Longing for the days of 5:00 am wakeup calls and rides to the airport? Missing the taste of pre-packaged, microwaved airplane food? Wanderlust with nowhere to wander? We’re a solid 7 months into this new Covid universe and if you’re anything like me you’re dying to get back out into the great big world! Lucky for us, living in the year 2020 means that we have our very own great big world readily available in the comfort of our own homes– that of streaming! Why not take this opportunity when we’re all stationary for the foreseeable future, to live vicariously through the unlimited travel budget of Netflix? These are my top 4 recommendations of the best travel movies/series on Netflix that will feed your travel bug until we can all hop on a flight safely once again (hopefully soon).
- Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again
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ABBA, 70’s inspired outfits, perfectly choreographed dance sequences, three hunky men and of course the most gorgeous islands of the Mediterranean! Yes, this movie is a bit of cheese-fest but come on, it has everything a perfect guilty pleasure movie needs (including Cher). Indulge yourself a bit and enjoy some incredible scenery from the islands of Greece and Croatia, an absolute must-visit once travel restrictions are lifted! We may not be able to stroll along the beach ourselves, but we can live through the many exploits of leading lady Donna Sheridan as she makes her way from Paris to Greece. So sit back, relax, belt out a couple of lines of Dancing Queen and let your troubles melt away.
- Down to Earth with Zac Efron
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I was skeptical about this series at first, don’t get me wrong I like High School Musical just as much as the next gal, but Zac Efron, hosting a tv show about environmental projects in communities around the globe? It seemed like a bit of an attention grab to me, but I gave it a chance and while there were a couple of eye roll inducing moments (does Zac Efron really need to use the word ‘trippy’ in every sentence??), all in all I learned a lot and added a whole second page to my bucket list based on the locations in this series. From volcanic bread making in Iceland to sustainable food production in Lima, this series literally has it all and provides us with a very important lesson in the future of ecotourism.
- Eat, Pray, Love
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Ok, I know this one is predictable. Anyone could tell you that this is the best travel movie to watch when you’re craving an adventure, but hey, it’s a classic for a reason right? Three destinations: Italy, India and Bali and one woman looking to find herself. I mean isn’t that what we’re all searching for at the end of the day; to eat our fill of pizza and pasta in Italy, reconnect with ourselves in India and fall in love with a handsome foreign stranger in Bali. Well, you can basically do all that from your living room, except maybe the last part but isn’t that what the movie’s for?
- Emily in Paris
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Everyone’s had that dream that they’re in Paris, working in some high powered office, living in an apartment that miraculously happens to be upstairs from the most attractive French man alive, oh and of course you also own the most fabulous wardrobe ever! Well this show is essentially that dream come to life plus you’re getting a full tour of all the gorgeous sites of Paris and the charms that come with this ideal Parisian life: drinking wine with every meal (even breakfast), eating delicious looking croissants, and heading off to the countryside for a weekend away at the Chateau (yeah, that actually happens)! Ok, I’ll admit, I watched this show within 24 hours and it was pretty nice to absorb the perks of Paris through my TV screen while also saving my wallet because there’s no way this would all be affordable to the average person.
Okay, okay so this may be no substitute for the real thing, but movies and TV have an effect over us. They allow us to dive into new worlds and discover new places, basically the same as travelling just no uncomfortable flight or annoying jetlag, so really it’s a win-win situation! For me, the best part of binge-watching is that it’s a distraction, an escape from the things that are going on around us and I know we can all use some of that right now. So whether you’re trying to distract yourself from the mountain of schoolwork you have to do or from every insane thing happening in the world right now, I hope you take my advice and indulge yourself in the world of travel via Netflix.