How to travel plan for COVID
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the personal, legal, and perhaps moral considerations at play if you’re starting to think about traveling again.
We feel ya.
While we can offer no specific advice as to what is or is not acceptable, we have found some tools that might help you plan a safer trip.
So far the best tool we’ve found is the free interactive app below. It lets you plug in your country of origin and match it with destinations that you’re allowed to travel to. You can also read up to date travel safety/COVID requirements for each destination so you can plan accordingly.
The CDC Travel Advisory search bar is also a great tool.
Ultimately, if, when, and how you travel is going to be an intensely personal decision. While we can’t comment on the “if” and legally probably shouldn’t comment on the “when” we do have a few thoughts on the “how”.
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Be smart. Plan like crazy. Do all those things an OCD mother would want you to do. Be aware of applicable cancellation policies and have backups in place. Become intimately familiar with the ins and outs of health and travel insurance. Have a plan for if you get quarantined somewhere (download allll the podcasts).
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Be patient. Expect delays, complications, and closures. Travel is going to be different and likely not care free. That’s ok though, if you’re like us and haven’t left a 10 mile radius for 8 months, just the concept of being in a different country is enough to blow our minds and fill our hearts.
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Be kind. Earthlings have been taking it on the chin during this crisis. While conflict and suffering is certainly not new to this world, the COVID-19 pandemic is probably going down as one of the great human traumas of this century. Let’s acknowledge it as such. Forgive the small trespasses. Lift each other up.
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Be intentional. Challenge yourself to chase the experiences that matter with the people that matter. Maybe take that trip to explore your heritage, or design a trip to re-connect with family and friends - I think we all have a better sense of what really maters after the last year.
Be safe, be thoughtful, and please do try to give where you go - the world could use some generous souls these days.