About 80% of us don’t keep our New Year’s resolutions. However, if your resolution for 2021 was to travel, you can still make that happen. You’ll need to focus on shorter trips and stay closer to home, due to the ongoing pandemic. With careful planning, though, you can still go places and see things that you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to.
Let’s take a look at some tips for planning great day trips and staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stay Close to Home
If you’re working from home, doing remote classwork with your kids, and staying put the majority of the time, getting out on the road is certainly something to look forward to. It’s important, however, to keep your day trips local. This helps you have a solid idea of what restrictions are in place for domestic travelers. It also gives you a clear impression of what the COVID-19 numbers are like in the area, so that you don’t inadvertently expose your family to a new strain of the virus. Generally speaking, it’s also less pressure and can give you a safety net in case you decide to cut your trip short. It may not even require you to use any of your PTO!
Keep Your Group Small
Traveling in the smallest group possible helps you to keep everyone safe and ensure that everyone is following the guidelines that you’ve settled on for traveling. Each time you add a group member, it becomes exponentially more difficult to control the situation. Making sure that everyone wears masks, uses hand sanitizer, and social distances is far easier when you plan to travel with the smallest group possible. If you can, travel only with members of your household in case you need to quarantine or if you’re worried about potential exposure.
Use Outdoor Dining
Indoor dining areas are one of the more dangerous areas to be in during the pandemic, even if you’re already vaccinated. If you’re trying to keep your chances of exposure as low as possible, it’s best to plan to use outdoor dining areas and pick up takeout. These are the safest ways to dine out while you’re on the road, as they keep you away from indoor, circulated air systems and limit your exposure to groups. Fortunately, now that the weather is becoming warmer throughout the nation, you’ll have more options for outdoor dining. You can always pick up an order from a local eatery and head to a quiet park to further reduce your contact with others.
Avoid Crowds
Americans get about 1 billion colds per year and we’re used to dealing with these. However, the novel coronavirus is a different type of concern — especially as new variants continue to emerge. Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you still need to exert caution to avoid unnecessary contact with others. You should make an effort to avoid making too many stops along the way and to bring masks, sanitizing wipes, and hand sanitizer with you when those public places can’t be avoided. When you have to be around other people, be sure to maintain appropriate social distance.
Have Your Vehicle Serviced Before You Leave Home
There are over 5,891,000 automobile accidents on U.S. roads per year, some of which are caused by equipment malfunction. To avoid break-downs and limit your chance of an accident, it’s important to have your car serviced by a mechanic and fill up your gas tank before you leave your hometown for your road trip destination. You’ll also be more relaxed, as you’ll know that your vehicle’s components are all working correctly.
Road trips are a great way to ease back into travel after being home-bound throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’ve been itching to get out on the road, consider planning one or two day trips to local destinations. These can be a great way to adjust to the process of packing, leaving home, and managing safety for a small group in these unique times, as well. Check a search engine, map, or travel site to see what destinations in your local area look interesting, then start planning some time on the calendar. You’ll be able to hit the road with confidence when you follow these easy tips for keeping everyone safe.