AD – This is a paid advertorial but all thoughts are my own

How on Earth did life so from so normal to so alien in such a short space of time? Here we are, once again in lockdown in the UK (although I don’t know about anyone else but this lockdown feels like a bit of a joke), a weird sort of half Christmas on the horizon away from friends and family and no prospects of traveling again for the foreseeable future. Well, for most of us.

Photo by Ryan Spencer on Unsplash

Just for reference, when I say “travel” in this post, I don’t mean upping sticks, leaving home and backpacking for 6 months. That’s not me and not something I think I’d enjoy very much. I’m not a “traveler” so to speak. So when I say “travel” throughout this post, I’m referring to holidays. Whether that be a staycation in the UK to a city I’ve never been to, a week away in the sun somewhere in Europe or visiting the attractions in the states.

And I think it’s important to remember that travel means different things to everyone and there’s no right or wrong way to travel. If what you’re doing, where you’re going and what you’re seeing makes you happy, that’s LITERALLY all that should matter. Despite what anyone else thinks.

Okay, glad we got that out of the way. Over the last 8 years or so, travel has been pretty limited for me. For a large chunk of that time, it was due to anxiety. So it’s bloody typical that I find myself in the best place of my life, ready to start traveling and seeing the world properly again, just when we’re not allowed to. The Universe has a funny way of working sometimes.

Related read: How To Look After Your Mental Health When COVID Is Over

But I’m definitely not the only one who will have a ton of travel plans or dreams after COVID or when it’s safe to do so again. Travel is a big part of many of our lives. And not traveling or seeing anywhere new can definitely have a detrimental effect on our mental health and general well-being. Travel is good for the soul, they say! So it’s really hard when we’re told, like naughty children at school, that we must stay home.

So despite the things that we never enjoy when we’re traveling, such as travel disruptions from Omio, I can’t wait to start going places again when this nightmare is over. Here are 5 reasons why I can’t wait to travel again after COVID!

The planning stage is mega exciting

The thing about travel, holidays, events and anything like that, is that the planning stage is SO exciting. So really, your travel adventures start much earlier than when you actually get on the plane or the train.

The great thing now is that the planning stage of your trip is so easy, with many sites such as Omio, to use to compare prices and personalize your trip options to suit you. From planes, trains or coaches, to anywhere from Bath, London, Vienna, Paris, Brussel and SO many more locations!

It’s good for my soul

Although I’m not a hardcore traveler as we’ve already established, I do feel like traveling, holidays and seeing new places is good for my soul. When I go for longer periods of time without having any plans or anything to look forward to, I get a bit restless. I also find myself getting agitated and feeling lower than usual.

Having nothing to look forward to really negatively impacts my mental health. Which is something I’ve worried quite a lot about this year during lockdown and something I’ve tried SO hard to avoid happening. But due to the fact that I’ve not really been able to go anywhere this year (apart from a trip to The Ferry House), I’ll definitely be traveling more whilst I’m in a position to do so.

I want to use different methods of transport

I haven’t actually flown on a plane in almost a decade. With most of my recent staycations been taken in the car. So different methods of transport is definitely something I want to explore more when I can travel more post COVID. For example, I’d potentially be looking at getting a train from London to Bath to meet one of my blogging friends.

And I’d definitely like to start to travel by coach throughout the UK as well. I think coaches are a great transport option and it also gives to time to sit and chill, listen to music or podcasts or even get some work done on the journey!

I want to step outside of my comfort zone

Like I mentioned earlier, travel has felt a bit limited for me over the last 8 years or so due to my anxiety. But I’m in a great place in my life right now and I’m SO ready to travel again and travel to some new places and have some new experiences. I’m ready to get out of my comfort zone – even travel ALONE – and not let anything stop me!

I’m bored

Okay, final point but one that I think a lot of people will agree with. I’m bored. I’m bored of being at home. I’m bored of seeing the same 4 places over and over again. Such as the supermarket. I’m just bored of this year. I know the most important thing about this year was that we stayed safe and healthy, there’s no denying that staying at home for as long as we have has had and will continue to have an impact on people’s mental health.

I’m not the only one who’s felt bored this year. And whilst I’m grateful to have had a job throughout lockdown, I’ve really missed traveling and going for breaks away with my boyfriend. Really missed it.

Have you missed traveling this year? Are you going to travel more when COVID is over? Where are you going to go first?

59 Comments

  1. Really relateble I just started my own travel blog and then covid hit and I could not travel anymore from my country. No travel planning for me at all 😦

  2. Hey ur blog is amazing, i really missed travelling a lot, but thanks to god i started travelling again wrote a blog post and uploaded my travel experience for others in YouTube and more i a damn happy but don’t for how long this happyness lasts because there is a huge chance for lockdown again india🤷‍♀️

  3. I travel during covid and trust me things a bit complicated when its comes to traveling from one city to another. less freedom of travelling but yes I enjoyed traveling. may soon this pandemic will get over so we can hit the road again like a nomad.

  4. I can’t wait to travel again. Paris is #1 on my list (even though I’ve been before). I’ll also pop over to Hawaii when it’s first safe. After this year, I’d be happy traveling anywhere.

  5. I really miss travelling too! I am not a huge planner, but I was looking forward to a road trip for my birthday in November. Hopefully we will manage to travel soon when it’s safe 🙂

  6. Thanks for sharing, I’m really missing travelling as I was on holiday this time last year, I did plan this year to save up for my next adventure, only taking small breaks away and camping with the Girl Guides I help out. I did manage a couple of short breaks to Dorset this year which was good for my health. Hopefully next year we can start to plan our next adventures 🙂

  7. I travel once or maybe twice in a year and I definitely want to do some more traveling locally or internationally once pandemic is over. I even just want to go exploring the nearby cities! There’s just so many more places to see and experiences that I want to share to others and also look back on when I’m old and gray.

    Liz
    http://www.piecesofliz.com

  8. Oh my goodness I feel you on being bored! I have enough things to do at home, but I feel like I’m not being stimulated by seeing new things, new people, having new conversations etc. I can’t wait to travel again! xxx

  9. Such a fab post; you’ve really hit the nail on the head on what I miss most about traveling! Once the world is a safer place, I’ve got my sights set on four places to travel – South Wales, to see my family; Scotland, to see my in-laws; Dubai, as this is where my partner grew up; and then Florida for my honeymoon! <3

    http://www.rosieabigail.com/blog

  10. Yes, we were all waiting to travel and then they announced another lockdown! I can’t wait to get out of my own head sometimes.

  11. I’ve missed so much this year and like you I’m just bored of it now. I get why we’ve had to do it but it’s having a major impact on my mental health this time around. I just want to get away for a night, go to a cafe for lunch, normal things! I don’t think I’d feel comfortable going abroad anytime soon but as soon as we can get away in the UK again, we’ll definitely be booking something xx

    Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk

  12. I’ve certainly missed traveling this year! Especially staycations; so, as soon as we can, my boyfriend and I are going to visit his family in Plymouth, re-plan our weekend away in Cardiff, use our ‘buy-a-gift’ presents my parents got us for Christmas last year(!), and plan our walking holiday along Hardians Wall.

  13. I don’t travel too often anyway but I do usually go away abroad at least once a year so I feel sad I’ve had to miss out on that this year! I love the planning of traveling somewhere as well! It’s so fun picking out all the activities you want to do, how you’re getting to certain places, the whole build up is so exciting so I’m looking forward to that again too! xx

  14. I definitely have to travel after everything is safe! There are many places that I REALLY want to visit. I haven’t try to go out from my comfort zone but I’m looking forward to it someday x

  15. I think all of us are feeling this right now. I took travel for granted, we did so much of it last year that I just expected this year to be the same but of course it wasn’t meant to be.

    I don’t like feeling grounded, its been so difficult for everyone. I am looking forward to watching and reading about everyone’s adventures, better times are definitely coming, we may just have to wait a while x x

  16. These are some great reasons. I definitely want to travel to more places too, especially cities because its something I don’t currently feel comfortable doing. I completely agree this lockdown is a joke – I’ve seen more people out and about this month, than all year.

  17. I am looking forward to travelling but only when it’s safe – I got a very bad case of Covid so I don’t know when I’ll feel safe getting on a flight with people who may or kay not have stuck to the lockdown rules. I’ll always bring my own pillow regardless! X

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: