches and snacks. Each reusable bag is handmade with 100% cotton, organic beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and pine resin.

We only have this one planet, this one life, and Aubry hopes to leave it better than when we came through her online store The Little Blue Stitch .

County Destination Embroidered Dish Towels

No matter what country you wish to celebrate, the team at Embroider Everywhere can embroider it on just about anything! This embroidered dish towel is made from 100% cotton and measures at 30″x30″ inches. You can choose the color of the towel and the design – there are several ones already made or you can ask for a custom design.

In addition to kitchen towels, the team can embroider bath towels, aprons, pillowcases, shirts, laptop covers, and more. Take a look at Embroidery Everywhere’s full store to see their full list of products.

Custom Map Cabinet Drawer Knobs

These personalized map cabinet knobs are perfect for the kitchen drawers. These solid drawer pulls are finished in either nickel or bronze and feature a 1.25″ (30mm) map image under a clear glass dome. You can choose the map location you want for each cabinet drawer knob.

You can see a number of other personalized map items over at Tammy’s store Bjeweled Vintage .

City Skyline Jars

These wood and glass storage jars are 16 oz. glass food safe jars with a maple wood lid that creates an airtight seal. They can be used for a number of purposes from storing foodstuff in the kitchen to storing craft or sewing supplies. The laser-cut lids can be personalized with the skylines of one of over 40 cities in the United States.

These jars would also make a perfect way to give a gift of candies or other small treats. Lucca Workshop is full of beautiful pieces of wood & paper items.

Canvas Spice Map

This spice map canvas is a great option to consider if you want to decorate one of the walls of your kitchen. The print itself is made from museum quality, heavy-duty canvas with a satin finish. It is handstretched over a frame and arrives ready to hang. You can add personalized text to the piece if you’d like.

It is available in several sizes and 3 panels or a single panel, depending on what suits you and the size of your space.

Tom is an experienced graphic designer and photographer and offers a lot of great wall canvas items, including dozens of travel themed canvas pieces. You can check those out in his store .

Eat Well Travel Often Towel

These dainty Eat Well Travel Often towels can be custom made in colors to match your home décor. Made from 100% white cotton, the towels are super absorbent and lint free. These flour sack towels are designed to get softer with more washes. The towels measure approx. 29″ x 29″.

If you don’t see what you are looking for feel free to message April with any requests you have as she can do custom items. Her store Mudpies and Daisies is full of beautiful unique handcrafted sewn items.

Travel Themed Home Decor for the Office

Whether you work from an office or at home, it is important to fill your space with little reminders of why you work so hard! Whether it’s your favorite family vacation photo, vacation countdown blocks, or a mini desk globe to remind you of your travels, there are plenty of ways to incorporate your love for travel into your home office.

Here are a number of travel-themed home decor items that would be great for your office space.

Personalized Vacation Photo Coffee Mug

This personalized vacation photo mug is a great way to commemorate a special trip! The mug is a ceramic 10 oz. coffee mug with ink printed brown and green travel design. Text includes “Let’s Go” and “Le Mug de Voyageur.” The mug design can be personalized with a photo.

We really enjoy drinking our coffee and seeing a photo from one of the first trips Laurence and I took together in Spain. A great and practical way to remember your own travels, and would also make a great gift for a special traveler in your family.

Take a look at Noémie’s store LesptitescreasdeNono for more!

Secret Travel Book Safe

Keep your keepsakes, travel documents, or valuables in this hollow secret safe book that will hide in plain sight on your bookshelf. It is a h ardcover copy of a real book (we have To the Ends of the Earth: The Selected Travels of Paul Theroux ) with its original dustcover that has been hollowed out so there is an inside opening that is 4 7/8 inches wide x 8 long x 15/16 deep. Inserted magnets keep it closed even when it is standing upright.

You can actually get a hollow safe in a number of book titles (including custom requests) and size and shape of hollow can be changed. We have To the Ends of the Earth: The Selected Travels of Paul Theroux, and the one pictured is a collection of stories by Robert Louis Stevenson.

We love being able to hide items in plain sight, especially in a book written by a modern travel writer which fits in well on our bookshelf. It is a great place for us to store our passports, desk keys, and extra cash that we would normally just shove in a drawer. See more at Kara & John’s store, Secret Safe Books .

Travel Themed Stationary

If you want to bring a smile to someone’s face, send them a letter in one of these atlas envelopes . These u pcycled atlas map pages have been handcrafted into letter-sized envelopes. They measure at 9 1/2″ X 4″ although a variety of sizes and recycles papers are available and you can also request custom orders.

We love that these are so well-made and are also making good use of discarded atlases and maps. I still write letters to my grandmother and these travel themed envelopes make it more fun to send a letter. Jennifer has some great products in her store, Paperette Shoppe .

Antique Style Map Pencil & Pen Holder

Add a traditional vintage feel to your desk with these beautiful pencil and pen holders . Handmade in Australia, these decoupage holders are sold as a set of two which includes one pen/pencil holder and one paper clip holder. The artist paints the set in brown acrylic, applies map images, and then varnishes them.  You will find her details and signature on the bottom of each item – a really nice touch!

You can find all of Laura’s work on her store, Silver Glow Designs . She has a whole range of handmade desk accessories.

Vacation Countdown Blocks

As you look forward to your next trip, you’ll know exactly how many days are left to go with these vacation countdown blocks . You can actively countdown the months, weeks, and days! The blocks are handpainted and all of the writing is created using vinyl. You can customize the colors, words, and images.

Gina also makes countdown blocks for holidays, birthdays, weddings, retirement, etc. You can find her full store here .

Mini Desk Globe

This mini globe sits on a brass stand and has a personalized handlettered phrase. At 7 inches high and 4 inches wide, it will fit perfectly on your desk or office shelf. You can personalize the lettering to say whatever you want. The globe is available in different colors.

Nicole has a store full of handlettered decor and gifts, which you can see in her store here .

Wooden Mountain Bookends

These intricate bookends are the perfect way to bring the feeling of nature and the mountains into your office space. Measuring at 13″ x 7″ x 5″, the mountain range book ends come with non-slip cork bottoms to ensure that your books stay in place. Due to the nature of wood, each piece will be slightly unique in color and grain.

In addition to mountains, the Moku Crew also make spectacular and fun wooden bookends of ships, trees, lighthouses, and even the Death Star and Hogwarts. If you are looking for a unique decoration to add to your office, or a great gift for someone you love, look no further .

Personalized Vacation Photo Frame

Cherish your best memories in this laser engraved, wood photo frames . The 5″ X 7″ frames are made of alder wood and you can choose a horizontal or vertical orientation. The frames feature an easel back design for easy table top display or can be hung on the wall.

Such a wonderful way to remember a special moment in time, especially if you are looking for a unique gift for an upcoming birthday or Christmas. Leticia has a whole collection of customizable products in her store Timeless Engravings .

12 Inch Globe

This 12-inch desk globe is perfect to adorn the office, whether on a bookshelf, filing cabinet, or desk. The antique map style raised-relief globe is 12 inches in diameter and features an antique brass colored base.

Replogle sells a number of different globes of different sizes and styles, and you can see their full range on Amazon .

Lamp with Old World Map Lamp Shade

This timeless travel themed Old Word map lamp is a perfect twist of Old World and modern. It stands 28″ in height and features a HBC shade, bronze finish, on/off pull chain, and crystal design elements.

Royal Lampshaes offer a lot of lighting options and accessories, including customizable lamp shades and colored light bulbs. Take a look at their full store if you are looking for something in particular.

Travel Themed Home Decor for the Bathroom

Everyone spends time each day in the bathroom getting ready, bathing, and answering the calls of nature, so why not fill it with memories and decorations from around the world to inspire you. These travel themed bathroom decorations are sure to spur on your wanderlust throughout the day.

Map Shower Curtain

This world map shower curtain in a blue and cream color with a crisp world map design will help pull your bathroom look together. The shower curtain is made with 100% softened polyester, which is a machine washable fabric and measures at 70 x 70″, but custom sizes are available if you reach out to the designer.

Matching bath mats, bedding, and other items are also available. Find more great travel themed products in Catherine’s full store, Mapology .

Ceramic Travel Trailer Soap Dispenser

How sweet is this ceramic travel trailer soap dispenser ! It is sure to complete any RV camping decor. The rounded silver gray and red trailer soap dispenser is made of ceramic and measures at 5 1/2 inches tall with the white plastic pump (4 inches tall without). Each dispenser is made to order of high-quality materials and finished with non-toxic glazes.

This soap dispenser can be a great reminder of fun road trips and vacation camping adventures. Jacque is an extremely talented artist who has a full store of beautiful products for you to enjoy.

Makeup Brush Roll

This travel themed makeup brush holder makes it easy to store and protect your favorite brushes at home or on the go. It is handmade in an antique world map print and features a durable canvas fabric and cord tie closure. It can hold approximately 8 small/medium brushes, 3 large sized brushes, and has an additional 3″ wide pocket for additional brushes or a beauty blender sponge. Machine washable for easy cleaning.

Kelly also makes matching toiletry bags and toiletry bag sets in the same fabric. Check out Kelly’s full store here .

Nautical Map Bath Mat

This nautical map bath mat is a great addition to the ultimate travel themed bathroom! Made from soft microfiber foam with non-skidding backing to keep it from sliding, your feet will love to step out of the shower onto this after a long day.

Items are printed in the USA by designers Ryan and Rachael.They have an amazing selection of mugs, ornaments, art prints, canvases, and home goods in their online store, Loftipop .

Navy Map Bath Towel

These super soft and extremely absorbent bath towels can be used at home, at the spa, or at the beach. This beautiful navy towel is made with a one-sided print, polyester facing with a cotton loop backing for extra lush absorbency. It comes in a range of sizes.

It is another one of the fantastic products available on Catherine’s Mapology store . She has a whole range of world map shower curtains, pillows, duvets, and more!

Nautical Themed Shower Curtain

Even showering can be an adventure with these nautical themed shower curtains ! M ade of 100% polyester, the shower curtain measures  71 inches (W) x 74 inches (H) with 12 button holes for shower hook placements. 

We have this shower curtain, we love this fun and colorful nautical design. It would look great in a variety of bathrooms!

If boats aren’t you thing, you may want to take a look at Rachel and Ryan’s many other shower curtains (and other home decor item) designs!

Travel Themed Home Decor for the Bedroom

Fall asleep dreaming of travel with these amazing travel themed home decor ideas for your bedroom. You’ll be dreaming of enjoying spring in Paris, vacationing with the family at Disney World, or cruising along the blue seas of the Bahamas in no time!

Blue & Cream World Map Bedding Set

This world map bedding set is currently in my shopping cart! The vintage world map prints amazingly well on this duvet cover or comforter. The look is clean and pretty with tons of detail, and it comes in a variety of sizes to suit everyone. You can also pick out matching pillowcases to keep the theme going strong!

Catherine can even customize your order if you reach out to her. You can find lots of map and travel themed decorations in her store, Mapology .

Wanderlust Ring Bowl

This little bicycle dish is really cute. This handmade bowl is made of white earthenware clay. The letters and design were stamped with dark brown ink – this one has a bicycle design on outside and word “Wanderlust” along the inner rim. The bowls are fired and covered with a lead free, clear glossy glaze and they can be customized with various colors and larger sizes are available. 

It is a great place to store my travel-themed jewelry pieces, particularly our world map wedding rings whenever we need to remove them.

Elycia offers a wide range of handmade bowls in her shop that I recommend checking out, and most of her pieces can be customized! See more at Elycia & T.J.’s store Elycia Camille .

Framed Maps with Love Quote

We really like how this framed quote combines both love and travel, two of our favorite things! Made with a pretty white frame with pearl and twine embellishments, and a map that includes a handwritten quote inside. The standard quote is “Love makes the world go round” but this can be customized to any short quote you desire.

Such a great decoration or gift for any travel loving person or couple. You can s ee more at Kelly’s store UniqueWeddingBoutique .

Tommy Bahama Map Quilt Set

Can you picture yourself relaxing under this amazing Bahamas themed quilt ? Made from 100% cotton, this beautiful vintage style quilt is filled with 60% cotton, 30% polyester and 10% new reclaimed fibers. The set includes a quilt and two standard shams, and is available in twin, queen, and king sizes. 

See more tropical inspired bedding patterns at Tommy Bahama . 

French Inspired Trinket Dishes

Beautiful trinket dishes for those who love France like we do! These handmade small ceramic dishes are made from clay. The designs are stamped on and then the dish is fired, glazed, and then fired again. The pictured dishes have the Eiffel Tower and Je t’aime (“I love you” in French) designs, but there are a number of different dishes available in a variety of colors, designs, and shapes. 

We always use ceramic dishes for soap, rings, coins, candies, tea bags, etc. These would also make great party or wedding favors. Cynthia has a number of French inspired items in her store and is happy to make custom items as well.

Vintage Suitcase Shelves

We love vintage suitcases but have never thought of turning them into a wall shelf before! Such a great idea if you are looking for a truly unique home décor option! This vintage suitcase are turned into shelves that can be hung on your wall. They are available in various sizes and colors.

If you are looking for a particular color or size, Mandy will work with you to find the pieces that will best fit your decor and vision! You can see her full store right here .

Travel Themed Decor for the Nursery or Children’s Room

Fill your nursery or child’s room with beautiful travel themed decor items that will spark their imagination and creativity. You can transform their space to bring them on a journey around the world, right from the comfort of their own home!

Here are some of our favorite pieces that we think you might love as well!

World Travel Activity Rug

This colorful world map activity rug comes with three wooden vehicles (car, airplane, and boat), plus a passport with stickers to keep track of globe-trotting adventures! T his durable rug is machine washable for simple, convenient clean up and it has reinforced edges that won’t fray in the wash.

It is a great gift for children aged between 3 and 6 and is sure to brighten up any room. We all know that the best toys are those that encourage interaction. This activity rug is designed to inspire engagement and connection with your child. You can find lots of wonderful toys in the popular Melissa & Doug store, but the travel themed toys are our favorites!

World Map Fitted Crib Sheets

This is the sweetest handmade fitted crib sheet for all the mini travelers out there! The sheet has encased elastic all the way around and French seams for a nice finish. It features a 100% cotton map print fabric and measures at 28″ x 52″. It is machine washable.

If you require a different size or if you don’t see what you want, you can message Katie and she can set up a custom order. A matching changing pad cover is also available. You can find her full store, which has lots of beautiful handmade home decor, right here .

Printable Adventure Themed Prints

These wanderlust-inducing adventure themed prints are the perfect addition to any nursery or child’s room. You don’t even need to wait for the prints to arrive, they are downloadable, so you can print them out from the comfort of your own home and display them as you wish. This set of 6 prints includes a hot air balloon, a compass, a train, a globe, a plane, and a boat.

Amy has an entire shop full of fantastic travel inspired designs in a variety of different colours and styles. You can find all of her work right here .

Airplane Baby Mobile

This handmade airplane mobile will add the perfect finishing touch to any nursery! This sweet airplane baby mobile is made of top quality would felt and plush fiber filling, and is hand sewn. It can feature airplanes, hot air balloon, rockets, the moon, clouds,  and stars, all handing from a metallic hoop with cotton. The hoop measures at 7.5 inches and the mobile is 17 inches in length.

You can find all of Kate’s handmade baby mobiles, rattles, and teethers over on her store The Mobilion .

Transportation Themed Wall Art

These adorable transportation wall art decor are perfect for a gallery wall in any little person’s bedroom, featuring airplanes, helicopters, trucks and more. All prints are made from original watercolor paintings created by Teresa in her studio. The images are printed on quality heavyweight archival matte paper. They are available as different sets and of different sizes.

Woodland Adventure Bedding

This is the woodland adventure bedding I definitely would have wanted as a kid! They are sure to bring out your child’s imagination as they fall asleep under these adventure inspired sheets. Choose from the toddler duvet, twin, queen, or king duvets. Matching sheets, pillowcases, and blankets available.

All bedding and accessories are made in Lublini’s atelier. They are 100% proudly, designed, cut & sewn in Austin, Texas! For more nature inspired deisgns, take a look at Lublini’s full store here .

Hot Air Balloon Hanging Decorations

You will want to fill an entire ceiling with these colorful hot air balloon decorations ! They are a perfect addition to your nursery or as wedding or baby shower décor. They are hand-sewn in a colorful rainbow print fabric and stuffed, and then an accompanying handmade burlap basket is attached. They come in two sizes.

Elisa has an entire range of hot air balloon is many different fabric prints and colors, so you are sure to find the perfect one for you no matter what style you are looking for. See her full store for more.

Map Play Mat

On the look out for a soft and comfortable baby velvet surface for your baby to practice belly time on? This map play mat comes with anti-slip points at the bottom to prevent it from sliding. Measuring at 4.8 X 6.4 feet, the large-scale play mat allows you and your child to play together on the game carpet. The play mat folds flat for easy storage and travel.

For more play mat options, you can see these options on Amazon . 

Oh the Places You’ll Go Nursery Wall Decal

This is one of our all time favorite quotes from Dr. Seuss! We couldn’t resist including this ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go’ hot air balloon nursery wall decal . The matte finish to this high quality vinyl decal will make it look like the name was painted right on your wall. Perfect for any nursery, bedroom, or playroom wall. Available in your choice of colors.

If you are looking for something in particular, make sure to check out The Decal Spot Co , they have tons of eye-catching and creative decals for any room in your house.

Personalized Travel Themed Baby Blanket

This personalized baby blanket is a great gift idea for a baby shower or any new parent. The outer part of the blanket is made of a cotton/cavas world map printed fabric and the inner side is made of a soft cream color minky fabric. The text says “Welcome to the World” and is personalized with the baby’s name. It comes in 3 sizes.

Hagar has lots of beautiful, customizable products on her store, including travel themed pillowcases, baby bedding, teethers, pencil cases, and more. You can find her store here .

Geography Floor Puzzle

Keep the kids occupied with this easy to assemble 51 piece USA floor puzzle . It has individualized pieces with brightly colored features distinct to each state featuring details such as the state name, capital, and a state landmark. E ach piece is coated with an easy to clean surface to keep the puzzle looking new and allowing for easy clean up. 

This puzzle is recommended for children age 6 and older. This is just one of the many great toy options by Melissa & Doug ! 

Travel Themed Wall Decor & Wall Art

One of the easiest and most impactful ways of incorporating your love for travel into your home decor is with travel themed wall decor. These can be hung in just about any room of your house and might be map pin boards, artwork, wall decals, or your own travel photos. 

There are lots of options to choose from online, but here are a few that really caught out eye!

Travel Map Pin Board

A world map pin board is a great way to both show your love of travel and display the places you have traveled and want to travel. The maps are made from printed canvas that is stretched over a cork backing and attached to a wooden frame. The pin boards come in a variety of styles, colors, and sizes. You can personalize the title and legends of each map if you wish.

We have had one of these (in the vintage rustic style) on our own walls for years and we love it. The pin board comes professionally packaged and easy to hang on your wall as all the fixtures are included. Each map also comes with a set of two colors of pins.

The pin boards are available in world map designs as well as USA maps, Europe maps, and individual USA state maps. They also make decals, ornaments, and other travel inspired items. All products are made in Ohio, USA. See more at Ross’s store Conquest Maps .

Custom Map Wall Art Prints

We love the wide variety of travel-related prints that Robert has available in his store. Each wall art print is printed on high-quality matte paper. There are a number of designs available including world map prints, crossword travel map prints, travel list prints, longitude and latitude coordinates, and travel quote maps.

If you don’t see what you want, contact Robert to see if a custom order is possible. See more at Robert’s store Eleven Corners .

Travel Themed Wall Decals 

Each vintage travel stamp  decal is made of high quality self-adhesive matte-finish vinyl. They are also available in a number of colors and sizes, and decals can be customized. They can be applied to many types of clean, flat (or lightly textured), and dry surfaces such as walls, doors, windows, mirrors, wood, and plexiglass. 

We applied these to our bedroom wall in our last bedroom, and enjoyed seeing them every morning when we woke up. We applied these carefully and slowly following the included directions and had no problem. We were also able to remove them a few years later when we moved with no issue.

Adam and Kim have a number of other great travel-related wall decals as well! See more decals and other items at their shop Blue Design Co .

Personalized Framed Vacation Maps

Want to remember an epic vacation, road trip, service tour, marathon, or other event? At Passport Maps , you can have a personalized map of just about any vacation, location, or route. The design is personalized for each customer and can include text, map locations, routes, and personal travel photos. Designs are either printed on 51lb acid free paper or are digital ones you can print yourself.

A few years ago Scott designed a map of a train trip we took from Istanbul, Turkey to Pisa, Italy and we loved how much Scott was able to incorporate our specific route locations, text, and several of our travel photos into the design. A great way to remember our trip every time we glance at our wall!

The frame is not included but you can add framing to your order or frame it on your own. See lots of personalized map examples at Scott’s store PassportMaps and in his Etsy shop .

Scratch Off Travel Map

This is a great scratch off map and a fun way to show where you have traveled in the world. It can also help you decide on your next vacation destination. The map is printed on high quality paper then covered with a gold foil layer. It shows over 10,000 cities and places and the package also includes a dust cloth, push pins, and metal scraper. The map measures 34.6 inches X 23.6 inches (88 X 60 cm).

We have this map and it is very detailed for its size and it was easy to scratch off the gold foil level. Individual U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and regions of large countries can also be distinguished so you can scratch off certain areas rather than the entire country.

Robert has several scratch map options over in this store The Map Lab . 

Push Pin Map with Frame

This framed push pin map comes with a 2 inche wooden frame. The map was designed by National Geographic. You can choose from several colors for the frame to best match your room interior and you can also choose to personalize the text of the map legend. The map comes with 100 push pins.

This push pin map is made in the USA and comes ready to hang on the wall. Also maps available for specific countries or continents, and of different sizes. For more push pin maps, you can see options here on Amazon .

Wooden World Map CutOut

This beautiful Wooden Map of the World Map is such a statement piece! It has a 3D effect, due to its unique raised areas, anywhere from 6 mm to 18 mm. Featuring over six contrasting shades of wood, it is a very cool gift for family, friends, coworkers or yourself to mark your travels. Plus, it is a great way to accentuate a focal wall in any room.

Made with birch plywood, the map is eco-friendly and will last a lifetime. It comes with special double-sided sticky tape, that you can put on the map and it will not ruin your walls. It also includes airplane or flag push pins to mark places you have traveled to or dreaming about!

You will find many intricate map designs available in Igor and Maryna’s store .

Steampunk Art

We fell in love with these original art prints that are printed on high quality vintage dictionary paper and measures 8″ x 10.5″. It is a very unique and fun way to add steampunk charm and a pop of color to your home. There are hundreds of designs available and you can also request a custom order.

It is a one-of-a-kind vintage dictionary artwork, so no two pieces will ever be exactly the same. Liam has a huge selection of original vintage dictionary page art prints over in his store , so you will probably have no trouble finding one you love.

Custom Hand Drawn or Painted Caricatures of Travel Photo

Do you love getting a caricature done while on vacation? You don’t have to find an artist on vacation, instead you can have Anatoli create a custom caricature based on your personal photographs and ideas. Any personal details or situations can be added to create a unique gift. You can get one done of yourself, your family, children or a friend. Caricatures are hand drawn with pastel pencils on cotton paper. Custom oil paintings are also possible.

You will find his entire store of oil paintings, dry pastel paintings, and caricatures here .

Travel Inspired Candles & Home Fragrance Products

Travel-inspired scents can help you remember past travels. Smell is one of the human’s most powerful senses and scents can instantly trigger vivid memories . They can transport people back to favorite locations or help inspire future destinations. Here are some of the travel themed candles and fragrance companies we think you will love.

One of our go-to destinations for home fragrances is Wanderlust Scents . Drew has a huge selection of candles, wax melts, room sprays, perfumes, and room diffusers, all inspired by different locations around the world. The scents are complex and are designed to be unisex so that they can appeal to both men and women.

We are in love with the wax melts and melt them almost every night in our living room.

One of the company’s most popular sellers is its Cuba-inspired Old Havana scented candles, but it offers scents that are inspired by London, California, the Rocky Mountains, Brazil, Hawaii, Brooklyn, Tuscany, Milwaukee, and dozens of other locations. See all the options here .

Mer & Sea Home Fragrance Products

If you are looking for mindful products with minimal packaging, the Mer & Sea collection will be right up your alley. Their candles, room sprays, room diffusers, and soaps have been inspired by travel and locations around the world, especially the seaside. They are artisan soy wax blend candles, hand-poured in the USA using fresh fragrances and packaged in beautiful locally-sewn canvas bags.

Mer & Sea also make a number of other travel-related products, including travel wraps , ponchos, and beachwear. You can find all of their products here .

Travel Destination Inspired Soaps

We love these colorful travel destination inspired soaps that are inspired by places around the world. They are vegan-friendly and free of sulfates and harsh detergents. This set includes your choice of four .75 oz soaps from 10 different scents. Scents include Rome which smells of orange blossom, amber and basil, Hong Kong which smells of Asian pear and lily, and Reykjavik which smells of sparking icicle, cedarwood, and musk.

The mini soaps are also perfect for traveling, camping or backpacking, party favors, stocking stuffers, and your gym bag. We personally use them in our guest bathroom for when we have visitors over.

In addition to soaps, Julie also makes a lot of other travel-inspired scented products including perfumes, lip balms, wax melts, shampoo bars, beard oils, and more. I also really like Julie’s lip balms. Take a look at all of Julie’s travel related products here .

Archipelago Luxury Candles

Archipelago is a California-based luxury fragrance company that makes  natural soy wax candles .  They have a destination collection with scents inspired by places around the world including Kashmir, Charleston, Stonehenge, Havana, Dubai, Positano, Black Forest, and Lanai. They come in a variety of sizes and come in glass jars, as pillar candles, and in metal travel tins.

They also sell reed diffusers of the same scent. You can see more fragrance products by Archipelago Botanicals here .

Homesick Candles

We absolutely love the concept behind Homesick candles . They have lots of different scented soy wax candles representing different countries, USA states, cities, and national parks They are designed to bring back all the nostalgic memories of great experiences and wonderful places. They offer each of their candles in different sizes and the large 13.75oz candle has a long burn time of 60-80 hours.

The Homesick store also has a range of oils and reed diffusers to choose from. You can find their full store here .

Travel Themed University Dorm Room Decor Items

Moving into your college dorm room is an exciting moment in life. With this new era comes a blank canvas to decorate your new space how you want it. These travel inspired university dorm room home decor items and furnishings should get your creative juices flowing.

Travel & Ticket Shadow Box

This shadow box ticket holder is a creative way to store and display your tickets, travel stubs, photos, postcards, or anything else you want to keep. The black 8 x 8 inch glass-fronted shadow box has a large slot at the top that makes it easy to drop in your mementos and they can be removed by taking off the back. It can sit on a flat surface or can be hung on the wall. The background text can be personalized to say whatever you wish.

This would make a great gift. You can find more shadowboxes and other home decor in Denise’s full store here .

Throw pillow

This soothing cotton candy colored sky world map throw pillow adds a touch of pink and fun to your dorm room. The throw pillow cover is doubled printed and is made from 100% spun polyester poplin fabric and has a concealed zipper for ease of care. You can choose different sizes and add a pillow insert if you wish.

Marianna has lots of beautiful and colorful decor options on her store , including shower curtains, duvet covers, pillows, tapestries and more.

Map Cork Board

This wonderful cork map of the United States with engraved geographical details is an ideal centerpiece for a travel lover’s dorm wall where you can pin photos, reminders, or chart your road trips! The cork map measures 21″ tall by 34″ wide and is made with heavy duty 1/2″ thick corkboard, so it is really built to last.

Check out Nick’s full store for more minimalist geography related items at Geo 101 Design .

Beer Cap World Map 

For those of legal drinking age, this beer cap world map is a fun way to play Around the World in 80 Beers and helps encourage you to try new beers. The printed map is covered with high quality laminate and a foil layer and has a total of 80 blank circles (40 on top and 40 on bottom) that are used to stick on beer caps. It includes a magnifier to help find the smaller countries and islands, a scratcher to help remove the foil level, and 80 sticky squares to attach the beer caps to the map.

We started off our map with a beer from the oldest operating brewery in the United States (Yuengling in Pennsylvania in case you were wondering!). I also gave this as a gift to my younger brother.

A great gift for any beer drinker or a fun item to have at a craft beer party! See more at Rita’s store, MapFever .

World Map LED Candle Holder

This world map candle holder is the perfect decor for a university dorm room as most universities do not allow real candles since they are a fire hazard. This one can be purchased with a LED pillar candle that flickers like a real one. The candle holders are made from steel tubing or pipe with a world map cut out and come in several colors and finishes.

The decorative candle holders has no bottom so it can easily slide over LED votive candles or wine bottles. Bela has over 300 creative designs and you can see them all over in her store Tube Torcher .

Other Travel Themed Home Decoration Items

We could go on and on with amazing travel inspired home decorations out there, but we’ll control ourselves and end with a few more that don’t quite fit into any specific room. If you haven’t found what you are looking for quite yet, perhaps these final few travel themed home decorating ideas will ignite a spark.

Switchplate covers

The unique decorative switchplate covers are created and assembled by hand, using laminated images affixed to durable steel plates. This one is of a steam engine train on a blue retro background. This design, like all the shop’s designs, are available in 30 different types of plate configuration to cover any light switch, electrical outlet, or telephone or data jack on your wall.

Sheree offers more than 1,000 unique designs which cater to virtually any taste, ranging from bold to subtle, from classic to off-beat. See her store for more inspiration.

Luminary Bags

We love these luminary bags as they remind us of luminaria in New Mexico which are a traditional holiday decoration around Christmas. The use of paper maps, the customized cut-out shapes, and stenciled on designs really make these stand out from any other luminaries we’ve seen. These can be used inside or outside with LED candles. 

There are different sizes and customization options available for any of Suzie’s luminary bags. Check out more creative designs in her shop Olden Designs .

Vintage Luggage Label Stickers

This set of 30 reproduction retro luggage label stickers advertising hotels, ships, and travel agencies that have been professionally retouched and printed on high gloss, water-resistant self-adhesive paper. These stickers are an inexpensive way to add a retro feel to any travel-related DIY project.

I am a bit obsessed with vintage luggage and vintage luggage labels so I was drawn to these immediately. We use these to decorate our vintage looking luggage and to also stick on the back of our laptops as we decorate them with stickers we get from our travels, so these are a perfect addition! 

Ben also creates and sell a number of other vintage inspired printed items including tote bags, magnets, posters, and wall prints. See more at his store BvdB Design .

Travel Fund Jar

We love that the world map money jar serves both a functional purpose (place to throw loose change) and a decorative one. This 1-gallon jug is made of thick, durable glass with a black plastic screw cap. The world map design has been added to the jar and is made of high quality matte black vinyl.

The product is made of high quality materials and the hole on top is big enough for any type of coin we tried. Unlike many other money storage containers, the coins were fairly easy to remove from the jar.

 A great place to keep your spare change to save up for your next adventure. A smaller 1/2 gallon world map jar is also available for those wanting something smaller. See more at Renee’s store All Sales Are Vinyl .

World Map Wall Clock

This unique modern world map wall clock is a great fit for any room of the house! The 10″ clock includes a backside hook for easy hanging and requires a AA battery to operate. It is available in 3 colors and you can also change the color of the clock hands.

All items are made to order at Lanre Studio. The world map design is also available to be printed on a mug, pillow, art print, and duvet cover. You can see their full list of products here .

Ireland Inspired Flower Pot

This Ireland inspired shamrock flower pot i s made of ceramic and is then decorated using transfer printing and low VOC chalk paint. it contains an Irish verse. Pot is covered in UV protectant and 3 coats of matte water sealant. Pots can be used indoors or outdoors. They come in various sizes and the designs change regularly.

Katie made a number of beautiful handmade planting plots, many of which are inspired by the Emerald Isle. She can also do custom designs. You can see her current designs available in her shop Summer Bird Design .

RV USA State Decal

Have you ever considered tracking how many states have you been to with your campervan, RV, or travel trailer? This high quality outdoor vinyl USA State Decal allows you to keep track and proudly display your adventures for the whole campground to see!

These decals are an automatic conversation starter for when you’re unhooking and the neighbors walk by. There are a lot of other vehicle decals as well as lots of travel inspired home decor you can check out over at the Conquest Maps store.

Wooden Antique Map Wall Clock

This antique style sublime clock depicts a 17th century map that is printed on the wooden face of the clock. It also features silent quartz mechanisms. It is available in 8 sizes. Customization is possible.

If you are looking for something a little different, the team at The Big Clock Store have very unique clock styles (over 500!), so you can pick the size and style that best fits your room and décor.

World Map Sticker Decal

You can add this explore world map sticker to your laptop, notebook, skateboard, fridge, lunch box, bedroom door, or mirror to inspire you to go on more adventures every time you see it! The sticker is 3.8″ W x 3.1″ H and is coated in a scratch and weather resistant glossy vinyl.

Amanda has a selection of travel inspired products over in her store Forget Sunday Drives .

Airplane Doormat

This airplane doormat is the perfect welcome mat for any travel lover! Each doormat is made of coconut fibers and the design is hand painted by the shop owner with outdoor paint. It is spray sealed with a clear coat of UV resistant spray paint and backed with vinyl. The doormat measures at 18” x 30” and can be used inside or outside your door.

Sarah offers a wide range of funny and cute original doormat designs. She can also create a custom design if you have an idea for a unique doormat. You can see all of her available designs in her store .

So that is our guide to home decor for travelers, and hopefully we have helped inspire you in how to decorate your own home to inspire some wanderlust.

If you are looking for gift ideas for travelers, check out our travel gift guide  for over 75 gift ideas that are perfect for travelers. Ideas for every budget and type of traveler.

Planning to decorate your home in the future? Pin this article to Pinterest to save and read it later:

Did any of these travel themed home decor items catch your eye? Do you own any travel home decor pieces yourself that you love? If you have any questions about any of these travel home decor items, just ask us and we’re happy to share our honest thoughts!

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Miley Post author

September 18, 2023 at 1:51 am

I have been into home decoration at my new house and your blog has given me so many ideas. I ordered the recommended wood map board and its so beautiful!! As well as a few of other smaller travel themed things plus adding a lot of our vacation photos. Thank you very much for sharing this amazing blog.

Jessica & Laurence Norah Post author

September 21, 2023 at 7:54 am

I am so glad to hear that you are loving your wooden map, those look really nice on the wall. And of course, your own personal photos are the best and can bring back so many great memories. Thanks for stopping by to comment.

Best, Jessica

Mian Umair Post author

September 11, 2023 at 1:56 am

Its really good information for me and those people who wanna look for travel decor. Thank you very much for sharing this amazing list and your blog.

September 11, 2023 at 3:55 pm

Thanks for taking the time to comment, and glad you enjoyed our travel themed home decor post!

Happy decorating! Jessica

Arkaa Post author

March 7, 2023 at 1:33 am

I have not had an opportunity to travel, but, I dream of beautiful places. I want to go to Italy and Greece.

March 9, 2023 at 4:34 am

I hope that you enjoyed our article and perhaps found some ways to decorate your own home with some Italian and Greek touches to keep those dreams alive until you have the opportunity to travel to those places yourself. I hope you get the chance to travel soon!

Best wishes, Jessica

LOUISE HEATON Post author

May 28, 2020 at 2:56 pm

Love all these items featured especially the lamps and cushions by Kelly Stevens-McLaughlan. If I were to pick one item out from all of these sellers, it would be the baby mobile

May 29, 2020 at 5:26 am

Yes, the handmade baby mobiles would be lovely in a nursery or young child’s room as decoration!

Ruth Mendez Post author

July 13, 2018 at 12:34 am

I love traveling as much as I love handmade products! So whenever I travel, I make sure that I get to purchase handcrafts especially those made by local community artisans. There is just one time, I went to Chiang Mai in Thailand, I never had the chance to actually buy my souvenir, but thankfully I found a store called localbazaar who sells handmade crafts from Chiang Mai!

July 13, 2018 at 9:44 am

Hi Ruth, Yes, handmade travel products make for great souvenirs. If you don’t pick up something while traveling, you can always seem to find something online out there 😉 Best, Jessica

Kate Evans Post author

September 13, 2017 at 4:33 am

Hello Jessica, I love this travel themed decoration and as well as items. Some of my favorite handmade travel themed are vacation photos, unique travel items and travel themed jewelry. These are really fantastic ideas to decorate. Thanks for sharing such a nice idea.

Laurie Emerson Post author

July 15, 2017 at 7:08 pm

I love themed travel decor as it brings the outside world into my home. I love the Explore Bath Mat and the World Map Money Jar.

Kelsi Post author

July 15, 2017 at 4:58 pm

I love the Travel Map Pin Board and the Framed Maps with Love Quote!

Sheri Anderson Post author

July 15, 2017 at 2:06 pm

I love to travel and explore places that I’ve never been to but it’s been hard to get away as I care for a special needs adult. I love all the items but really love the wooden wall decor world map, thanks!

Rust Post author

July 15, 2017 at 12:08 pm

I likethat the travel themed items I collect bring back memories of places and events. I like mappy type mementos.

Maranda Hymes Post author

July 15, 2017 at 11:25 am

I’ve always wanted to travel the world as a kid my dream job was to be a doctor overseas. I’m a bit sad that I’ve never ventured outside of the United States. My favorite is definitely the book safe! I’ve always wanted a hollow book. My mandatory entry I hit too soon it was 17, 15, and 7. Hope I can still be entered.

July 15, 2017 at 12:19 pm

Hi Maranda, It is never too late to travel (or do most things!) so don’t give up on your dream of doing some international travel! I will go in and manually change it for you so your entry is valid. Best, Jessica

Rob+Ann Post author

July 15, 2017 at 9:54 am

Love that glass world map print! Also the travel fund jug – we need a couple of those, only filled up! 😉 Great finds – thanks for sharing!

brandi swanson Post author

July 15, 2017 at 9:14 am

My husband is in the military and we travel a lot! I love the money jug the most!

Leah Shumack Post author

July 15, 2017 at 8:18 am

The Custom Travel Themed Map Luminary is so beautiful! I would also love to have the map where I can mark the locations that I’ve been to!

Sarah L Post author

July 14, 2017 at 9:40 pm

I like them because they remind me of where I’ve been and of where I want to go. I most like the travel blanket because I’d wrap myself up in Patagonia… (which I gather is NOT one of the items up for a prize…) Thanks for the contest.

Lauryn R Post author

July 14, 2017 at 9:37 pm

I love all of these travel related home décor items because I love to travel and have since I was a little kid! I love all of these things each for different reasons. I definitely want a World Map Money Jar and a photo blanket would be such a wonderful way to cherish memories! 🙂

July 14, 2017 at 8:31 pm

I would love to win many of these travel themed home decor items!

Chrissy Malave Post author

July 14, 2017 at 5:25 pm

I love travel themed home decor because it’s a reminder of how big the world is and it also inspires me to want to explore and travel the world. I am loving the World Map Money Jar, this is something I could really use to help us save money for traveling.

Shane A Post author

July 14, 2017 at 4:06 pm

Because travel themed decor is a great idea I haven’t seen before.

Lesley F Post author

July 14, 2017 at 8:11 am

I like the Travel Fund Jar!

Tina Post author

July 14, 2017 at 7:19 am

Hollow Secret Safe Book is my favourite. It is very useful

Megan Post author

July 13, 2017 at 10:40 pm

I like the world wooden map, the scratch off travel map, and the color changing mug! So cool!

Anita Jude Post author

July 13, 2017 at 8:28 pm

I love the little bowls that you can put your rings in and things the best

wen budro Post author

July 13, 2017 at 3:43 pm

I love how these items are travel related and so unique. They are all very cool items.

Fiona N Post author

July 12, 2017 at 10:01 pm

I love them all, especially the Nautical Shower Curtain Thank You for the chance!

LisaM Post author

July 12, 2017 at 3:11 am

My first favourite would be the Travel Map Pin Board!

Angela Saver Post author

July 11, 2017 at 9:17 pm

I love travel-themed home decor to remind me of all the cool places I’ve visited and for the memories! My favorites are Nautical Shower Curtain and the RVing Kitchen Towel!

Adele Post author

July 11, 2017 at 8:10 pm

I love travel themed decor because It gives a home a vibrant look. I like the world map wooden sign the most, it looks amazing.

Seana Turner Post author

July 11, 2017 at 5:00 pm

This post is so much fun!!! We actually own 2 of these… the map pin boards (which we got one year for our girls) and the scratch off map (which my daughter got for my husband). We always had fun moving the pin to our “next planned destination.” My husband loves maps, and these are terrific gifts. I recently received coasters from a friend that have outlines of areas in the city where we both used to live. I loved it… these are perfect gifts for the traveler in your life!

Valerie Caldicott Post author

July 11, 2017 at 2:08 pm

Rustic World Map Pin Board is a great idea & my #1 pick #2 the wooden photo frame & #3 book safe

Dana Matthews Post author

July 11, 2017 at 1:11 am

I love maps and have always been fascinated with them. It’s a reminder that, contrary to what the little song says, it is NOT a small world after all. The Wooden World Map is gorgeous!

Terra Heck Post author

July 11, 2017 at 12:56 am

I really, really like that World Map Wooden Sign. The other stuff is neat too. Travel themed items are a great way to show a love for the places you’ve visited. Thanks.

Edith & Juan Post author

July 10, 2017 at 2:12 pm

These are all such neat ideas! I especially loved the travel tree and I’m sure it’s something I’d decorate my house with.

Pam Halligan Post author

July 10, 2017 at 12:53 pm

I do love travel themed home decor. Favorites include the map of Ireland flower pot, the color changing mug, and the RVing kitchen towel.

Susan D Genna Post author

July 10, 2017 at 9:20 am

I have not had an opportunity to travel, but, I dream of beautiful places. I want to go to Italy and Greece. I also want to travel Europe to look at castles (ruined and restored).

Jill Jeffrey Post author

July 9, 2017 at 10:40 pm

My favorite is the Travel Tree!! Such nice stuff!

Carolyn G Post author

July 9, 2017 at 5:39 pm

Favorites are the scratch off travel map, the pin travel map, the secret book and the wooden world map

Brenda Witherspoon-Bedard Post author

July 9, 2017 at 5:15 pm

all your travel theme items are cute but I think I like the Map Fridge Magnets Set best – so cute on the fridge

Danielle Porter Post author

July 9, 2017 at 8:35 am

I just think it looks great and inspires. We are due in September and doing the nursery in travel themed decor! I like the maps for the walls and the glass money jar.

July 9, 2017 at 12:21 pm

Hi Danielle, Yes, some of these items would be fantastic for a nursery! There are also loads of other cool travel themed nursery specific stuff on Etsy, including from some of the sellers listed. Best of luck on your new arrival! Jessica

Deb Philippon Post author

July 8, 2017 at 8:17 pm

I like things that I can use, so I would choose either the Vintage Map Flower Pot or the themed candles.

Melissa C Post author

July 8, 2017 at 5:34 pm

Sooooo many fun items!!! Especially love the Nautical Shower Curtain, Map Pencil Holder, & World Map Wooden Sign, Travel Tree Tree Starter Kit, Atlas Letter Envelopes, & Color Changing World Map Mug Whew!

Lori Q Post author

July 8, 2017 at 2:08 pm

I love all of your products, the lighted maps, the wooden, the hanging. Its so wonderful to have maps to dream

hannah Post author

July 8, 2017 at 11:29 am

I love maps! I especially like vintage or old style looking map art, and we plan to theme one room in our house with maps/globes/etc. My favorite is the scratch off map, that’s fun and unique.

Lolo Post author

July 8, 2017 at 1:20 am

Hey, I tried to enter the contest, and only managed to type in #1 before I could put in the other options. Now it won’t let me put in the rest of my choices… Is there a way I can redo it? Or just put them here? … #1, #6, #11

July 8, 2017 at 6:41 pm

Hi Lolo, Um, Rafflecopter must have had a glitch or you may have clicked it too soon. I will add in your entires manually 🙂

Anda Post author

July 7, 2017 at 9:52 pm

These are some great ideas even for gifts. Thank you for sharing them with us. I’m going to bookmark your post because I already have my mind set on a couple of these things. #TheWeeklyPostcard

Anisa Post author

July 7, 2017 at 7:57 pm

Wow so many great products. I think my favorite is the travel tree. It is so unique and I love the idea. It’s funny when I see signs like that on my travels I usually take a picture, there is just something about it.

Jen D. Post author

July 7, 2017 at 3:59 pm

I love travel themed decor because I love the look of it, especially maps and globes.

Tara L Post author

July 7, 2017 at 10:27 am

I love to travel it’s the best ever and traveling with people you love. I’m loving the photo blanket that you can treasure forever and pass it down to your kids.

Nicole Zerbini Post author

July 7, 2017 at 7:06 am

Travel home decor remind me of all of the wonderful places that I have visited and where I still would love to go. I’m loving the Wooden Map sign! I have the perfect place in mind!

Kim Swan Post author

July 7, 2017 at 6:25 am

Hi there!! I love many of these treasures, mainly because I find them inspiring. Having travel related decor in your home,reminds you that there’s a whole world waiting for you to explore!!

Shirley S Post author

July 6, 2017 at 10:28 pm

I love travel themed home decor because it reminds me of all the wonderful places to travel. I love the Map Fridge Magnets, the Hawaii Vacation Photo Frame, and the Zion National Park Lampshade.

Sandra McFadden Post author

July 6, 2017 at 5:31 pm

Makes great conversations for when your guest visit. I love the coasters the best.

pycnos Post author

July 6, 2017 at 2:10 pm

i love maps! and new places, new people, new cultures…i loved the money jar, but nearly all products are pretty awesome!

Jessica Miller Post author

July 6, 2017 at 11:50 am

I love the #19: Color Changing World Map Mug #6:, World Map Money Jar, #15: World Map Wooden Sign

Amanda G Post author

July 6, 2017 at 10:38 am

I love all of these products! Such great gift ideas, but I also want them all for myself!

Janet OBrien Post author

July 6, 2017 at 10:24 am

I really like the Color Changing World Map Mug.

Megan H Post author

July 6, 2017 at 9:22 am

Oh my gosh, so many of these Items are amazing…I want them all!

Angelica Dimeo Post author

July 6, 2017 at 9:05 am

I love the Explore Bath Mat, the coasters and the Map Fridge Magnets Set. Those are the ones I like the best

Emily Z Post author

July 6, 2017 at 9:02 am

This is the coolest collection of travel items I ever seen, great job putting it together!!

July 9, 2017 at 12:22 pm

Thanks Emily 😉 Glad you love our travel themed home decor items – we also love they are handmade and unique! Best, Jessica

kelly tupick Post author

July 6, 2017 at 9:00 am

Love it all!! My top ones are #16: Ireland Vintage Map Garden Pot #7,: Amalfi Coast Limoncello candle, #12: Around the World in 80 Beers Scratch Map, #19: Color Changing World Map Mug,#6: World Map Money Jar and #15: World Map Wooden Sign

Angela P Post author

July 6, 2017 at 7:19 am

I love the World Map Wooden Sign, Color Changing World Map Mug and Nautical Shower Curtain

Michelle Donovan Post author

July 6, 2017 at 6:45 am

I love the decor because it’s so inspirational. Gives you the travel bug/itch immediately.

Joni Lively Taylor Post author

July 6, 2017 at 6:01 am

I love the travel themed decor because it makes me want to explore the world and appreciate the beauty.

Sarah Blake Post author

July 6, 2017 at 4:14 am

I love it because I’m so into the whole wanderlust theme! I want to explore! I LOVE the wooden sign <3

DeAnna Keller Post author

July 5, 2017 at 9:42 pm

I love all of these travel gift ideas! My favorite’s are these~ 1. Custom Travel Photo Blanket 2. World Map Wooden Sign 3. Color Changing Map Coffee Mug

renee Post author

July 5, 2017 at 9:40 pm

The beautiful blanket is my favorite item. I would love to see pictures of my family’s most recent Disney trip on one of those!

July 9, 2017 at 12:24 pm

Hi Renee, The artists, Kristy and Nicole, are a mother-daughter team and fantastic to work with and you can currently get a 10% discount (until the end of July) on any blanket if you use the code in the post. Definitely recommend if you are looking for a custom blanket. Jessica

Wanda B Post author

July 5, 2017 at 3:29 pm

I love travel themed home decor because it makes me want to put on my travellin’ shoes and go, go, go!

Nadine Post author

July 5, 2017 at 2:57 pm

What a wonderful giveaway! Thanks!

desiree Post author

July 5, 2017 at 2:46 pm

My family is from ireland so I love the planter pot. The luminaries I use to remember lost family members.

Stephanie LaPlante Post author

July 5, 2017 at 1:08 pm

I love how the decor makes you really feel a part of something bigger, the whole wide world. It’s hard to choose a favorite.

Calvin F. Post author

July 5, 2017 at 10:09 am

I love the world map wooden sign the most. I like the travel decor as I save up a piece of memory by getting a souvenir where ever I go.

Alison Braidwood Post author

July 5, 2017 at 9:10 am

I love the shower curtain, and the book safe. Super cute, and useful. I have a few travel decorations; one being an enormous framed poster of a Routemaster bus). I used to live in London, so I’m legit allowed to keep that one up :0

Amanda Post author

July 5, 2017 at 8:49 am

Love all these items! Travel bug is real 🙂

Marlene V Post author

July 5, 2017 at 8:14 am

I love travelling and have lots of items from my travels to remind myself of all the places we have been to. I really love the wooden sign – it would look perfect in my home.

Helga Post author

July 5, 2017 at 7:05 am

I like travel themed home decor because it reminds me that there is more to see out there than my four walls. I like the shower curtain and bath mat.

Crystal Rose Post author

July 5, 2017 at 6:30 am

I like personalized items and useful items the most. I like the candle a lot because we go through candles so quickly here and that one sounds like it has a lovely scent.

Nancy Post author

July 5, 2017 at 6:25 am

I like travel themed home decor because it reminds me of previous trips and inspires me to go on new travels. I especially like the Personalized Photo Blanket and the shower curtain.

deanna Post author

July 5, 2017 at 2:40 am

I love the wooden map sign because it looks like it will last for a long time and I love to decorate. Traveling is my favorite thing to do (besides walk my dog).

Theresa C. Post author

July 5, 2017 at 12:34 am

Loved lots of them! But especially two that weren’t for the giveaway – the Travel Map Pin Board, and the Luminary Bags – just lovely!

Leela Post author

July 4, 2017 at 9:05 pm

I love having little beautiful reminders of the places we’ve visited and enjoyed. My favorite is the Zion National Park Lampshade.

Sandra Preti Post author

July 4, 2017 at 7:47 pm

Traveling is very important to me and my family and I like my home to reflect our love of travel and places we’ve been lucky to get to or want to get to!

Jenna Hudson Post author

July 4, 2017 at 5:07 pm

I love travel decor because it inspires me to adventurous. I do love the World Map Money Jar. All that spare change adds up to more trips!

Julie Lundstrom Post author

July 4, 2017 at 4:07 pm

I love photo decorations and travel decorations. I love to see different places and to bring that to my home would be so comforting.

kelly mcgrew Post author

July 4, 2017 at 3:09 pm

i love travel decor because it keeps me inspired and gives me the drive to save towards going to exotic places!

Sandy Klocinski Post author

July 4, 2017 at 10:13 am

There are few things that make me cringe harder than a tacky travel souvenir. On the other hand, as a passionate traveler, I understand the burning desire to buy said tacky travel souvenir. My favorite of this not tacky travel decor is the Bicycle Wanderlust Bowl…perfect for my car keys

cheryl s Post author

July 4, 2017 at 7:01 am

We are big cruisers to we have cruise pictures around the house. Love the Hawaii frame, planning a trip back there in the next year or so

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101 Ways to Travel Without Leaving Your House

By CNT Editors

Like many people, we've had to hit pause on our travel plans for the time being, but that doesn’t mean we’re not still thinking about all the places we’ve been—and all the places we hope to get to sometime soon. After all, so much of travel trickles into our lives both before and after a big trip, whether it’s the hours we spend scouring the internet for inspiration on where to go next, or the ways a place influences us long after we’ve left, from the food we cook and the souvenirs we fill our homes with to the music we listen to. “It’s important to remember that travel is also a state of mind,” U.S. editor Jesse Ashlock wrote last week . “And that you don’t necessarily have to go far away to feel far away.” With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of 101 ways to travel without leaving your house, which we hope will help you feel a little more entertained, a little more inspired, and, most importantly, a little more connected with the rest of the world.

Indulge your wanderlust

1. Gawk at some of the world’s most beautiful libraries

2. Daydream about sailing along Turkey's Turquoise coast

3. Take inspiration from our favorite hotels, destinations, and more, as voted by you in the 2020 Readers' Choice Awards

4. Make a list of all those places you'd like to go next

5. Visit your favorite U.S. National Parks on Google Earth (and a few you've yet to see, too)

6. Pick a trip that has to be booked one year in advance

An aerial view of Botswana's Okavango Delta

7. ...And then create a Pinterest board to gather inspiration for it

8. Consider an epic train trip for the future and start plotting your route

9. Take a look at some of the most colorful places in the world

10. ...Or plan an itinerary around Pantone's color of 2020

11. Bookmark beautiful Airbnbs for the future (and maybe get some home decor inspo while you're at it)

12. Watch walking tours of places you haven't been, or want to revisit

13. Explore the most beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Sites

14. Start a Google Maps list filled with bookmarked restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries, museums, bookstores, and more that you dream of visiting one day

15. Steal a little travel inspiration from your favorite celebrities

16. Spin around Google Earth with the I'm Feeling Lucky button

17. Fantasize about which hidden beaches you'll hit next time you're in Italy...

Italy's hidden beaches are at the top of the list of places we want to go when this is all over.

18. ...Or if you're so inclined, Hawaii

19. Imagine sleeping underwater, right on the Great Barrier Reef

20. Subscribe to Condé Nast Traveler! (We know. We're shameless.)

We could stare at Gray Malin's images for hours.

Hone your photography skills

21. Discover how Gray Malin made these trippy photos of Bolivia's salt flats

By Matt Ortile

By Madison Flager

By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner

By Julia Eskins

22. Up your astrophotography game

23. Follow some of our favorite travel photographers on Instagram

24. Improve your own iPhone photography

25. ...Or go a little retro and make photo books out of your old vacation photos

26. Research a new camera like the pros do

27. ...And then get their tips on how to nail that shot

Some of our favorite reads

Lose yourself in our favorite reads

28. Read memoirs by some of the world's most adventurous women

29. Browse our extensive list of the travel books

30. Escape with the best travel books recommended by ambassadors

31. Pick up a book that will transport you

32. Find out what the Women Who Travel team have been reading

33. ...And then load up your Kindle with everything you've just bought

34. Read some of our favorite authors on what home means to them

35. Add some travel inspo to your coffee table with some of these tomes

36. And if you're feeling motivated, start journaling about your own travels

Soothe with some retail therapy

37. Buy a luxurious pair of pajamas that you'll never be ashamed to travel with

38. Splurge on something from that shop you dream of returning to one day

39. Buy destination-inspired scented candles and have them burn all day long inside your house

40. Stock up on all your K-Beauty favorites without a trip to Seoul

41. ...Or shop for French beauty products

42. Bring the tropics to your house with some exotic plants

43. Treat yourself to one of our editors' favorite travel gifts

44. Pick up a coffee subscription and get to know beans from around the world —it will making your WFH caffeine routine way more fun

45. Shop at one of our favorite hotel gift shops , like The Hoxton or even The Ritz

46. Revamp your apartment (or beauty cabinet or closet) in the style of Paris

47. ...Or if you're more of an Italy person, shop for locally made products , like a custom bag from Florence or a coffee maker to perfect your espresso

48. Represent your favorite national park with gear from the Parks Project , and feel good knowing that your dollars go back into backlogged projects in the parks

49. Feeling anxious about being cooped up at home? Order some CBD oil —and then add it to your dopp kit the next time you travel.

50. Make your online shopping work for you by getting maximum travel points with your credit card

51. ...And start earning points toward your next hotel stay while you're at it

Brush up on your Spanish by rewatching Roma

Dabble in some self-improvement

52. Learn a new language with a digital classroom

53. ...And then jump into a foreign language film

54. Figure out if you have what it takes to become a pilot

55. Practice visualization meditation to get a head start on figuring out your next trip

56. Donate to carbon offset charities to shrink your footprint before flying again

57. Learn the art of Japanese calligraphy with this book

58. Finally take the time to practice becoming an organized traveler

59. Keep your fitness up with these hotel room workouts

60. Do a little redecorating inspired by your favorite hotels around the world

The best thing about abandoned places? There's no one else there.

Find something new to talk about during your Zoom happy hour

61. Tour the world's most beautiful abandoned places

62. Use this Google tool to see how World Heritage Sites have changed

63. Take a peek at how Olympic stadiums have evolved over time

64. Get into a bit of slow TV (trust us, it's pretty soothing)

65. Find out what a night at a space hotel might look like

66. Jump between the Arctic's Lonely Island and Pukapuka in the Pacific, in Judith Schlansky's Pocket Atlas of Remote Islands

67. Learn about Sardinia's annual pagan exorcism (seriously)

68. Get to know the fascinating history of Jewish temples in the Caribbean

69. Enjoy some of the world's greatest museums, symphonies, and operas from your couch

70. Read up on the ancient history of destinations you hope to visit in the future, like these ruins right in the middle of Lima

71. Marvel at Bolivian architect Freddy Mamani's otherworldly architecture in La Paz

Mamani's eye-catching architecture is everywhere in La Paz

72. Absorb a digital art exhibit like this mesmerizing one on Ireland’s Connemara mountains

73. Go back in time to the golden age of travel

74. Or if it all feels a little too high-brow, watch a livestream of these pandas

Expand your music repertoire

75. Check out Bad Bunny's favorite spots in Puerto Rico

76. ...And then turn up the volume on some noise cancelling headphones

77. Escape to Lisbon with Portugese fado music

78. Get to know Women Who Travel podcast guests Ibeyi , whose music fuses Cuban, French, and Yoruba influences

79. Start streaming a random radio station from somewhere far away with the Radio Garden project

80. Search a country's top 50 hits on Spotify to listen to music from around the world (right now we're listening to France and Japan )

81. Have a dance party and blast some calypso soca music from Trinidad

82. Research all the jazz clubs you'll want to hit up when you finally get to New Orleans

It's time to drink that South African red that's been in your home for ages.

Bring the world to your kitchen

83. Transport yourself with these international cookbooks

84. Crack open that bottle of wine you brought home from your travels

85. Make yourself an indulgent New York–style brunch, using these places as inspiration

86. Get take-out from your favorite restaurants and chefs

87. Learn how to recreate dishes from the legendary Osteria Francescana in Modena with Massimo Bottura's virtual cooking lessons

88. Allow yourself to pine for dishes you miss —then try your best to recreate them

89. Get yourself a bunch of Biscoff cookies —an airplane staple—and eat them next to your window

90. Try to imagine Alison Roman cooking up a feast for 45 people in Portugal—or just read about the one place she always hits when she travels

91. Order in from that restaurant you've never managed to get a table at

92. Make your own Italian apertivo hour—and use these places as inspiration

93. Order wine from around the world to sip on

A scene from The Talented Mr. Ripley

Binge on pop culture

94. Compare the real destinations that inspired your favorite Disney movies to the animated interpretations (thanks Disney+!)

95. Rewatch old seasons of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown , and learn about places you've never been to

96. Watch our favorite travel movies on Netflix right now

97. Look for shows filmed right in your home city or state , and remember how lucky you are to be, well, where you are

98. Subscribe to the Women Who Travel podcast and listen to travel stories from Elizabeth Gilbert, Lynsey Addario, Jessica Nabongo, and more

99. Travel to a galaxy far far away

100. Dive into this list of road trip movies

101. And then work your way through the greatest travel movies of the past 50 years—after all, you finally have the time to.

All products featured in this story are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

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Overtourism Is Out of Control. Here Are the New Rules of Travel.

Post-pandemic travel is surging, and overtourism is pushing popular places to their limits. How can you be a good traveler when some locals just want you to go home?

Heading out the door? Read this article on the Outside app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

I was in Hawaii with a group of friends, and a local screamed at us to go home. The island was overcrowded, and while I know tourists can be obnoxious and disrespectful, we were being conscientious. I don’t want to give up visiting the world’s most beautiful places, but I also don’t want to add to overtourism. Can I continue to wander where I want to? —Afraid of Anti-Tourists

I grew up in a tourist town on the Jersey Shore, so I understand the frustration of residents who live in vacation destinations. Each summer I’d grouse as throngs of visitors took over beaches, snarled traffic, and made parking impossible. But their tourism dollars were a boon to the local economy, and the tips I made waitressing during high season helped pay my way through college.

Now I split my time between Colorado and Maui and see how an influx of visitors impacts the environment and longtime residents. Peak season in either place—when it feels like tourists outnumber residents—is maddening, and it turns my typical routine upside down.

The local coffee shops where I sometimes work remotely from are mobbed, so I usually stay home. If I don’t do my grocery shopping as soon as stores open, I have to drive in circles indefinitely, searching for parking. Popular restaurants have hour-plus wait times, so my friends and I abandon hopes of dining out.

The Hawaiian Islands’ most recent Resident Sentiment Survey , conducted by Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, revealed that 67 percent believe their islands are being run for tourists at the expense of locals, and that many feel tourists show a lack of respect for them, culture, and the land. I often bike to Hana, a sleepy east-Maui town with a population of around 700, and I’ve seen residents native to Hawaii set up roadblocks and signs asking tourists to go home. I understand. This was their land.

Locals in other tourist towns have figured out ways of coping. “I avoid the downtown plaza all summer while tourists are here,” says Outside travel director Mary Turner, who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. “I’m happy that businesses are being supported by tourism, especially after the devastating affects of the pandemic on them. But I do get frustrated when I see visitors being disrespectful, like smoking on hiking trails during fire season.”

Kevin Rieke, a longtime local business owner in Leavenworth, Washington, who grew up hiking in the Cascade Mountains, blames Instagram for crowding his favorite trails. But he also sees the positive: thanks to a boost in tourist numbers, he says, the town now has a dozen really good restaurants that residents can enjoy in the slow seasons, and it’s easier for local kids to find jobs.

Global travel has made a comeback, and people are more eager than ever to get out in the world. According to UN Tourism , by the end of 2024, numbers will have returned to pre-pandemic levels. The International Air Transportation Association predicts that air travel this year will reach a historic high, with 4.7 billion people expected to take flight worldwide.

One of the biggest problems is that visitors continue to flock to the same places, like Venice and Paris, as well as the more popular national parks in the U.S. I include myself in that flock: I still feel compelled to visit places that are now overtouristed, like Rome and Bali. They’re bucket-list destinations for good reason.

So should you stop traveling to the world’s most beautiful places? As a travel journalist, I’m always going to encourage you to get out there and explore. But with heightened pressures on popular destinations around the globe, we could all stand to take a moment to learn how to be a more conscious tourist. Here are my suggestions.

Pay Tourist Fees to Support Local Economies

Travel meccas such as Amsterdam, Iceland, and Bali have started implementing a tourist tax for peak months to help temper visitation. Venice, which has a mere 50,000 residents, incredibly hosts 30 million visitors annually, many of them day-trippers who put little money back into the economy. Which is why, in April, the city introduced a trial fee of 5 euros ($5.45) per day on certain dates through July. The tariff has drawn criticism from residents who feel it makes visitors view their home like a park.

The town of Bend, Oregon, recently created a sustainability fund that puts revenue generated from a short-term-lodging tax—paid by visitors—into community-focused projects, such as a bike-park and trail improvements. “The idea is to use the money to address environmental degradation and invest in projects that locals and visitors can enjoy, so you have a social equilibrium that keeps a destination in balance,” says Todd Montgomery, the board chair for Visit Bend.

Paying a nominal fee to protect the places we love is the least we can do.

Expect to Plan Ahead and Make Reservations

The pandemic created a passion for outdoor recreation, and as a result, our national parks became overcrowded. An increasing number of popular parks in America, such as Yosemite, have implemented reservation systems for peak times. At first the planning seemed annoying, but the result is often a better quality experience for visitors and a lighter footprint on the land.

Learn Local Outdoor Etiquette

Many city dwellers were introduced to the joy of the outdoors during the pandemic, which is wonderful. But some hit the trails without basic knowledge about how to recreate responsibly.

“I’ve never seen more dog feces unpicked up, people going off route and trampling sensitive areas, Bluetooth-enabled speakers blaring out of backpacks, and Disney-like lines on sections of trails,” says Jim Deters, founder of the Gravity Haus hotels, which are located in more than a half dozen mountain towns across the West.

One of Deter’s goals with his properties is to provide visitors a truly local experience by creating an environment where they can mingle with residents—not just be served by them at a bar or restaurant. “We are the local’s gym, coworking space, and coffee shop,” says Deters. Sharing advice tends to happen organically in these settings.

Kayla Applebay, a resident and business owner in Leavenworth, Washington, says she won’t go to the rivers on summer weekends because tourists turn them into tube-clogged waterways. “You see people walking on salmon habitat, leaving trash everywhere,” she says. “Last summer a car caught on fire, and emergency services couldn’t access it because people had parked illegally.”

The town acted. In 2022, it launched a cheeky campaign called Give a Schnitzel (Leavenworth is known for its Bavarian heritage and Oktoberfest) to educate visitors on how to recreate responsibly. It also hired volunteer recreation ambassadors who post up at trailheads or river put-ins and take-outs, fielding questions and explaining rules. “They’ve probably saved quite a few lives by telling people to unleash from their paddleboards on the rapids,” says Troy Campbell, executive director of the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce.

The upshot is: educate yourself on the area you’re going to. What’s happening there right now? What are locals concerned about? Keep up to date with issues by reading local news sites and magazines, visiting a local outdoor store and asking questions, or joining a local group-cycling ride or trail run.

If you screw up, always give a heartfelt apology. In Hawaiian culture, kids are taught Pa’a ka waha, ho’olohe ka pepeaio, nana ka maka , or “Shut your mouth, listen, watch,” says Kainoa Horcajo, a Maui-based cultural consultant. “This is how you can learn how to get along, how to fit in—and how to be a good tourist, citizen, human.”

Book Your Trip in the Offseason or a Shoulder Season

When you travel during these slower times, not only do you help reduce overcrowding but you’re also likely to have a more enjoyable experience and find better prices and more patient locals, says Amanda Ho, co-founder of Regenerative Travel, a booking platform with a collective of independently owned eco-hotels.

Spring, fall, and winter are good seasons to consider traveling to national parks and other popular places.

Stay and Play with Locally Owned Businesses

When you can be selective with the accommodations, tour guides, and experiences you’re booking, says Ho, it ensures your dollars are supporting residents as often as possible. Many locals’ livelihoods depend on tourism, so avoid big-box stores and chain restaurants in favor of eating and shopping at resident-owned places.

Some Other Rules to Travel By

• Don’t hold up traffic. This holds true from Manhattan to Maui. When you want to take photos, find an appropriate place for it that doesn’t slow down pedestrian or street traffic.
• Don’t create your own parking spaces. The lines are there for public safety and environmental protection. In Lake Tahoe, which straddles the California-Nevada border, illegal parking can create erosion and that runoff often ends up in the lake.
• Don’t use other people’s property as a bathroom. Would you want your kids to see a grown man’s behind poking out of the trees of your yard?
• Don’t go off-trail. It can disturb flora and fauna and pose safety risks to yourself.
• Don’t approach wildlife. Not the bison in our national parks or whales or dolphins while boating or snorkeling.
• Don’t geotag popular natural attractions on social media. It may be tempting to social-boast about your epic vacation, but a viral post can ruin a destination with Instagram-obsessed crowds.
• Don’t be rude to service workers. They’re employed to make your time safe and more enjoyable. Insulting them is about as inconsiderate as it gets.

Remember That Tourism Destinations Are Fragile

Yes, many economies depend on tourism, but too much of it is bad for everyone. Overcrowding adversely affects both locals and tourists, and in the long run it can ruin the natural beauty that made a destination desirable in the first place.

Todd Montgomery, who in addition to working for Visit Bend is the director of Oregon State University’s Sustainable Tourism Lab (which describes itself as “protecting tourist destinations for future generations of visitors and tourists”), got his start working for the mega-resort conglomerate Starwood Capital Group, where he was tasked with finding the next “it” destination in Southeast Asia between 1999 and 2006.

He and his colleagues would go into rural areas, promising the positive economic benefits of tourism to locals, only to have those areas “burn out” on visitation years later.

Initially, he says, travelers “paid for the culture and nature, but when that became diluted as the result of too many visitors, they weren’t inclined to pay as much,” he says. The visitor experience was negatively affected, but the destination also suffered from some combination of environmental damages, infrastructure wear and tear, and cultural damages, resulting in economic, social and environmental costs.

“Back then we assumed there was always another next destination,” Montgomery says. “If Phuket [in Thailand] got overrun, we’d go farther south. The reality was that there are only so many next destinations. You can’t have a turn-and-burn mentality. You have to protect places.” How do we do that, I ask him?

“It feels cliché,” he tells me, “but it starts with education.” 

Travel-advice columnist Jen Murphy wishes she could charge people a fee every time they try to take a selfie with a turtle on the beaches in Maui or a mountain goat while hiking in Colorado. 

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The 33 Best Travel-Inspired Decor Ideas for 2024

Travel decor is the creative way to bring your love for travel into your home.

Table of Contents

Bring your wanderlust home with this travel decor, which will do more than just inspire your next trip. Travel is a way of life, any avid traveller will tell you that. And what better way to surround yourself with it than by adding all things travel to your home decor. Whether you want to add in big statement pieces or just a few travel-inspired touches to your home, there is a great travel decor item waiting for you right here.

Here are some of our favourite travel inspired décor pieces:

Bedroom travel decor, duvet cover set.

Refresh your bedroom decor with this travel-inspired duvet set. Available in different sizes and made of easy to wash the fabric, this is a great addition to your travel decor. Make your room the perfect travel sanctuary.

Related Reading: 37 Creative Ways to Keep Travel Memories Alive

World Map Curtains

Curtains can make the perfect addition to your home and with these travel-inspired curtains, you can add an extra touch of wonder to your home. Made with quality satin and machine washable, they make the perfect addition to your travel decor whether you add them to your bedroom, your kids room or living room.

Geography Quotes Pillow Covers

This pack of four travel-inspired throw pillows are a great addition to your travel decor. Add them to your living room for comfort and style or your bedroom for a little extra travel inspiration. They are made of good quality cotton and the colours are great to match any existing decor.

Vinyl Wall Art

Add something inspiring to your walls with this travel decal. It comes in white and black, so no need to worry about the colour of your walls. This decal will match with everything. You can stick it on any wall in your home or office or gift it to someone special in your life.

Tissue Box Holder Old World Map

Add some antique style to your home or office with this great travel decor piece. This tissue box is a great addition to any room with its compact and stylish look. It is a great way to bring a simple yet wonderful travel-inspired touch to your home.

Geography Pillow Covers

With great prints and versatile size, these throw pillows are the perfect addition to your travel decor at home. The pillow cases can be removed for easy washing. The colours are perfect to match with any of your existing home decor.

Related Reading: 58 Wildlife Books that Animal Lovers Will Enjoy

Travel Decor for you Kitchen

World map tablecloth.

Are you a travel lover that also happens to love dinner parties? Well, this is the perfect addition to your dinner table decor. The print is classic and can easily be matched with any colour. It also brings a great whimsical feeling to your table. Plan your next foodie travel adventure at this dinner table.

World Map Table Runner

Whether your a dinner party buff or just love making your table look dinner ready, this world map table runner is a wonderful addition to your dining decor. With a durable material and a stunning travel-inspired design, you won’t be disappointed. Add some world map coasters to complete your dining decor.

Recommended Reading: Indian Decor That Will Make You Feel Like You´re Travelling in India

Vintage Nautical Compass, World Map Coasters

Add to your travel decor with these compass print coasters. They will match your world map tablecloth perfectly and add a classy touch to any table. These are great as they come in a leather holder which is perfect for keeping them together.

Related Reading: 64 of The Best Adventure Books Ever Written

World Traveler Art Desk Stand

Add something different to your home decor with this desk stand. The stand comes with a selection of travel-related cards which you can swap and change depending on your mood for the day. It is the perfect piece for your officer or home. You can even use it in your kitchen as a recipe stand for all your favourite international recipes.

Living Room Travel Decor

Rustic wall decoration, world languages.

One of the best things about travelling is learning new languages. This wall hanging is the perfect addition to any room or entrance hall where you can greet your visitors in true travellers style. With its rustic look and charm, it will make any place feel like home.

Recommended Reading: Best Eco Friendly Gifts for Travellers That Give Back

Old World Map Suitcase

Make your decor unique with these vintage suitcases. These are a great addition to your travel decor. They are perfect as an ornamental piece or as beautiful storage boxes for your room or living area. The boxes are made of leather-like material and have an amazing print to add style and class to any room.

Large Metal Wall Clock with World Map

Wall clocks are always great and they have the ability to tie a room together like no other decor piece. This wall clock is stunning and perfect for the traveller with its world map shape and its versatility that allows you to add all your favourite travel notes and photos to the clock itself. It also comes with LED lights which give it an extra sparkle.

Jenny Gems Travel Sign

Travel quotes are a must for every traveller. This wooden wall art is the perfect way to bring those travel quotes home in a way that adds style, beauty and inspiration to your house. It also makes for a great gift for a travel lover in your life.

Washable World Map Round Rug

Soft, comfortable and beautiful, this rug is a great addition to your travel decor. This vintage map print is the perfect way to add an antique finish to any room. And it has a rubber backing which makes it perfect even for a tiled area. And it’s easy to clean so no unnecessary hassles attached to this travel decor.

Jewelkeeper Paperboard Suitcases

Add style and a touch of travel inspiration to your home with these world map storage boxes. Whether you add them to your living area, bedroom or even your kid’s bookshelf, this is the perfect travel decor item. They are lightweight and can even serve as gift boxes, perfect for a gift to a travel lover in your life.

Old Wooden Wine Box

Whether for your own home or for the wine and travel lover in your life, this travel-inspired wine box is a great travel decor piece. The box snuggly fits six bottles of wine and has a wonderful world map print that adds to the vintage look and feel of the box.

Related Reading: Packing Cubes: Why You Should Use them on Your Next Trip

Wooden Wine Stand Globe

Tie your love for wine and travel together with this beautiful wine stand. The frame is made of strong and sleek wood and plastic. It is sturdy which makes it perfect for storing expensive bottles of wine. Add to your travel decor with something beautiful and practical. And if wine isn’t your thing, why not gift it to the wine lover in your life?

Metal Weltkarte Wall Art

Available in three different sizes, this metal wall hanging is a great option for travel decor that can fit into any room. It is stylish and has a modern touch to it which makes it a great choice for home and office. With its lightweight design and easy to hang features, you don’t want to miss out on this great travel decor piece.

Related Reading: 5 Staycation Ideas To Have an Amazing Local Adventure

Travel Box Sign

This box is perfect if you are looking for a small travel decor piece which will match any space. This travel box is an ornamental piece which can be used for your office or home and even makes the perfect gift for the travel lover in your home.

World Map Vintage Wall Clock

Put an elegant twist on any room with this wall clock. It is the perfect way to inspire you to travel more. With its wonderful vibrant colours and clear numbering, it is perfect even for a childs room. With this travel decor piece you’ll always be reminded when its time to travel!

Related Reading: 14 of the Best Eco-Friendly Gifts for Travellers That Give Back

Compact Globe 360 Swivel

Ornaments are great to add something wonderful to any room. This one offers you a great view of the world, quite literally. With its beautiful gold finish and vintage design, it brings a unique and fantastic touch to any room in your home.

Travel Decor for your Office

World map wall mount storage shelves.

This is a firm favourite on this list of travel decor. These world map cutout shelves are an inspiring and unique addition to your travel decor. Practical and beautiful, this set of two shelves are easy to install and great for storing almost anything, including all those travel guides you love reading. They also make an excellent gift for the traveller in your life.

Wastebasket, Retro Map Pattern

Wastebaskets don’t have to be plain and simple. With the right print, it can be the perfect way to bring travel decor into your home. Add it to your home office or bedroom to add a little vintage touch and create a flawless look.

Scratch Off World Map

If you are a travel buff one of the best things to add to your travel decor is a scratch map. This map includes even the smallest islands in the world, perfect if you love to travel to remote parts of the world. Add a beautiful decor piece to your home which will inspire you to travel more. This scratch map also makes a beautiful gift for the travel lover in your life.

Related Reading: Indian Decor That Will Make You Feel Like You’re in In India

Cork Board World Travel Map

A pinboard with a difference, this world map is a great way to add to your travel decor. Add different colour pins for those countries you have already visited, and for countries you can’t wait to explore. With its great design, it is simple yet beautiful and is perfect in any room in your home. It even makes for the perfect travel inspired gift.

Bathroom Travel Decor

London shower curtain.

Bring one of the best cities in the world home with this travel-inspired bathroom curtain. It is made of quality, waterproof fabric and the design is vibrant and wonderful. It is the perfect travel decor piece to add a little whimsy to your bathroom.

Paris Shower Curtain

Bring a touch of Parisian charm home with this fantastic bathroom curtain. Perfect for the travel lover, this is a great piece to add to your bathroom. With quality waterproof material that is machine washable, this is a hassle-free and stunning item.

World Map Laundry Basket

Laundry can be such a drag so why not invest in a fun, travel-inspired laundry basket. This world map laundry basket is printed on both sides and makes for the perfect addition to your room. And if you really need something to take your mind off to a better place, why not use the map to plan your next adventure. It’s the perfect way to spend your time.

Related Reading: Gifts for the Animal Lover in Your Life

Adventure is Waiting Shower Curtain

You don’t need to look far to find your travel inspiration with this perfect travel decor piece for your bathroom. Practical and beautiful with a simple design, this is a great way to add a touch of travel-inspired charm to your daily routine.

Related Reading: 25 Best Gifts for Hikers

Travel Decor for your Kids Room

World map baby mat.

For those travel-loving moms and dads out there, this world map playmat is a great addition to your babies playroom. With a great canvas cotton finish and a stylish and playful design, it will fit right into your home. Start your little ones off early with some great travel inspiration that they can immerse themselves with.

3D Earth Lamp

Make the most of the dark with this beautiful lamp. With sixteen different light colours that can be adjusted by remote, you can fully enjoy the great globe print in a unique way. The lamp is USB chargeble so you won’t have any pesky wires hanging around. It is the perfect addition to any room or office in your home and will add a different touch to your travel decor.

Bonus Travel Decor

Danica doormat.

Welcome travel lovers, adventure awaits! Well, it does with this travel-inspired doormat. If you are looking for a minimalist addition to your travel decor, this is a great buy. Let your visitors know that adventure and travel stories await them when they step into your home.

Travel decor will bring inspiration into your home. It is the perfect reminder that you’re next big adventure is just around the corner.

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20 Travel-Inspired Decorating Ideas to Evoke Your Favorite Destination

Showcase globes, maps, suitcases, and other accessories from your travels throughout your home.

Andrea Beck served as garden editor at BHG and her work has appeared on Food & Wine, Martha Stewart, MyRecipes, and more.

Most everyone has souvenirs from their travels, whether it’s shells from the beach, novelty T-shirts, or even just plenty of photos. Luckily, there are plenty of both subtle and bold ways to incorporate your love for travel into your home.

Hanging photos is simple, but you can also turn them into a statement by creating a gallery wall or even unique wallpaper. Or use photos of places you dream of going, maps, or subway routes for more graphic, abstract art. Small touches can also add elements of travel to your home. Vintage suitcases come in many colors and can be displayed to add extra storage or serve as an end table. Use these travel decor ideas as inspiration, then adapt them to fit your favorite places and trips.

Seashell Display

Cameron Sadeghpour

Large seashells from a beach vacation double as tabletop travel decor and as a way to display Polaroids. Smaller shells can also nest inside a larger shell as a way to show them off on a shelf or table. Place them next to a blue glass lamp reminiscent of sea glass to tie the coastal theme into the rest of the room.

Abstract Travel Wall Decor

Adam Albright

City maps make stunning travel wall decor and are a great way to remember some of your favorite (or dream) destinations. These pictures lean abstract, using the city streets to create a leaf-like design. The shades of green used on each map complement dark green wall paint .

Subtle Travel Decor

Ann VanderWiel Wilde

Small accents can help show your love for a destination without dominating a room. In this alcove, a simple metal sign shaped like the state of Minnesota hangs above a rustic dresser with other memorabilia. This travel wall decor fits into almost any room and can take the shape of a favorite country or city skyline.

Map Wall Art

Using maps as wall decor is an easy way to incorporate graphic art in muted pastel colors. Despite varying color palettes, this trio of maps feels cohesive thanks to neutral frames with white mats. Bold navy walls help further showcase the travel decor.

Suitcase Bar Cart

Cocktails (or zero-proof drinks ) can definitely be part of a great vacation, so it’s only natural to incorporate travel decor into your home bar cart . A vintage suitcase is the focal point of this bar cart and acts as unique storage for a variety of bottles and bar tools. Antique drawers contain glassware and match the feel of the old-fashioned suitcase.

Seashell Storage

Brie Williams

Seashells are a popular beach souvenir, but finding a place to store them can be tricky. These embellished boxes are a beautiful way to display shells . Each box features a mosaic of shells while also providing storage on a living room mantel . Complete the look with other ocean souvenirs, like driftwood or sea glass, and vases and artwork with blue accents.

Entryway Travel Decor

David A Land

Display travel decor in your home’s entryway for a reminder of your favorite destinations every time you walk in the door. This console table includes a travel bag that's ready to be grabbed for any adventure. Houseplants also help give the space a tropical feel, and the tabletop provides a surface to display travel photos.

Travel Wallpaper

In addition to small accents, you can also add travel decor to your home on a larger scale. World maps paper the walls of this bedroom . The muted colors complement natural wood furniture and blue accents on the bed. The wallpaper contributes eye-catching texture without overwhelming the space.

Showcase Souvenirs

KIM CORNELISON

This living room features several souvenirs that work together in a subtle way. A gallery wall incorporates map artwork; its bright colors and abstract shapes coordinate with a globe perched on top of a bookcase. A bright blue vintage suitcase on one shelf nods to vacationing and pairs well with the navy velvet sofa .

Historical Wall Decor

Alisal Ranch

These large-scale framed maps act almost as an accent wall in this dining space. It includes historical boundaries and territory lines from the early days of the U.S., and its rustic appearance matches the wood-plank wall and vintage chairs. A large map can also serve as a way of tracking your travels across the country.

Bookshelf Display

If you enjoy collecting art on your travels, display them together on a shelf to blend souvenirs with your personal style. This bookcase includes a variety of vases, figurines, and sculptures from a variety of destinations. Natural materials like wood and earthy colors tie everything together.

Mural Accent Wall

John Bessler

Large-scale wallpaper prints can be overwhelming, but using them on an accent wall is a stylish way to add a bold pattern to a room. This living room has a tropical feel thanks to the blue and green mural of palm trees. The colors tie in with the area rug, and the graphic print contrasts the black-and-white striped seating.

Vibrant Color Palette

Dustin Halleck

The rich jewel tones of this library create a luxurious feeling. Stacked vintage suitcases serve as an end table while matching a floral rug and dark cobalt walls. Shelves near the seating area provide an opportunity to display travel souvenirs like prints, decorative boxes, and figurines.

Surfing Inspiration

Chad R. Mellon

Add a nod to the beach without displaying shells or pictures of the coast. Instead, hang a surfboard patterned with typography for a sunny, ocean vibe that upgrades a blank wall. Pair with a wood vanity and blue bathroom floor tiles for a casual coastal aesthetic.

Photo Wall Treatment

A repeating pattern of coastal photos creates a bold but still neutral wallpaper in this bedroom. Customize walls with your own photos, or find a print that features professional photos from a dream destination. Pair with a blue painted ceiling and geometric light fixture to turn the room into a beachy paradise.

Coastal Travel Decor

Bring the beach to a small area of your home. In this room, seashells and starfish are displayed alongside ceramics featuring shades of blue. The seaside collection and cool colors help bring a coastal feel to a section of the room where dishes and serving platters are stored.

DIY Nightstand

CARSON DOWNING

Vintage suitcases take on a new function with this DIY bedroom decor. Stack three on top of each other to create just the right height for a nightstand next to the bed . Pair with a lampshade patterned with a map of the country to really highlight a travel theme.

Tropical Decor

Carson Downing

Large-scale botanical wallpaper creates a tropical aesthetic in this bedroom. The print complements green painted flooring and a leafy bedspread. Natural accents, including a woven leather headboard and rattan side table, make this room feel like a tropical destination.

Decorate with Globes

Kritsada Panichgul.

Go all-out with travel decor with a shelf full of globes. Here, the globes feature similar colors and are grouped by size for a cohesive look. Instead of buying new globes, shop secondhand or thrift stores for vintage varieties.

Dining Room Souvenir Display

Several decor items work together to create travel-inspired style in this dining room . A large print of a beach scene provides seaside inspiration, while a large shell and a piece of driftwood act as centerpieces for the table and credenza. A pendant light with natural fibers completes the look.

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Finding the Universe

Travel tales, photography and a dash of humor

20 Ways to Travel From Home

Last updated: December 16, 2023 . Written by Laurence Norah - Leave a Comment

We love to travel. But it’s not always possible to travel all the time. Sometimes world events conspire against us to restrict travel, other times our budget might not stretch to cover travel. All is not lost however! There are lots of ways to travel from home, which I’m going to cover in this post.

These options, many of which are free, will let you get some of the thrill of travelling even when you are at home. They can inspire you for future trips, help with your trip planning, teach you about a destination, or simply fill some time with travel related activities.

If you have children, some of our tips for travelling from home can be a great way for families to virtually learn about the world, different cultures, history, animals, and more.

One of the great things about armchair travel is that you can do it from home at any time! And it generally requires little, if any, planning or money to do it.

Whilst nothing can entirely replace the wonder of traveling to a new destination, we hope these ideas on traveling from home will give you some ways to explore the world from wherever you are.

How to Travel from Home

Whether you’re planning a trip that you want to get more excited about, want to research a potential destination, or just want some travel themed ways to entertain yourself or your family at home, we hope these ideas for traveling from home inspire you to do some armchair traveling or your own!

Guided Virtual Tours

When we travel, we love to take guided walking tours. They’re a great way to get to know a destination or specific attraction, and learn about what it is we’re seeing.

One walking tour company that we often use and recommend is Context Travel . We’re delighted that they also offer virtual guided tours. These tours can be a great way to learn about a location in advance of your visit, or even just as a way to explore somewhere you might not have thought of visiting. If you’re at home with kids, you can think of one of these tours as a virtual field trip!

Context offers a range of tours from home. These are divided into courses and private virtual tours. The seminars are pre-scheduled events which are open to all, you just need to sign up and pay the fee.

The private tours are more expensive, but are designed to give you a private and more detailed tours on a specific subject. These are similar to the real-world tours they offer.

The other nice thing about Context is that if you don’t see a private tour that suits your particular interests, you can drop them a request for a tour that does.

We also have an exclusive discount code for Context’s virtual tours and seminars, which is travelcats . Enter the code at checkout to get 15% off your first order.

Of course, there are several other tour companies offering virtual tours as well. See some of the options available here on Viator  for an example of what else is out there.

Books and Audiobooks about Travel

As Anna Quindlen said in How Reading Changed My Life , ““Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.”

We would have to agree. Books are a wonderful way to take a journey without leaving your house, be that on a voyage to fantasy worlds, or on an adventure through our own.

They can be educational, entertaining, and informative, and you can enjoy them almost anywhere. You can choose a specific destination to explore through a travel writer’s eyes, or you can read a travel themed work of fiction. You can read a book for armchair travel, to inspire and help you plan a possible future trip, or as an activity as a family.

Here are some of our favourite travel books, which cover a whole range of travel related subjects. Most of these are also available as audiobooks so you can have someone read to you while you do other tasks.

Non-fiction travel writing

• Any of Bill Bryson’s travel books which are filled with funny anecdotes about his travels, particularly around the USA, UK, and Australia
• Paul Theroux is another well known travel writer with many books to choose from
• A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle – British couple moves to Provence
• The Silk Roads  by Peter Frankopan – history of the Silk Road and the countries it runs through
• Train by Tom Zoellner – great book about train history and riding trains around the world
• A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway – a memoir of Hemingway’s life in 1920’s Paris, published posthumously
• Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – a travel memoir chronicling the journey of the author through India, Italy and Indonesia

Fiction travel writing

• The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – Laurence’s all time favourite book. Definite escapism, with a vague travel theme
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – a book about the journey of a young Andalusian shepherd
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown – this book about mysterious symbols, ancient societies and hidden clues pave a trail across Europe, with a particular focus on Italy. Definitely a fun read.

Travel Inspiration books

• You Only Live Once – This Lonely Planet book has a massive list of experiences to kindle your excitement for all kinds of things, many of which are travel related
• 1,000 Places to See Before you Die – awesome inspiration for future travels. There is also a United States and Canada version of this book for those traveling around North America.
• Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips – another one for those of you looking for inspiration for planning future adventures

Children’s Travel Books

• The Travel Book: A journey through every country in the world – aimed at kids, this book takes the reader on a journey through 200 countries, with fun facts on all of them

If you’re looking for more travel reading inspiration, check out this comment thread in our Facebook group for lovers of travel.

Travel Themed Films

Of course, books aren’t the only medium which allow us to travel from our own homes. Film is another way we can explore the world, and there are some fantastic travel themed films as well, which make for great viewing.

Some of these are based on true stories, whilst others are entirely fictional. Regardless, there are some great options in here which can serve as inspiration for a future trip, or just provide some travel based entertainment.

Here are just a handful of the movies we love:

• Midnight in Paris – we love this story of an American who travel back to 1920s Paris and meets many of his artistic heroes
• Eat Pray Love – film version of the popular novel by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Lord of the Rings – this film trilogy inspired me to spend a year exploring New Zealand. It’s a stunning showcase of the beauty of the country, as well as an epic story.
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – this story of a man searching for a more adventurous life features some stunning travel scenery, including beautiful scenes shot in Iceland
• The Beach – the film (based on a novel by Alex Garland) that inspired thousands of travellers to travel to Thailand
• The Bucket List – the movie that spawned the phrase tells the story of a terminally ill patient trying to accomplish a list of things to do before he dies
• The Way – a bittersweet story of a man walking Spain’s popular Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage after the death of his son
• Out of Africa – an epic romantic drama based on a true story about a Danish woman who moves to Kenya, and the challenges and adventures she faces as a result
• A Walk in the Woods – a movie version of Bill Bryson’s novel of the same name, about his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail
• Up – if you’re looking for a lovely family movie about travel to watch with your kids (or even without!), this tale of a senior adventurer setting off on a fantastical voyage with a young traveller should hit the spot
• The Lion King – Beautifully remade in glorious 3D in 2019, this coming of age story of a young lion will take you on a beautiful journey through the African wilderness, and might inspire you to head off on safari

As you can see, there are no shortage of movies about travel to inspire your wanderlust!

Travel Podcasts

If you like the idea of learning about travel by audio, you might want to subscribe to a podcast. These are usually regularly updated shows that you can listen to on any of your devices.

There are podcasts across a whole range of subjects, including travel. And of course, within travel, there’s a whole range of podcast topics and shows to choose from, including family travel, budget travel, solo female travel, long term nomadic travel – the list goes on.

As you would imagine, there’s a huge number of travel podcasts to listen to, and they’re also free. So you have nothing to lose by trying a few of them to find one you like. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

• Rick Steves Podcasts – Rick Steves is one of the best known US based travelers, with his own range of guidebooks, products, and tours. In addition to his popular TV series and radio show, he also has a series of podcasts, covering a number of travel topics, including tips for travel in Europe, and interviews with travel authors and experts.
• Amateur Traveler – hosted by Chris Christensen, this podcast interviews expert travellers from around the world. It’s been running since 2005 and runs weekly, so as you might imagine, pretty much every destination in the world has been covered.
• Rough Guides Podcast – Rough Guide is a popular series of travel guidebooks, and they also offer a number of travel themed podcasts.
• Armchair Explorer – Aaron Miller hosts this popular travel podcast series which features some of the world’s greatest adventurers telling their favourite story from the road. It’s done in a documentary style, which makes for a gripping and immersive experience
• The Travel Diaries – Holly Rubenstein hosts a weekly interview series where she talks to special guests about their travel experiences around the world.
• Y Travel Podcast – Australian couple Caz and Craig have been blogging about travel, with a specific focus on family travel, for about as long as we have. They’ve recently launched a travel podcast, which covers interviews, family travel and travel tips.

As you can see, there are plenty of podcasts to choose from, and there are thousands more out there to discover!

Live Webcams, 360 views, & Virtual Visits

If you want to explore a location at your leisure rather than on a tour, you have no shortage of options. There’s a huge number of live webcams and virtual tours available at destinations around the world.

These range in what they offer, from 360 degree interactive tours of existing locations, through to webcams, virtual renditions of past locations, and more. You can visit natural wonders, museums, wild animal locations, zoos, parks, observatories, and more!

Here are a few options to consider, all of which are free.

• Google has a virtual tour of the  Pyramids of Giza
• Take a wander around a virtual rendition of Angkor Wat in Cambodia right  here
• This is an excellent interactive  virtual tour of Stonehenge  by English Heritage
• Take a walk inside the Colosseum in Rome thanks to  this tour from Google
• Lots of museums have virtual tours as well. Check out  this tour of the Louvre ,  this one of the Vatican Museum ,  this tour of the British Museum  and  this one of the Metropolitan Museum of Art  to get you started
• A series of live webcams of wild animals across countries in Africa
• Live farm animals from a farm in the UK

As you can see, there’s something here for most interests!

Decorate your House with a Travel Theme

If you love to travel, one great way to get a travel vibe even when you are at home is to decorate your home with a travel theme.

There are a huge number of travel themed home decor items out there, and you can go as crazy or understated as you like. The list of what is available is long, but just to get you thinking, there’s travel themed bedding, wall art, throw pillows, globes, custom photo frames, tea towels, mugs, and more!

Maybe it’s just a few items to remind you of a trip, or perhaps you want to theme a room in a travel style. Or, you really love travel and want to give your whole home a travel makeover!

Whatever direction you want to go, we think you’ll find some products to suit.

We have some favourite travel themed items we decorate our own home with. We love our wall map pinboard for example, which lets us plan future trips and remember past trips. We’re also big fans of these travel themed wall decals , which add a cool travel theme to the wall of any room, and Jess loves her French inspired trinket dishes .

For more ideas, check out our comprehensive travel inspired home decor post, which has over 75 ideas for home decor items covering every room in your home!

Through Cooking

For many travelers, experiencing the food of a country is one of the highlights of a trip. Whether it’s pizza in Italy, curries in India, or the comfort food of the USA’s southeast, food has a way to transport us to a destination. Sometimes, just eating a dish we’ve experienced in a place can take us right back there!

If you can’t travel to a country, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy its food. You can do this either by going out to a restaurant, or by learning how to recreate some of your favourite food experiences from your travels yourself.

Learning how to cook different dishes from around the world can be a really fun experience, and one you can involve your whole family in. You get multiple benefits – a new meal to add to your cooking repertoire, a fun experience everyone can join in on, an opportunity to learn about a culture through its food, and of course, a tasty meal to eat at the end of it all!

There are lots of ways to learn how to cook different dishes from around the world. To start with, there’s no shortage of cookbooks focused on the foods of different destinations. Some of these provide recipes from around the world, whereas other may focus on one country or region. Here are some to consider.

• This cookbook features 450 dishes from around the world
• This cookbook covers 1,000 foods you need to eat before you die, from all around the world
• Love comfort food? Check out this recipe book featuring comfort food from around the world
• This cookbook has over 500 recipes focused on the Mediterranean region

You can also check out Youtube cooking channels or TV shows about food . If you have cable or a streaming service subscription, you probably get at least one channel focused on food and cooking.

There are also lots of  specialist food blogs, such as this one focusing on the food of the Seychelles , or this one focusing on Italian dishes.

We’re fairly sure that you’ll have no trouble finding information to recreate delicious meals to take your taste buds on a journey!

Plan a Future Trip

Just because you aren’t traveling right now, doesn’t mean you won’t ever travel again. So one way to fulfil your wanderlust might be to spend some time planning a future trip.

Planning a trip, especially one of the independent trips we enjoy the most, can be quite a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. You have to figure out exactly where you want to go, everything you want to see, any transport requirements, and plan where you’ll be staying. Then there’s what you’ll likely do each day, and of course, you’ll probably want to start thinking about potential dining options as well!

If you’re planning on travelling with others, perhaps friends or on a family trip, then you’re also going to want to discuss their interests and priorities for the trip as well. In our experience, group trips work best when everyone is involved in the planning from the beginning.

The trip you choose to plan can either be a real trip you plan to take in the near future, or you can have fun and put together a fantasy trip.

When it comes to trip planning, obviously we’re a little biased and would recommend you check out a travel blog to help. We have two, this one and Independent Travel Cats , both of which have content on number of destinations around the world, whether you’re planning a city break or a road trip.

Of course, travel blogs aren’t the only option when it comes to trip planning. We also love to use guidebooks, including the Rick Steves series, Lonely Planet and Insight Guides .

When it comes to the logistics of planning a trip, we like to use Google Drive for collaborative documents, Google Maps for putting together trip routes and sightseeing lists, and we have an extensive list of other tools we use for travel planning here .

Travel in Video Games

Not all travel has to be in the real world. You can take a virtual adventure in a video game, either to explore a representation of a real world location, or to tackle entirely different realities.

I’ve been playing video games since I could hook up a game console to a TV, and have spent thousands of hours in virtual worlds. There’s truly a video game for everyone, whether you want to visit distant galaxies, or take a virtual walk in a walking simulator (yes, this is a thing).

Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• The Civilization series . The first entry in the Civilization Series launched in 1991, making this one of the world’s longest running gaming series. The goal of the game is to build an empire, from the dawn of civilization through to the modern day. Along the way you’ll compete with historical world leaders, build structures like the pyramids, and if you’re lucky, take your civilization into space. A fun title that is also somewhat educational, and a great family gaming option.
• Assassin’s Creed series .  If you prefer your games of the cut throat variety, check out the Assassin’s Creed series. These games have your protagonists generally trying to save the world from evil, whilst you explore a number of wonderfully rendered real world locations. If you’ve ever wanted to throw yourself around the 15th century rooftops of Florence, colonial Boston, or one of many other locations, this is a great way to do that.
• No Man’s Sky . If your ideal means of travel is a spaceship with which you can explore the galaxy, you might want to try this vast space exploration simulator.  This has you attempting to survive as you explore literally quadrillions of planets across hundreds of galaxies.
• Watch_Dogs 2 . This third person game is set in a fictionalized version of the San Francisco Bay Area, and has you playing as an elite hacker out to thwart an evil corporations privacy invading plot.
• Lost Ember . If all the above sound a bit like hard work to you, then you might enjoy Lost Ember. Set in a post-human world, this has you exploring a series of stunning environments as a wide range of real world animals. There is a story to follow, but mostly it’s about just exploring the world and relaxing. Another good family entertainment option.
• World of Warcraft . If you are looking to explore a fantasy adventure land on an epic scale in real time with millions of other players, then look no further than World of Warcraft. This game has you picking  a race and faction, and setting out to make your name in a massive world consisting of a number of lands.
• Minecraft . If you prefer the idea of building your own world, then you might like to try Minecraft. If you do, you won’t be alone, as Minecraft is the world’s best selling video game of all time. You can build your own world, tour virtual recreations of real world structures and locations, and generally have a block filled adventure. Another great family option.
• Planet Coaster . If you love to visit theme parks, then you might want to give a theme park simulation game a go. These started back in the 1990s with Theme Park , which had a number of spiritual successors, including the RollerCoaster Tycoon series . Game play is similar, but the graphics have improved over the years. The overall goal is to build and manage your very own theme park, including ride construction as well as staff and concession management. The most recent and widely acclaimed version currently available is Planet Coaster .

Of course, this is just scratching the surface of what’s available when it comes to video games that can take you on a journey, but hopefully it gives you some inspiration and a good starting point for your search.

Revisit Old Travel Photos, Videos, & Memories

When we travel, we often take a lot of photos of our trips. Sometimes we collect souvenirs as well as mementos.

A fun way to go on a virtual trip is to revisit an old adventure you’ve had, and a great way to do that is to look through the photos, videos or travel travel journals you have from past adventures, as well as the items you bought when traveling.

This can be a really nice way to feel a little like you are traveling without leaving the house. Looking at old travel photos and videos, which are often collecting dust (be that real or digital!), is a lovely way to transport you back to a trip.

If you went on the trip with someone else, you might like to connect with them and go through the memories together. This way you’ll remember the moments you experienced together.

This can also be a good opportunity to consider turning some of your digital memories into physical mementos of your adventures, which can make for a fun home based travel themed project.

One easy way to do this is of course just to order prints, but there are lots more ways to turn your photos into physical items. From personalised mugs to custom throw blankets , there are loads of ways to turn memories into reality. See some more ideas in our guide to travel home decor .

Virtual Reality

If you want a more immersive travel experience than can be achieved via a computer game, movie or TV show, then you might want to check out a virtual reality experience instead.

There are two main types of virtual reality system that you can get. First, you can get a specialized virtual reality headset like one of the Oculus systems . Some of these work standalone, whilst other require a high end PC to get good results. This will definitely get you the best VR experience.

Another option is to get a headset which supports your smartphone like this or this . Since most of us already own a smartphone, and these tend to have motion sensitivity and high resolution screens, this can be an inexpensive way to experience virtual reality content.

However, the experience is definitely not as good as a dedicated system. The quality will be lower, there are no cameras to support interacting with real world environments, and you don’t get the advanced controllers that you get with a dedicated VR system. Support for these is definitely waning as manufacturers focus on the dedicated VR headset market.

Whatever option you go for, when you have your virtual reality solution you are going to need some content to view.

If you have a dedicated headset, then a good starting point is Google Earth VR , which will let you explore the world through Google Earth using your headset. Almost as good as being there!

If you have a smartphone solution, check out Google Street View which includes support for smartphone based VR.

Of course, there’s lots more content you can explore in VR, from rollercoaster rides on Youtube to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City . You can even take a virtual vacation in the Vacation Simulator game for VR!

Backyard / Home Camping

Taking a camping trip is a popular vacation option, and is particularly popular as a family travel option. Sometimes though, we might not be able to travel to our favourite camping spot.

All is not lost though! You can recreate the fun of a camping adventure in your own home.

If you happen to have a yard or outdoor space, then you can definitely take advantage of this area to pitch a tent, have a BBQ, and generally take part in all the fun camping activities you would do at a real campsite. In some ways it’s even better – you have access to your own bathroom, and if the weather turns bad you can always just go inside!

Even if you don’t have your own outdoor space, you can still recreate your own camping experience. Just set up one of your rooms as a campsite! You might have to be creative with your tent construction as most home floors don’t work so well for pegs, but as it’s unlikely to be windy indoors you can probably get away with a slightly less robust solution. And if you don’t have a tent, you can make a DIY camp out of some sheets and blankets!

We appreciate that camping at home might not be exactly the same as camping at a remote wilderness location, but this can definitely be a fun experience, especially if you have kids.

Travel TV Shows

There’s no shortage of TV shows for you to enjoy and get a travel fix from. These range from spectacular wildlife documentaries, through to television dramas that will make you fall in love with a destination, through to stories of adventure.

So whether it’s travel inspiration you want, a good story, or just to explore far flung corners of the globe, there’s a TV show for you. Here are some to think about.

• Planet Earth – This is an epic documentary series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, which took four years to make. It will take you on a journey across some of the world’s most awe inspiring natural wonders. There’s also a sequel, Planet Earth 2 .
• Long Way Round – In 2004, actor Ewan McGregor and his friend, TV presenter Charley Boorman, set off on a quest to travel from London to New York by motorcycle. The series covers the 19,000 miles they covered, and the challenges they faced along the way. It has since been followed up with an overland journey from London to Cape town called the Long Way Down . A third iteration called the Long Way Up, from Argentina to California, is due in 2020.
• Parts Unknown – hosted by the late Anthony Bourdain, this travel and food show spans 12 seasons and 104 episodes, and takes the viewer to less visited parts of the world to explore both culture and cuisine.
• Rick Steves’ Europe – Hosted by Rick Steves, these half hour episodes will take you on a journey across a number of European destinations, as well as a number of other countries.
• Outlander – There’s no shortage of fictional TV shows set in stunning locations, but Outlander is perhaps one of the most well known. This time travel shows features locations around the world, but is best known for the stunning Scottish landscapes it depicts
• The Amazing Race – this competitive reality TV game show has couples competing in challenges in locations around the world, as part of a wider challenge to race around the world. It has been filmed in locations around the world, and there have been over thirty seasons to date! The American version is the original, but a number of other countries also have versions of this popular show.
• Places to Love – hosted by Samantha Brown, this lovely travel series focuses on the emotional heart of travel, and the people who make up the places she visits
• Dora the Explorer – If you have younger kids, they will likely love the adventures of Dora. Whilst the show doesn’t visit real world locations, a live action movie released in 2019 does.

Naturally there are thousands more shows to choose from that include elements of travel, allowing you to explore the world from the comfort of your own couch. Many TV shows are also family friendly and educational, so your kids can learn as you watch as well.

Learn a New Skill for Travel

One great way to spend your time in anticipation of a future trip is to learn a new skill that you can use on the trip. This is also a good stay at home activity that you can involve your whole family in together if you wish.

Learning a language for example is a great way to prepare for a trip. This might be a language you started learning at school but have since let lapse, or a language that you know will come in useful on a trip you are already planning. French and Spanish are popular options, but there’s no shortage of languages in the world you can learn.

There are plenty of different ways to learn a language. There are free platforms like Duolingo (ad-supported, paid version available), and more known language programs like Rosetta Stone .

As well as a language, there are other useful skills you can learn to enhance your trips. We all love to take photos when we travel, so learning how to improve your photography can help you capture better memories of your adventures. It’s also a useful skill for all sorts of other events, from family gatherings to events.

Again, there are lots of way to improve your photography while at home. For example, we have lots of free content on our blogs all about photography. Get started on our photography tips page for a range of photography articles.

If you want to take your photography to the next level, then you might prefer a more structured approach to learning. We run a comprehensive online photography course which will teach you everything you need to know about photography across 10 weeks. We’ve already helped over 2,000 people improve their photography, and would love to help you do the same. You can see that here .

Set up a Relaxation Zone

Many of us travel to get away from it all and relax, and spa holidays are a very popular option for achieving this goal.

However, a spa holiday can definitely be an expensive option, and it might not be something your budget stretches to on a regular basis. And even if it does, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to recreate that experience at home anyway?

Well, why not set up your own home relaxation zone?

This can be a place of retreat for you and your family. It can be a specific room in your house, perhaps a spare bedroom where you can read and relax or a bathroom that you can set up for an at-home spa experience. If you have an outdoor space and the climate is suitable, you can also designate an outdoor space. Consider a garden area with flowers and herbs from different parts of the world.

It’s probably a good idea to have some ground rules for use of the space, and to fill it with some items to make it relaxing. For example, you might consider making it a devices free zone, with minimal talking allowed, and a focus on calming activities like meditation, yoga, or reading. Consider using fragrance candles or reed diffusers to create a calming environment that emulates that which you might find at a real spa.

Participate in Travel Forums, Facebook Groups, and Chats

Just because you’re not travelling right now doesn’t mean you can’t indulge your love of travel with like minded individuals! A great way to do this is online, either in travel forums, in Facebook groups, or in group chats devoted to travel.

There are a number of popular travel forums online. These include the long running Thorntree forum by Lonely Planet, the Rick Steves Travel Forum , and the Travelfish forum which focuses on travel in Asia.

If you would prefer to discuss travel on a platform like Facebook, then there are lot of options here too. We even run our own travel Facebook group where you can talk about all things related to travel, including sharing stories of past trips and helping others plan upcoming trips. You can join that here .

Set up Online Video Chats with Travel Loving Friends and Family

Do you have friends and family who love to travel? Maybe you’ve travelled with friends or family in the past, or plan to in the future. Or maybe you just know folks who love travel as much as you do.

If so, a great way to rekindle your love of travel is to connect with them for a chat. As well as being a lovely way to catch up, this will also give you a chance to talk about travel with a like minded individual. You can talk about trips you’ve been on, discuss potential future trips, share stories, and generally pass an amenable time.

There are a wide range of platforms that allow for free video chats, including Skype , Facetime , Facebook Messenger , Whatsapp , and Google Duo . There are also platforms designed to host more people at once, such as Facebook’s Messenger Rooms and Zoom . Whatever you choose, just make sure everyone on the call can use it (some products like Facetime for example are for Apple users only).

If you are planning on hosting a call with multiple participants, it might be an idea to appoint a host, or come up with a loose agenda, so everyone can get the most out of the call.

Travel Themed Subscription Services

If you want a regular dose of travel themed inspiration in your life, one option is to sign up to a travel themed subscription service of some kind.

These are available across a range of product types, and you might find that one of these options replaces an existing service you use with one that is more travel oriented.

Here are some travel themed subscription services we think you might enjoy. These cover all sorts of things, such as food, art, souvenirs, books, spices, handicrafts, beauty products etc. They cover a range of destinations, and some are aimed specifically at kids to start kindle their curiosity in the world.

• The Wordy Traveler – This international travel themed book club sends a quarterly box which includes travel themed books, premium tea as well as a limited edition fine art print.
• Little Passports – This kid focused subscription box aims to give kids across a range of ages a monthly package filled with toys and activities. They have a range of subjects, including a USA and World Travel themed box, which include souvenirs, toys, stickers and collectibles. This is a great option if you have kids and want to encourage a love of travel whilst also teaching them about the world. Based in the USA with shipping a number of destinations around the world.
• Paddington’s Postcards – younger children in the UK will likely enjoy the Unicef Paddington’s Postcard series. For a monthly fee you get a monthly personalised postcard from Paddington Bear, all about the life of a child in another country. A lovely way to learn how people in different countries live
• Nomadik – this subscription box service is perfect for lovers of the outdoors. Each month you get a box filled with at least $50 worth of outdoor gear that’s ready for your next adventure.

Always check when subscribing to any of these services where they ship, and be aware that you might be liable for customs and import taxes if you sign up to a service outside your home country. For this reason, we recommend trying to find a local service where possible.

An International Penpal

Travel is often about the people we meet and the experiences we have with them. Learning about different cultures through others is often one of the more rewarding parts of our travels.

The good news is that you don’t have to travel to have contact with people from around the world. You can find a Penpal, and exchange letters or emails with folks in different places.

There are a number of services to help you find a Penpal, such as Penpal International , Penpal World and International Pen Friends . There are also dedicated sites for children and students to find a Penpal, such as Students of the World .

Of course, as with any service like this, always be very careful about who you give your personal information out to, and if you want to get your kids involved, ensure they understand the principles of staying safe online .

Music and Dancing

Have you ever heard a song come on and been transported back to a memory where you heard it playing? Music, like food, has a powerful ability to stimulate our memories.

With this in mind, you might enjoy listening to music that originates in a destination you’ve visited, or of a destination you plan to visit. A good example of this might be bagpipe music , which for me is impossible to listen to without thinking of the stunning vistas of Scotland.

Other songs might evoke a road trip, such as the songs about Route 66 in the USA. You can also get world music to relax to , or music that showcases the sounds of a continent .

It’s not just music of course. Dance is a hugely important part of many cultures around the world, with different types of dance associated with places and people. Learning a dance of a destination you have visited or plan to go can be a fun way to learn more about the culture, as well as potentially connect with other like minded people.

You can learn to dance at studios in locations around the world, or you can do it for free at home using some of the many online dance class videos . There’s also the side benefit of getting a workout whilst you learn!

Further Reading

That’s it for our detailed guide to how to travel from home. We hope that some of these suggestions have given you some ideas for how to travel without leaving your house, be that on your own or as a family.

Before you head on, we also have some other resources we think you might find useful for planning future trips.

• If you’re travelling from home you’ll probably want a good internet connection to take full advantage of the online offerings. See our guide to the best home WiFi routers for our favourite ways to improve your home internet
• We have guides for how much it  costs to travel in the USA and how much it costs to travel in the UK
• We have a guide to travel inspired home decor , travel themed jewelry and gifts for travelers
• Our guide to the  best travel routers for improving your WiFi signal when travelling
• Our guide to  how to get online when travelling away from home and a guide to choosing the  best VPN for travel
• You’re going to need to power all your devices when you travel – see our guide to the  best travel adapters
• If you are heading out onto the road and looking for a laptop to get some work done, see our guide to the  best laptops for photo editing
• Thinking of buying a new camera? See our guide to the  best cameras for travel
• Looking to improve your photography? See our detailed  online travel photography course here

And that’s it! As always, we hope you found this guide useful. If you have any thoughts on the policies above, or more tips on how to travel from home, just pop them in the comments section below.

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6 Clever Travel-Inspired Home Decor Ideas from a Design Pro

As an interior designer, there are few things that make me cringe harder than a tacky travel souvenir. On the other hand, as a passionate traveler, I understand the burning desire to buy said tacky travel souvenir.

Vagabondish is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Read our disclosure .

With a bit of pre-trip planning, some careful shopping during your explorations, and an afternoon at the craft table, you can have travel souvenirs that you will be proud to display. Here I round up my favorite travel inspired décor tips for every budget and every level of crafting ability.

I’ve always had a passion — borderline obsession — for studying maps. I’m that girl with a collection of every cheesy tourist map from all of my getaways, though they are stashed away in a box somewhere. These brightly colored, cartoony maps definitely do not make for good interior design.

Luckily there are countless ways to decorate with maps that can add sophistication to your space while holding onto the memories of that incredible getaway!

#1: United States of Us

I fell in love with this idea the moment I saw it. It’s super personal and the best part is that you don’t have to spend money on cheap trinkets that you really don’t like much anyway.

How To: Kelsie has a thorough step-by-step guide on how she created the map seen above and it’s a pretty straight forward process. Check out the full tutorial here .

Craftiness Required: Medium. You need to be confidant in your X-Acto knife abilities!

Cost: Low. Just the cost of a simple map, some foam core, push pins, and glue.

#2: Vintage Flair

Nothing says sophisticated design like a vintage map of a world famous city like London, Paris, or New York. It’s such a popular trend right now that even non-travelers are getting on board. So how do you personalize a trend? By channeling the OCD traveler in you and mapping your route of course!

At the end of your trip, you’ll have a fully personalized vintage map and a perfect way to remember all of your stops from a jammed packed vacation. You can even take this one step further and go over your mapped-out route with pins and string.

How To: The minute you land in your destination (or if you are a super planner, before you ever leave home), buy a vintage style map of the city. From there just start marking your adventures right on the map, including the streets you explore and restaurants you discover.

Craftiness Required: Low. You just need the ability to trace some lines!

Cost: Low. You probably already have a marker, pins, and string hanging around. It’s just a matter of finding the right map.

Travel Trunks

This is a design trend that’s here to stay and for good reason! A vintage travel trunk adds tons of character and interest to your space. We’ve all seen the classic travel trunk as a coffee table, but thanks to inspiration from the web, people are getting very creative with ways to use and display their vintage luggage.

#3: Suitcase Shelves

Not everyone collects luggage *while* traveling, but it can be a fun item to hunt for during a weekend road trip. I’m lucky enough to live in New England where there are as many antique shops as there are Dunkin Donuts. Short trips usually mean your car isn’t packed to the brim with your actual luggage so you probably have the room to bring home a vintage suitcase or two.

Stacked suitcases as an entry table is a clever idea, but why not turn your thrift shop find into an unusual, and stylish, display shelf!

How To: Upcycle That has a complete tutorial .

Craftiness Required: High. Not everyone is confident using a table saw, so don’t be afraid to ask for help on this one!

Cost: Moderate. I’ve seen vintage luggage from as low as $30 to as high as $300 per piece. Look for sturdy pieces over “pretty” pieces. The bumps and dings are what add interest (and bring the cost way down!)

Here is where I also admit to being a lover of really cheesy postcards. Yes, I break all of my own souvenir rules. I think something just happens to our brains when we go away and every tourist trap tchotchke suddenly seems like a great find.

Lucky for me (and you!), bad postcards can be a great find, if you know what to do with them once you get home.

#4: Message in a Bottle

These memory jars are great for a lot of reasons: they are inexpensive, they make beautiful personalized displays, and best of all, they are family-friendly. If you have children they will love hunting for souvenirs to add to the jar.

This is also your chance to actually go ahead and buy that really terrible travel trinket. In this case, the cheesier the better!

How To: On the back of the postcard, write a few notes about the dates of your trip, the sights you saw, the food you tasted, etc. Place that in the back of a large mason jar and go to town filling it with items from your trip: sand, pine cones, rocks, ticket stubs, whatever! Best way to display them: on a travel trunk shelf of course!

Craftiness Required: None! This is an incredibly easy, family-friendly project that anyone can do.

Cost: Low. You just need a mason jar, a cheap postcard, and one or two standard souvenirs; the rest of the jar can be filled with “found” items from your getaway.

#5: Postcard Art Gallery

Here’s yet another super simple yet clever idea for decorating with all of those really terrible postcards you’ve collected over the years. Turn them into a stylish mini art gallery.

This idea is great because it can fit any décor. From the upscale style, with framed, carefully hung postcard art …

… to the casual, fun style of a string and clothespin display:

… you can incorporate those otherwise terrible postcards into your space in a way that stands out, but for all the right reasons.

How To: For any art gallery display, I recommend laying it all out first. Arrange all of the pieces on the floor the way you want them on the wall. This way you can figure out how it will look before you begin putting holes in the wall!

You should do this even if you’re going for the string and clothespin display. It will provide a good sense of how things should be laid out and how many rows of string you will need.

Craftiness Required: Low. I think everyone knows how to hang a picture, right?

Cost: Low to Medium. Postcards are great because they are super cheap! The big cost lies in the frames (if you choose to go that route). Best bet: thrifted frames, they are trendy and will keep the cost way down.

DIY Furniture

#6: coffee table book table.

When I travel to an exotic location, I want a million pictures to remember all of the incredible sites I’ve seen. However, a photographer I am not. This is where a coffee table book comes in! Beautifully laid out, with shots that I’d never be able to get on my own, they are a wonderful way to recall the amazing sights you visited on your trip.

The problem arises when you go on countless adventures and your coffee table quickly becomes overcrowded. So why not turn your books into the table? Stacking books to create a side table is quickly catching on as a clever way to display books that are special to you, but that you won’t be looking through on a daily basis.

How To: You don’t really need a tutorial on this one, so I’ll just give a helpful design tip: Keep in mind the colors of the jackets. Don’t place too many similar colors together as this creates a block of color that will visually distract from the overall look.

Craftiness Required: None. Seriously, it’s just a stack of books.

Cost: Probably high (coffee table books aren’t cheap!). But if it’s what you like to collect anyway, you might as well have a fun way to display them!

Oh my gosh Kelsey, I’m obsessed with all these ideas! I just crafted my own map for our travel-themed office, and made little flags out of craft supplies to pin our adventures. I love the US themed map with the photos, what a cool idea!

Thanks Tamara! I’m really glad so many people seemed to enjoy my very first article!

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Why Is Biden Going to Europe Twice in a Week?

President Biden made two back-to-back round trips to Europe, separated by about 60 hours on the ground at home.

By David E. Sanger

David E. Sanger has covered five presidencies.

Air Force One is plenty comfortable if you are its most privileged frequent flier, with a comfortable bedroom and a spacious office.

Still, most American presidents will try to avoid making two back-to-back round trips to Europe, separated by about 60 hours on the ground at home. Yet that is what President Biden is pulling off this week.

“The president’s schedule is jam-packed. It is,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary. “There is a lot to be done on behalf of the American people.”

Mr. Biden left the United States for D-Day celebrations in France last Wednesday, June 5; stayed the weekend for a state dinner in Paris; and returned to his home in Delaware late Sunday. He left Washington again early Wednesday, June 12, to fly to the southeast coast of Italy for the annual gathering the Group of 7, the traditional summit of leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

When Mr. Biden looks back at those two round trips — roughly a day and a half of flying, all told — he may remember only what happened in between: the conviction of his only living son, Hunter Biden, on charges of lying to obtain a gun permit.

But the two round trips raise the question: Why didn’t he just stay in Europe for a couple days, play a round of golf, visit some American troops, maybe huddle with a foreign leader or two? He is, after all, 81, and some of his aides who are half his age were complaining about lost sleep cycles.

The White House’s explanation for four trans-Atlantic crossings in nine days was simply that Mr. Biden had commitments in Washington. But by presidential standards, his public schedule looked light: a lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris, a Juneteenth concert and a speech to a gun-safety group.

Hunter Biden’s trial also loomed over the planning, though it was impossible to know when these trips were planned that the case would go to the jury and a verdict would be rendered in the three days between the D-Day trip and the G7 meeting. As it turned out, Mr. Biden shuttled back to Delaware on Tuesday afternoon to be with his son before taking off again in the morning.

But privately, some aides said there were election-year optics to be considered. There was no urgent reason to stay in Europe, and a few down days “might not look right,” one of Mr. Biden’s advisers conceded, though the aide quickly added that Mr. Biden never really took a down day. In any case, no one wanted images of the president on what his political opponents might cast as a European holiday, at least while he is running for re-election. A long weekend in Rehoboth, the Delaware town where he and his wife, Jill, have a beach house, might be one thing; a few days in France or Italy have an entirely different look.

The presidency, of course, is the ultimate work-from-anywhere job. There are instant communications (a White House van, bristling with antennas, travels in every motorcade) and a staff of hundreds ready to cater to every contingency, whether that involves sending off a thank-you note or launching a retaliatory nuclear strike.

The intolerance for seeing presidents abroad, save for work, has a long history. Franklin D. Roosevelt loved to camp at Campobello Island, in Canada, though as president he kept the visits brief. When Harry S. Truman went to Potsdam, Germany, to negotiate with Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill about what post-World War II Europe would look like, he stayed for more than two weeks. There were days off from the negotiations, but not for long, and the nearest big city, Berlin, was a bombed wreck. And there was a reminder of the risks of being out of town: Churchill’s party lost to Labour during the conference, and he got booted out of office while it was still going on.

David E. Sanger covers the Biden administration and national security. He has been a Times journalist for more than four decades and has written several books on challenges to American national security. More about David E. Sanger

Inside the Biden Administration

Here’s the latest news and analysis from washington..

Immigration: President Biden announced sweeping new protections  for undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens. The new policy  will give some 500,000 people a pathway to citizenship.

Social Media Warning Labels: Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, said he would urge Congress to require a warning label on social media platforms  advising parents that using the platforms might damage adolescents’ mental health.

Title IX Rules: A federal judge blocked the Biden administration’s new Title IX regulations in six more states  as Republicans and conservative groups try to overturn a policy that expanded protections for L.G.B.T.Q. students.

Merrick Garland: The Justice Department said it would not prosecute the attorney general for not complying with a congressional subpoena  for recordings of Biden’s interview by a special counsel. The decision was expected because the president had invoked executive privilege.

Questionable Titanium: The F.A.A. is investigating how titanium that was sold using fake documentation  got into recently manufactured Boeing and Airbus jets.

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Stay Home: Travel Is Overrated

I f anything makes me feel like a stranger in the strange land that is modern life, it’s a resolution I made after turning thirty: I will fly only when exceptional circumstances arise. I’m an oddity over here in my one-woman no-fly zone, as is glaringly obvious on the dating site I’m on. Forget about loving dogs; “must love travel” is the sine qua non for today’s single person. If a user hasn’t listed “passport” as one of the six items he can’t live without, then he’ll surely proclaim he’s looking for a “partner in crime” who wants to “see the world” with him. Otherwise, he’ll post pictures of himself atop a certain Peruvian mountaintop. (“How come it seems like all the women on this site have the same pic of them on Macchu Picchu?” a man wrote to ask me recently. “Does OkCupid have a photographer up there?”)

Some moiety of my reluctance to fly has to do with the sheer ludicrousness of it: Air travel regularly entails a level of absurdity you’d otherwise find only in a banana republic or Kafka novel. In January alone, U.S. companies cancelled 49,000 flights and delayed 30,000, affecting 30 million travelers who racked up $2.5 billion in related expenses—presumably for hotel rooms, cabs and emergency phone sessions with shrinks in order to maintain basic sanity. (The irony is that all those fossil-fuel-guzzling 747s help to ground themselves, by contributing to global warming.)

But more than any of that—and more too than the fact that airports strike me as dystopian metropolises in terms of sprawl, noise pollution, pedestrians, automobile traffic, stop-and-frisk policies, preponderance of fast food joints, resemblance to strip malls and infuriating bureaucratic nonsense—I made my resolution after noticing a discrepancy between what I hoped to learn during any trip abroad and what I actually discovered.

When I did fly frequently, in my twenties, it wasn’t “enjoyment” that I was after. (Truly relaxing vacations, for me, do not involve planes.) It wasn’t “escape” either. What I wanted was education and experience: some sense of the peoples and cultures of different places. But during a number of trips to Europe, while traveling largely on my own, I was disappointed by how familiar the cities there seemed, with their Starbucks, their H&Ms, their teenagers in skinny jeans slouched over their phones. Wherever I was able to befriend some locals, I had great adventures, yes—but they frankly weren’t all that different from the escapades I’d have in the U.S. cities where I’d lived.

Perhaps you’d argue that I was “doing it wrong”—that I didn’t travel to places remote enough, maybe. It’s true that a trip I took to the rain forest in Belize affected me powerfully. Looking up at trees that seemed to reach straight through the clouds to the heavens—one-thousand-year-old giants—I felt not only their transcendent majesty but my own insignificance in a universe vast in space and time. (An insignificance not unlike that I felt every time I set foot in an airport, come to think of it.) All the same, visiting places as exotic as the Amazon left me somewhat troubled by guilt, as if I’d participated in a kind of Tragedy of the Common Vacation Spots; simply by being in those pristine places, I’d played a role in degrading them. (As David Foster Wallace put it in Remember the Lobster : “To be a mass tourist … is to spoil … the very unspoiledness you are there to experience … to impose yourself on places that in all noneconomic ways would be better, realer, without you.”)

Perhaps you’d argue that I haven’t gone to places gritty enough—and I’ll admit that I’m too much of a coward to do anything like traveling to the favelas of Rio with Habitat for Humanity. Risking possible death via plane crash is about as much danger as I like to court when traveling. Moreover, neither do-gooding nor dare-deviling was my goal as a traveler. Gaining knowledge was—and traveling no longer seems like a very efficient or effective method for educating myself.

Frankly, I’ve learned far more through regular trips to the library. (“Our minds travel when our bodies are forced to stay at home,” to quote Ralph Waldo Emerson in Self-Reliance .) Over the last few weeks alone, thanks to a terrific philosophy course on CD—“The Meaning of Life” by Smith College Professor Jay Garfield—I’ve learned about texts as diverse as The Bhagavad-Gita , the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, and Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols ; about spiritual leaders like the Dalai Lama and the Native American medicine man Lame Deer; and about belief systems like Confucianism, Daoism and Jainism.

Sure, knowledge gleaned from books is less visceral than seeing the ruins of Greece or the temples of Sri Lanka—but is it less worthwhile? No. This Garfield class alone has been an aid nonpareil as I continue making my way up the Sisyphean mountain of life.

And here we get to the heart of the matter: My real motivation as a traveler was existential, though I didn’t understand that. I suspect that’s true of most people—and yet I also wonder how many frequent fliers are in a state of existential flight, rather than on a quest for meaning. The rage for traveling—along with smartphone OCD, consumerism, workaholism—strikes me as one more distraction that muffles the inner voices that ask the most difficult but also important questions: Who I am? Why do I feel so lonely? Am I living an authentic life, in keeping with my values? Will I be okay with death when it comes?

None of this is to say I’ll never fly again. If I ever have a plausible chance to live in a foreign country (or even a very different state, like Hawaii or Alaska or Montana), I’ll jump at it. Until then, though, I’ll leave my passport at home—and carry my library card with me.

Maura Kelly is the author of Much Ado About Loving: What Our Favorite Novels Can Teach You About Date Expectations, Not-So-Great Gatsbys and Love in the Time of Internet Personals. Her essays and opinions have appeared in publications like The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, ELLE and The Guardian. She is working on a novel.

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First, they built an ADU ideal for surfers. Now, they’re ready to travel like nomads

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Anyone who has obsessively scrolled through Zillow and Padmapper looking for rentals in Los Angeles knows how difficult it is to find housing in a city where most are renters .

Add popular amenities like parking, laundry, pet accommodations and private outdoor living space to the search, and housing becomes even more tricky.

“You have to be diligent,” says Ben Larson, a 29-year-old commercial real estate broker for Industry Partners who found everything he was looking for. “I got lucky.”

As is often the case, Larson found the perfect rental for him and his dog, Theo, on Zillow.com. However, it was far from a typical apartment listing: a 500-square-foot accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, in the backyard of architect Cameron McNall’s longtime Mar Vista home.

“This place is such a nice sanctuary for us,” says Larson, who has had Theo since his senior year in college. “It’s so nice and comfortable. It’s perfect for one person.”

They spent $354,000 to build a modern ADU. Now they rent it out for $4,500 a month

L.A. architects making the case for communal living built a tiny ADU above their garage. Design choices make the most of 300 square feet with soaring ceilings and inventive storage.

March 12, 2024

When the opportunity came to transform his garage into a one-bedroom, one-bath ADU in 2021, McNall viewed the addition as more than just a way to supplement his retirement.

“Our motivations for making the ADU certainly include extra income,” confesses McNall, who is in his late 60s and collects Social Security benefits. “But I have real problems with suburban land use, and I don’t think it’s right. I embrace the idea that we can increase the density. Aside from making extra income, I feel better about my footprint on the planet.”

“It feels separate,” Ben Larson says of his backyard rental in Mar Vista.

The ADU features an Ikea kitchen and frosted glass windows for privacy.

Now that McNall and his wife, Margi Reeve, have rented the ADU to two separate tenants over the last two years, they say they have enjoyed the arrangement and “feel safer with another person and dog on the property.” But after three decades in L.A., the couple decided in January to rent their four-bedroom main house, which they purchased for $290,000 in 1993, for $7,000 a month. They plan to become nomads and travel.

“While I enjoy Southern California so much, as I age, we crave European pedestrian city life. We will go for six months and then decide if we want to continue,” says McNall.

Twenty years ago, the architect partly renovated the garage by extending its footprint by 30 inches and reframing it to 11 feet high to use as an office. When it came time to build the ADU, which he now rents to Larson for $3,400 a month, McNall started with “a high-ceiling box.” His head start, he says, meant that the extra work involved in adding plumbing and other items was not as expensive as it would have been if he had started from scratch.

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“It was a very nice studio,” McNall adds. “It had an oversize roll-up garage, and I had as many as eight people working there. More recently, I stopped working there and had smaller jobs. I wasn’t using it the way I used to.”

The resulting ADU, which McNall estimates cost around $250,000, is one big room with a flat ceiling that feels open and intimate despite its small floor plan. McNall is a big fan of using Hardie Board and wrapped the exterior in large blank sheets of the easy-care fiber cement siding. He says the average carpenter or homeowner can work with it efficiently. “It’s a material that looks good, is fire resistant and lasts forever,” he adds.

The simple box has a private entrance just beyond a communal space alongside the main house, painted in statement-making bright yellow horizontal stripes. “I painted the house that color because it pleases me and about 70% of the neighbors,” he says. The area includes an outdoor shower, storage for multiple bikes and surfboards and EV chargers for both the main house and the ADU.

McNall describes the ADU, outdoor spaces and main house as interlocking “like a Chinese puzzle.”

Careful to preserve private outdoor space for tenants, McNall designed an open patio in front of the ADU with enough room for a barbecue and outdoor dining table. There is also room for Larson’s surfboards, some gym equipment and a pair of stadium seats from the Chicago native’s beloved Wrigley Field.

“I’m a homebody, and my place is important to me,” Larson says. “This place is super efficient, and I like hosting my family and friends here and grilling outdoors.” The surfer also likes that he is near El Porto Beach and that he lives in a great walking neighborhood for Theo, whom he walks three times a day.

Goodbye carport, hello ADU: A tiny parking spot is reborn as a stunning live-work studio

A 380-square-foot ADU with plenty of storage offers flexibility for a Los Angeles couple and their extended family, including working from home and housing.

Feb. 20, 2024

Just past the sliding glass doors, the open-concept first floor features polished concrete floors and a full-size kitchen outfitted with Ikea cabinets and custom Caesarstone counters installed by the retailer. “It’s a good choice for renters,” McNall says.

The sofa, bordered by a desk and office chair, separates the dining room and kitchen from the living room. Surfboards are mounted on the wall, and skis and golf clubs are propped in a corner next to the stackable washer and dryer.

Although there are no windows on the property-line side of the ADU, windows and a skylight are strategically placed throughout to bring in light and air. “I like having light at all times of day,” McNall says of his expensive window package, which cost around $20,000. There is also a cozy loft space and an adjunct building behind the main house McNall built to regain some of the storage they lost when they built the ADU.

Regarding parking, McNall chose to widen the driveway so that both houses have off-street parking and all occupants can come and go independently. “Single driveway parking does not work well for two units,” he adds.

McNall also frosted the ADU’s glass so tenants wouldn’t look into the main house and vice versa. “We both have total visual freedom, but there’s never that discomfort of looking at each other,” he says. “There is also a social thing where everyone tries to give everyone space.”

Looking to the future, McNall says he and his wife may consider returning someday to live in the ADU rather than the main house, “particularly if we split our time between Los Angeles and Rome.”

But for now, McNall’s compound in Mar Vista is a home base for two families. Just not his.

More Los Angeles ADUs

How L.A. architects designed a 300-square-foot ADU that pulls in $1,750 a month Three rentals and an ADU? A narrow two-story in Venice makes the case for building up They turned their tiny L.A. garage into an ADU rental for steady income. Here’s how Millennials and Gen Z can’t afford homes. Is this prefab ADU a solution? How a Spanish bungalow in L.A. went from sad to sexy (Hint: There’s an ADU rental) She wanted more than a guesthouse for her sister. This tiny ADU in L.A. delivers Tetris-like ADU packs an office, pool house, music room and gym into a tiny space Tiny hideaway inspired by Richard Neutra has terrarium vibes and a rooftop deck This ADU rental with windows galore is a houseplant lover’s dream How an aging Tudor’s ADU reunited a family and brought them closer together

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June 14, 2024

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Lisa Boone is a features writer for the Los Angeles Times. Since 2003, she has covered home design, gardening, parenting, houseplants, even youth sports. She is a native of Los Angeles.

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