How to vacation in a pandemic

By the end of April, after 6 weeks of abiding by Colorado’s stay-at-home orders with my husband, two adult children, my daughter’s pal from Scotland, and a foster dog, my nerves were shattered.

I was accustomed to working full-time from home alone in a quiet house, maybe bringing my laptop to the local library or café a few times a week.

But with life on lockdown, I was indoors nearly 24/7 with too many bodies, doing what we all have been doing in quarantine: baking, cooking, puzzles, Netflix, and a whole lot of evening bubble baths with a whole lot of wine.

So when the desert playground of Moab, Utah, announced it would be “opening up” to visitors on May 1, I jumped at booking a room at a riverside lodge with my husband for a two-night trip — one filled with plenty of physically distanced outdoor pursuits and sunset viewing on our hotel room patio.   

We returned home from 48 hours of non-quarantine life feeling rested and restored — so much so that we did it again (same lodge!) 3 weeks later.

Was it a bit weird to be interacting with strangers in public again after 6 weeks of lockdown? Indeed. But I think we handled our getaway smartly, mitigating our risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus as much as we could, while still fully enjoying ourselves while we were away from our everyday lives.

Here’s my advice if you agree that a trip out of Dodge would do wonders for your mental health in the middle of this pandemic:

Drive, don’t fly

This is no time to be hopping on a plane if you don’t have to, even if you can find a super-cheap fare to your dream destination.

Sure, planes are promising empty middle seats, additional disinfecting, and masks for all — but is it worth the additional risk of exposure? I’m voting no at this juncture. There will be plenty of opportunity to travel by plane again in the months and years to come.

Instead, embrace the responsible road trip! Driving your own car (or RV) means you stay within your quarantine bubble (“quaranteam”!) and limit your interactions with strangers — bigtime.

We chose our weekend destination in Utah about 3 hours from home because it felt far enough away from home to be away, but still close enough to not feel like we were spending all our precious vacation time on the road. (Not that the road was horrible; gosh it felt good just to get in the car and go!)

Find out how your accommodations are protecting guests

Call ahead to find out what sort of COVID-19 precautions your hotel is taking — or check its website. We found that county public health orders require the Red Cliffs Lodge to book only half the number of available rooms and there would be no daily housekeeping during our stay — giving us some peace of mind.

Once we arrived, we found all front desk employees in masks, checking in guests from behind plexiglass. Also, reservations were required in the hotel dining room to adhere to capacity guidelines.

Book accommodations with a kitchenette — and pack your own food

This was key for my feeling comfortable spending a couple of days away from home. I wanted to be able to eat as few restaurant meals as possible. So, my husband and I packed bagels and fruit for breakfast, sandwich fixings for our daytime hikes, and a charcuterie spread (and some leftover pasta) for dinner.

Having a fridge to store all our food, plus a microwave to heat it up (and an in-room toaster and coffeemaker) just meant we limited our exposure to strangers (theme of the trip!). Of course, I do love eating out when I travel, so we did take-out from a favorite brewpub for one night’s dinner on each of our two trips to Moab.

As we move into summer, more restaurants are opening their dining rooms. I’ve spied many with capacity limits and tables set far apart; others seem not to be adhering fully to physical distancing guidelines nor disinfecting menus between guests. Bottom line: If you’re going to eat out at a restaurant, pick your surroundings wisely — and eat outside if you can.

Bring along your hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, and any other disinfecting materials

Since the spread of COVID-19, I always use paper towels to handle the gas pump when I buy gas close to home, so I made sure to bring some along on our trip. Same for hand sanitizer to disinfect my hands after using gas station restrooms. (Use an elbow to turn on the light! Your foot to kick open the door!)

Before starting to prepare or serve any of our food we brought from home, we wiped down appliances in our little hotel room kitchen. And we washed all dishes, silverware, and plates in the sink with provided dish soap (make sure your hotel provides some or bring your own).

Yes, the latest CDC guidelines note that COVID-19 is more commonly spread via people and respiratory droplets in the air, less so via surfaces. Still, being cautious about surface spread gave me peace of mind.

Get outside!

This is actually my number-one, key piece of advice for anyone thinking about traveling soon. Planning a road trip to a city where typical activities might include museums, nightclubs, restaurants, and other indoor attractions just seems bit nuts to me right now.

Current research points to COVID-19 spreading more readily indoors. That’s why my husband made an effort to be outside, breathing fresh air, among minimal people as much as possible on our getaway.

We love to hike, so we mapped out less popular, out-of-the-way trails. We hiked early evening and early(ish) morning before the crowds. Our tactics worked — we encountered very few people. When we did face groups on the trail, we’d all give one another a wide berth — happily pulling off to let folks by. Everyone we ran into was friendly and smiling — I think we were all just excited to be outside enjoying nature after weeks cooped up inside!

We saw outfitters up and running in Moab, from river rafting trips to horseback rides. I’m not sure what their protocol currently is for running tours with people from different households — that might be something you’d want to call ahead to find out before you book. I don’t think I’d feel fully comfortable sharing a raft with a random family right now, but I’d like to think plenty of tours are stepping up their private offerings for those who would prefer some exclusivity.

Remember, you’re the guest

Most business owners are likely delighted to be welcoming out-of-town visitors to help them bounce back from economic blows the novel coronavirus has wrought in the last couple months. However, not all locals are thrilled to be opening up their quarantine bubbles to outsiders.

Be respectful. If a restaurant or souvenir shop asks you to wear a mask, put it on without complaint. Wave at the police officers directing what might be an influx of tourist traffic. Thank your front-desk clerk profusely. Smile at locals in the grocery store.

I think a little extra courtesy, especially from visitors, will make everyone feel more comfortable as life gets back to “new normal” and travel picks up in the coming months.

Final thoughts

If the thought of road tripping with extra safety precautions will freak you out more than give you peace of mind — and your short vacation might instigate more anxiety than joy — by all means, give it a while before you pack your bags. Who wants to bring on more stress in already trying times?

But if you’re like me, and a short trip will scratch the travel itch that’s been building over the course of several weeks of staying at home, I say start planning a getaway.

From personal experience, a change of scenery was just what I needed to mentally recover from several weeks of isolation. I returned home refreshed and emotionally (more) ready to take on whatever the pandemic (and current events) might throw at me — and better able to wholly enjoy a full house this summer.