The pandemic of the past year has caused many people to change or cancel travel plans. For the most part people have complied with travel restrictions to mitigate the COVID-19 virus. Those who have decided to ignore these guidelines have contributed to creating hotspots and spreading the virus. For the rest of this year many places including the U.S. has been asked to quarantine indoors again to reduce the high number of outbreaks that are rising fast. Holidays often include family and friends traveling to gather together but reducing the enormous medical load on health care workers and stopping the spread of COVID-19 quite obviously takes priority this year. With the help of everyone stopping the spread of Covid-19, the promise of travel and getaways is strong for next year. You can find extensive information on howtotravel.info and continue reading this article for tips and guidelines to safely plan travel in 2021.

Book reservations at places that have a generous cancellation policy

There are countless stories of people who had to cancel travel due to Coronavirus restrictions, outbreaks or becoming ill. Be sure when booking entertainment, dining and accommodations that you know what the restrictions are for cancelling due to COVID-19. Whether travel restrictions are limited or you are personally affected by the coronavirus, you want to be able to cancel or change your travel plans without incurring a significant loss.

Use the correct types of sanitizers when going through public places like taxis, airports and hotels. 

Every sanitizer is not created equally. The most effective sanitizers are made from 60% alcohol. Carry wipes with you for things like taxi seats, door handles, and credit card readers. Use wipes as well for the airports where you will be touching the same types of items and more. (You may need to carry your own self-sealing plastic bag to dispose of wipes when  trash receptacle is not available.) Also carry small sized containers (less than 3 oz. as required to fly) with hand sanitizer to use often. Until you are actually traveling you can not possibly realize how many things you come in contact with that require sanitizing. Traveling with small children makes sanitation even more frequent and important.

Wear masks that are high quality and don’t let your guard down. 

Depending on the people and the places, there may be different requirements for masks as well as different beliefs or resistance to wearing them. The guidelines for Covid-19 say that over 15 minutes of contact within 6 feet even with a mask leaves you susceptible to transmission. Even with an empty seat in between passengers on an airplane, and upgraded airflow, there are people on both sides and in front and behind you within 2 – 3 feet of space. This is why it is critical to wear a highly protective mask on your travels. The CDC updates guidelines on all things Covid-19 so check for the latest scientific news and updates before traveling to find out which mask will be safest.

Other possible considerations to make when safely planning travel in 2021.

When planning for travel in the future you may want to think about:

  • booking places that are not crowded such as restaurants with lots of space between tables
  • staying at rental homes and cabins instead of hotels
  • finding semi-private areas of beaches, pools, campgrounds or other areas
  • try booking private excursions such as kayaking, small guided tours, bike rentals and horseback riding.

Hopefully with all of us working together by each of us doing our part, we can keep Coronavirus under control and open travel and vacation options open for 2021. This year has been a rough one of home quarantine, cancelled plans and hardships. The thought of planning ways to get away from it all is just what we need to lift our spirits and look forward to more exciting days ahead.

Where would you like to go in 2021?