From Planet-Hopping with NASA to Traipsing down Diagon Alley in Harry Potter's Wizarding World

With travel shut down for the foreseeable future, most of us only get to travel from our couch to our fridges. With all this boredom, it isn’t surprising that a lot of people are turning to the virtual sphere for their dose of wanderlust. While not being able to go out can be hard, a lot of places that would usually not be available to everyone are now literally at your fingertips.

However, this creates a new problem. If you could do any activity or travel anywhere, where should you go? It’s normal to feel overwhelmed here, with the possibility of all the things you could tick off your bucket list. You don’t want to waste time or spend money on a boring activity, and sometimes the virtual online tours about museums and tourist attractions just don’t cut it. Fret not! We have scoured the internet to curate a list of the most interesting and unique tours from around the world.

From discovering a plague doctor’s everyday life to grabbing a drink with a bunch of drag queens, here is a curated list of 9 things you can do while waiting for your chance to travel again!

1) Jack The Ripper Online Murder Mystery Tour

Credit: See Your City - Jack The Ripper Virtual Tour

We have all gone through that phase where we binge-watched shows on serial killers. Out of all those names, Jack The Ripper remains one of the biggest cases that is still unsolved. So whether you are still in that phase or just fancy yourself as the next Sherlock Holmes, this murder mystery tour promises to be one of the most interesting tours out there.

This adventure takes you down a live tour of London’s damp and cold East End. Walk through sprawling alleys and streets with a live professional guide as you help the detective solve the case of this nefarious serial killer. This interactive tour pairs suspect cards and quizzes to unravel the story. Other than just being a murder mystery, your guide will also teach you about the people who walked the same streets as Jack The Ripper.

This insight into their culture and day-to-day lives adds a fresh depth into an already interesting tour. All you need to be able to enjoy this experience is a stable internet connection and a zoom account, and you can have this experience for simply $7 per adult.

2) Cats of Athens Self-Guided Virtual Experience

Credit: Stavrialena Gontzou

You’re probably tired of nothing but tours of tourist locations whenever you search up online tours. However, this virtual experience by Clio Muse Tours is a little more special because of its focus on Athens’s cats! That’s right, feline lovers this entire tour is about the city of Plaka, a city that belongs to the cats. Plaka is a historical centre that is full of architecture. In this tour, not only do you get to immerse yourself in the surroundings, but you get to do it through the eyes of the city’s cats.

Using the power of storytelling and satellite views, learn unknown stories and tales of the beloved cats that occupy this city and the pivotal roles they play in the lives of the families that live there. The tour includes in-depth research that is conveyed through interesting stories that will intrigue, engage and amaze you.

All you need to take part in this tour is an email account where you will receive a link and instructions for your self-guided tour. For $14.16, you too can travel back in time from the comfort of your home.

3) Planet-Hopping with Nasa Through Space

Credit: Exoplanet Travel Bureau

You might be tired of staying on earth at this point, and we don’t blame you. So now you can explore the depths of space from the comfort of your bed. You don’t have to be an astronaut to experience what space looks like.

NASA’s selection of augmented reality and video tours have astronaut guided videos that let you get a glimpse into some of the operations that NASA has done. You can even pay a visit to the Exoplanet Travel Bureau that enables you to explore digital renderings of the surfaces of planets and moons throughout the universe. Choose between destinations such as the planet on fire “Lava Life”, the planet where your shadow always has company “Kepler 16B”, or get the chance to experience the gravity of a super-earth on “A Super-Earth”. If you want to bring a part of space memorabilia home, feel free to download cool posters of all the amazing places that you’ve been to as well.

Alternatively, really big NASA buffs can head over to the Hubble Space Telescope, the mission operation centre for NASA, where you can explore the nooks and crannies of the operation centre. Don’t worry, you won’t mess anything up by accidentally pushing a button!

4) The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Diagon Alley

Credit: Rithika Gopalakrishnan

Whether you are an emerging Harry Potter fan or a diehard Potterhead, you wish you could go to the Diagon Alley. Well, now Universal Orlando Resort has put up a virtual tour of Diagon Alley for all you lore buffs. This gorgeously rendered video of Diagon Alley lets you look around as you walk down King’s Cross Station and other places that make an appearance in the best-seller. If you want to take a break, you can even hop over to Universal’s youtube channel and look at the 360-degree videos of some of the most popular rides in the theme park. The best part? It’s not limited to just Orlando, but every theme park under Universal.

Virtually hop on the Krakatau Aqua Coaster at Universal’s Volcano Bay or the very well-known Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit rollercoaster at Universal Studios Florida. Hold on to your virtual hats!

5) Following a Plague Doctor through Prague

Credit: Kuma Kum

This next experience is a bit on the nose with the ongoing pandemic, but with the rise of the Plague Doctor in pop culture, we thought it would be an interesting addition to an already wacky list. This hour-long tour houses up to 15 people but can even accommodate private groups of up to 100 individuals.

Step back in time and experience the virtually empty streets of Prague during the Black Death and other plagues in the 17th and 18th centuries. Immerse yourself in the forgotten stories of the plagues through the eyes of Dr Alexander Schamsky, an unknown Czech hero who fought the plague in 1713. In this tour, you will not just discover the history of the plague, but also travel throughout the city.

The best part about this tour is that one booking counts towards one household, so you don’t have to create multiple bookings if your party is in the same room and using the same device! The entire experience costs $25 per person and is great for team-building exercises.

6) Sangria and Secrets with Drag Queens

Credit: Drag Taste - Sangria and Secrets with Drag Queens

Over the last few years, the glitz and glamour of the drag world have enchanted the mainstream audience. Now, drag queens are being recognised and celebrated more than ever with shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race bringing in huge amounts of viewers. In this interactive experience, join DragTaste and its Drag Queens as they bring you extra happiness and your dose of Sangria.

This interactive experience promises to be more than your average live cocktail class as the Drag Queens teach you how to make fresh and authentic Portuguese Sangria all from scratch. Then sit back and sip your Sangria as the queens put up unique live performances on stage and wow you. Afterwards, chat with the queens on drag culture and ask them questions about their life in Lisbon where they stay.

For $47 per person, all you need is internet access and a zoom account to get involved. You can even have a party with up to 100 guests.

7) A Delightful and Meaningful Coffee Masterclass

Credit: Coffee Masterclass

Are you cautious about your caffeine? Are you tired of the overly sweetened and watered down coffee you find at stores? Or are you just looking to get into the wondrous world of coffee?

Well, then this masterclass is for you!

This masterclass aims to inspire people to have a deeper and more meaningful understanding of their food preferences and habits, with coffee as a medium to bring about this change. With that, this masterclass teaches you about what goes on behind a good cup of coffee. Learn about different processes and brews that create the life-saving liquid that helps you wake up for your work from home meetings.

This class is an hour long and only costs $10. It can include up to 10 people and requires an active internet connection.

8) Miming with a Parisian Master

Credit: SARAJ PIXNAPPER

Love them, hate them or perhaps even find them creepy, we have all wondered what it would be like to be a mime. Being a mime may look easy, but it takes a lot of practice to make this art form look effortless. In this class, you will learn the classic forms of miming starting with mastering the quintessential mime walk.

Afterwards, you will learn about interpreting pantomimes which have been played by tutelary figures such as Jean-Louis Barrault or Marcel Marceau. At the end, sit down with the teacher and artist to ask questions and learn about the historical and contemporary context behind mining.

All you need to do for this class is come in simple but form-fitting clothes and have a zoom account. For $27 per person, come and learn about the rich art of miming.

9) Personalized Facial Yoga and Meditation

 
Credit: Airbnb - Personalised Facial Yoga and Meditation

Yoga has been up and coming in mainstream culture for years now. More than ever, people have been engaging in the healing properties of yoga. Even now, people keep innovating new ways to try out yoga. In this class, Valentina, a qualified Pilates, Yoga and Dancer Instructor and health coach with 15 years of experience, will teach you about face-yoga, which comprises of mixing facial exercises and yoga-like body postures.

The most interesting part of this class is that it is completely personalised and adapted to your needs. Valentina will teach you facial acupressure to activate the circulation around your face, which will help your muscles relax and tone. Most importantly, you are sure to leave with a smile!

The session starts and ends with a full-body yoga routine to get your blood pumping and ends with a meditation exercise that is sure to calm you down. This session is sure to calm, nourish you leading to a more peaceful and joyous mind.

All you need for this is a zoom account, an internet connection and clothes that you can stretch comfortably in. This class can hold up to 29 guests and costs $42 per person.

- - -

Finding entertainment in the age of Covid-19 can be hard, but with the internet, many experiences that were not available before are right at your fingertips now (if you can find them)! So remember to keep an open mind as you traverse the internet and make new memories (and friends) that will last a lifetime!