40 Clever Topics for Your Travel Blog / Instagram When You Aren't Traveling [Due to Coronavirus or Otherwise]

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

You don’t have to travel all the time to write a travel blog. (Or travel Instagram / Travel YouTube, Travel TikTok, etc.)

Don’t get me wrong, you should be traveling when you can, and certainly offer an interesting perspective and useful content. But there’s a lot of people with full time jobs in offices (with 2 weeks vacation), who are also moonlighting as travel bloggers. (Seriously!)I’ve had to constantly remind myself of this over the last several weeks as coronavirus rages across the world and my travel plans come to a screeching halt. It’s scary to think about all the progress I’ve made suddenly stalling.

But then I remember that there are lots of people who haven’t been as fortunate as me to work remotely. People who still find a way to talk about travel, from their kitchen table in their pajamas.

And if they can come up with interesting, helpful content to share, I can (and YOU can) too.

From cancelled flights to mandatory lockdowns, there has never been anything quite like this global pandemic and we are all trying to figure out how to creatively & courageously steer forward.

But the good news is - audiences are still looking for travel contentand when polled, 63% of people said they look forward to being able to travel again soon.

In a way, for me this exercise of coming up with creative ways to still post travel content has been helpful. I work remotely but don’t travel full time, so understanding what to post during my travel hiatus periods will surely come in handy even as things go back to normal.

Whether you’re a digital nomad grounded due to the pandemic or a travel blogger with 2 weeks vacation time, this list should give you ample ideas on things to post when you can’t travel (for whatever reason!).

NOTE:While I’m referencing “blog” in these ideas, they are also suitable & can be adapted for travel Instagram accounts, travel YouTube channels, travel TikToks, etc.

And if you have any other brilliant ideas not covered in this list, I’d love to hear them. Share them in the comments below!

Talk about coronavirus – Don’t be afraid to talk about the pandemic and how it’s affected you, and the travel community at large. Readers appreciate authenticity and want to know how you’re doing throughout all of this, as you #stayhome. While you don’t need to talk about coronavirus in every post, it wouldn’t feel genuine to ignore it entirely.
Share travel planning tips around the concept of #TravelSomeday– as I mentioned, travelers are eager to explore the world once this pandemic is thru, so don’t be afraid to keep sharing travel itineraries, guides, and tips for destinations close to your heart. Followers can digest it as inspiration for the future.
Take a trip down memory lane with a travel story from the past– think about your past experiences, is there a funny, scary or enlightening story you’ve had while traveling that your followers may find interesting? Remember that people are stuck at home right now (due to the pandemic) and as a result engagement is 30% higher than normal. How can you bring a smile to their face? How can you engross them for a few minutes? Escapism is a generally a popular concept during hard times like these, so take a trip down memory lane and allow your blog to entertain.
Share your travel timeline and/or travel firsts– Give your followers a glimpse into how you got your start traveling. This could be useful or helpful to someone who is just getting started in their travel adventure!
Curate travel deals for the future– As I mentioned before, people are eager to travel after this is all said & done. So helping them find affordable fares and deals is a very strong idea for your blog. I recommend sticking to deals after July 1 to be safe.
List your travel book or travel movie recommendations– Help your followers satiate their wanderlust with books and movies that will transport them to far away places. There are ample great works out there to populate several lists! Don’t forget to ask them for their favorites as well.
Collect & share your favorite travel quotes– Quotes can really inspire the mind and are a great way to keep the travel dream alive while you are at home. It’s also a very simple blog topic and only requires a bit of research and curation.
Give your readers staycation tips– This one is very authentic for the times and is surely something everyone is going to be looking for! What are things we can do when we can’t travel? Think about how you can you help people live a little better during this hard time through your suggestions.
Offer a fun road trip itinerary / tips– Exploration options right now are severely limited, but camping and road trips are something that is still within reach. Perhaps you make some suggestions for how to have a safe road trip or find a camp ground that is currently open and offer tips on things to do there
Share a detailed guide to your own city– Becoming an expert on your own city was a great topic even before coronavirus (and will continue after as well). Find newsletters or blogs that focus on your city and work on curating the best of the best. Think of niche categories that haven’t been written about too…for example maybe you know where to find the best chocolate chip cookies in Los Angeles!
Give travel health tips– While important today more than ever, good travel hygiene never goes out of style. Think of things travelers can do to protect themselves, their families and others.
Read travel publications and highlight an interesting thought/points– Piggy-backing off of other travel blogs is a great way to produce new content for your blog. Never copy or write the exact same thing, but share the original article and give your opinion and any additional insight. Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t – explain why. And make sure to ask your followers their feelings as well!
Play a game with your followers – Ask a thought-provoking question or maybe something that is just plain FUN….and then watch how the comments come alive!
Do a check in with your followers– Given the current situation with coronavirus, it’s a great idea to ask readers how they are doing & discover what the climate is like in their respective cities around the world. But outside of the pandemic, you can also do check ins to see what type of content they are liking, what trends in travel speak to them, etc.
Collab with a creator in another country– Maybe you can write a piece together with two different perspectives (foreigner vs local hotspots; family vs couples travel; etc). Or for other mediums you could interview one another on video, record an audio podcast, go live together on Instagram, etc.
Educate viewers on travel hacking & ways to build up points and miles– A great use of downtime would be to start building up points to use for travel at a later date….so why not share tips and tricks with your readers to boost their accounts and make world travel possible! This could be everything from your favorite travel credit cards, to website to look for deals on, how to find the best award availability, etc.
Produce a travel photo diary to showcase trips past– We all know how many excess photos we have when we come home from a trip, so why not package some of your older photos together into a photo book to share with your followers. This can be a great way to showcase a destination that you’ve already covered with written posts.
Share funny memes about travel– There are always funny memes popping up, so why not curate some of your favorite and share as a way to make people smile!
Do featurettes on other travelers– This is a great way to stretch your content further with minimal effort on your part. All you need to do is tailor some interview questions for the individual you are featuring and have them provide answers and talking points. You can do this in written form or video!
On a similar note, reach out to fellow travelers to do guest posts– Again, it’s an easy way to get content for your blog that doesn’t require a lot of effort. You can give as much or as little direction on the theme/topic as you like!
Give flight / flying tips – There are a lot of things that feel second nature to myself, as a frequent flyer, that I forget not everyone knows! Search thru travel Facebook groups and other forums to see what people are asking for advice on….these are often great topics to tackle. For flight tips, you might do tips on how to survive a long haul flight, how to sleep on a flight, how to get the best seat on a flight, etc.
Share packing tips– Similarly to above, what are some tips you employ when packing for a trip? You can center this around different themes, such as packing for a musical festival or packing for an African safari or you can keep it more general such as how to pack light, etc.
Suggest useful travel hacks– As a travel expert, what are some of your top tips and tricks for a successful trip? You can even gear this around specific themes to stretch the content further, such as travel hacks to safe money, travel hacks to stay connected on the go, travel hacks to stay safe, travel hacks for comfort, travel hacks for your phone, etc
List your favorite travel apps– Another easy one is to share the best apps you have found for travel. From pocket translators and maps to ways to organize bookings, there is a plethora of resources out there to help, but it can be difficult to sort thru the excess on one’s own….that’s where you come in!
Share your favorite travel beauty products and tips– From keratin treatments to masking in flight, share your go-to tips for how to look your best when on the go. There are a number of angles you can take on this, from my favorite travel beauty products, to travel beauty routine, treatments to get before you travel, etc.
Encourage solo travel– This is another area that I’m always surprised by how frequently it is requested. I’ve been traveling for so long by myself that I forget how daunting it can be the first time. You can share the benefits of solo travel, how to be prepared for your first solo trip, how to make friends when you’re traveling solo, etc.
Offer advice for traveling with family/kids/spouse/partner/friend/etc– Whoever you have experience traveling with, think of the things that made it work and how you can package that information to share with your followers. Or maybe you have a horror story and in retrospect have suggestions on how to do it better – be the cautionary tale that your followers can learn from!
Suggestions on how to overcome homesickness– Think about things that might have overwhelmed you the first time you travelled and what you did to combat them, such as being away from home and homesick!
Write about “what’s in my travel bag”– Followers love to get an inside look at what YOU really carry with you when you travel. What’s important to you, what do you dedicate precious space too, what are products they need for their trip too!
List travel blogs you should be reading– Another great way idea is to curate a list of your favorite blogs to read and share them with your followers. If you find them useful, surely they will too. You can do them around themes to stretch content further as well, such as best travel photography blogs or best digital nomad blogs, etc.
Talk about your travel firsts– Maybe you share the story of your first time abroad or your first time in x country…detailing what the experience meant to you and what you took away.
Share your own personal travel bucketlist– People love reading about other people’s bucket lists. Why? Because it gives them ideas for their own! So if you don’t have a bucket list yet, make sure to make one – and then post it.
Offer travel budgeting tips– Another great topic that is ALWAYS being asked about in travel forums is how to budget for travel. So maybe you write an article on how to save for your next trip, cheap travel destinations, etc.
Give tips on how to travel more sustainably – This is a very hot topic right now, as more and more people strive to live more eco-friendly overall.
Share ways to workout while on the road – Staying fit is important to most people and so offering suggestions for ways they can workout, while traveling and options are limited, can be immensely helpful!
Produce a travel gift guide – These are especially popular around the holidays but can be useful year round as people look to give thoughtful gifts to those they care about in their life.
Talk about the best gadgets for travel – Thru this post you can detail some of the most useful gadgets and gear you’ve taken along on your journeys….detailing why it’s been important to your own travels!
Share travel safety tips – Everyone wants to feel safe when they’re on the road, so share some guidelines for how to travel securely. You could do this around online safety, solo female safety, etc.
Give tips on where to eat in x destination – You can do this around all food or you can go specific and talk about where to find vegan, vegetarian, keto, etc.
List out the top foods you need to try when in x –Pretty self explanatory, but do a roundup of some of your favorite foods in a destination that are must-tries for the trip!

What do YOU write about when you aren’t traveling? Anything else I should add to the list? Let me know in the comments below. But FIRST make sure to share this pin!!

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