Vacations during COVID?

[chemgirl]

Is anyone trying to plan a “safer” summer vacation this year?

We were toying with the idea of going to Tofino BC and flying direct to the island. We decided against it because airports are gross.

Instead we booked a lakefront lodge outside of Algonquin Park. This is about 3 hours away from us. I called the lodge first and the owner explained their COVID policy. They quarantine the rooms for a minimum of 24 hours between guests. Each guest has to agree to wear a mask while moving through common areas or no booking. Life jackets are assigned for each person and stored in your room. You have to spray down the boats before and after use. They are limiting occupancy so fewer than 20 guests and each couple will be assigned a table on the patio for the duration of their stay. No visitors. No switching tables. No housekeeping during your stay (but they provide a box to leave towels and collect new ones). Finally no children.

That particular area goes weeks without new cases. It’s very much one or two tied to travel every once and a while.

We feel ok with our choice.

A few friends have purchased trailers and are using them to get in some isolation travel.

Curious to hear what others are doing.

 

[kenny]

Nope!
Nothing!

Priorities, ya know.

 

[JPie]

None for me. The US is in pretty bad shape and I’m scared to travel!

 

[bludiva]

your plan sounds good we've canceled 2 trips and our "staycation" was literally at home for 2 weeks. no great driving destinations nearby plus not sure who we could even ask to take care of our pets at a time like this.

my sister has been doing some awesome day trips / road trips this summer (she gets summers off) to compensate for canceled travel and it's made their quarantine easier.

have a great time

 

[OreoRosies86]

I booked two air bnbs for just me in an effort to get out of town and regroup. Both were in isolated cabins normally only booked in the winter (both were in Vermont). They were heavily discounted because they are not often used in warm weather. Both were contactless check in as well and no neighboring properties. I really enjoyed the solitude of both trips.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

Not this year. I go to the grocery store and my Mom's pool. I won't even go to the beach.

 

[dk168]

Had my campervan/RV been available now, I would go camping using my own onboard facilities such as toilet/shower and washing up sink. I would only need to hook up to electricity, empty the chemical toilet, and top up the water tank from time to time.

I don't really like staying in hotels or bed and breakfast as I find them rather soulless compared with camping, therefore, not planning to go anywhere in the near future.

Hopefully, my van will be ready by the end of September if not October 2020, and I shall definitely go out and about camping with my dog.

Definitely not planing to board a plane or go on a cruise in the foreseeable future.

DK

 

[Matata]

We've rented a cabin in a remote desert area of Oregon where the only other beings we'll meet are wildlife.

 

[chemgirl]

I booked two air bnbs for just me in an effort to get out of town and regroup. Both were in isolated cabins normally only booked in the winter (both were in Vermont). They were heavily discounted because they are not often used in warm weather. Both were contactless check in as well and no neighboring properties. I really enjoyed the solitude of both trips.

We did something similar last weekend. Our friend owns a “wedding farm” about an hour outside of the city. It has a really cool barn and a honeymoon guest house for the newly married couple. It’s been sitting empty so we booked it. Lots of hiking, reading, and camp fires. Nobody else for miles.

 

[Austina]

We’ve had 4 holidays cancelled already, still have flights to visit DS in December, but waiting to see if the route is reinstated, and of course, what the situation is then. We cancelled our cruise to South America in January 2021, as our Govt has advised against cruising and we have no idea what the situation will be like then.

 

[Slickk]

We cancelled our trip to Maine as we are from NY and would have had to quarantine for 14 days or have a negative Covid test within 72 hours of arrival. The owner said with HIPA laws that he wasn’t allowed to ask about our health status but I wasn’t going to do that. It felt dishonest. I am sad but feel safer at home right now.
Some situations I would’ve kept booked like PPs have that are remote camping/cabin type things.
We will spend the money on our home this year.

 

[Snowdrop13]

We had to cancel our 2 weeks holiday to the South of France (sob!). Instead, we booked a very last minute remote cottage about 3 hours drive from our home. It was lovely, peaceful and quiet, nothing was open apart from the village shop. Perfect!

 

[nala]

So right after restaurants, salons, gyms, bars and malls opened, I took a road trip and it was well worth it! But since we are on high alert again, even though I still have 3 weeks of vacation, I don’t want to venture out again. Here is why: even a road trip puts you in danger—if you get into a car accident and wind up in the ER, which in all my neighboring counties and states worth visiting—hospitals are becoming overwhelmed! This was not the case when I took my road trip, which is why they had opened up so many places. I’m glad that I took it back then. Right now? I’m gonna STAY HOME! No need to overwhelm the hospitals for the sake of pleasure.

 

[Missy]

A number of years ago in lieu of our usual vacations we decided to start vacationing at our beach house. For various reasons and it’s worked out quite well over the past decade or so.

We’re probably staying at our “vacation” home through 2020.

Last year we were here for over 8 months and over the years it has morphed into just as much our home as our other home.

It is nice here and a bright spot amidst Covid 19. We enjoy cycling and being outside and we stay far away from people as best we can.

I’m happy to be here though not happy about the circumstances necessitating keeping our distance from friends and family.

And we can sort of see our other home from this home.

 

[AdaBeta27]

I'm not planning on doing any nonessential travel. But I just want to say, plan for any possible contingency if traveling by car. Think about where you're going to eat and pee, haha. This is particularly true for women traveling alone. Roadside reststops, the restrooms might be closed, and frequently are. Gas and fuel stations close up early. Walmarts close early. Some states or towns are just starting to have a surge of cases, and governors have ordered all non-essential businesses to close. Severe storms can knock out power for a wide area, causing gas stations and other facilities to be shut down, too. It's a pita to travel, unless you have done prior planning to ensure you know where to get fuel, food, and other services. Think about what you're going to do should you or a member of your party come down with Covid, too. Have your pets fully up to date and in compliance with all legal requirements for vaccines and licenses, and carry documents with you because a lot of veterinarians and boarding facilities and hotels won't accept animals without proof of at least current rabies vaccination. If you're stuck in traffic or in quarantine with your pets, be sure to have all the foods and supplies you need to wait things out.

 

[qubitasaurus]

We're going to staycation tomorrow to a hotel about 1/2 hour away that is nearer to the beach. Our cases are a lot lower than the US so we're not as worried. It still gives me some pause though as it means we will eat all the meals out for a few days and force quite a few taxi trips. The actual hotel shouldnt be a big problem (but out case counts are really much lower right at the moment). But this is the last week we can go away properly for a while (we were meant to go somewhere like thailand or japan for holidays during this period but obviously that fell through).

 

[caf]

Nope. My SO has a home in the CO mountains but I haven’t even gone there. Fortunately I love my home.

 

[KristyDarling]

No travel for us at all, even though we are an avid traveling family. It's just too scary out there with too many Americans refusing to wear masks. I barely even leave my own house since tons of people in my city (San Francisco) and my immediate neighborhood are anti-maskers.

 

[Elizabeth35]

We are missing travel. Cancelled so many trips.
I am in US and considering a couple weeks in a remote AirBnB somewhere on a lake.
Absolutely no way I am staying at a hotel or transiting an airport yet.

 

[Bluemuse]

We have a two night sisters trip to Cape May, NJ planned for mid August. There are 4 of us all together. This will be the first and only vacation we’ll have this summer so hoping it works out. We each got our own room with private bath in a historic Victorian Inn that we love. It’s spacious with lots of outdoor space. I think we’ll be able to distance and mask wear as circumstances warrant to stay safe. Meals might be tricky. We’ll avoid restaurants and probably do takeout. We’re prepared to cancel within the two week window with no penalty if need be. Fingers crossed. We miss each other!

 

[1ofakind]

I’m 17 hours away from home but it’s hard to call it a vacation. I’m helping one of my kids and their spouse move. We are not going anywhere much or doing anything. They do have a friend who took us out on their boat to a dockside restaurant and that was a pleasant bit of normalcy. But I still wouldn’t call it a vacation other than seeing family. I can’t even go in the pool because of a foot injury. Pout.
But the drive and hotel stays were not bad. Things have been clean, people have been wearing masks for the most part. I have my own wipes and sanitizing products to use as necessary. I have to eat in my car along the road but I would have done that on the way down here anyway. On the way home I will take my time, make some more stops....with appropriate precautions. DH and I will plan another trip here in Sept. It sure would be nice to take a real vacation as family incidents have prevented that for several years in a row....now Covid. Maybe 2021. Crossing fingers but not holding my breath at this point.

 

[MissGotRocks]

No, we cancelled our beach vacation this year. Just seemed it too risky - chilling out at home this year.

 

[jeweln]

Just came back from visiting family in IN (live in FL ) .Flew with Frontier/ Spirit airlines . masks were mandatory at airports & flights .

 

[kenny]

Missy, that's sooooo beautiful.
You soooo deserve what you have!

 

[AprilBaby]

We canceled Australia/NZ for November and the British Isles for September. I doubt we will be going anywhere. I am now on leave from work until January at least.

 

[Arcadian]

on staycation now. kicked them out of the house until Wednesday.

 

[monarch64]

Just came back from visiting family in IN (live in FL ) .Flew with Frontier/ Spirit airlines . masks were mandatory at airports & flights .

I flew to FL via Spirit twice in June from IN. Yup, they were turning people away trying to get on the plane with no mask--I upgraded my seat to front row so I could see exactly what was happening. I was impressed with that, and I was also impressed with the way my hotel handled not only COVID, but the protests that happened in downtown Orlando while I was there the first time.

The second time I went I stayed in a private timeshare belonging to a friend. No housekeeping, none of the outdoor bars or restaurants were open at the resort, but you could order food and have it delivered. We went to the pool with the least amount of people. Drove out to Cocoa Beach and had dinner on the pier. They checked our temp before they'd even let us on the pier, and there were hand sanitizing stations every 10-20 feet. No menus; you scanned a QR code to get the menu on your phone (which I LOVE and wish was an option everywhere regardless of COVID) Other public places we went were all open-air. Oh, and we did a nighttime kayak tour of bioluminescent waters over in Titusville and that was amazing. I self-quarantined after I got home.

No contact at the airports, sanitizing stations everywhere, social distancing and mandatory masks on the shuttle to and from park 'n fly, and no contact payment leaving the parking area. Every process appeared to be very seamless, well-thought-out, and simple to understand and adhere to, in my opinion.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Even if we could afford a holiday right now we would still be staying put.
There are some good deals going on accommodation and attractions nation wide with no overseas tourists and the campa vans companies all have specials
Some of the nicer hotels are being used for guaranteeing returning kiwis

When lockdown ended we went for a drive to the local swiming spot on the river about 10 mins away
that's as far as i want to go right now

Although now would be a good time to see the country

i think id rather stay home and live to take holidays again in the future

Our 3 times daily air service to Auckland has started up again - it flies over our house - so its nice we are connected again and it would be nice to drive down to Wellington and buy a few things we can't get here
but Wanganui is where we are staying
Unless we have to visit the eye clinic in Palmerston North

 

[bling_dream19]

Missy, that's sooooo beautiful.
You soooo deserve what you have!

I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Queenie60]

Yes, we are spending a week at our cabin in Lake Tahoe with a private beach. No worries of social distancing.