I am happy to feature guest blogger Wally De La Rosa from Money.com for this useful article with quite vital information regarding post-pandemic travel plans. With Covid (mostly) behind us and summer here, we are all itching to travel. Instead of leaving in hasty abandon, it’s important to take extra steps to ensure a perfect getaway whether heading out domestically or internationally this summer. – Zack, BYRT
By Wally De La Rosa | Money.com
June 22, 2021
—
After a year (and more) of COVID-19 flight cancellations, lost plans, and hotel bookings gone adrift, we’re finally starting to see some movement towards sustainable domestic travel in the second half of 2021.
It was slow-starting at first, but vaccination rollouts and relaxing restrictions have made the travel industry buzz and shine, with flight and hotel costs going up rapidly despite a shy turnout.
With the advent of remote work, business travel seems to be on the decline—and with less flight and lodging availability due to COVID-19 capacity limits, prices have risen everywhere, with no signs of slowing down. Experts expect this trend to continue until offices whose employees are working remotely go back to a physical location.
Not everything is bad, though, and while top-tourist cities like New York and San Francisco will be crowded for the foreseeable future, now is a great time to indulge in lesser-known destinations and enjoy something new while normalcy settles in.
This is also realistic because there are still many challenges ahead and reasons to be mindful of others as the pandemic wanes and leaves us for good.
To help you make the most of this situation, we’ve prepared several travel budget tips and tricks that will help you plan and execute better post-COVID adventures. Here they are:
Four Tips to Make the Most of Post-Pandemic Travel
Tip #1: Start Budgeting Early
While there are many opportunities to enjoy ourselves domestically—international travel is still experiencing slow or delayed demand, which means that we have more time to think about our destinations in full detail.
Generally, this gives us more time to save, and increases the likelihood of facing comfortable restrictions by the time we’re ready for TSA. You can also spend some time reviewing items on your credit report in order to qualify for better travel credit cards.
Start budgeting for your trip now, and a few months later, you’ll see how easily you can turn small savings into travel miles. Making a budget isn’t difficult, but prioritizing and working with our budget is.
Make an effort to cut down unnecessary expenses in the months prior to your trip: this can be everything from grabbing coffee on the go to cancelling unused subscription services. Small adjustments can create groundbreaking, progressive change!
Tip #2: Change Your Game
It will still be a while before everyone is fully vaccinated and we can roam between states with little to no COVID-19 hassle—not just in America, but across Europe where countries share easily accessible borders thanks to rail systems.
A good idea to make the most of your travel is to focus on goals rather than destinations during the upcoming seasons. So rather than setting off to enjoy easily traversed France and Great Britain, you can choose to focus your attention on a specific aspect of your chosen destination, and fully immerse yourself there!
This can happen through cuisine, nature, art, or any other facet of culture that you’d like to explore more of during your adventures.
You can find more information about European travel restrictions, here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-countries-in-europe-are-reopening
Tip #3: Enjoy Yourself!
It’s easy to get caught up in all that is happening and forget to have fun. Relax, enjoy yourself, and save these moments for years to come.
Of course, handle all the paperwork, the planning, and the packing, but do take time to relish in the excitement of planning a trip! Learn about your destination, find out what types of food are typical there, explore!
Carefully planning your trip is another good way to reduce your travel anxiety and feel in control while you’re on the road.
Instead of focusing on filling up your itinerary so that it’s fully booked from the moment you wake up till bedtime, select themes for each day, and find a good portion of activities that are particular to each theme every day.
It’s even more important to get your travel arrangements sorted out prior so that you save money and lessen your impact on the environment.
Tip #4: Follow Safety Precautions
Pay attention to the CDC’s official travel and health guidelines. Here you’ll find information about vaccine eligibility, state and community insights, and recommendations. You can also see real-time stats on cases and hospitalizations.
You can also read up on the latest airline and hotel COVID-19 information directly on your favorite airline/hotel websites.
As a good rule of thumb, always carry a backup strategy. Flight cancellations, lost luggage, and health emergencies are all too common without the presence of COVID in the world. As such, these surprises can sideline and prevent you from enjoying your vacations. Travel insurance can help you lessen the impact of travel expenses due to cancellations or changes in your plans.
Less is More as COVID-19 Draws Back
A lot has changed since COVID-19 first made its way into our lives. The world isn’t the same, and most importantly—we are not the same.
It’s perfectly normal that people are excited about the world reversing to normality again, even if only a little, but that isn’t to say we’re past the troubles, past the unexpected.
Our impact on our world can have significant consequences, yet our world is so complex that these consequences are not always immediately apparent to us.
If you want to stay up to date with the blog and get more tips on travel, don’t forget to sign up for our podcast or visit our index to find all of Backyard Roadtrip’s adventures for the past few years!
Cheers~
