Traveling right now is… well… interesting. For most people, the best advice is to just stay home and stay safe.
But let’s talk about traveling during a pandemic. A lot of people read a lot of articles to learn about traveling and write their posts, but I believe the best way to learn about how things are is to experience them!
But if you’re like me, staying home means working all the time, and that means I need a vacation. I thought about all the road trips to take and was leaning towards renting a convertible and taking a three day road trip.
But that sounded like a lot of time in a car, so I opted to fly to Chicago instead.
Whatever trip you take right now, there are some things you should know and consider before and during your travels in order to travel safely and get the most out of your travels. I’m going to tell you about a lot of things I looked at before I decided to travel during a pandemic..
The Obvious
The first thing I’ll tell you should be pretty obvious, so I won’t go into much detail. Just double-check the COVID-19 numbers before you travel anywhere. If you plan your travels, have a few different back-up plans.
Flying
Let’s first talk about flying.
Flying right now is nerve wracking, to say the least. If you really want to feel safe on a plane, you’ll definitely want to consider on which airline you will fly. Looking at US airlines, there is a lot of variability. Some airlines have thrown their hands in the air and said you can’t remain socially distanced on an airplane, such as American, United, Spirit and Allegiant Airlines are in that bucket.
The CDC recommends wearing a facemask when social distancing isn’t possible. Since all the airlines require masks, the six feet isn’t technically necessary, but I promise you, it is a lot more comfortable. A lot of airlines are flying at reduced capacity or keeping the middle seat empty. There’s a great USA Today article that talks about all the US airlines.
On my trip to Chicago, I flew on Delta. Delta leaves ‘the middle seat open,’ which on my flight, which just had rows of two and two, meant that I got my own row.
Look at the seat chart; seats can be booked together if two people are in the same party, but once a single seat is booked, the other one becomes unavailable.
Mid-air service was simply a bag that had a bottle of water, some Cheez-its, a cookie, and a sanitizing wipe.Before mid-air service, when I boarded the flight, I was greeted with a sanitizing wipe. While I’m sure they sanitized everything before boarding, it’s up to each person to be responsible for their own health.
That’s one of the most important considerations when traveling right now.
Personal Responsibility
One of the most important things right now is personal responsibility. While yes, everyone is required to clean and sanitize everything, it’s important to remember that everyone is human. So even if they have their checklist and procedures,whoever is cleaning might have gotten a text message before they cleaned that one spot, somehow missed it, so you should do whatever you think is prudent..
The CDC recommends sanitizing high-touch surfaces such as knobs, handles, counters, and any areas of your hotel. While I certainly hope your hotel is clean, if you stay in alternative lodging such as an Airbnb, a cabin, a hostel, etc., they may not be perfect, and the CDC guidelines advise to clean all areas with soap and water before disinfecting.
The CDC also has a list of which disinfectant products to use. They are exactly the products you’d expect to see.
You might also want to pack a few cleansers with you to clean your hotel. I also keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer with me at all times.
Hotel
Hotels have corporate guidelines and a lot more supervision than alternative lodging. While I’m sure everyone wants to follow all recommendations, and no one wants to be the cause of the next COVID outbreak, I just feel more comfortable in a corporate, streamlined hotel, but they’re probably all equal. I just would not stay in a cheap Airbnb or a hostel right now.
Facemask Outside?
Most facemask requirements do not require facemasks outdoors. However, even though they are not required, a lot of people in the city are wearing masks outside. Again, it’s not always possible to maintain social distancing, so you should wear a mask. My rule is to put my mask on whenever I pass people on a sidewalk.
Follow Guidelines
Make sure you always follow local and regional guidelines. There are usually signs posted, and a lot of people are very polite about reminding you. Chicago had a facemask law, and when I traveled, Minnesota didn’t have a state-wide facemask rule. I was reminded a few times.
There may be other guidelines depending on your location.
What To Do
What you can do will vary greatly by your location. Whether restaurants, bars, museums, or sites are partially or fully open depends completely on where you’re visiting. When I was in Chicago, the museums were slowly opening. Most restaurants with a patio were open, and some had indoor seating. Generally, things were pretty similar to my hometown in Minnesota, which is only 400 miles away.
Tourist sites are very interesting right now. Many places are not ‘open,’ so nothing is running, but they’re still available to see. In Chicago, I went to Navy Pier, best known for its ferris wheel and restaurants. For me, the absence of other tourists makes for high quality photos.
Similarly, while Cloud Gate (The Bean) and Millennium Park wasn’t closed, there was a fence around the sculpture so people don’t touch it, which again, meant I was able to get some pretty sweet pictures.
Most places are not crowded right now. However, there are crowds at protests, if there are protests going on in the city you are visiting. Traveling during times of civil unrest is for another post.
Traveling right now has a few people on edge. Your first priority is to stay safe and stay out of trouble. I hope my perspective and my experiences will help you travel safer right now.
Stay safe and keep traveling!
