Summer is coming to an end. Strangely it has flown by even as the pandemic has slowly lingered on. You take a look back at the past 9 months and there seems to be very little that represents your normal life. Your daily life has entailed locking yourself into your home and feeling fear when coming into contact with your neighbors and friends. Always wearing a mask and staying 6 feet apart from others outside your house. Working from home wearing your pajamas in your makeshift office. This is the new normal.

Inside all of us is a curiosity to explore and learn from new experiences. That little feeling of wanting to escape and explore the world away from home is becoming too much to ignore. The idea of taking a vacation has crossed your mind multiple times over the past few months. The risks and dangers have kept you locked up and at home.

Things are starting to calm down a bit. Infection rates have been declining overall and you have gotten used to keeping yourself safe. You know what to do to help stop the spread of COVID-19. You have become an avid hand washer and you never leave your home without your mask. Companies have taken new COVID-19 precaution measures to ensure the safety of their clients.

Traveling further than your local supermarket could be on the horizon for you. You are contemplating getting your feet wet and taking a little vacation away from home. You are asking yourself is it safe to travel now during COVID-19?

I recently just arrived back home from a 5-day vacation to Miami Beach Florida. I gained insider knowledge on all the aspects of traveling during a pandemic. Based on my personal experiences you can better gauge if traveling is right for you.

Risks While Traveling

Your health is your number one concern. You need to be fully aware of all the risks you may encounter while traveling. First and foremost you need to be honest with yourself and if you are a high-risk individual you should NOT travel anywhere.

High-Risk Individuals

CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website lists:

People of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19:

People of any age with the following conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19:

• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
• Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 or higher)
• Serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
• Sickle cell disease
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

COVID-19 is a new disease. Currently, there is limited data and information about the impact of underlying medical conditions and whether they increase the risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Based on what we know at this time, people with the following conditions might be at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19:

• Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
• Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Hypertension or high blood pressure
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
• Neurologic conditions, such as dementia
• Liver disease
• Pregnancy
• Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
• Smoking
• Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
• Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Area Risk Assessment

There are currently infection spikes from COVID-19 in certain states and cities.

Some questions you need to ask yourself are:

1. Is the city or state you are going to taking COVID-19 seriously?
2. Are they taking adequate precautions to keep people safe?
3. Do they have mask laws and regulations when going into a public space?
4. What about when dining out? Are there cleaning and disinfecting procedures in place when dining? Does the location have available outdoor seating?

Need to know how to make your own mask? Check out my article on How to Make a Face Mask.

Reasons Why Now is the Time to Travel

Now is a good time to travel. If you do your research you will see that companies in the travel industry are desperate for customers. The cost of flights and hotels are a bargain. I was able to snag a round trip flight from Chicago to Miami from American Airlines for $83!

Getting out and taking a break from life is important. Recharging your mind and body is so critical. Because of Coronavirus people have not been able to relax and take a break from all the stressors in their lives. I find taking a vacation extremely important for boosting my mental health. Check out my other article Taking a Vacation from Your Symptoms: Why Traveling Helps Your Mental Health.

Another reason to travel now is the number of people who are traveling. With fewer people traveling you are able to enjoy the experience and ease of traveling. Restaurants, flights, and hotels are emptier. The wait time for these is significantly less.

What to Expect When Traveling

So now you are keen on booking that beach vacation. You need to know what to expect when traveling to make sure your trip is a safe and happy one. I will cover the airport and flight, traveling around (i.e., Uber, Lyft, public transpertation, ect.), activities, lodging, and dining.

Airport and Flight

I will begin by discussing the process at the airport. Once arriving at the airport, they will require you to wear your face mask at all times. From what I saw most people did follow this request. There are stickers on the floor requesting everyone to stay 6 feet or 3 meters apart. Some people did not follow the signage, don’t be afraid to politely remind them of the 6-foot rule if they are invading your space. When you pass through security you will need to pull down your face covering momentarily so the TSA can check your ID picture with your face.

TSA is allowing one liquid hand sanitizer container up to 12 ounces per passenger in carry-on bags until further notice. However, passengers can expect that these containers larger than the standard allowance of 3.4 ounces of liquids permitted through a checkpoint will need to be screened separately, which will add some time to their checkpoint screening experience. 

Please keep in mind that all other liquids, gels, and aerosols brought to a checkpoint continue to be allowed at the limit of 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters carried in one quart-size bag.

Once you are inside the airport there are hand sanitizer stations throughout the airport. If you decide to grab a bite to eat they also have the dining area COVID-19 friendly. Every other table is unavailable so you are able to social distance from other people while eating.

Overall the airport has a lot fewer people than pre-COVID-19. I felt that I could distance myself pretty well and did not have any issues feeling unsafe. The only time that was questionable was while boarding the plane. People still seem to congregate near the gate when the airlines call the boarding priority numbers. I guess bad habits die hard.

Once on the plane, all passengers were handed a baggie that was filled with a bottle of water, a snack, and a sanitizing wipe. The airlines are not doing any food or beverage service on the flight. I appreciated the little extras like the disinfecting wipe. It made me feel like I was in control of my own health and safety. I disinfected all the hard surfaces around my seat.

Don’t forget to wipe down:

1. Tray table and lock
2. Seat belt buckle
3. Armrests
4. Headrest and seat

I also brought with me hand sanitizer that I used on my hands after I cleaned my area.

You are required to keep your face mask on the entire duration of the flight. You are only allowed to remove the mask when eating or drinking. The airlines are very strict about this rule and they will remove you from the flight and ban you from ever flying with their airline again if you do not follow their regulations.

When you arrive the flight attendants request everyone remains seated and the passengers deplane one row at a time starting from the front. Of course, there were those few who did not follow the request… *evil eye squint, mumble under-breath*

Traveling Around

The best method to travel around while on vacation is through a ride-share service. I felt that this option was the safest when compared to taking public transportation. It is unnecessary to put yourself in a dangerous situation. If the option of a less busy mode of transportation is available I would spend the extra money for that peace of mind. All of the ride-sharing services are requiring both customers and drivers to wear a mask while commuting.

Lodging

I decided to stay in a smaller boutique-style hotel when I was vacationing in Miami. I felt that staying in a smaller hotel was a better option for me because I was able to social distance myself.

The hotel I chose had the same regulations as everywhere else. You must wear a mask when in public areas, such as checking in and riding the elevator. They also had hand sanitizer available to use at the front desk. The housekeeping was also changed due to COVID-19. They did not enter our room while we were staying. They only clean the room between each guest. If you need fresh towels you needed to call the front desk and they brought them up to you.

Make sure before booking you check the hotel’s website and make sure they are taking further cleaning and COVID-19 protocols for your safety.

Activities

Every state has different regulations for COVID-19. I recommend doing a Google search on the laws before arriving at your destination. A good place to start is by searching the county or cities official website. Miami had a different mask policy than my home city of Chicago.

Here are some examples of the current emergency order in place for Miami, Dade County. (As of 09/12/2020)

In Miami, they require you to have a mask on at ALL times, except while eating, on the beach, or doing vigorous exercise like bike riding or running. They do enforce the mask laws. They can fine you up to $50 USD per occurrence. My boyfriend was asked by a police officer once to put on his mask. We did not know the rules at the time. Luckily they did not fine him. It was more of a friendly reminder. I am sure that if you ignore or argue with them about the mask they will issue you that ticket.

Miami also has a countywide curfew in effect from 11 PM until 6 AM every day. The curfew states that no person shall make use of any sidewalk or street for any purpose. The curfew does not apply to essential workers. All dine-in restaurants are required to close by this time.

Activity Ideas:

Look for activities that allows you to social distance and are focused outside. Check out my article about the Power of Nature.

• Bike rentals
• City tour
• Hiking
• Outdoor green space (Parks)
• Beach
• Kayak or canoe rental
• Swimming

Dining

The risks associated with dining out vary. The safest method of dining out is drive-through, delivery, take-out, and curb-side pick up, says the CDC. When having to dine in there are some precautions that you need to take.

First check out online to see if the restaurant offers outdoor seating. This is the safest option when dining in.

Also make sure they have tables that are at least 6 feet apart from one another.

All employees should be wearing a mask while working.

Also don’t be afraid to ask the restaurant what type of cleaning procedures they have in place for COVID-19. Watch and see if after a table leaves they properly disinfect the area.

Also, choose a restaurant that has single-use paper menus or digital menus online.

Don’t forget to wash your hand before you eat. Carry hand sanitizer with you and use it after touching any surface others may touch.

Conclusion

I hope my recent experience traveling during COVID-19 answers some questions you may have about traveling during this confusing time. Knowledge is power and learning all you can about the risks that are associated with travel will help keep you and your loved ones safe. There is a lot of reasons why taking a vacation is important. You need to weigh the pros and cons.

Remember to do your research when choosing a location for your next trip. New adventures are waiting for you just around the corner.

Just remember my new travel friends, we are all in this together.

Please help support our website and blog by donating at GoFundMe.

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