A Few Tips to Staying Safe When Traveling During Covid-19
Well, I didn't think it would happen so soon, but we finally did it! After three months in lock-down, we decided to travel for an overnight trip. While planning our trip, two things were important to us: being close to home and being some place in nature so social distancing would be a little easier and safer.
And what better place to do this than in beautiful Lake Tahoe. It's only a little over two hours away and is a nature lover’s paradise, perfect combination!
Because of the pandemic, everything from packing to what we wanted our travel exploration to look like had to be planned to the nitty gritty details. I mean we got so detailed that we decided on little things like how we would self park as opposed to valet once we arrived at our hotel. (Although, it seemed like everyone was still valeting and we were the only ones self parking...eekk!)
Our goal was to keep the most minimal contact with anyone and everyone. So in this post, I will keep it sweet and simple, and share the steps that we took to prepare for our trip and things that we did during the trip to help safeguard our family as best we could. I will also share, things that we did after our trip once we got home.
Essentials to Pack
Packing the right essential items is so important because it can help prevent you and your family from getting sick.
For our trip here are some essential items that we packed:
- Lots of hand sanitizer (all different sizes, including large refill bottle)
- Clorox wipes
- Paper towels and disinfecting spray
- Plenty of face masks
- Antibacterial soap
- Medicine (just in case)
- Thermometer
- Plenty of food and water (especially with kids so you don’t have to stop if they get hungry)
Lets just say we were a little paranoid so packing took a little longer than usual. We carried tons of hand sanitizer in all different sizes. We even brought a large refill one just in case we ran out. Clorox wipes were a must because once we got to the hotel, we wiped down all of the major surfaces that are usually touched (I mean I think I wiped down our entire two-bedroom unit!!).
Also bring a sandwich bag just in case you have to fill gas, you can quickly slip the sandwich bag on your hand to fill gas and then just toss it! Luckily our car ride was only a little over two hours so we made sure the kids used the potty at home before we left and we were hoping we didn’t have to stop for a bathroom break anywhere. Our son is only three so we brought a little portable toilet for him to use just in case.
Antibacterial soap is a must also because the hotel soaps are usually not antibacterial. We brought several masks because we decided every day we would use a new mask just to be on the safe side.
Where to Stay: Hotel versus Condo
During this trip we wanted to avoid large public places like crowded restaurants. Our main purpose for this trip was basically to have the comforts of our own home and to enjoy the outdoors (away from as many people as possible!).
So we decided that we would get a unit which would include a full kitchen and living room for that extra room and comfort for our family of four. Cooking our own meals was a priority. We did get take out a few times for dinner.
With a typical hotel room, we knew we couldn't do this and this would mean eating out at a restaurant which we did not want to do!
What About When You Arrive Back Home?
When we got back home, all of our clothes, including clothing that we did not wear all go into the washer. Actually to tell you the truth, we’ve always done this even before COVID-19 so this was something that we were already used to. We all took showers as soon as we got home. And I think a big thing is self quarantining ourselves after our trip so no visiting immediate family, etc. We all have to do our part to take care of ourselves and our loved ones.
I will say that we are so happy that we went on this trip because it was something that we all just kind of needed. To see our kid's faces light up was priceless! They both love exploring out in nature. One advice that I would give is just take everything very slow and that things will feel really awkward at first, and there might be moments where you feel like everything is back to normal because after all you are on vacation. You might even feel like maybe we shouldn’t be wearing our masks, but DO NOT do that! I think the only times that we took our masks off were when hiking or on the beach when no one was around. I think being overly cautious and a little OCD were two traits to have during this trip!
