Although the world is beginning to open to travelers, conditions can change at a minute’s notice. You should wait to travel anywhere if you have a chronic disease or are elderly. Obviously, you should stay home if you feel ill on the day you are set to travel. If you do decide to travel now, don’t forget the COVID-19 guidelines you have been following at home. Masks, distancing and hand washing are recommended anywhere you go.
Find Out Where You Can Visit
A little over a month ago, the U.S. lifted its previous ban on U.S. citizens travelling abroad. However, not every country is safe. The U.S. Department of State is using a safety scale of 1-4 on its website.
Level 1 means Exercise Normal Precautions, Level 2 means Exercise Increased Caution, Level 3 is Reconsider Travel and Level 4 is Do Not Travel. There is a space on the website where you can type in your desired destination and learn its number level. Before you start checking, know that many places, including Europe, are requiring travelers from America to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. If you have neither the time nor money to do that, better wait on visiting Europe.
The borders between the U.S., Canada and Mexico have been closed since March 2020 to any non-essential travel. Here’s the good news, though, you can still travel by ship and see some ports of call, like the ones visited by these cruises from California. You may not be able to get off the cruise ship and walk around everywhere, but at least you can get a feel for the scenery.
What You Can Do When You Get There
If you are visiting a place that does not enforce quarantine, you can expect to either show a recent negative COVID-19 test, or at the very least, have your temperature taken upon arrival. Check the Centers for Disease Control website and keep checking it until your departure date.
That should not be your only concern, however. If you have a list of every sight you want to see and every museum or restaurant you want to visit, find about ahead of time if these places are open. If you want to go to a tropical beach, still make sure you will be able to, and what the regulations are like.
Maybe you are traveling to attend something specific like a festival. Be sure that the festival is still happening and that precautions will be enforced. You don’t want to bring home COVID-19 as a souvenir.
Where You Can Visit in The U.S.
Many states have travel restrictions based on the other states you have recently visited. This makes road trips especially hard. In addition, the usual things that make road trips so much fun: eating at truck stops, sleeping in quaint motels and visiting roadside attractions like miniature golf might not be safe.
Driving between states during the pandemic will be very different than usual. You may even consider bringing along camping equipment, food and supplies for using the woods as your bathroom. It would be smart to completely bypass risks associated with stopping at places that may not be safe. If someone does get sick during the trip, be sure that everyone’s insurance card goes along with you and that your insurance will cover you wherever you go.
Instead of driving cross country, though, consider visiting the entire West Coast of the U.S. via cruise ship. Most west coast states do not currently have restrictions, so you can check a few states and cities off your bucket list without dealing with quarantine issues and airport headaches.
Your itch to travel may be feeling uncontrollable. You may be at the point by now where you are totally fed up with masks, distancing and not being allowed to visit your favorite places. If you are experiencing extreme wanderlust, try to appease it by planning a trip to a place where you can safely go.
Story by Paisley Hansen