The UK is back in lockdown and travel is paused once more for the foreseeable future. Even though you’re stuck indoors, it doesn’t mean you can’t have your imagination whisked away to somewhere altogether more exotic. There’s a wealth of media and entertainment to help you forget about the coronavirus pandemic, even just for a second, and catapult you somewhere sunnier. We call this armchair travel. To help cast your mind to somewhere far-flung during this unsettling period, here are some of our favourite Instagram accounts to follow…
For… travel wisdom
The Instagram page of renowned travel journalist and hotel expert Juliet Kinsman (@julietkinsman) is bursting with travel tips and motivational quotes – exactly the kind of positive messages we need at this moment of time. With such extensive experience in the travel industry (over 20 years, in fact), she manages to find travel inspiration and knowledge in all kinds of places, whether it’s eating vegan food at Soneva Jani in the Maldives or discovering Ancient Greece through the video game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.
For… jaw-dropping images
Okay, so eye-catching pictures of incredible places around the world aren’t in short supply on Instagram. But one of our favourites is Holly Rubenstein (@hollyrubenstein), a travel writer whose gorgeous snaps take you from the sugar-white beaches of the Maldives to the epic coastal roads of Big Sur in California and everything in-between. She also hosts the UK’s number one travel podcast, The Travel Diaries with Holly Rubenstein, where she interviews a number of top celebrities and personalities about their lives in travel.
For… future holiday inspiration
We couldn’t have an Instagram round-up and not include ourselves, could we?! If you fancy imagining yourself swinging in an overwater hammock in the Maldives, on the lookout for lions in the Serengeti or sailing around the limestone karsts of Halong Bay, we’ve got you covered (@turquoiseholidays). Not only are there lose-yourself-in-the-moment images by the bucketload, but we host live videos with travel experts and our own Turquoise team, covering your burning questions and where’s hot right now to help you plan your next adventure.
For… keeping active
With so much time spent indoors at the moment, we need to make sure we use our daily exercise wisely (and safely). Feature writer and journalist Bryony Gordon (@bryonygordon) stresses the importance of our daily dose of fresh air, both on our physical and mental well-being. She also serves up a tongue-in-cheek outlook on this strange world we’re currently living in, highlighting how we should cherish those tiny golden moments in life more than ever.
For… pure wanderlust
We adore SUITCASE magazine for its quarterly collection of dreamy travel articles and images. Its Instagram page (@suitcase) is more of the same, where killer images are captioned with beautiful descriptions that just make you make to go there, no matter where it is. Their shots don’t just capture stunning landscapes, they also paint portraits of local life and introduce you to the wildlife you might get to see.
