Terrance Talks Travel

I live for adventure travel. I love American road trips. I’m crazy about Africa. I write about adventures in America and Africa—and share lots of cheap travel tips too!

It’s NATIONAL VIRTUAL VACATION DAY!

national virtual vacation dayWhat is National Virtual Vacation Day?

The registrar of National Day Calendar has officially designated March 30 of each year as National Virtual Vacation Day. Established by Terrance Talks Travel in 2016, Virtual Vacation Day is a fun way to remind folks they don’t have to wait for “retirement” or “someday” to achieve their dream vacations.

A virtual vacation means that you don’t have to pack or take time off of work or spend any money! You don’t have to worry about getting seasick or stranded in an airport! Climb Mt. Everest, trek through the Amazonian Rainforest, come face to face with a 500-pound gorilla during a safari, take an airboat ride through the Florida Everglades, kayak Grand Teton’s Colter Bay, walk along the Champs Elysees, and much more.

Dare to travel anywhere and do anything! The sky is the limit or is it? Virtual space vacations are possible too! Your imagination is the only limit if you have the right equipment. You can “travel” the world, enjoying all kinds of virtual adventures from the comfort of your home. One of the most exciting new developments in virtual travel is the VR (virtual reality) headset, including the Samsung Gear VR Headset, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. Check out the latest VR gadgets!

Times SquareBut there are plenty of other opportunities for virtual travel that you can take advantage of right now without buying any VR equipment, ranging from virtual tours to webcams. The possibilities are endless, such as exploring New York’s Times Square or enjoying a gondola ride in Venice:

Also, check out Google Earth for new 3D guided worldwide tours and YouTube or Ascape for 360 degree travel videos and SevenWondersApp to take a virtual tour of the seven wonders of the world.

Click here to take a virtual tour of Hawaii.

Click here to go to Las Vegas!

Click here to tour the Smithsonian Museum (Washington, DC) without leaving your home!  

Click here to enjoy South Beach Miami!

Click here to visit Sydney harbor!

Save the $29 admission fee by taking a virtual Windsor Castle tour!

Click here to see Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher!

Click here to journey to the Arctic!

Click here to experience a Florida Keys Dry Tortugas adventure!

Click here to tour Venice, Italy!

Click here to take a stroll through Times Square! 

Click here to enjoy an African safari!

Click here to take a trip to the South Pole!

Click here to visit the Louvre!  

Click here to enjoy a tour of the Grand Canyon!

Click here for a free tour of the National Aquarium!

Click here to go to the Galapagos Islands!

Click here to see Machu Picchu without having to hike the Andes!

Click here to explore the British Museum!

Click here to go to Angkor Wat without leaving home!

Click here to take a Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park volcano tour!

Click here to explore the San Diego Zoo! 

Click here to go into space (Mars)!

Click here to walk through the Amazon Rainforest!

Click here to dive in the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary!

Click here to hike Bryce Canyon National Park!

Ascape VR is the leading supplier of VR travel content with thousands of 360° videos from around the world.

A cool new VR tool I like is the Timelooper app (free at Google Play & iTunes) It is a destination-based time travel app, so instead of visiting the Tower of London in 2016, Timelooper allows you to visit it in 1255. Timelooper offers many VR time travel possibilities. Thomas Cook travel company features virtual travel booths at some of their stores and Marriott currently has two virtual travel booths, Teleporters, that are on a traveling exhibit across the U.S. Why? Enjoying a virtual swim with dolphins or a virtual Alaskan cruise makes participants want to do it for real. This is another benefit of a virtual vacation. You can find out if you want to step up from a virtual vacation to the real deal.

Click here to see photos of the most remote, least visited (but truly beautiful) places on earth!

If you’re planning “real travel”, here are some great resources:

Travel Resources & Recommendations

Aviasales is one of the best metasearch platforms (travel search engine), curating the lowest fares from a huge database of 728 airlines and leading online agencies. I prefer Expedia and Booking.com but this site is especially useful for cheap airfares to Asia and Eastern Europe.

Booking.com is a great site for finding the lowest fares on flights, hotels & resorts, villas, apartments, car rentals, airport taxis, and attractions. I love that it shares unique accommodations (like treehouses and trains), as well as suggesting activities (based on your interests) during your stay.

Expedia is one of the biggest and best online travel agencies for booking flights, accommodations, travel packages, rental cars, activities, and cruises. It was launched by Microsoft in 1996 and offers a “Best Price Guarantee” and a free members rewards program.

Get Your Guide is my runner up to Viator. They offer unique tours, adventures, daytrips, classes and activities, ranging from a “New Orleans Ghosts, Vampires & Voodoo French Quarter Tour” to a “New Orleans Jazz Cruise”.

Hostelworld is one of my favorite resources with 36,000 properties in 178 countries. They have 24/7 customer service and offer 13 million verified reviews. In addition to offering some of the best budget lodging, they also offer “Roamies”, which are budget-friendly small group adventures (hosted by trusted G Adventures) using only local guides. Roamies travels to lesser known places, taking care of all the logistics and arrangements (which can be tough in remote destinations) but still allows flexibility for plenty of independent exploration.

Hotellook is another handy resource for finding lodging. Using 80 reputable booking systems, Hotellook searches 760,000 hotels in 205 countries to find you the best deal. Users can choose their favorite booking site and book directly with them. The site offers reviews, ratings/badges, interactive maps (so you know right where your hotel is located within a city), photos, street views of the property, detailed descriptions, and more.

Insubuy is a well-established, reputable company that provides travel insurance in the U.S. and abroad, including trip cancellation insurance, visa insurance, and medical insurance (including COVID). In this day and age, I recommend travel insurance for most trips and it is best to buy it from a third party rather than from the tour operator or trip company.

Trivago is a cost comparison site, similar to Kayak. It searches more than 200 booking sites to find the best deals on hotels, resorts, inns, and luxury apartments around the world.

Tripadvisor offers reviews given by real travelers who rate their experiences at restaurants, hotels, attractions, activities, and so forth. Tripadvisor has recently added the option of booking directly on their site. This is a really handy and totally free resource (unless you upgrade to Tripadvisor Plus) when planning your trip because you have the benefit of thousands of travelers who have provided honest reviews about their experiences.

Viator is THE resource for finding and booking day trips, tours, activities, attractions, shows, and airport transfers. This is the place to start putting together your trip once you determine your destination(s) and dates. They offer 300,000+ experiences worldwide, including half day activities and multi-day adventures for all ages and interests.

Amazon is my go-to for everything from backpacks to weatherproof travel clothes, including good walking socks, luggage, travel pillows, first aid kits, safari vests, and more.

*Not only do I use these companies for travel, I am also an affiliate.
WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING ABOUT VIRTUAL VACATION DAY:

Click here to listen to what New York’s CNY says about Virtual Vacation Day!

Click here to read what Womans World wrote about Virtual Vacation Day!

Click here to ready what Tech Times has to say about VVD!

Click here to listen to what CBS Philadelphia News says about Virtual Vacation Day!

Click here to watch Eyewitness News WTVO WQRF virtually explore Disneyland Paris on VVD!

Click here to join Siouxland News discussion of Virtual Vacation Day!

Click here to listen to what KALW San Francisco reports about Virtual Vacation Day!

Click here to check out VVD coverage on WITL Lansing!

Click here to read why NewsBytes says VVD is “a trip like no other!”

Click here to hear what WWBT NBC has to say about Virtual Vacation Day!

Click here to learn how VVD began and how to celebrate it!

Click here to read comments that have been posted during VIRTUAL VACATION DAY!

MORE TRAVEL RESOURCES

Learn how to achieve REAL TRAVEL at CRAZY CHEAP (and sometimes FREE) COSTS!

Click here to sign up for FREE weekly travel tips and more!

For those planning on going on a ‘real’ vacation this year, I have included some helpful resources (see below). Plus, there are hundreds more on www.terrancetalkstravel.com, including dozens of DOWNLOADABLE TRAVEL REPORTS:

What Do You think is

Click here if you want to discover the longest flights & cruises in the world!

quiz

TAKE THIS FUN QUIZ TO FIND OUT WHAT KIND OF TRAVELER YOU ARE!

Vacations are good for you, but apparently the U.S. government did not get the memo. The United States is the only developed country in the world without a single legally required paid vacation day. The average number of vacation days given by employers who do give them is ten, which is is much lower than Europe. Some European countries are required to give up to thirty vacation days annually. Austria has a legal minimum of twenty-two vacation days and thirteen holidays.

Studies show that travel can…

  1. Improve your problem-solving skills.
  2. Lower your risk of heart disease.
  3. Help those suffering from depression.
  4. Promote overall brain health and improve relationships.
  5. Money spent on travel makes you happier than money spent on material goods.

THE FUTURE OF VIRTUAL TRAVEL

Fully immersive virtual travel is here, thank to emerging techologies like AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), and edge computing. And the next big thing in this arena may be “the metaverse,” where the digital and physical realms merge. In the metaverse, AR and VR can enable people to explore and interact with places they’ve always dreamed of visiting.

With the expansion of 5G technology, multisensory experiences are a real possibility in the not-so-distant future. Imagine, you could not only see but smell fresh baked New Orleans beignets  or even taste a Pilsner at Oktoberfest without leaving your home! With big companies like Meta, Disney, Amazon, Microsoft, Equinox, and Delta Reality all fully invested in making the most of this technology, it’s sure to happen.

What the future holds is largely unknown. However, I believe I can predict two things with certainty.

  • Virtual vacations are here to stay and morph into bigger and better experiences.
  • Virtual vacations will not replace real vacations. They will be fun to play around with and they will be a great tool for trip planning. But nothing can replace the feeling of the real thing. In the end, virtual vacations will bring us closer to our dreams…and that’s a good thing.

Comments

  2. Maggie says

    I’m a new subscriber! Found you through Deb Thompson.

    My dream vacation is a Mediterranean cruise for at least 10 days!! Swoon! ??

    Reply

    • Terrance says

      That is a great vacation. Who doesn’t love the Mediterranean??? Thanks for sharing and I hope you enjoy my travel tips blog. I share TRIP PICKS and cheap travel tips & resources, including the Mediterranean (I will try to post some info for you) so be one the lookout!

      Reply

  3. Rachel says

    Once my son graduates we want to go to England, and other film locations for the Harry Potter series. I’d love to see if there’s a virtual edition of that♡

    Reply

    • Terrance says

      It’s Harry Potter. What haven’t they done to capitalize on the franchise? I’m sure there’s some kind of game or VR stuff for filming locations.

      Reply

  4. Judy P. says

    My virtual vacation will be to Paris! We get to travel quite a bit locally, in Texas, and I have a couple of other fun trips planned for this year — New York and New Orleans. But Paris is years away, I’m afraid, on the reality scale. So I will find a way to virtually visit Paris, and celebrate National Virtual Vacation Day this Friday. Thank you for what you have done to make it a “Day.”
    Judy Peacock
    facebook.com/PeacockCountryTravel

    Reply

    • Terrance says

      It is almost overwhelming when there are no limits, right? But what I like is that if there is someplace you have been dreaming of going (or some adventure you’ve been wanting to do), you can experiment with a virtual vacation to find out if that is something you really want to do. Sometimes things sounds good while you’re sitting in the comfort of your living room, but real mountain climbing or jungle trekking is a whole other thing! And VR has gotten so fantastic that it really does give you an excellent simulation.

      Reply

  6. Connie L. says

    I need some beach time so I think I’ll try the virtual Hawaii tour then I I might just try some virtual mountain climbing since physically I can’t do that! LOL I’ve downloaded the Timelooper App so I might check out The Holy Lands this Easter weekend.

    Reply

    • Terrance says

      You can’t go wrong with anything to do with Hawaii. I used to live on Oahu and have visited most of the other Hawaiian islands. The HolyLand Timelooper experience sounds intriguing. And definitely virtual mountain climbing is the way to go! No training, no conditioning, no special gear…just the thrills! Thanks for sharing your virtual plans.

      Reply

  7. Janelle H. says

    My virtual vacation on Friday will take me to a lot of places
    1st. I am planning an African Safari on Africam.com and / or Live Safari (Nat Geo)
    2nd I will migrate to the Caribbean and spend some time on the beaches of Barbados https://worldcam.eu/webcams/south-america/barbados/16165
    3rd I will travel the isle of Scotland by reading Dragon Fly in Amber (set in Scotland)
    4th I will continue my virtual vacation visiting my favorite places with my VR glasses – Colorado, California, Hawaii, Katmai Alaska, and Kure Beach North Carolina.
    5th I will have a scrumptious meal (delivered) from a local restaurant that has foods from all over the world.
    I will finish my virtual vacation with soothing sounds of Jazz and various music from New Orleans, Nashville, and other clubs all over the world.

    Reply

    • Terrance says

      I love this virtual vacation! You are going all over the world and enjoying so many incredible experiences! I like the way you think! You have definitely earned a bonus entry in this year’s VIRTUAL VACATION DAY CONTEST.

      Reply

  8. Judy G. says

    I have become friends with a basketball player at. UNC Greensboro who is from Malaga, Spain. He speaks so fondly of his home town each time I see him and has shared videos of the city. Malaga looks so beautiful that I want to go there. It’s a destination I never considered prior to meeting my new friend.

    Reply

    • Terrance says

      I haven’t been to Malaga (one of the world’s oldest cities) but I hear it’s comparable to Costa del Sol, which I have been to and loved it! Hope you get a chance to find out. The trick will be finding cheap airfare.

      Reply

    • Terrance says

      An Alaskan cruise is a great vacation. But my advice is if you do get to Alaska, be sure to do a CruiseTour so that you can see the interior (such as Denali) too, especially if you’re into wildlife, such as Alaskan Black Bears, Grizzlies, Wolverines, and Caribou.

      Reply

  11. Terrance says

    Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino is the closest we’ve gotten so far. 🙂 Going to Paris, France, and seeing the real Eiffel Tower someday is on our bucket list. However, thanks to Terrance Zepke, I was able to take a cool virtual tour of Paris, France. Friday (March 30th) was National Virtual Vacation Day, and she had a contest that I entered. She has some cool travel tips and resources. Judy Peacock (Peacock County Travel)

    Reply

  12. Jamie Arca says

    I am so glad I found out about this day. I think I will take a virtual vacation to somewhere in Ireland!

    Reply

  13. Terrance says

    To mark National Virtual Vacation Day on March 30, Minuteman Missile National recently announced a series of new virtual reality tours of the preserved Delta Flight sites. Now you can explore the front line of the Cold War. Explore the topside rooms of the launch control center and descend to the underground control center where missileers once kept a constant vigil. The virtual tour of Delta-09 allows a unique opportunity to view the interior of the silo, normally off limits to visitors. Guided, audio-described tours are under development.

    “We are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to the great resources and stories of Minuteman Missile National Historic Site,” Eric Leonard, superintendent, said. “Now people from all over the world can experience this unique place and view these sites they might not otherwise get a chance to experience.”

    Utilizing 360-degree photography and laser scanning technology designed for the real estate industry, the virtual tours are mobile friendly, compatible with virtual reality goggles, and combine a “Google street view” experience of building interiors with a three-dimensional “dollhouse” view for quick navigation. Virtual tours are now available for the park visitor center, the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility and the interior of the Delta-09 missile silo. All of the park’s new virtual tours can be found at https://go.nps.gov/missilevirtualtours.

    Reply

  14. Belinda Duke says

    Our vacation was canceled because of this pandemic. My grandchildren are upset, of course. What VR tours can I take a 4yr old boy and a 7yr old girl on?

    Reply

    • Terrance says

      I have a long list of great possibilities for all ages and types of travelers on my Terrance Talks Travel VIRTUAL VACATION DAY page, including virtual museum tours, virtual national park tours, adventure tours, city tours, and more! Just scroll down and click on any link you like and it will take you to the desired page.

      Reply

    • Terrance says

      One of my favorite trips was a month-long Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand adventure. So much great stuff to see and do! But the two, long international flights and thirteen domestic flights I could have done without. A virtual vacation would have been so much more convenient and affordable!

      Reply

    • Terrance says

      A virtual Antarctica adventure is a great idea! It is cold but not as cold as you think since you can only experience Antarctica during their summer (Dec-Feb) but I could have done without the horrible crossing of the Drake Passage and the brutal seas around Cape Horn. We’re talking strong winds, super large waves, strong currents, and icebergs! It was a truly incredible experience once we got to the Antarctic Peninsula but the journey was tough!

      Reply

  17. mayfieldchamber says

    You ought to take part in a contest for one of the finest websites on the net.
    I am going to highly recommend this website!

    Reply

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About the Author

Terrance Zepke studied Journalism at the University of Tennessee and later received a Master's Degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina. She has studied Parapsychology at the renowned Rhine Research Center. She began her career as a freelance writer and photographer, ... [ Read more ]