COVID Or Not, Here We Go: Preparing The Family For That First Post-lockdown Trip
Please note: this post originally appeared on Escape Road Trip
One of America’s favorite family past times, the road trip, is threatened as never before.
Airlines are grounded, cruise ships are docked (or worse, stranded at sea), hotels are shuttered, and even individual travel within a city, region, or state has been restricted in some sections of the country.
Read on for guidelines that will help the intrepid traveler with family in tow re-connect with the road for a much-needed stir of the soul. Even if it’s just a day trip.
Will Jellystone Be Open?
The travel industry as a whole is finally starting to open up. It is desperate for travelers and there are countless options available on packages that cater to the family. While this bodes well for those wanting to take advantage of the savings, it is wise to check ahead, more so now than ever.
You’ll want to confirm your hotel, restaurant, campground, park, beach, pool, mountain top, or wine valley will be open and accessible.
For example, one way to confirm if a restaurant is open for business is to check the dates posted on their website reviews. Make sure those dates are current. Short of online information, give them a call.
Trip Training
A fun way to ‘train’ the family and practice your safety routines would be to get the whole family together for a trip to the grocery store or other type of errand. Really. Pile ’em all in the car and do a prep run for your road trip.
Resist letting the safety rules slip just because you’re enjoying your vacation. Social distancing and frequent hand washing will be crucial to maintaining everyone’s health and safety.
Once in the blissful throes of your trip it’s all too easy for some of the new hygiene habits to be overlooked, forgotten, or put off, say, after a great round of Frisbee !golf or before diving into a pizza.
Establishing good safety routines and reinforcing them through some repetitive training beforehand will help the family keep them front of mind and de rigueur once on the road. You might even challenge the little ones to come up with a rhyme for the rules. Have some fun with it!
And of course, make sure all your physician, medicine, and insurance information are updated and easily accessed. Have a contingency plan if someone falls ill. Research hospitals in your destination city or country. If a parent becomes ill, who stays with him or her, and how does the family return home?
Ruinous Assumptions
Don’t assume your hotel knows where you’re coming from, whether locally or from another continent. Confirm you will be permitted to enter the city, region, or state of your final destination. Calling ahead to local travel bureaus or a chamber of commerce will yield the necessary information.
If traveling by air, don’t assume that you are entitled to a refund due to COVID related issues. Is it worth purchasing trip insurance?
Check the fine print on pandemic-related illnesses and hospitalization travel policies. The carriers that still provide travel insurance may exclude pandemic-related reimbursements.
Also, to ensure you don’t suffer a major kiddo (spouse?) meltdown, confirm you will NOT have to endure a two-week quarantine before you can continue with your planned activities.
Visions of Chevy Chase’s “Vacation” disastrous though hilarious misadventures provide ample motivation to check.
Have A Plan B
Of course, planning a trip always involves examining the potential of having to make changes in the middle of it. Some areas of the world that were opening up just a few weeks ago and have experienced repeat COVID spikes have shut down again. Have a plan B, and C.
Prepare yourself and the family ahead of time for the very real possibility of having to miss a desired stop, make an unscheduled detour, or end the trip early if necessary.
Regardless of how well you prepare, unforeseen circumstances while underway may require drastic changes to your plans. A discussion with the family in advance can help minimize the angst, especially with the little ones (and teens?). And always provide a detailed copy of your travel itinerary to a trusted friend or family member back home.
Due to COVID being highly contagious, the travel industry as a whole remains fraught with uncertainty. But that doesn’t have to impede your travel plans if you do your homework and create on-the-go options. Additional research on affiliated industries ahead of time can make a huge difference if a trip goes sideways.
Boldly Go
So embrace Henry David Thoreau’s inspiring quote, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.”
In these times of turmoil, it is necessary to safeguard that which we treasure most, the health and well-being of our family. However, this does not mean we have to sacrifice the joy of a much-needed escape when it comes to remaining COVID-free.
Take the necessary precautions, prepare the family in the best way possible, then boldly go and find your joy. Enough of this pathogenic paralysis — your adventure awaits!
