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In this time of uncertainty, it’s tricky, stressful and sometimes overwhelming to think about travel again. When will restrictions be lifted? What will it be like when they are lifted? Will our favorite hotels even reopen? Since Max and I both obsessively read every travel-related news piece ever written on a daily basis, we figured we would sum up our learnings and advice. Do note, though, that we are not medical experts and cannot provide any advice on the pandemic. Similarly, we have absolutely no idea when it will be “safe” to travel again. The purpose of this post is to provide some of our thoughts and tips for when it does become safe to continue life’s adventures around the world.

When to book

While we cannot give you any real guidance here since the situation changes every day, it’s important to consider your own health, the local restrictions of your destination of choice and whether or not it’s worth the headache for your length of a trip.

Max and I got a great deal to the Dominican Republic back in February and ended up calling Delta to extend our tickets for free to be there for a minimum of 1 month. This will allow us to self-isolate for 2 weeks before, safely and carefully, enjoying the rest of the trip.

If you’re looking into travel, experts are saying 2021 may be the most hassle free, unless you are willing to chance it on a trip that may get cancelled.

Flight Deals

As you may notice if you follow some of the travel flight trackers out there like Scott’s or Dollar Flight Club etc, the deals are starting to come flying in to beautiful places all over the world at insanely low prices. For the best deals, here is a list of our favorite sites:

Typically, we use one of these flight apps to locate the best deal and whenever possible, we book directly with the airline. If you do book with a third party app like Orbitz or Expedia, be sure to add your email to your reservation directly with the airline after booking to ensure there are no issues later on. The DOT requires airlines to provide FULL refunds to travelers if the airline cancels the flight, so keep that in mind as well. It may take you 4-5 hours on hold with the airline to make it happen, but it is a requirement.

Remember to sign up for one of the flight deal services – you won’t regret the updates!

Where in the world you’ll find the best deals

The best deals will be to popular tourist destinations that have been hardest hit during this time. Example include the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico and the like. My best guess is that destinations without major tourism will be less affected, since they offer fewer flights to begin with and will generally not offer rock bottom discounts. Fiji is another example of a very popular tourist destination for travelers from Australia, that’s currently experiencing a huge drop in bookings and therefore may be offering some excellent deals.

In the last few days, I’ve seen excellent deals to the Dominican Republic in the $250-300 range from California, Bahamas from $300, Central American from $220+. Hawaii is promoting major deals from the SF/LA area at $200 roundtrip. If you have somewhere in mind, be sure to set up a Google Flight Alert so you can get emails when the price changes.

Hotel bookings

Whatever you do, make sure your hotel booking is refundable. Many hotel companies, like Marriott and Shangri-La, have made all bookings during this time fully cancellable and refundable. I’ve heard many horror stories already of people fighting hotels and vacation rentals for their money back, and it’s unnecessary stress.

If your hotel of choice is not offering the widespread refundable policy during your travel dates, our recommendation is to book the refundable rate to secure the room, which is often a bit more expensive. As you get closer to the arrival date and you can guarantee that the trip is going to happen, check Trivago and see if there are any deals on that hotel. You may be surprised to find cheaper rates the closer you get.

Stay Alert

Regardless of when you decide to travel and to where, we recommend staying alert of any travel restrictions, quarantine regulations and advisories. Be sure to check the following sites before your trip:

Also, be sure to review the country you are visiting’s government site. Every country will have its own restrictions or requirements for entry and exit.

When you do travel, be prepared to wipe down your seats, use purrell constantly and stay alert. For more information on our favorite carry-on essentials for staying safe, check out our recent post.

Don’t lose hope!

Our traveling days will return and when they do, we will return to our adventures with gratitude and appreciation for the beautiful world we live in. Book your travels, daydream and know that we are all in this together. It’s healthy to daydream about our next destinations and about the amazing travels we will soon be on. We hope that this guide helps you feel more prepared to plan your next adventure. Just remember, during this time, refundable travel is the way to go.

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