Us too. We get it, you’ve been boxed up for a year and Netflix and Zoom meetings are getting dull. Maybe you need to travel to go see family, or you’re a digital nomad and want to hit the next country or destination, or simply can’t wait to explore what a new city has to offer and get some new surroundings.
Here’s some of Peanut’s top travel tips to book more safely during the pandemic in 2021 and beyond. Regardless of your vaccine status, it’s good practice to travel safely because vaccines are not 100% effective, new strains and variants of COVID have been accumulating and you don’t want to risk an illness, especially when traveling internationally.
Here are some tips to keep safe.
Everyone knows about PPE, or personal protective equipment. But not everyone takes it seriously. When you’re taking a flight domestically within your country or internationally, it’s important to have all the PPE you will need for your trip. There may not be opportunities to purchase extra sanitizer or masks where you’re going. Supply of PPE globally has fluctuated greatly — one minute you can find what you need, and the next day shelves are empty.
Be prepared for your flight or road trip. Make sure you have extra hand sanitizer, gloves and masks to stay safe. Carry them in your backpack, purse, carry-on or in the car.
Use them. What’s worse than letting COVID ruin your vacation, or tagging along as a carry-on that you bring to your family or new work-from-home location. Even if you're vaccinated, you might want to use a mask in a very crowded area like a train or plane or concert.
Are you going international or domestic? Wherever you plan to travel in 2021 and beyond, have an idea of what you need for your medical situation should you need care and attention (for COVID or otherwise). Plan to bring at least 1-2 extra weeks of medicine, if not more. A good painkiller/fever reducer in addition to immunity boosting medicine like Vitamin C wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Search for hospitals near your destination.
If you’re going international, look up the emergency phone number and save it to your phone as a note. If something happens, you don’t want to be scrambling with Google Translate trying to ask how to dial a medical emergency.
This is a huge one and constantly evolving and changing. Whether you’re flying domestically or internationally, it’s important to get a sense of the covid restrictions before booking that flight or hotel. And the worst part is that major booking sites like Expedia and Booking[.com] don’t show this information easily.
One way to do this is to search government, state and local websites for restriction information. We found it really tedious and these websites are all different and the information is hard to pull out.
A better way to understand travel restrictions when booking flights is...wait for it! Trypeanut.com
Peanut will help you understand travel restrictions before you book on Expedia and Booking[.com] with our free Chrome extension available for download. It’s simple and effective --- it shows you the latest travel restrictions for every destination, whether you’re traveling to a state or country — and best of all it summarizes what you need in just a few words.
We aren’t going to sugarcoat it. While we all want the threat of covid to go away, the reality is that this might not go away anytime soon (it hasn’t yet) and there are new strains that are popping up. Swine flu was a problem. And Avian bird from was a thing before that. It seems like these issues are only becoming more severe and more frequent for whatever reason.
Here’s a timeless and classic travel tip that never fades away: be prepared and know your destination. If you have the right expectations for your travel and your destination, you won’t be surprised and hopefully will be better prepared to handle any surprises or events that might occur. For example, if you know the February weather is rainy and cold in London but pack the right clothes you’ll be fine. Similarly, if you know a low cost RyanAir flight lands in an airport far away from the city center but planned the right travel accommodations into the city, that’s ok. Or if a country you want to visit requires a visa for your nationality., you won’t be surprised when they ask to see it in the boarding process.
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