I want to begin this post by being very upfront with you about one thing. That is, I don’t actually advocate that anyone travels right now! I also recognize that certain situations in my life have given me advantages that others might not have, to be able to travel like this. I do not judge anyone for their life choices. This is a lifestyle blog where I share my personal life experience, and everything in this post is just my humble opinion. This pandemic has unfortunately divided our country further into groups of people. Those who take the virus seriously and see it as a real problem/ danger and those who don’t and do not take it seriously. I fully respect everyone’s right to be entitled to their own opinion. However, this blog post is for the former group of people.
As someone who herself has some health concerns, who also lives with and has many family members who are “high risk,” I feel an obligation to do everything in my power to keep myself and my community safe. But I’m also only human and haven’t really left my house in over 5 months! When the opportunity to travel came about I of course jumped on it! So if you are like me and have been taking every precaution, but just need a break, I invite you to keep reading! I hope that you are able to take away some tips from this post to have a happy and healthy getaway during this pandemic!
I will be breaking this post down into four sections:
Preparation
Travel. How to get there and get back.
Where to stay
What to do and not do once you are there.
Preparation
The first thing you will need to do is to select your destination! For me, it was Marco Island, Florida. Your ideal destination should be a place you can drive to. My journey was about 18 hours and 1200 miles, but I actually really enjoyed the drive. I wouldn’t recommend anything longer than this so that you can do the drive all in one day. That's right, drive don’t fly! I am sorry but there is just no way you can safely fly on a plane right now. All those people sharing recycled air? All the surfaces you might touch? No way. I know what the airlines are saying, but do you really trust a huge company that only cares about making money off of you? I don’t. So I chose to drive. It was actually very empowering. I never would have even tried to make a drive like that on my own if not for these circumstances. Now that I know I can do it, I feel as though so many new opportunities are open to me! Seeing our beautiful country in that way was was so incredible. I found lots of places along the way that I really want to go back and visit one day. I never would have found them thousands of miles in the air. Tennessee is so beautiful and is definitely next on my road trip list.
Another important part of selecting your destination will be researching when the “off-season” is because that’s when you will want to go. This is because there will be far fewer people at your destination then. For me, September was the perfect time to go to Florida, as tourist season is typically December - April. I have been going to Marco Island my entire life and have never seen it so dead. I would maybe see 10-15 people all day! The beaches that I went to were basically deserted, and the people that were there (mainly year-round residents) all followed social distancing guidelines.
Travel
Since you will be driving make sure your car is all up to date on maintenance. I ended up renting a car because I did not want to put the wear and miles on my brand new one. I rented from Enterprise because they had the best COVID safety procedures. I didn’t even have to go into the store, everyone wore masks, and the car was cleaned before I got there (although I still give it a thorough cleaning of my own). I honestly was not satisfied with the quality of car that I was provided and did feel that I was misled about what I was actually getting, but it got me where in needed to go so In the end I was okay.
Pack snacks, a lunch, a dinner, all the food you need so you won’t have to risk exposure at a random drive through. Also, bring plenty of PPE like gloves for pumping gas and masks on masks on masks! You should also bring cleaning supplies such as Lysol or bleach spray and of course hand sanitizer.
Have multiple playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks ready to go so you don’t get bored. I found an amazing podcast on Spotify called “Morbid: A True Crime Podcast” that I absolutely adore now. You should definitely check it out!
This next part might be a little TMI so I apologize in advance. I did not go in anywhere to pee. I did pull over to a rest stop exactly twice on the way down and twice on the way back to relieve myself. I put a blanket up in the window, got in the back seat, and peed in a cup (thank god I only had to pee). Yep. If I can do it so can you. There is absolutely no way they can keep the rest stops virus free, and depending on what state you have to stop in, people might not be wearing masks. Don’t forget to bring TP!
Please please please listen to your body. If you need to pull over and snooze in your car or stretch do it! You will get there when you get there.
So you have picked the perfect destination. You have mapped out your journey and packed your snacks. Now you ask “where will I stay once I’m there?!”
Where to stay
Similar to my issue with the airlines right now, I just don’t see how hotels and resorts can be safe. Instead, opt to rent a house. This is the best option because you will have your own kitchen, laundry, and tons of privacy! I was very lucky to be able to stay at my family’s vacation home, but in years past we have rented houses and had a better time than we ever did at a resort. We actually rented the house we own now a few times! You can easily find homes to rent by the day, week, or month on websites like this (if you are coming to Marco ask for Kellie while booking, she is awesome!). I love not having to share a pool with anyone or worry about people being loud. Most places will be deep cleaning the homes between rentals, but I would still wipe down the surfaces when you get there.
What to do/ not do once you arrive
It’s time to relax! Basically just follow all the same protocol you did at home. For me, I was very content just to stay by the pool. However, this is an amazing opportunity to explore a new area! You can find hiking trails, go on bike rides, or just walk around the town. Depending on your comfort level, you could also check out the local zoo as it will most likely all be outside, and distancing should be easy. I wouldn’t recommend going into any stores or doing indoor attractions (just like you wouldn't be doing at home), but you can still support the local restaurants by ordering take out or delivery, depending on what you are comfortable with. The grocery stores there will also most likely still do pick up, so now is the perfect time to try out a new recipe! Or, if you just want to stay in and watch movies or Netflix you can! Be as lazy as you want, you’re on vacation, who cares?!
If you are going to a destination with a beach, see if you can get passes for the local or resident’s beach. These beaches will be far less crowded. Avoid the resorts and resort beaches/areas at all costs! I was shocked and appalled one day when I was walking along the six miles of beaches on Marco Island, and came to the resort beaches. I had to stop and go back. No social distancing, no face coverings, it was a mess! Which brings me to my last point. Be respectful of the people who live there. I did not appreciate that so many people were bringing the virus to the tiny Island where my “older” (they would kill me if I called them elderly) parents live. You might be on vacation, but COVID does not take vacations. The rest of the town, beaches, and parks really were fine though!
I sincerely hope you consider following at least some of my advice if you are planning a vacation right now. We can still live our lives to the fullest, we just have to shift our mindsets a little. If anything this Pandemic has given us the opportunity to try new things or a new way of life!
Please feel free to email me or comment if you have any questions or want to know more about visiting Marco Island. And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog so you never miss a post!
Safe travels! ︎
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