Has COVID-19 changed the way you travel (maybe even forever)?

[Dakota731]

Not so sure. I retired 3 months ago as my employer was starting to bring employees back into the building. About 25 our of 130 worked in the building throughout the pandemic. No cases of covid in the building. I retired July 16 and by the end of August they had 6 cases of covid in the building. The common denominators.......all under 30.......all healthy.......all vaccinated.

I didn’t say young people don’t get covid - all my kids, nieces and nephews have had it. But they almost always get milder cases

 

[laceltris3]

We normally do DCL for the holidays and take an international trip in the summer. In 2020, we did a New Years cruise so technically did some travel that year. Our summer river cruise from Paris to Normandy was cancelled, as was our Christmas cruise, obviously. We were originally booked for Switzerland this past summer, but I wasn't getting a great vice about international travel, so in fall 2020 switched it to Yellowstone in June, which was right before Delta got bad. An amazing trip with no masks or anything.

We had re-booked Switzerland for next summer, but I cancelled it and switched to Alaska instead. But I got the courage to throw down a deposit for the France river cruise for 2023 (we are a family of 5 and so we have to book early to get one of the few rooms that sleeps 3). My oldest is in high school now, so we only have a few summers left where we can definitely all travel together.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Yes and no. Covid actually helped me financially as I had nowhere to go. So less money being spent.
I will be more conscientious of my surroundings even more so then before. More heightened I guess is what you would call that.
Also-unless it’s to quickly sip water or a long flight where eating is a must-I’m going to wear masks on a plane forever now. And on any public transport.

I also have made the decision that when I have kids, they will be homeschooled at the very least through elementary school if not into middle school. Not because of what it how things are taught, not because of germs, but because I have realized that time together is more important. It would probably be with a babysitter sometimes depending on the situation, and signing them up for various activities like a sport or instrument or Girl Scouts or a club in order to gain social skills is a must. But after witnessing a teen (no older than 15)on the line for FoP last month typing out answers to a book she was reading on her phone, I would much rather have my children learn time management, deadlines and get things done before the trip so they can enjoy it. And that goes for going anywhere.

 

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[Mrriddle]

I have not changed my lifestyle one bit.

 

[mikehn]

Covid hasnt changed any of my travel routine. Cost still drives my choices as it always has, car rental rates in particular.

 

[alyssa810]

Just a simple thing for us- so far. We traveled for the first time over the summer where we flew from Boston to Seattle to San Jose to Kona, all direct flights over 2 weeks, and then coming back from Kona we flew to Phoenix then LA then Miami, then back to Boston over 26 hours. After wearing masks the whole time at the airport and on the flights, none of us caught the usual post-vacation cold/sinus infection that usually plagues our family. We might be masks on airplane wearers going forward.

 

[moesy4]

We are in the group that as essential workers, we are used to being out and about and have been the entire time. We have changed our travel based on restrictions and/or lessened experiences due to Covid, but not lessened. The first six months we did a lot of camping and a week at an isolated cottage. Last October my husband and I did Georgia. This past March we all did Sea World and Discovery Cove. We stayed at a cabin this summer for a week in Michigan while the kids attended camp in the area. We are headed to Universal in two weeks.
We were supposed to do Arizona with my MIL and have rescheduled 3 times bc she isn’t comfortable flying yet. We cancelled Disney when they stopped opening up entertainment as Delta surged. Those were our only two changes.

 

[sk!mom]

Probably the lasting change for me will be less planning far into the future. PreCovid, we’d come home from a vacation and I’d start planning the next. Summer vacations were typically booked in February. I’m also much more reluctant to book things that do not have generous cancellation terms and might even buy travel insurance if cancellation terms are strict.

This mindset actually started in November 2019. We wanted to go to NYC in late January ‘20 for our anniversary. At that time we were questioning weather and the possibility of winter storms. We booked the flight with SW in November since cancelling is always easy with them. We booked hotel and theater tickets one week before departure once we could see the forecast for the next week. It was a great trip.

we stayed home from That trip until March ‘21. In 2021, once fully vaccinated, we traveled to Nashville for Spring Break. We booked it about 6 weeks before. Again SW and a hotel that could be cancelled with 24 or 48 hours notice. We spent 10 days in Michigan in Late June/early July. We didn’t book anything until April and again everything could have been cancelled if anything changed our minds.

As far as any other changes, we’ve avoided trips that would require complicated testing as that feels too stressful. I welcome the “must be vaccinated” restrictions as that seems easy and uncomplicated.

 

[shawthorne44]

For my family, not at all. In the short-term it increased our travel because of the Work-From-Home. We were able to take longer trips with less PTO used. But, our destinations and frequency haven't changed. Of course, I've always thought that cruises were petri-dishes and flying isn't fun anymore.

For my company, it did change things. It used to be that if you didn't fly to meet a customer in person, you didn't really care. So, business trips sharply decreased. I've also noticed that people are more tolerant of non-office noises in the background on conference calls.

 

[Boopuff]

We have a camper so we haven’t really stopped traveling. The only part about camping is all the “covid buyers” who know nothing about the rv lifestyle, are rude, and contribute to over crowded areas. Many “off grid” areas have become trash heaps as newbies don’t pack-out their trash. I’m eagerly awaiting the large influx of used campers from those who quickly become disenchanted.

 

[monarchsfan16]

To a degree yes. Restrictions drove our travel decisions until this spring, when they loosened in our state. My husband worked outside the house throughout the lockdown and I returned to working outside the house in August 2020 (in a school) so the restrictions that those working remotely didn't have to worry so much about, were very real for us. We took vacations but they were in our region, because that's where we were able to go without quarantine. Our first trip after being allowed out of our region was to the beach, not a typical trip for us, but appropriate for where things were at, and we had a great trip. I've since been back to WDW solo, because quarantine is no longer required by my state.

I think the lasting impact for me is going to be being very particular about cancellation policies. But I also won't travel to places where testing is required either to go or to return, until things stabilize, because my role is such that the risk of an asymptomatic positive is real, and I don't want to get stranded somewhere, feeling healthy. In other words, cruising is out for us for awhile, and while we had really hoped to start legitimately traveling internationally, we won't be planning anything along those lines until society has found its new rhythm with all of this and we see what procedures remain.

We are 34 for reference.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We have a camper so we haven’t really stopped traveling. The only part about camping is all the “covid buyers” who know nothing about the rv lifestyle, are rude, and contribute to over crowded areas. Many “off grid” areas have become trash heaps as newbies don’t pack-out their trash. I’m eagerly awaiting the large influx of used campers from those who quickly become disenchanted.

I bought my pop-up about four years ago, new, for $8,500. It's now worth $10,000. The resale buyers are insane right now.

 

[shawthorne44]

I bought my pop-up about four years ago, new, for $8,500. It's now worth $10,000. The resale buyers are insane right now.

Might be more. My BIL bought a trailer and had it delivered for 3K a few years ago. He sold it this fall for 12K. And, that is after living in it with 12 cats, and it smelled like it.

I've been vaguely eyeing a trailer on the thought that I could get it cheap. We bought the house next to us, and they left a trailer. This was pre-lockdown. Where I live, I can't just claim it. My choices are to leave it there, pay the owner for the title, or call the sheriff to have it hauled off and auctioned. Now I'm waiting for the camper market to crash.

 

[Sinder]

No not really. The only thing COVID did was change where we traveled last year due to quarantine restrictions. We still did our normal vacations but just found a different destination than the one that was reserved pre-COVID. We liked it so much we went back this past summer so it worked out great for us.

 

[DCLMP]

Yes and in a big way. We haven't been able to travel internationally. We also cruise about three times a year so that's a goner too.

 

[Willow1213]

Our travel practices have changed dramatically. Like another poster, our financial situation improved since March 2020. We actually relocated in March 2020 for a new role, and that role has seen a salary increase ($$$!) that was completely unexpected and very welcomed.

Now in permanent WFH status, I find myself much more willing to take short, last minute getaways. Normally I would never consider flying out Thursday to return late Sunday evening, the thought of having to "get back to work" Monday morning feels dreadful. Now that I just have to commute 15 feet from Bedroom to Office, I'm much more willing to do so.

We also now book more last minute than we used to, and everything fully refundable (hotels, Southwest airfare) AND paid for with a CC with good travel insurance just in case (Chase Saph. Pref.) We actually cancelled a WDW 50th trip a few weeks back the afternoon before, and used the SW credits for Thanksgiving flights. No money lost.

The adults are fully vaxxed, ready for boosters any day now. Our son will be vaxxed within a few weeks (thankful for that one)!

TL/DR - We travel more, get insurance, and have fun!

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

We have a camper so we haven’t really stopped traveling. The only part about camping is all the “covid buyers” who know nothing about the rv lifestyle, are rude, and contribute to over crowded areas. Many “off grid” areas have become trash heaps as newbies don’t pack-out their trash. I’m eagerly awaiting the large influx of used campers from those who quickly become disenchanted.

We traded in our smaller camper at the Jan 2020 Tampa RV Show (on a new 2020 model), it arrived in April 2020. Thankful we did, the price went up 30% on the 2021 version. Agree that it's not so easy to find inexpensive campsites these days. FL in winter was already difficult enough.

 

[shawthorne44]

Planning a trip this summer. I realized it did change vacationing in another way. WFH gives us more options. We hate flying with a purple passion, it isn't fun anymore, so we drive. We've always started vacations on Friday evening or Friday noon, drive to wherever and then come back on a Sunday. This summer we will be a 25 hour drive away, which is longer than any other trip.

But it just occurred to me, that with WFH, we can break that up into smaller segments and I can work-from-motel without losing PTO days. That also means we can start and end on weekdays. This is a game-changer for us.

 

[robinb]

USA Today articles tend to talk in sweeping generalities and draw a lot of conclusions without much in the way of data. In the short-term, covid has certainly impacted how people travel/vacation. However, some who never saw covid as a big deal will continue doing whatever they used to do, while others will continue to be cautious and follow the recommended safety protocols. I don't think anyone can speak for what everyone else will be doing. There isn't anyone who can say how long covid will continue to be of concern. What % of the population will eventually get vaccinated and if any type of treatments/drugs can be developed to reduce its effect will all play a role.

Their comments about business travel also make a lot of generalized statements. Video conferencing was around even before covid, but the nature of some work requires you to be there in person. It is one thing to have a meeting and talk with other people in a conference room. However, if your work requires hands on time with machinery/equipment on the shop floor to trouble-shoot issues is unlikely to be something you can do via video.

We are waiting to see how things with covid progress going forward before making any 2022 vacation travel plans.

In USA Today’s defense, that article is a year old. I think we have moved back to a more “normal” life in the last year.