The COVID-19 pandemic was such an unexpected event in the plans that many thought they would see in 2020. As I made my vision board for the new year, I glued on pictures of sunny beaches, matching family outfits, and debt free slogans. Not realizing all the chaos and uncertainty that 2020 would bring. But I am determined to not feel that 2020 is cancelled! I am focused on making lemonade from the lemons this year served us . So my husband and I decided to take a random trip to Houston for a quick getaway and change in scenery. Even though we were super nervous to travel with our 8 month old, we decided to not live in fear and to just adapt to the current climate.
As we traveled and spent time in Houston, there were specific things that we did to help keep our family safe. As always some of these things may not work for you , so change and adapt to whats best for your situation. But I am hoping to provide some things for you to think about while your out traveling this summer and for the remainder of the year during the pandemic.
1. if at all possible, drive
Due to the air being recycled in planes, it makes them a breeding ground for viruses and bacteria. Also due to close seating quarters, you are more likely to breathe in the air of individuals sitting near you. However, it may not be possible to avoid the plane, so here are some tips to help you make your trip safer. When buying your ticket, pay the additional cost to sit next to your loved ones. This way your are at least sitting next to someone that you know the whereabouts of. Wearing a mask and disinfecting your seat area and tray also helps to kill germs in your proximity. I would recommend using either Clorox or Lysol wipes. Especially when it comes to little ones, driving is the better alternative as you are able to control who you share space with.
2. Pick a hotel that requires masks to be worn by guests in common areas
This is crucial as hotels often have common areas where great amounts of people converse and spend time. This also makes it harder to keep the 6 feet apart recommendation. However, if guests are required to wear masks in these areas, you are less likely to contact a nasty bug. If also just gives you peace of mind as these places are often where you would go to eat breakfast as well.
BONUS TIP: If your hotel offers free breakfast, make sure the food that they are serving is pre-packaged. Buffet style food serving is quite common at hotels, but I wouldn’t chance it during this time.
3. SANITIZE YOUR ROOM
Using a sanitizer diluted in water worked best for us as it dried faster and didn’t leave residue on the hotel furniture. I took a spray bottle and filled it halfway with water and hand sanitizer. We sprayed everything down in the room , including the chairs, tv, windows, and bathroom. We also used Lysol disinfectant spray to wipe down hard surfaces, such are cabinets and side tables. Your room with smell like alcohol for a while, so we decided to leave the room and came back after 2 hours.
BONUS TIP: Getting a room with a sink and dishwasher are helpful with younger kids because you are able to wash their bottles/pacifiers and use the dishwasher to help sanitize them as well using the dry setting.
4. eat at restaurants with patios or outdoor areas
Restaurants also have recycled air so if someone coughs or sneezes in the air without a mask on , this increases your chances of contracting additional pathogens. You are oftentimes not seated 6 feet apart either, which is another cause for concern. As a result you best bet is to sit outside because the air that you are breathing is fresh and not being cycled through the same location.
BONUS TIP: Ask for plastic silverware and disposable cups. Some restaurants are already doing this, but if not just ask for plastic silverware and cups so that you also eliminate spread from previous users.
5. TRY TO GO TO HEAVY TRAFFIC LOCATIONS EARLIER IN THE DAY TO AVOID large crowds
It is difficult to avoid people but the best thing that I can tell you would be to go earlier than later to high traffic areas. While we were in Houston, we decided to visit the Kemah Boardwalk. However, we knew the later that we went, the more likely we would run into large crowds on the boardwalk. Since the boardwalk opened at 10 am, we decided to be there as soon as it opened. We stayed for about two hours and at that point it started to get busier but luckily we were already able to explore the space.
Due to the lack of information about the COVID-19 pandemic, this is likely to be our life for a while. As a result we have two choices as people. We can either quit traveling altogether or adapt to the current climate of the world. We decided to just adapt and will likely continue to do these things post pandemic for years to come. These additional precautions that we took gave us peace of mind when traveling with our little one. It also allowed us to make sure that we were keeping others who came into contact with us safe as well. If there are any things, that you have done to make traveling during the pandemic safer, please don’t hesitate to share them in the comment section below.
Please share this post on social media, if you feel that it was helpful to you. I appreciate it very much!
XO,
The Imperfect Woman
We aren’t ready to travel yet (even though we so desperately need to) but when we do we will use these tips. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much for reading! It is here whenever you are ready!
Love this! Great tips especially spraying down the room. I’ve heard some hotels are really stepping up their sanitization process, but you can never ever be too safe! Glad y’all got to travel and have a good time!
We had so much fun and I slept like a baby knowing those sheets were clean!
I am not ready to travel yet, but I am sure I will need to take these safety precautions for a while when I do travel, so thank you for the helpful tips!
Great! Take your time , traveling will always be there!
These are good tips. I was suppose to travel this summer, but we decided against it since we have little ones. I hope that we won’t have to worry about this stuff much come next summer!
Me and you both! We definitely were certainly more cautious because of our child! I hope you guys have fun whenever you decide to go
Such a good reminder to clean off hotel room surfaces! We always wipe door handles, light switches and remotes!
Oh yes! All of them , I think COVID was a great reminder of the true reality of the germs around us.
I am so ready to start traveling again! Thank you for the tips!
No problem thank you for the read!
Super helpful tips! My family is hoping to go camping with tents soon, which I think will help to ensure that we stay away from potential sickness. It looks like your trip to Houston was a lot of fun!
It definitely was and what a great way to take a trip and social distance at the same time!
Not sure when we’ll be going on an overnight trip but these are still great tips for day trips too. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, I hope these tips are useful on your future explorations!
We are hitting the outdoors this summer! Not really out of fear of covid, but because it was already planned. We actually got a Disney trip in the week before they closed!! Lucky us! haha
Thanks for the tips though!
We live in London and haven’t started travelling yet, but looking forward to it. Excellent tips, you can never be to careful!
I like the idea of sanitizing hotel surfaces. Especially common parts like door handles and the remote control!
Good tips as we are slowly planning some summer trips
My husband is in the military and cannot travel more than 350 miles from our home … and we are itching to go somewhere soon! These are fantastic tips – especially avoiding crowds by going early!
I don’t feel comfortable travelling now, but these tips will definitely help when I will be
We’re getting ready to travel out of state for a wedding and I have such anxiety. These are great tips.
Thank you for this! Cases have gone down in our area so we are hoping to be able to travel a bit (no more than 1 hour away) soon. Spraying down a hotel room sounds like an EXCELLENT idea.
Great tips! Not sure when we’ll be traveling again but it’s nice to be prepared
We keep supplies handy in our vehicle.
These are great tips and advice! I’m planning on just doing a bunch of day trips to national parks and hoping for the best! Ha! I’m like you, determined to not cancel 2020
These are great tips. We traveled for the first time since early March this past weekend and it was almost surreal. Very few people in hotels, lots of masks and social distancing. We didn’t spray down the hotel room, but we stayed at mid-level chains that seemed very clean and cautious–more than usual.
These are great pointers for traveling during a pandemic. Keeping vigilant and practicing safety preventative measures, are in everyone’s best health interest. Keep safe, healthy and smart 😉
definitely keep an eye on everything and the safety preventative measures, these are great pointers.
Thanks for this. I feel so sad that I still can’t go to any other country…but this will be applicable even when our borders open, sure, because, we are still going to take precautions even then.
Thanks
If not for the Covid-19 we might have taken the train too for our short holiday but we also decided to keep it safe and go by car 🙂
Definitely tips to keep in mind! Can’t wait for my next trip. Thanks for sharing!
I couldn’t agree more with sanitizing the room – so incredibly important! It’s safer to use all precautions, even though it’s extra work.
These are all great tips! Hand hygiene is #1 along with not traveling when you are sick.
Great tips! Honestly it is a crazy time but if we follow a few rules and guidelines it makes it easier to travel.
hi
some very relevant and useful tips. true self-drive in own vehicle is one major plus point and so is a hotel where all guests are to wear masks. Bookmarking this article
Lovely trips. Thanks for sharing
Yeah, I will be travelling next week but I wasnt sure about hotel rooms but your tips are real good.
All these tips are great for sure but I’ll still say it’s better to stay home and avoid going out unnecessarily. I am so scared of this already.
Great tips since I have a toddler. We’re going to travel again later this year so I’m going to have to do better to protect him from this pandemic.
I want to travel so bad! Thanks for all this info!
No problem I enjoyed writing it!
I guess, its a bad idea to travel while covid 19 are spreading all over the world as fasten as fast. But these tips can we use after this pandemic crisis. I love your stuff to sanitizer the hotel. Lysol is the best why to get rid of viruses and germs.
And doing these things made me feel so much better too.
Thank you for sharing these useful tips! I finally went out to a bar last weekend and it was so weird. I can’t stay cooped up anymore but it’s important to stay careful and safe. Happy travels!
Staying in the house all day will make you feel crazy so I totally understand.
I’m slowly easing out of quarantine mode. I’d love to travel as safely as possible thanks for all your travel tips.
Thank you for reading!
We are itching to travel, but the way my anxiety is set up, we might have to hold off until August. These are some great tips and I will definitely be referring back to this when do.
Girl I do not blame you that is why we started with something that was close to home.
These are some great tips for how to stay motivated and inspired when traveling during the pandemic..
Thank you!
This is a question I have recently, would you choose a hotel or an AirBnB during this pandemic? Even if the hotel is higher in price?
I personally love a hotel , and it was really easy to clean because its smaller so less effort on your part.
Great tips. We are plainning to go to Turkey in a month.
Well sounds like I made this post just in time!
I like the idea of having anyone comes should be wearing masks. It’s necessary we need to be safe if we decide to travel during this time.
It definitely made us feel safer.
These are helpful tips for traveling during this time. We are still too nervous yet.