March 15, 2020: “The Day the World Stopped Traveling.” This gloomy headline was the title of a recent letter to readers published by leading travel news website Skift.

Unfortunately, it’s not an exaggeration given the current global pandemic we are all being faced with.

So how can those of us with wanderlust continue to live out our travel dreams? Here are some ideas.

1. Take a Virtual Tour

Google Arts & Culture has teamed up with museums and cultural institutions around the world to offer virtual tours. While it might not be the same as coming face to face with the Mona Lisa in person, it will certainly be less filled with tourists. The website allows you to explore iconic museums with the click of a button. One day you could “walk” through the exhibits at the Guggenheim in New York City then hop over to see a Monet at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. No lines, no expensive entry fees, and no one rushing you to move on from the piece that captivates you most.

2. Make a Book

Just because you can’t fly to a new destination doesn’t mean you can’t reminisce on vacations gone by. Take a trip down memory lane by creating a coffee table book from a previous adventure. In the hustle of everyday life, photographs from trips tend to sit on phones and cameras never to be looked at again. With your newfound free time, relive the delicious meals, beautiful scenery and impressive monuments by uploading pictures to websites like Artifact Uprising and Shutterfly. From there, you can design your own photo book (or calendar, blanket, or coaster set).

3. Make a Bucket List

Now is a perfect time to day dream about all the trips you want to take in the future. Work on a bucket list of places you want to go. You can separate them by continent or by the length of the trip. Next time you have a long weekend and no plans, flip to your bucket list to see where you can go for a quick escape. And use your bucket list to remind yourself of those big once-in-a-lifetime trips that you need to make time for. When this passes, you won’t have to waste any time deciding where you’re headed next!

4. Read a Book or a Blog

Nothing is better at transporting you to another time and place than a good book. Light a candle, put on some comfortable pajamas and curl up with a good travel themed book. Even if you’re reading about someone else’s journey you can feel like you’re along for the ride. Start with a trip to Peru while reading Mark Adams’ Turn Right at Machu Picchu before traveling the Pacific Crest Trail with Cheryl Strayed in Wild.

If you’re not a bookworm, visit some travel blogs – reading through sites like Alex in Wanderland and The Blonde Abroad will transport you across the globe with a simple scroll of your mouse.

5. Plan a Trip

While travel bans abound and flight cancellations continue to grow there’s no rule saying you can’t plan! Break out the travel guides and the Excel documents. More time means more research. And more research means your best planned trip yet! Save your favorite Airbnbs, bookmark your favorite restaurant menus – no detail is too small when you’re planning your perfect post-quarantine vacation. There’s no reason why research and planning can’t be one of the most enjoyable parts of the process.

6. Go To The Zoo

With zoos across the country shut down to visitors, you can still get up close and personal with penguins, hippos and monkeys thanks to technology. Many are offering daily livestreams on their websites or Facebook and Instagram feeds. The Cincinnati Zoo’s Fiona the Hippo is a fan favorite. My personal preference is Limbani the skateboarding, painting, playful chimpanzee at Miami’s Zoological Wildlife Foundation. There’s no shortage of zoos to visit with the San Diego Zoo, Smithsonian National Zoo and Vancouver Aquarium offering webcams. Put on a Spotify playlist of nature sounds and take a trip to the zoo from the comfort of your own home.

7. Learn a Language

Take this time at home to learn a new language, a skill that will certainly come in handy when you’re back out exploring the world. Websites like Duolingo offer free language classes online. Learn to say, “Where’s the best restaurant?” in Spanish, French or Swedish so you’re ready when the next trip is possible.

One of the best parts of traveling is hearing the symphony of new sounds and words surrounding you. So go ahead and immerse yourself in a new language.

8. Cook an International Dish

Take your taste buds on the vacation you can’t go on. Forced to cancel a trip due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak? Buy yourself a cookbook that specializes in a specific cuisine and turn your kitchen into an Italian restaurant or a Parisian café. Burma Superstar: Addictive Recipes from the Crossroads of Southeast Asia will teach you to make a tea leaf salad while Chai, Chaat and Chutney can bring you on “A Street Food Journey Through India.”

No restaurant needed when you can pick-up ingredients to cook your very own internationally inspired dishes.