Virtual travel: the world in the palm of your hand.
We all need to escape the stress of the pandemic--and virtual travel is the best way to enjoy the world from the comfort of your own home!
Given the continuation of Covid-19, freedom, health and safety are still uncertain everywhere. Some countries are doing better than others, but in general it is a difficult time to live a "normal" life.
Some states have reopened their borders to travelers, and many have already followed the vacation fad just to get away for a while. Others, however, are eager to get back to normal when it comes to travel, social life and work, and honestly, who can blame them! At the moment, there are still ways to enjoy the world, but without the physical travel part.
We have done some research along these lines and found some excellent virtual travel opportunities to see well-known world locations, works of art, museums and music without leaving one's home. We know this has nothing to do with "the real thing," but why pass up an opportunity to travel the world, see places of interest and make plans for the future?
So here are some suggestions of opportunities to take virtual trips!
Photo Credit: BBC
Google Earth
Google Earth's "incredibly detailed world map" is a great ploy to travel the world, literally, with a few simple clicks. Details of places are extremely accurate, and there is a special section called "Excursions Around the World" that allows you to take real virtual tours through the globe's most beautiful attractions, such as Peru's Machu Picchu.
Photo Credit: BBC
Google Arts and Culture
For lovers of art and museums, nothing beats the virtual tours of Google Arts and Culture, the new section of Google that allows complete 3D tours (via Street View technology) of the world's leading museums. Currently, you can find the Berlin Museums, the Reina Sofia and the Tyssen in Madrid, the Metropolitan in New York, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Van Gogh in Amsterdam, the Versailles in Paris, the Belvedere in Vienna and the National Gallery in London, among others.
Photo Credit: BBC
Street View
With the Street View application you can access millions of panoramic images uploaded by Google and its collaborators. This is a very easy way to be transported by virtual representations of the globe and have the feeling of being catapulted into another state.
Photo Credit: BBC
360 Cities
360Cities is a very interesting site indeed for those who want to immerse themselves in small virtual trips and view 360-degree videos/images from all parts of the world. It is a very large network created by thousands of professional photographers and videomakers who have decided to employ their work to create experiences that can be enjoyed by all users. All it takes is a simple internet connection and you're done.
Photo Credit: BBC
AirPano
Developed in 2006, the AirPano project collects more than 4200 panoramas of about 400 places on earth, including also Antarctica, the North Pole, volcanic eruptions and even images of the stratosphere. It is a very user-friendly site where, each week, a different report is included.
Photo Credit: BBC
Gala360
Gala360's site provides lots of free virtual tours that can be viewed on both PCs and smartphones/tablets (with appropriate app). The virtual tours and trips also feature the VR (augmented reality) format and require VR viewers to view them.
Photo Credit: BBC
National Geographic VR
The famous "National Geographic" has also fielded an app for interactive adventures and virtual trips in VR viewable through special visors. The experiences are mainly about the world of nature and animals.
Photo Credit: BBC
Spacecraft AR
Want to go on a virtual journey around the earth to discover stars and planets? The Spacecraft AR app is the one for you. Made by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this app uses augmented reality to take anyone into space with just a cell phone! In fact, no VR visor is required for its use.
Photo Credit: BBC
You Visit
The You Visit app (also available on pc) is a binder of 360-degree virtual videos that can be viewed both with special VR viewers and without. The videos are sorted by categories, and colleges, restaurants, hotels, and events stand out among them.
Photo Credit: BBC