Should You Travel During the Pandemic (COVID-19)?

A few weeks ago I had to get from the Northeast to Florida. In normal times when you think about spending about 3 hours on a plane compared to driving for 18 hours the answer seems pretty obvious. However, not this time. I have a lot of friends who have flown but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I decided to make a fun road trip out of it and spend a few nights in Richmond, Charleston and Savannah (I will be writing posts in the future about my wonderful trip). Who doesn’t love the South!?

Cities

During my journey, I received messages from my Instagram followers asking if I felt safe and how things were different. Things were definitely different and it was interesting to see how various cities and hotels are responding to this “new normal.” There were some cities where people barely wore masks on the street and other cities that basically everyone had one on (I actually had two girls walking behind me with masks on and a car pulled up next to them and yelled, “you don’t have to wear a mask if you’re outside!!” to which she politely responded, “yes I do as there are people walking in front me.”). The vast majority of restaurants that I visited had QR codes on the table instead of menus. Other restaurants required you to order online and they would bring the food to your table.

Hotels

I stayed in five different hotels and most had similar protocols in place including social distancing signage, requiring masks in public areas, the housekeepers leaving a sticker on your door to signify that the room was clean, and allowing you to take off your mask while seated at a restaurant. There were also a few differences. One hotel required a temperature to check-in, some didn’t have cleaning services unless requested, and others didn’t allow outside guests.

Based on my experience, I felt pretty safe staying at hotels and visiting different cities. It is really up to each person’s comfort level if they should travel during the pandemic or not! Please feel free to leave a comment or email me if you have any specific questions. If you want to daydream about travel, you should visit my blog posts about Lisbon and Santorini!

Best Travel Essentials:

Portable charger for your phone

Noise cancelling headphones (currently 51% off)

Emergen-C Vitamin packets (currently 41% off)

Travel wallet / passport holder

YETI Tumbler

Packing cubes

Box of disposable face masks

Disinfecting wipes

Compression socks

Hand sanitizers

*Note these essentials work for both men and women, and all fit into a carry-on. They work for road trips, domestic travel and international travel. I also included some COVID-related essentials.

Xo,

Kika