SARASOTA (WSNN) – While most international flights are at a standstill, that’s not stopping people on the Suncoast from traveling; virtually anyway.
Lakewood Ranch Resident, Sheryl Jacobson, tried to travel but was stopped by the pandemic.
“We actually had a River cruise planned for the end of July, beginning of August, and that was cancelled,” Jacobson said. “We were going to Prague and Budapest”
But who said you can’t travel virtually in this pandemic?
“When we decided people weren’t going to be able to travel for quite a while, we decided that we had to feed the wanderlust somehow,” Marc Bokoff said.
So, owner of the Cruise Planners Franchise in Sarasota, Marc Bokoff, did we he does best: plan vacations.
“Before we know, it, we have a full schedule of virtual vacations,” Bokoff said.
People can travel from Australia and New Zealand to Fiji and Tahiti.
It’s a free virtual tour all in the comfort of your own home.
“These virtual vacations just give us the break that we need and take our minds off of all this misery and send us away,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson, went abroad on a virtual river cruise on AMA Waterways with ports in Europe, as well as the Nile and Mekong River.
“It was beautiful; gardens, museums, castles, we got to see it all. It’s a great escape, it really is,” Jacobson said.
The virtual tours are conducted via zoom, webinar, or another video conference platform. Bokoff says they were able to create these tours through partnerships with their vendors.
“They have all of the slides and the pictures and the photos and the videos,” Bokoff said.
A guide leads you through the virtual escape.
“There’s no jet lag, no suitcases to pack, and unpack, there’s no passports or visas required, so it really makes it pretty easy,” Bokoff said.
Bokoff says as of right now, there is no cap to the number of people who can join.
To participate, you can visit www.bookthatescape.com/virtualvacations. Registration is free.
