2020 Summer Vacation Tips

1. Be Prepared

Regardless of what you want to do this summer, preparation will remain a key ingredient to enjoying your vacation. And not just the usual preparations like making sure the travel vehicle has been inspected and repaired, letting someone you trust know where you’ll be, and remembering to bring a charger for your devices.

No, preparing for vacation this year also means checking to see about any restrictions in place at your destination.

For example, if you plan on travelling to Savannah, Georgia, check for any local or state stay-at-home orders being enforced before you do anything else. Any restrictions could put a halt to your available activities before you leave the house, and if those restrictions will limit your vacation to staying locked in a hotel room, it might be less expensive to find a local hotel instead. Also, the hotels might be shut down to limit contact with the virus, and nobody wants to sleep in the car.

Keep in mind that different rules and orders have been enacted throughout the country, so while spending your summer vacation in, say, New York City might be impossible, things might be a little more lenient in Vermont. But regardless of where you’re looking to go, check the safety restrictions first.

2. Mind The Crowds

In most cases, a vacation meant being prepared to deal with crowded places like theme parks and attractions. But with the six-foot-rule now in play, gatherings have become either socially unpopular or places designed for high anxiety. After all, if the experts recommend keeping your distance, even going to the grocery store can be a challenge.

The solution? If you plan on going anywhere, look for wide-open places that will minimize person-to-person contact. Doing this might remove any of the big tourist attractions from the list of activities; even if Disney World was open, going to a place where the crowds regularly get pushed together would be unwise.

3. Ask The Right Questions

Should you wear a mask or not? How much hand sanitizer do you have access to? How much enthusiasm do you have for doing any of the activities you’d normally do on a vacation, like eating in restaurants or going shopping, during a pandemic?

These questions should be considered before deciding on a vacation, especially if you have a family. The lack of a uniform safety strategy, coupled with the almost universal general desire everybody has right now to get out of the house and engage in some fun, can make it very difficult when making the final decision on where, or if, you should travel anywhere for a vacation. In this case, even electing to remain at home for a “staycation” presents the same problems: what do you do with your free time when everything you’d like to do has been closed or presents a threat to the health or your loved ones?

Ultimately, that decisions rests with the individual. So make sure you’ve got the health and safety products you need, do your research before you pack, and consider your priorities.