If you are like me, you may have had to change travel plans due to COVID19 travel restrictions. My husband and I were meant to be in Vienna, Austria this week, then on to Italy, France, and Spain during the next few weeks. To be honest, I have been a little sad not to be on this long awaited trip.

We decided that a way to keep ourselves engaged and possibly take away some of the sting of missing this trip, that we would take virtual tours of the places we would have visited. This preview may help us enjoy the trip more, when we actually go.

There are so many resources available to the traveler to help prepare for a trip; everything from what to bring, how to pack a suitcase, currency exchange rates, places to visit, and how to get there. There are videos showing common tourist scams, and how to avoid them. These videos give the viewer a glimpse of interesting places to visit, whether traveling abroad, or closer to home. We decided to watch some of these videos.

We found that YouTube is a great place to start. If you have a YouTube account, you can save the videos you like, and watch them again later. The Family History Guide, has links to country pages, where you will find lessons and activities to do before you go on your trip, and sources to help you with your genealogy in the places you visit. On a blog at Family Search, you will find a post called; Heritage Travel, Discovering the Land of Your Ancestors, written by Jessica Grimaud. Here you will find links, and ideas for how to travel with your ancestors in mind. In another blog on Family Search you will find a post called: Virtual Tours – 19 Ways to Travel From Home, posted by Alison Ensign, here are virtual tours to places you may want to see, even if you don’t have an upcoming trip planned.

Many of us are lamenting the fact that our travel plans have been put on hold. Your “virtual travel” may help you see some of the people and places that make this world such an amazing place, (minus the jet lag) and help you prepare for when you can visit these places in person. –Elaine Hardman