Are you tired of sitting alone at home dreading the upcoming summer stuck inside? Are you dreaming of travelling the world but your passport is just collecting dust on the shelf?
In this online era, you only need an internet connection and a search bar, your next destination quite literally one click away!
Check out these virtual travel options to travel from the comfort (and safety) of your home!
The non-profit organization CyArk founded in 2003 allows for that virtual travel experience. They have digital records, archives and share important cultural heritage, preserving the wonder of these places and travellers’ curiosity.
Experience guided tours, places of worship: world religions, various locations in the United States, Indigenous heritage, ancient civilizations, 20th-century history by clicking on ‘Learn More’ in each section!
When checking out the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral , you’ll be able to read the Intro which describes that this cathedral is one of Mexico’s most important religious and historic sites and that its structure was damaged by a 2017 earthquake. The 3D Explorer will allow you to watch 3D model videos where you can explore the cathedral from all sides and click on the sections you want to zoom onto.
The Exhibit section allows you to click through a couple of slides filled with photos, and bits of information on the cathedral, the video section to watch a video that shows how they made a 3D model of the cathedral. Finally, on the Open Heritage section, you’ll see site and project descriptions.
Check out these links for other immersive ways to travel around the world!
View the Leaning Tower of Pisa here: https://www.touristtube.com/Things-to-do-in-Pisa/Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa-360
Try out this 360-degree virtual reality trip across Japan from the Japan National Tourism Organization:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR_Y7vj66PU&t=1s
Explore a 360-degree solar eclipse in Chile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qcf1K3hP2g&t=14s
Watch this Harbor Seal Cams from the California Monterey Bay Aquarium:
https://www.seattleaquarium.org/live-cams/harbor-seal-cams
Check out the New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 360:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/met-360-project
Make your way around Amsterdam’s Rijsksmuseum:
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/masterpieces-up-close
Wander around Northern Ireland’s Grand Causeway:
http://panoramas.nationaltrust.org.uk/giants-causeway/2/
Admire the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland without needing to go outside:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LomuHtDS70k
Want to try something really out of this world? Head to NASA’s website to tour their telescopes and space stations:
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-360-degree-virtual-tour
If you really liked that, try this 3D VR filmed in space:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwHBpykTloY
If you’re looking for a specific site that you haven’t yet seen, YouTube and Google Maps are your friends. Just by selecting maps and clicking on random places on one, then selecting Google Street View, you could find yourself down a street somewhere in the Australian Outbacks.
And if you’re still bored or antsy and don’t want to look out your window anymore, click on Window Swap , and look out someone else’s window for a while. It might make you feel better.
Mika Baumeister via Unsplash