Where to Next? Travel Planning for after Coronavirus
Note: please keep in mind we advise everyone to remain social distancing, be respectful of local law and wear masks when inside buildings or around others. This article is aimed to assist travelers in safely moving forward in a post-pandemic world.
Coronavirus has brought a lot of things to a standstill. If you’re anything like us, the border closing has made us itch to travel. We’ve been scheming up plans for once travel bans ease up a bit and it’s safe again to go out.
Be sure to research these trips before hopping on board to see what is actually open during the time of your trip. Things change quickly during a global pandemic, so be aware.
Here are some of the ways to travel safely post-Coronavirus.
RV Life
Been following us for awhile? If so, you know that we spent a year traveling the United States and Canada in an RV. If you haven’t seen that, check out our blog or Youtube channel! Long story short, we renovated an RV and used it to travel from Florida to Alaska. We had our ups and downs, but it was totally worth it.
Where to go
It’s important to have a plan when RV traveling because you have no idea how much empty road there is out there until you’re on it for days. It’s kind of fun to have a theme around your trip!
Visit the National Parks. Once they’re back open of course. A lot of the parks have campgrounds near them or even in them with easy places to park too.
Travel from coast to coast. Start East and head West. Start at the Gulf of Mexico and make it to Lake Superior. It’s cool to travel a whole span of a country and on most of these routes there is plenty to see.
RV trips are becoming more and more popular! There are companies in almost every country that have RV rentals available and also travel companies that specialize in planning RV travel routes.
Van Life
If you’ve used the internet in the past 5 years, you’ve seen what we’re talking about. Those vans that have been remodeled to serve as functioning homes. It’s all the rage!
Start now travel later
With nowhere to go just yet, this is a great time to get started on remodeling. Check out Youtube for inspiration and renovation help. There are plenty of channels dedicated to just van renovations. Take these ideas and put your own spin on them! By the time your van is ready to be lived in, hopefully there will be more places open for you to travel to.
Perks of van life
You might wonder what makes “Van Life” so appealing. Here’s why we love the idea of it:
Smaller than an RV. This makes parking, driving, and storing the thing much easier. We are speaking from experience here.
Freedom. You can go just about anywhere!
There are plenty of opportunities through can renovations. Use it on your own or, if it’s just the renovation that is appealing to you, finish one up then sell it! There’s definitely a market for them.
Invest in Cool Airbnbs
When planning a trip, most of your budget typically goes towards the flight. When planning a domestic trip, this portion of your budget becomes much smaller so you can invest a bigger portion to different aspect of your trip.
plan a stay-cation
A great way to make the most out of a trip that might not be the coolest destination, is to find a sweet Airbnb to stay in. We’re talking a treehouse in Atlanta, an adobe dome in Texas, or an airstream in Joshua Tree. Spending more on a unique or upscale Airbnb will give you a great experience without having to travel far!
During our RV trip, we could a break from the road and stayed in an Airbnb yurt on a vineyard. Never thought we would be giving yurt tours on Youtube, but here we are.
Check out the cool Airbnb spots around you and use our Airbnb Link for $55 off your first stay!
“International” Hack
Once things begin to calm down a bit, and the travel bans lightens, there will surely still be some hard border closings. One way to still travel with these restrictions, is to think outside the continental United States.
Stretch WITHIN your passport
Your passport might not be good to enter foreign countries, but United States territories are still an option. Think of US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, or even a state like Hawaii. A tropical getaway without leaving the United States. At the moment all of these US islands are closed to tourists but may be some of the first to open to domestic travel (compared to international borders).
Of course, don’t put yourself and others at risk by flying out right now, but these are all great idea for post-Coronavirus while things are still slowly opening up. Some airlines have even begun to invest in safe air filtration systems to make flying safer especially during times like these.
Countries are beginning to re-open
When looking to foreign countries for travel, we’ll all have to wait for borders to open and allow foreign passports. Plan on a “nature” trip for hiking and other outdoor activities in lieu of visiting restaurants or tourist sites.
Some countries have begun to loosely open their borders back up but with stricter regulations. Iceland is opening up their borders on June 15, 2020 as long as you have proof of a negative Covid test. One of the reasons we like Iceland for post-Covid travel is because it combines a lot of these elements mentioned above: social distancing, vanlife, and visiting nature!
Fact check first
Before you plan a big trip around these country openings, be sure to double check, fact check, and maybe even call an embassy to confirm the opening and regulations of travel to the given country.
Be safe!
While traveling is an obvious livelihood for many of us, it is important to remember that these countries will still be there once this is all over. Stay safe now and use this time to plan your trips down to every detail so when it is safe to be back out, you’ll be all set.
Hope you’re all staying safe and healthy. We’ll be back out again soon enough!
Keep in mind…
Just because you may be allowed to travel, there is a high likelihood that many businesses will still be closed due to the pandemic. Best to plan on visiting nature sights than a big city trip.
