How to actually prepare for travel after lockdown: solo traveler’s guide

Are you praying for the day that travel after lockdown returns to the normality we once knew?

For me, travel after lockdown or travel without restrictions is something I dream about daily!

I don’t think anyone expected us to be in a state of lockdown at the mercy of a pandemic in 2020!

I’m sure all of us had different plans for 2020 and 2021, lockdown and restrictions not being one of them!

Totally not we expected for this year and certainly not what we planned!

It seems hard to believe that just a year or so ago, we were going about our daily business as normal.

Who knows what the future is looking like for travel, but what we do know is, travel will not be the same again (for the not so distant future anyway!)

Now in this time, we are finding we have more time and are spending less money.

Although it doesn’t seem like it, this is potentially a perfect unique time for travellers and their future travel plans.

Many are not risking going abroad and many are taking staycations instead.

YES, you heard me right!

The world has slowed down a little which has given us time to think about where we want to be and what we want to be doing post-restrictions.

It will be more important than ever to properly plan trips and make arrangements in light of the virus and to keep safe whilst travelling.

So what exactly can you be doing RIGHT NOW to prepare for travel after lockdown?

Save more money for travel after lockdown

If you are lucky enough to be able to keep working during this time, you should be able to save more money than normal.

Depending on your job, you should be saving on transport, social activities, sports activities and holidays.

Now is the ideal time to be putting that money away for when we are SAFE to travel.

Who knows when we may be able to freely travel and vist shops without queuing out the door…

So, be prepared to be saving for a while.

Just think, when we are able to travel again without major rules in place, you’ll be all ready to go!

Travel after lockdown will be slightly less…stressful, knowing you have that money in place.

Take a look at my blog post on saving money for travel, for tips on saving!

How to travel on a low income

7 ways taking a staycation will help grow your bank balance

Before you travel, after lockdown

The WHO (World Trade Organisation) give some guidelines before travelling, so check these out before you do.

This concept also applies to before you travel.

So, obviously, make sure that you are not showing ANY symptoms AND maybe a few weeks before you go away, make sure your health is on top form.

What I mean by this is, make sure your immune system is at its strongest.

Eat well, sleep enough and don’t wear yourself out before you travel.

When your immune system is down, this is when you’re most vulnerable to catching viruses.

TIP: It is important to check on the government website for the country that you plan to visit to check if the same rules are in place.

It would be annoying to get to your holiday destination and have to self-isolate for 2 weeks!

You’d have no chance to explore and relax!

Book trips carefully

Unlike before, we have to be conscious when we’re booking holidays now.

Choosing the right location, choosing appropriate accommodation that implements COVID-19 measures and just thinking general logistics.

It must be said…

There’s more thought that will need to go into planning holidays than ever before!

Here are a few to be mindful of…

Cancellation policy

I never used to pay that extra bit to be able to cancel trips last minute, because I didn’t think it was necessary.

But now, more than ever it is necessary because we don’t know when future trips may be cancelled for COVID or any other reason.

Before lockdown, I organised a trip to Portugal, the accommodation was booked through Booking.com.

I did NOT pay extra for any cancellation refund.

The company who ran the apartment advised that they would nevertheless provide a refund to me because THEY had to cancel the reservation due to the virus.

For whatever reason, they did not refund me the amount and I had to query this through booking.com who, after a lot of debate, eventually gave me the refund.

Going forwards, I want to make sure that there is no reason to not receive a refund on accommodation that has to be cancelled for unforeseen circumstances like this.

The pandemic has definitely prompted me to pay a bit extra for cancellation cover because I do not want to be going back and forth with companies trying to get a refund.

Choose safe destinations to visit

For the time being, it makes sense to do your homework on the safest places to visit when you’re looking at going abroad.

A few ways you can evaluate this is by looking on your government website and considering where is safe/unsafe to travel to.

Another way is by understanding which countries have responded well to the Coronavirus outbreak.

For example, the countries that stand out for me are South Korea and New Zealand, Greece, as well as Germany, which all dealt with the outbreak very well.

It’s also worth checking out the news and being alert on which countries are in and out of lockdowns and which are more stable.

In light of their reactions to the virus, it gives us travellers hope that these may be safer destinations to visit in future, as there may be better precautions in place for tourists.

Spain and Italy were hit very badly by the virus back in the day and are very popular tourist destinations.

It is tricky to consider which places are the safest to visit because although Spain and Italy were affected badly, they have been very strict with their residents.

It puts us travellers at some ease!

Packing

As if you didn’t already have enough things to think about, packing is going to be a different story too!

You may have to pack items into your luggage that you never thought you’d have to pack, like FACE MASKS.

You will need to make sure you have soap, hand sanitizer, gloves and masks on future trips!

Travel insurance

It is worth noting, that for UK nationals, you will no longer be able to use your EHIC (European Health Card) in the EU from January 2021 unless you have certain circumstances.

This means that travel insurance will be a MUST.

If you travel more than a few times in the year, it’s probably worth looking into annual travel insurance.

Check out a comparison site to get the best deal: here.

Normally, I don’t worry too much about travel insurance, I don’t tend to look into all the Ts and Cs when I buy it unless I am going somewhere extraordinary and require extra cover.

Now, after the pandemic, I am certain that I will be assessing my travel insurance in greater detail in order to choose one that covers me fully.

Travel insurance will need to provide cover for any type of cancellation including unforeseen circumstances.

Travel insurance will probably be taken more seriously now, especially by younger people.

I’ve known some people to book their last-minute travel insurance on their phones at the airport!

People will probably be more diligent and travel insurance will be more of an essential rather than a last-minute thought.

While you’re abroad

You will need to consider how you can make changes while you’re abroad in line with protecting yourself against the virus.

For example, where you would normally take public transport from one location to another, could you hire a car instead?

Instead of staying in the middle of a city, you could go for a more rural holiday.

It may be worth thinking a little more about your holidays after lockdown and staying safe whilst travelling.

Budgeting

I guess budgeting for trips won’t be the same for some time after we are able to travel again.

Airlines have lost a lot of money due to mass cancellation of flights.

Flight prices will likely rise after the lockdown, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, there will maybe be more people wanting to travel, so higher demand.

Secondly, airlines have been suffering and so will probably up their prices.

Either way, it will probably be less predictable to budget for trips and more research will need to be done before coming up with your travel budget.

It may be worth over-budgeting in order to account for any extra costs that may be incurred.

Have a read of my post about travel budgeting for more guidance- HERE.

Future travel for solo travellers

Solo travellers will probably be mostly affected by any changes to future travel- which is annoying!

Hostel dorms

Solo travellers traditionally stay in dorm rooms in hostels with the view of meeting fellow travellers… At least more so than group travellers might.

Rules may change for hostels with large dorm rooms, there may be restrictions put in place in order to avoid unnecessary close contact.

Think about it, when you stay in dorm rooms you’re sharing with so many other people, beds can be less than 2 metres apart and sometimes you share a bunk bed with a stranger!

The thought of that now is SO strange!

I’ve stayed in dorms with 16+ beds in before now!

I hope that people are not less inclined to talk with others when travelling and unwilling to make new friends with fellow holidaymakers.

This would make solo travel more of a lonely experience.

Solo travellers may not want to approach others, especially if social distancing becomes implemented more permanently.

Tour groups

As a solo traveller, one thing that I enjoy doing is joining tour groups, so that I am surrounded by people and can make friends easier.

The future of tour groups is an unpredictable one!

Maybe tours will have restrictions on the number of people allowed within the group and booking may be more important.

As a solo traveller myself, I am holding off on the travel for the moment.

Instead, I am saving, saving, saving so that when travel procedures are more certain, I am ready to jet set.

AND…I’ll probably have the odd STAYCATION!

(7 reasons why taking a staycation can save your bank balance)

I would rather wait to see how this pandemic pans out and how travel is going to be dealt with on a global level.

Stay positive

I’m aware that this post seems like all doom and gloom, but this is hypothetical worst-case scenario travel.

Better to be prepared right!

Right now, we don’t know what travel after lockdown will look like in future.

BUT… it’s better to be cautious and prepared for what may be to come.

Now that we have travel restrictions around the world, you probably feel more motivated than ever to travel as soon as you possibly can.

People probably have the travel bug more than ever!

Make a bucket list and stay inspired!

Then, when we are safe to see the world, it will be even better because you’ve saved, you’ve planned and dreamed of that day when you can step out of your front door on your PERFECT holiday.

To conclude…

Right now, it is hard to predict how travelling will be affected in future.

It is especially daunting for solo travellers, who on the face of it, seem as though they may be impacted more than group travellers.

The best thing to do for the time is wait and see what we can and cannot do in terms of travel after lockdown and beyond.

Yours,

Holly

How to actually prepare for travel after lockdown: solo traveler’s guide

Save more money for travel after lockdown