I never thought I would live to see a day where travel shut down globally. Although we may not be able to hop on a plane to jet set around the world, there’s plenty of ways to keep travel and future travels alive during the current pandemic. I’ve asked a few of my best travel friends to share their coronavirus thoughts beyond things to do in quarantine and pandemic perspectives. Here’s 7 Coronavirus Travel Planning Tips from World Travelers:
1. ENJOY THE FEEL-GOOD BENEFITS – Meghan Young
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Did you know that the act of planning travel gives you some of the same feel-good benefits as travel itself? If you’re feeling restless and in need of something to look forward to, don’t hesitate to dig in to planning your next adventure! A few things to keep in mind:
- Keep it flexible. While everyone is hoping for a swift global recovery from COVID-19, we aren’t sure what the timeframe looks like. So, make sure whatever travel plans you come up with are well-suited for any time of year!
- Set flight alerts now. I’m a huge fan of using Skyscanner to book personal travel and currently have alerts set for several different dream destinations. Even if you’re not ready to commit financially, it’s good to know what the price trends are so you can budget and prepare.
- Finally, look for ways you can support small local businesses when you eventually arrive at your destination! Though everyone is taking a hit financially, boutique hotels and operators are bearing the brunt of it so do what you can to support them while you dream big!
2. RESEARCH A TOP 5 & AIRBNB WISHLIST – Michael Gabbert
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Avoid going stir crazy with RESEARCH! I’m a big proponent of extensive research when traveling (plus it can help cure some of that wanderlust while stuck indoors). Now is a great time to look around the world and figure out places you want to go and from there determine when is the best time to visit in regards to cost, crowds/weather, unique celebrations, etc. A couple small things to do during quarantine which have always helped my research:
- Create a top 5: Determine your top 5 places to visit. The world is huge and there’s so much choice, so you’ll be lost if you’re looking everywhere. Determine where you want to go and focus your efforts on those top places as you consider the budget, timing, and options to ultimately book your trip. Use Google Earth to help! It’s fun. It’s free. And it’s entertaining as hell to roam around the world.
- Create Airbnb wishlists: there are so many one-of-a-kind places to stay around the world. The best ones – and the best values – get booked early. Take a look at the options and save them for later as you hone in your plans.
3. USE “SAVED” FOLDERS ON INSTA – Jade Broadus
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Start saving road trip ideas you find on Instagram in your “saved” folders. I create one for each area and then add in cool accommodation options, restaurants, hikes, and shops. This way, when it’s safe to travel again, you’ll be ready to hit the road and explore places closer to you right away.
4. PLAN DREAM TRIPS 1+ YEARS IN ADVANCE – Jason Heidemann
None of us knows when this will all end and the last thing any of us wants to do is plan an epic trip that will end up getting postponed or cancelled because we booked it too soon. That’s why right now is the time to plan for the kinds of dream trips that require at least a year of advance planning. Permits to hike the Inca Trail for example, sell out months and even up to a year in advance which is why now is the time to start planning a Machu Picchu visit. Likewise, a deferred summer Olympics means now is your chance to plan for a Tokyo 2021 visit in case you had missed out. Lots of places, especially in Europe, have started to place restrictions on tourists to deal with overtourism so why not book a dream Europe trip for a year from now or use this time to be the first to snag a posh Palms Spring hotel in anticipation of next April’s Coachella festival?
5. LEARN HOW TO TRAVEL HACK – Michelle Halpern
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Stay home for now but don’t give up all hope when it comes to travel. Studies show that the anticipation of a trip can be just as enjoyable, if not MORE enjoyable than the trip itself, so reframe this time as the ultimate anticipation for that epic trip down the road. This extra time at home is the perfect opportunity to get a head start on aspects of travel planning that would normally stress you out during your pre-quarantine routine — ie. destination research, itinerary planning (ps this is my secret weapon for making awesome itineraries), and racking up points and miles. If you’ve always wanted to get into the travel hacking game, this is the time to learn what to do, so that when we can travel again you’re already armed and ready with knowledge, points and a plan!
6. PLAN TRAVEL THAT HEALS – Jessica Blotter
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As many local communities are severely impacted because of COVID-19, once it is safe to travel again, travel that supports local communities and destination recovery will be more important than ever. Traveling locally within your state is a great way to support local travel businesses.
Additionally, supporting charities in communities that help heal destinations will be fundamental to the recovery of the destination. Charities that address food poverty, homelessness, public health, education, disaster relief, as well as environmental and wildlife sanctuaries that depend on tourism foot traffic, will be critical to garner support for as many charities that depend on foot traffic, events, and other fundraisers have lost critical funding due to COVID-19.
One way to support local communities when you travel is to book hotels on Kind Traveler, the world’s 1st socially-conscious hotel booking platform that empowers travelers to positively impact the destinations they visit. Travelers unlock special hotel rates and perks when they give a $10 nightly donation to a local charity that positively impacts the visiting destination, or to a charity of choice. 100% of donations go to charity. If the charity offers any type of voluntourism opportunity, you will see ways to ‘travel kindly’ beyond the donation on the designated charity page on Kind Traveler.
7. CONNECT WITH YOUR FAVORITE TRAVELERS – Justin Walter
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Now is the time to directly connect with your favorite world travelers for inspiration, tips and ideas. Bloggers, influencers and travelers who are stuck at home are looking for any excuse to talk travel and to keep the spirit of travel alive! Send a DM, find their email, tweet at them, you get the picture. Start up a travel conversation and who knows where it will lead you. I do this all the time! A few years ago I was doing Insta research for a trip to the Philippines and I sent a DM to @whoneedsmaps. Long story short, they helped me plan my entire route and we became great friends IRL.
For the latest on the Covid-19 Pandemic visit the WHO and CDC Travel
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