Did COVID-19 Ruin Your Travel Plans? Here's What to Do
How to plan your next trip despite a pandemic.
We may not be able to travel now… but we can prepare for our next trip.
In the era of a global pandemic, international travel is nearly impossible. In fact, many citizens ordered to return to their home countries are stuck around the world trying to find a way back, all the while flight after flight is being cancelled. That kind of chaos wouldn’t want to make anyone want to travel! We aren’t immune to the risk, we’ve already had several trips canceled within to destinations within the US, Italy and Greece.
What can we do?
Don’t panic, plan. We can plan and prepare. We may not be able to control the length of time we are stuck inside, but what we can do is imagine what’s possible after this is all over. We can make lists, we can draft itineraries, we can research the best places to go and get those hotels booked! With the power of the internet, the world is our oyster waiting to be explored.
Pick Your Dates
Planning in advance has its perks. Looking far ahead into the future, you have more flexibility as you navigate your time-off, budgeting, and planning some of the finer details of your trip. Look ahead from six months to a year ahead for maximum flexibility.
Find Your Dream Destination
This is the fun part. Where do you want to go? Start a list of places of high interest for you, and keep an open mind while you begin your research. Where you fly into doesn’t have to be where you stay for your trip, but keep airfares and accessibility in mind as you search.
We’ve already started planning our next trip, as we’re heading to Chiangmai Thailand this December! Sound fun? Come with us!
Research, Research, Research
Finding blogs with ideal and diverse itineraries will give you an advantage in planning your trip. It’s much easier to see what the best things are to experience in a place you’ve never been when hearing from someone who has. Look for things like where to stay according to your budget, where to find the best food (and what types of cuisine to try), and what tourist attractions and activities to invest your time and money in! It’s also a good idea to look at how to get around, if you need any language training or additional help, and health/safety precautions.
For a myriad of locations, here are a few of our favorite itineraries we’ve done:
4. Find Your Flight
The one benefit of nobody traveling right now is that airline fares have plummeted in price. We’ve seen roundtrip tickets from Seattle to Miami for $120, flights from NYC to LA for $85, and a direct flight from Portland to Frankfurt for $400. The prices are almost unbelievable, which makes sense because absolutely nobody wants to fly or even think about flying during a global pandemic.
Let’s look into the future. Let’s look at late 2020 and early 2021, after the pandemic is over. There are many methods to book cheap flights, and we’ve written a quick guide to find the cheapest flights available.
How to Find Cheap Flights
5. Buy Travel Insurance
If we’ve learned anything from our trips being cancelled due to the Corona Virus pandemic, it’s that travel insurance is so important and absolutely worth the extra cost. Make sure to look into the travel insurance that you are purchasing to ensure you have your bases covered in case something comes up, preventing you from traveling or canceling your trip. For more on travel insurance, visit this article from Forbes for an in-depth review.
6. Travel With Us!
Okay, this one is extra credit. ;)
Our trips this Spring may be cancelled, but we aren’t letting that get us down! We’re heading to Thailand this December and we want you to come with us! This is our first ever group trip, and we’ll be adventurously exploring Chiangmai, riding vespas, hiking, and giving hands-on photography instruction to a small group of new friends (hopefully including you!) Check out all the details and reserve your spot!
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