Quarantine has affected our lives in so many ways, from day-to-day problems to wider scale issues such as travel. Unfortunately, many people had to cancel their travel plans due to the coronavirus endemic. If you’re itching to start traveling again, or to start re-planning a trip that was postponed, here are some ways you can start planning for travel for when the quarantine ends.
The most exciting part when starting to plan your trip is deciding where you are going to go! Whether you’re looking for a tropical getaway or a trip to Europe, you get to choose where you want to go! If you want to go to multiple places, for example, if you’re going to Latin America, South America, Africa, or Europe, you’re able to hop around quite a bit when it comes to travel. If you have less than a week to spare, I would recommend only going to one location. Choosing where you want to go depends largely on what you want to do. Whether you want to stay somewhere that is all-inclusive, or if you want to spend your time exploring and don’t mind staying in a hostel, these are things you need to take into consideration when choosing your location. Europe in the fall, a safari in the spring, summer in the tropic, where do you want to go?
Many countries are handling coronavirus differently. When you choose your location, you need to make sure that primarily, the country you want to visit is open for business. If you want to go to Italy and find that after you arrive, all of the businesses are still closed due to the coronavirus, you’ve wasted the majority of your trip. Diligent research is more important now than ever. Make sure you know how the city or country your visiting is handling COVID-19, if businesses and tourist attractions are open, if your accommodations are safe and hygienic, and if you are able to travel in and out without worry. For example, as of right now, people traveling to European countries are required to quarantine for two weeks after their arrival. While this is subject to change, it offers a good example of things you should be looking into for your trip.
For the plane and elsewhere, you should now be traveling with a hygiene pack. Some things to include in a hygiene pack would be a face mask, if not multiple for the duration of your trip, gloves, hand sanitizer, travel Clorox wipes, foot coverings (for when TSA makes you remove your shoes), tissues, phone wipes, and many more. I would also recommend bringing or buying bottled water to reduce outside contact, as well as your own snacks. As we know, face coverings are essential to everyday life. If you have long hair, I would also recommend bringing a couple of hair ties.
Give yourself time to plan ahead. It’s unlikely that you will be able to plan a trip to any foreign place right now anytime soon. I would recommend booking at least six months in advance. The future is unpredictable right now in the wake of the coronavirus, so you need to give yourself, and the world, enough time to prepare for travel. Plus, planning diligently is an important part of the travel process and you need enough time to do that. Look at hotels or accommodations that will be opening and check your location’s coronavirus updates regularly so you know when it will be safe to go.
Right now, passports are backlogged, so it’s important that you prioritize this. If you’re going out of the country, you’re definitely going to need a passport. Also, if you’re traveling throughout the United States, you will eventually need a Real ID, going into effect October 2021. To get your Read ID, you need to sign up with the DMV and follow through with the entirety of the process. Passports, because they are backlogged, will also take some time to get, so it’s important that you prioritize it so you can receive it before you leave for your trip. While you can get it expedited, with the volume of requests the passport office is getting right now, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
We learned this lesson the hard way when it came to travel during the Coronavirus. Investing in insurance, while it can be expensive, also guarantees your safety both physically and monetarily. Travel insurance is more important now due to the increase in flight cancellations, and the lack of flights themselves. It’s also recommended to make sure your medical insurance is up to date, and to receive a COVID-19 test upon your return home, just to be safe.
Traveling right now is a risk, so make sure you know what you’re getting into. Traveling is a risk to your physical health due to the rise of the coronavirus endemic, so make sure that you are bringing your hygiene pack, and you’re taking necessary precautions. Many airlines are doing a great job of sanitizing the plane and cleansing the air in the cabin between flights but check your airline and look up what precautions they are taking so that you are staying safe. Traveling right now is also a monetary risk, which is why you should invest in insurance. It’s very possible that there will be another wave of the virus and you will have to reschedule and postpone your trip. If you are aware of these risks, and you’re okay with them, then take all the necessary precautions and you will be okay!
While many people have begun to plan upcoming travel, you need to make sure that you are doing your due research and taking the precautions you need. I highly recommend checking your travel destination’s news frequently to see if it is safe to travel. While you may be itching to get out there, it’s better to be safe than to rush into a mediocre trip.
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