For the majority of people, 2020 was going to be a year of changes and new opportunities, but the start of the year was not as expected, and still, the year is not going very well keeping the pandemic at the back of our minds. Coronavirus is the reason behind many last-minute holiday cancellations and heart-breaks. Does all of this mean that we will probably never travel? No, but we need to be more careful in the upcoming times to make our voyaging happy and full of life.
Here are the best tips for planning a trip after the Coronavirus pandemic.
Caution On The Road
If you are willing to take a road trip in your car after the pandemic, you need to be fully aware of what can happen and what you need to do to counter it. The virus may be anywhere, and that’s what gives it an upper hand over us.
Here are some tips to avoid catching the virus while you are on the road.
- Use a plastic cover to protect the extra luggage you carry on a universal roof rack from the microbes in the atmosphere.
- If you stop-by to refill gas or for any other commodities, make sure you have a mask, gloves, and other protective gear on you. Try to tell your fellow travelers to stay in the car while one of you gets down and gets the work done.
- Insist on carrying sleeping pads, tents, and other camping gear to sleep in and near your car. As long as possible, you should avoid spending a night in some motel on the highway, because no one knows who was staying there and if the management properly sanitizes the place or not? Enjoy the rustic vibe of the countryside, cook your meal, and enjoy the peaceful trip.
Book Smartly
This step is necessary to save yourself from hefty and unnecessary charges. For the first trip after this Coronavirus pandemic, make sure all your bookings have the liquidity of free cancellation. May it be flight tickets, hotel bookings, or other the tickets of some attractions you’ll be visiting, make sure that all of these have free cancellation, or at least have discounted cancellation (up to 90%) on the total price.
This is to ensure the safety of your money if the second wave of the pandemic hits. When the first wave of Covid-19 hit various countries in the first quarter of 2020, many travel bookings got delayed and canceled, leaving a lot of hard-earned money in vain.
Insurance Is A Must
About a week ago, the news channels were focusing on a patient in the USA that got a hospital bill of over a million after staying Covid-19 positive for two months. Needless to say that the healthcare sector has a sudden surge in their prices, may it be hospital fees, medicine rates, and others. That’s why you should insist on insuring yourself and your friends/family or other loved ones who are traveling with you.
You must take two insurance for each person – travel insurance & Covid-19 insurance (selective organizations are offering this). The cover will keep your mental health stable, and you will worry less and enjoy the travel more as you will have some finances backing up your treatment, in case things go south. Don’t worry; things won’t go south if you follow our tips while planning your trip.
Travel Selectively
This step is necessary to follow before planning any trip. You must choose a destination that was minimally affected by Covid-19. Also, choosing a remote place, cut off from urban life might help you avoid the problematic virus. Although anywhere you go, the threat of the virus will be there, but the probability of infection will drop to minimum levels if you travel in a less-infected area.
If you are traveling internationally, then some nations like New Zealand, Tanzania, Vatican, Fiji, and Seychelles are now free of Covid-19. Consider touring these countries to avoid the risk involved.
Keep An Eye On The Local Hotspots
If you cannot follow the above step, and can’t go to a place that is free of the virus, you should extensively research the place you’re heading to. State authorities around the globe have segregated every city’s area into two sections – the one section has almost no new cases, and the other is the containment zone with ascending cases.
Wherever in the world, you are traveling to, search for the containment zone of that city/town/village, and do not go in that area. By doing so, you will be saving yourself from severe health and financial damage.
Choosing A Place To Stay
An integral part of any trip is the hotel, motel, BnB, or anywhere you stay. You need to assess the places at your destinations on various parameters. The thumb rule of choosing any place after the pandemic is the fact if you will have a private stove or kitchen to your disposal.
Agree or not, avoiding restaurants, diners, and roadside food stalls are the best option to stay away from the virus on the surface of various objects like chairs, tables, railings, door handles, etc.
Also, strictly avoid all those hotels and motels where there is no screening test at the check-in point. The screening test or formal temperature check allows the management to segregate the guests that have fever symptoms.
Finally, before checking in to your hotel, see if the hotel has proper sanitation facilities and if the cleaning is done at regular intervals or not. We cannot wait years for the Covid-19 to get over, but we can defeat these tough situations by staying aware of the things and happenings around us. If you feel uncomfortable while asking all these questions to the place’s management, remember – “precaution is better than cure.”
Bonus Tip
We request you to make a small backpack and keep all things listed below in it.
- Alcohol Sanitizer
- Soap (Paper/Liquid/Bar)
- Tissue Paper
- Disposable Gloves
- Facial Masks
- A big piece of cotton cloth to make reusable masks/scarves on the go.
- Paracetamol
- Ibuprofen
- Multivitamin Tablets
- Indian Ayurvedic Chyawanprash (Gooseberry Jam)
Conclusion
We can safely say that if you follow the above tips religiously, you will stay on the safer side, and avoid getting sick. Remember that fear cuts deeper than a sword, and you should not be fearful. Instead, you should be careful.
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