11 Best Shows to Stream When You Can’t Travel
In today’s world of streaming apps, we can easily access all types of travel shows. Travel shows help us research future trips around the globe and keep us from going crazy as we wait on that much-needed break from reality.
Here are some of the best shows to stream when you aren’t traveling.
1. Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
This award-winning travel and food show will make you fall in love with the warm embrace of Italy and book the next flight out as soon as possible. Each episode focuses on a particular country region for this culinary journey.
Take in the sites from Sardinia and Umbria to Tuscany and Naples. You will learn much more about the local culture and engage the locals, seeing gorgeous panoramic views and vibrant neighborhoods.
And, of course, the food! Seeing all the different regional cuisines and delicacies makes your mouth water and shows appreciation for the time and effort put into every meal. It, unfortunately, ended after two seasons, but that is enough to inspire a vacation to Italy.
2. Master of None
Focusing on season 2’s first and second episodes, we see comedian Aziz Ansari’s character has us in Italy, where he has decided to become an aspiring pasta maker. The city of Modena, just north of Florence, is where he chooses to pursue his passion.
As you watch, you can see how enjoyable it is just after one episode.
The next episode highlights part of the Tuscany countryside with rolling hills and lush greenery, with an integral scene filmed in Pienza. What brings it together is the Vespa riding, a highly recommended activity that is easy to accomplish even with little to no experience.
3. Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father
Everyone loves an excellent parent-child travel adventure. This documentary may be scripted, but the British humor and comedy situations that Jack Whitehall and his father find themselves in while taking multiple trips across the world is still entertaining.
Each season the show takes place in a different part of the world. You will learn about Southeast Asia, Eastern and Central Europe, America, and Australia. You can also do some of the activities they do on the show and plan your own trips around it.
4. Family Style
Combining Asian food with foodie influencers, chefs, and celebrity guests, Family Style delves into the differences and similarities of what makes these different cuisines so great. Through the storytelling of family history and recipes, you get insight into each culture and how food plays a crucial role in the community, hence Family Style.
Filming locations primarily cater around Los Angeles and California, so you will find plenty of quality restaurants to feed your foodie needs. But they do mix in some time in the Philippines, Vietnam, and China, so you can see some of the highlights in these countries.
You’ll learn about annual food events from East to West, like the Los Angeles 626 Night Market. These episodes are short, barely 15-20 minutes, so you can finish both seasons on a cozy weekend afternoon.
5. Secrets of Great British Castles
The United Kingdom is famously known for its castles scattered throughout the country. This history documentary series helps you learn more about each location.
Learn more about internationally recognized castles, such as the Tower of London and Edinburgh castle, to some of the lesser known, such as Warwick and Arundel castles. From its construction to its involved history in British royalty, government politics, religion, and day-to-day life.
All these castles are available for you to take a guided tour or explore independently. It may be more educational than some other shows, but it is worth watching for beginner history fans or those interested in the United Kingdom.
6. Men in Kilts
This show may have capitalized on the popularity of the TV series Outlander, but that does not mean it is not worth a watch, especially with a nice glass of whisky. The duo of Sam and Graham has a great dynamic throughout the show.
Scotland is a beautiful country to visit, and this documentary helps highlight the vibrant Scottish culture and gorgeous countryside landscapes. There is a particular focus on each episode of what makes Scotland worth visiting. Some favorites are learning about traditional sports and the clan culture with tartans.
7. Lilyhammer
Set in the beautiful town of Lillehammer, Norway, what is excellent about this Netflix series is the noticeable cultural differences between a former American mobster starting fresh under a new Norwegian identity and the local Lillehammer residents he interacts with and befriends. You can see it in the subtle humor Norway is commonly not known for and how it portrays ordinary everyday citizens in this town.
It’s one of those little towns in Norway without the hustle and bustle of busy city life where things slow down to a crawl. With the dialogue containing both English and Norwegian, this may be a fun way to pick up some of the languages for your visit. Most of the filming was on location, so you can visit some of the same streets and areas that make up the series.
8. Long Way Trilogy
We dreamed of hitting the open road on motorcycles with the wind blowing through our hair at some point in our lives. The kind of long-distance road trips that take you through the heart of the country or countries and find yourself off the beaten trails.
What has been dubbed (by me) the Long Way Trilogy is another buddy adventure starring Scottish actor Ewan McGregor and travel writer/actor Charley Boorman. Each series has them make their way through Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, and South America.
It is incredible to see so much open country and roads that we never think to take the time and enjoy. It is less focused on the history of where they are and more about embracing the moment, enjoying the adventure, and the different perspectives of each country.
9. Midnight Asia
It is great to focus a little less on the daytime activities and what you can get up to at night while traveling. Midnight Asia helps display the hustle and bustle of metropolitan cities throughout Asia. These places never seem to sleep with vibrant nightclubs, indie music performances, street food stalls, and many options to highlight your trip.
It does not break the mold of travel shows and foodie delights. You would hope it went into a more extended deep dive into the cities, locations, or people, but it has some good photography to make it a surprising addition to the list.
10. Dark Tourist
With Dark Tourist, you may think of super scary horror places related to travel, but it also focuses on historically significant places and events with some supernatural and religious overtones. This New Zealand documentary teaches you about some of these destinations throughout several countries.
Any country has a period of dark history or specific dark individuals that affected parts of the country or its entirety. This type of travel has become a sub-genre of tourism to visit and stay at some of these sites. You may not want to travel here alone if you get scared easily, but there is a certain appeal.
11. An Idiot Abroad
To finish off the list, we bring you the exploits of an average everyday person with no natural inclination to step outside his comfort zone, finding himself in hilarious cultural situations as he is coerced into traveling the world. It has that British humor we all have come to know and love from creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who involve traveler Karl Pilkington in their schemes.
What is great about this is the natural reactions from Karl as he has no clue what he is being pulled into. His offbeat demeanor and unintentional or non-scripted reactions brings this series home. It shows how all of us can react when we find ourselves in a completely different situation from our life.
Each episode showcases a different country, and you will find plenty of locations to want to visit. Karl observes these countries from his perspective and participates in local activities throughout the series. These are great additional add-ons for any tour; if you can sign up for them, you should.
Best Shows to Stream When You Can’t Travel
Each one of these shows on the list is entertaining in its own right. Watching these in a weekend marathon will make you want to get up and go.
You can soon find yourself down the rabbit hole of travel and food shows filling every major streaming service. It’s great entertainment and will help you on your way to exploring the world.
This post was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
