How to Travel Safely During Covid

With new waves of the pandemic washing over parts of the world, you might be wondering if the days when you could get on the plane and travel somewhere new are truly over. Rest assured, they are not. But you need to prepare a bit better and be a bit more careful than you were before. Here is how to travel safely during the covid pandemic.

Plane tickets have become tantalisingly cheap during the pandemic, and our fingers are just itching to buy them. But is it safe? The short answer is yes, but you have to keep to guidelines. Firstly, consider your journey to and from the airport: is there enough space at the terminal, and does the airline company upkeep its hygienic standards? Even if you are vaccinated, you should check that no one in your vicinity recently tested positive for covid and that you have no symptoms. If you are unvaccinated, make sure you get tested one to three days before your departure. Once you are on the plane, it can get a bit tricky. Make sure you sanitise your hands regularly, don’t touch your face, and have a suitable, clean respirator or mask on your face at all times. This way, you should be able to protect yourself. Once you land, you might be submitted to further testing or even a quarantine for some time, so make sure you read up on the local situation because government rules change with the development of the infection rate from week to week.

Health experts do not recommend sharing your travels with strangers as of right now. Whether you love hitchhiking or you’d like to bring the cost down a bit of a bit through car-sharing apps, consider the dangers this mode of travel poses. Unlike airlines, which are well ventilated, demand covid tests from their passengers, and has hygienic standards, drivers and hitchhikers need not uphold any such precautions. But even the practicalities of this mode of travel are not favourable to protecting yourself. You will be in a small, closed space with another person for potentially hours on end. It may be not easy to defend yourself in that situation entirely. If you have the option of choosing a safer mode of travel, make sure you consider it.

Many people want to escape the imperfect travelling options above by camping. But even with this, there are a few things to consider. There are still local laws you need to research before you leave your state, and if you want to stay at a camping site, you should make sure you call them ahead of time and see what protections they have put in place. Additionally, try picking a camp that is not usually overflowing with people. Smaller and more quiet camps are a safer option for your and your family.

Once you arrive at your destination, you will have to rent a place to stay. To make sure you’re safe, either check the website of the hotel/rental you are about to visit or call them and learn more about their cleaning protocol. If it’s satisfactory, you can also bring a bottle of disinfectant with you and go over all surfaces before you fully settle in for additional comfort. After that, make sure you wear a mask in all the shared and public spaces and bring a hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol to protect yourself from contamination through contact.