We get it. It’s hard to stay home. A summer without travel feels wasted, and while the warm months wind down and autumn looms, it’s easy to justify just one little vacation. Not by plane or train, of course—it still feels too risky to move through packed lobbies and crowd into mass transit. But a nice little road trip is safe, right? Well, no. Not really. The most responsible, safest choice is still to stay at home and not contribute to the interstate spread of COVID-19. But for those who just can’t ignore the siren song of one last vacation while the days are still long, here are a few helpful tips for road-tripping safely during COVID-19.
1. Only stay at hotels with occupancy buffers
Housekeeping can always cut corners, but a hotel that leaves rooms empty for two to three days between stays is doing the most it can to assure that the previous guest isn’t leaving a viral souvenir for you. If the hotel can’t confidently tell you that there is an occupancy buffer, or it looks full, move on to the next place.
2. Skip indoor dining
Patios are nice. Bringing the food with you to a park or back to your hotel room is nicer. Anything but sitting in a dining room mere feet from other diners. If you’re eating on a patio with table service, don’t be lazy: put your mask on each time the server comes by and wash your hands before and after the meal.
3. Don’t risk a crowd
Yes, you’re on vacation to have fun, but if the venue, pool, or restaurant that you were looking forward to is packed, or even just moderately crowded with people not observing basic precautions, don’t go in. It doesn’t matter how far you traveled if you get COVID-19 while you’re there because you took unnecessary risks.
4. Don’t slack off on hygiene
Wear your mask. Wash your hands, and then wash them again. Carry hand sanitizer. Don’t get sunburned; sunburns reduce your immune response while your body handles damage to your single largest organ, your skin.
This isn’t a “calories don’t count on vacation” situation. The coronavirus is not on vacation, it’s hard at work. If you must travel during the pandemic, observe these precautions and you can be as confident as scientifically possible that you’re not spreading the virus to people at your destination—and that you won’t be taking COVID-19 back home with you.
Do you have any other tips for road-tripping safely during COVID-19? Please share them in the comments!