The whole world is in lockdown and people have taken to the safety of their homes to tackle the biggest challenge our world has faced in a generation. The coronavirus pandemic has tightened its grip on our planet, forcing us all to stop and press pause on life as we knew it. Travel bans are enforced across the globe, leaving us wanderlusters longing for that moment when we will get to explore the world again. If you’re someone like me, who decided to take a career break to travel the world without ever contemplating a pandemic would scupper their plans, I wanted to offer you my top tips for managing that disappointment.

I quit my 10 year career to solo travel right before a pandemic

At the start of 2020, I decided to take a break from my career in public health in order to solo travel around the world. I wasn’t happy. Not just with my job but with my situation in life. Going through an unamicable divorce just months after my father’s death changed everything. My mental health suffered to the point I was hospitalised. All these events happened within 6 months and it completely changed my perspective on what I wanted from life. In the middle of all that loss and pain, I decided to take a spontaneous birthday trip to Amsterdam, entirely on my own. Solo travel was a total game changer. It helped me to see myself in a totally different light. It taught me that I was capable of going it alone and I learnt to enjoy being in my own company. Solo travel not only made me fall back in love with life, but more importantly, with myself.  I solo travelled again soon after I was discharged from hospital and I knew that this is all I wanted to do. I knew solo travel would help me learn more about about myself and help me to navigate my way through grief and heartbreak.

I had booked a one way ticket to travel USA and Canada for 4 months from July 2020. But sadly a global pandemic meant I would soon be having to postpone my trip. I won’t lie I was gutted. I had made a life changing decision to take a career break to travel and now it wasn’t happening. Talk about bad timing! I know so many have also found their travel plans disrupted by the pandemic, so I wanted to share how my top tips for coping with cancelled travel plans.

Five ways I’ve been coping with my wanderlust blues

Embrace acceptance

That feeling of disappointment you have for a cancelled or postponed trip - it's valid. You are allowed to feel sad and disappointed and don't allow anyone to tell you otherwise. We all know this pandemic is going to sadly impact the lives of countless people and families. For someone who is grieving the loss of a parent, my heart goes out to all those who will lose loved ones during this time. But comparing your feelings or situation to others is not helpful and I guarantee your disappointment will still remain (but now with the addition of guilt!). Allowing people to tell you that your feelings are not valid or being made to feel guilty because others have it worse than you is never good advice. Instead, sit with those feelings, accept those feelings and show yourself some compassion. Know that you are not alone in your feelings or situation and try to connect with those who can understand your point of view.

Find your travel tribe

Connecting with online solo travel communities has been a great way to connect with likeminded people with a shared passion for travel. I don’t really have any friends who solo travel and I wanted to connect with people who I could learn from and share my experiences with. There are many great online communities out there and two I have become a part of is the Lone Travel Girl community and Global Girl Community. I have have connected with many solo female travelers from across the world through these wonderful communities. Lone Travel Girl was started by Callie Gorman, who wanted to provide a platform for women who solo travel to learn and feel connected through weekly online chats via the Solo Travel Corner. The Global Girl Community was founded by Rusha Paenga, who aims to connect female solopreneurs, bloggers and digital nomads with a shared passion for travel. Not only have we discussed our love for travel, but also shared our travel tips and knowledge in budgeting, planning, safety and more. What I have enjoyed most from these communities is forming authentic connections that goes beyond a mutual love for travel. They have helped me to feel accepted and feel a part of something special. Forming new connections has really boosted my confidence, which had taken a bit of a nose dive following grief and divorce. These communities have leant me an empathetic ear, whilst also keeping my travel and blogging dreams alive.

KNOW THIS PANDEMIC WON’T LAST FOREVER

Just because my travel plans haven’t turned out as I had expected, that doesn’t mean they will never happen. When my mind tells me that I will never get to travel the world and that I’m a failure for making the decision to quit my career, I ask myself “Is that really true?” I remind myself to look at the facts. This is an unprecedented bump in the road that I could never have predicted, but I know it will not last forever. Pandemics from the past have ended and this one will end too. The places I plan to see will still be there when all this is over. The waiting and not knowing when this will be is frustrating, but I decided to fill the time by researching all the places I would like to explore for when I do finally get to travel again. Not only are America and Canada on my sights, but I’m now planning on extending my trip to explore South America too. I have been captivated by the natural wonders that are scattered across this vast continent. From the salt flats of Bolivia, to the Rainbow mountains of Peru, to the Iguazu Falls in Argentina and Torres del Paine in Chile. But most of all, I have always dreamt of hiking to Machu Picchu. It is a bucket list dream that I know I will tick off, it is just a case of when. And when I do, I know the wait will have be worth it.

Reminicse over past trips

Don’t be afraid to look back at photos and reminisce about old trips you’ve taken. I have been looking back at photos from my solo trips to Amsterdam and Dubrovnik and it has filled my heart with excitement all over again. I love to read back over my travel blog posts and remind myself of all the unique experiences I had. I have loved re-connecting with how solo travel made me feel and how those feelings inspired me to start my own self-discovery journey around the world. I choose to be grateful for all these experiences and memories I can truly call my own. I’ve even looked back at photos from a trip I took to Australia over 10 years ago with my best friend. That trip was the first time I had travelled without my family and was the furthest away from home I had ever been. We spent three weeks travelling across Victoria and New South Wales, where we got to see in the New Year under the world famous Sydney fireworks, visit the breathtaking Blue Mountains and enjoy an epic road trip along the Gold Coast. Reconnecting with those memories has given me comfort as a time when I need it most. So get out those old photos and remember the good times!

Choose a Staycation

I don’t know about you, but being unable to travel internationally has seriously made me start thinking about travelling closer to home. We’re always in such a hurry to travel abroad, that we sometimes forget what our home country has to offer. During life in lockdown in the UK, I started to appreciate the great outdoors and enjoyed a number of solo hikes out in the Hampshire and Dorset countryside. This made me realise how much I have taken my own country for granted when it comes to travel. The UK has so much to offer, with so many destinations that do not require jumping on a plane that can easily be reached by car. With so many National Parks and coastal areas where social distancing is possible, it’s certainly an option if you are itching to travel in 2020. There is talk in the travel community of a predicted surge in domestic travel in light of restrictions of cornonavirus. I can definitely see why! As more hotels, hostels and Air BnBs start reopening, booking a staycation is becoming increasingly more possible and is easily more affordable too.

I’d love to hear how you’ve been managing your own wanderlust blues. Did you have travel plans cancelled by coronavirus? Are you planning to travel domestically in 2020? Drop your views in the comments.