A Q &A for Travel in the Time of COVID-19

I want to answer some questions I’ve seen popping up on social media and in travel forums about travel in the time of COVID-19, the coronavirus.

Because I want to offer up some good info and good resources for you at this confusing time.

So let me see if I can answer some questions.

And note that these answers and facts are coming at the time of the publication of this post.

As we know, things change daily, sometimes even by the hour.

So please do double check if you read this later than the publishing date.

 

#1 Should I travel in the time of COVID-19?

NO.

First of all, no place is truly safe from COVID-19.

Yes, China is beginning to open up but it’s a wait and see situation.

There really is no “safe” place to travel.

Remember this is a pandemic!

And it is in everyone’s best interest — yours, your family’s, complete strangers’ — to stay put.

Please do as you are being asked or even told.

You’ll be able to travel eventually.

For now, read about travel, watch a good travel movie, spend time with your loved ones (that you live with) and use technology to keep in touch with loved ones you don’t live with.

There should be no travel in the time of COVID-19…not yet.

Here’s a great article from Fodor’s.

 

#2 When will I be allowed to travel? When will it be safe to travel?

No one really knows the answer to this.

We simply need to wait and see.

I’m in the state of Ohio and our medical expert, Dr Amy Acton, the director of the Ohio Department of Health, says our peak outbreak may not happen until late April.

So I’m not going anywhere anytime soon!

And that’s ok.

We all need to be patient at this time and wait for the doctors and infectious disease experts to give us the all clear.

So please don’t travel at this time.

Until then travel in the time of COVID-19 has to be done virtually…

 

#3 What can I do to ease my itchy travel feet?

There are lots of cities, towns, sites, national parks, travel and tourism boards offering up ways to travel virtually — through virtual tours and videos.

I’ve actually put together a couple of videos of some of my favorite destinations and posting them to the Wander Your Way Facebook page.

Taking a virtual tour or watching a video can ease your restless soul — at least a little.

Perhaps you can begin to make a list of places you want to go.

Dream big and create a dream destination bucket list.

Get on Google Maps and plan out that trip to Germany you’ve always wanted to take or that trip through Ireland or Portugal or Croatia.

This is a wonderful time to plan a trip as it will help you beat those lockdown blues.

No.

You’re not going to be making any reservations.

But you can create an itinerary.

Or yours truly can help you with that! 😉

Perhaps you can find some accommodation where you’d consider staying.

You can research some of the off-the-tourist-track spots.

Begin making a list.

And you can also find creative ways to save up for this trip.

Look at your typical monthly budget.

Are there ways you can cut out a few things?

Keep dreaming of travel.

And keep planning for travel.

Here is a virtual tour of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and one of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

And here’s a dogsled ride in Swedish Lapland.

 

#4 What should I do if I already have a trip booked for this spring or summer?

If you haven’t done so, please do contact the airline, hotel, tour company or cruise line to see what the status is.

Some flights, tours, cruises are already cancelled so you may have been notified.

The travel industry is — for the most part — being lenient on refunds.

But please do try to rebook in the future if you are able.

If you are due to travel in April or May — no matter where — my guess is your trip won’t happen or it shouldn’t happen.

I would even say that most June trips should be cancelled or will be cancelled.

If you do have plans for June consider postponing your trip or cancelling if you can’t rebook it.

While airlines and some tours may not be cancelling this far out yet, my guess is they will soon.

It’s best to start thinking about making those changes.

Start the process now, like I did for a small group going on a safari in Tanzania in mid-June.

This way you aren’t scrambling at the last minute.

In talking to someone in the cruise industry, he told me he thought it would be late summer before things started to run again.

I tend to agree.

As much as I hate to say it, I don’t think we’ll be traveling much this summer.

If we do, it will be late summer.

Check out this post on airline cancellation policies.

 

#5 Should I take advantage of some of the great travel deals right now?

Let’s face it, the travel and tourism industry is taking a huge hit right now.

So there are some fabulous deals out there.

Flights are especially inexpensive as airlines are doing what they can to make some money.

And the answer to this question is: it depends.

Some deals are for travel later this spring or early summer.

And, as I said in #2 and in #4, we don’t know WHEN we’ll be able to safely travel.

That being said, do read the fine print.

You may be able to book a flight for May, but be able to change it with no fees if it’s still unsafe to travel in May.

Look to see how far out you can make that change if you need to as many airlines are allowing you to rebook one full year out.

Do note that they may still charge you for the price difference of the flight.

So maybe it’s only $100 for a roundtrip flight from Chicago to San Francisco for May but it may be $250 for September.

Again, take your time to read the details.

But the airlines are being much more lenient about cancellations and re-bookings than they usually are.

So it may be a good time to take advantage of this — because I’m not sure it will last!

Cruise lines have also taken a major hit so there are deals for cruisers as well.

Do read all the cancellation policy information and do buy the travel insurance if you decide to book a cruise.

Most cruise lines probably won’t be back to sailing until late summer so my advice is to not book anything before September.

Bottom line?

Read the fine print.

Yes, there are some great deals for travel in the time of COVID-19.

But be sure you know what you get should this pandemic and lockdown go on longer.

You want to be sure you cover your ass!

 

#6 Will I be to travel in 2020 at all? Or should I wait until 2021?

My optimistic side says we may be able to do some travel by late this year.

But my less optimistic side/realist side says most us won’t feel comfortable until next year.

There are so many unknowns so it’s a practice in patience and a wait and see.

I do think we will all feel more comfortable with domestic travel — traveling within our own countries — first.

So perhaps a domestic trip is on tap for late 2020.

But I believe many of us won’t feel like traveling internationally this year.

 

#7 What can I do to help the travel and tourism industry?

I know that some folks aren’t happy about the US bill that is helping the airlines.

I get it.

But it seems to have some strings attached that hopefully will help the employees who are losing their jobs.

My concern with travel in the time of COVID-19 is more with the family-run small businesses.

You find these all over the world — maybe even more so than in the USA.

And these are the businesses I worry about — whether they will still be around in 2021.

I think about the B&B run by a couple in Dunfanaghy, Ireland.

And the family run agriturismo near Todi, Italy.

And the restaurant owned by a family in Rovinj, Croatia.

I think about the small tour company run by 2 friends in London.

And the small leather shop owned by a couple in Venice.

These are small businesses that depend on tourism to live.

And when there are no travelers visiting, they don’t make money to live.

You can donate to your favorite small businesses in so many ways.

Send them some money via PayPal or Venmo.

Book a stay or a tour with them in the future.

See if you can buy a voucher or gift card from them now that you can use in the future.

Even reaching out to them to let them know you want to help will mean the world to them.

And when you can travel again, please support these small businesses as much as possible.

 

Please remember: do not travel in the time of COVID-19, during this lockdown time.

You will travel again.

As will I!

In the meantime, find ways to travel virtually.

Have fun dreaming and planning for the “eventually.”

Support small travel/tourism/hospitality businesses in any way you are able.

And don’t give up on those travel dreams!