2020 seemed to be my year, until I had to be repatriated Ecuadorian pro Brazil in late March, after 1 year and 3 months backpacking. I came home because I realized that coronavirus and travel would not match!
Incidentally, coronavirus and travel is a topic that has caused many doubts among travelers. Should I cancel my trip? Should I change the date of my vacation? When are we going to be able to travel again?
Reflecting on this I came to 5 conclusions that I turned into tips for people to start traveling after the coronavirus. I wrote about destinations, transport, accommodation, tours and volunteering. Come and see!
The reality of the coronavirus and travel pandemic is that our way of traveling will be different. All the travel experiences you've ever had will not be the same.
We will not end the coronavirus. Until we have a vaccine against it, we are going to live pandemic crises . That is, we will be able to have outbreaks of COVID-19 without notice and in any region of the world.
Until then, the reality is that social distance will continue, changing interpersonal relationships , especially when traveling.
The good thing is that there is a way to maintain a relationship between coronavirus and travel. You don't have to despair! The only thing is that everything will happen more carefully and slowly.
Read these tips and tell me what you think, okay?
Imagine if you go on vacation to Chile and, in the middle of the trip, there is an outbreak of coronavirus in the country. The guys will close the borders on the spot and you will be stuck without being able to get home, work and the dog! You will spend days or weeks spending on food and accommodation without knowing when it will end.
It happened to me in Ecuador and thousands more Brazilians around the world. Some had to wait a month or more to be repatriated. In Peru alone, there were more than 5,000 Brazilians waiting to return home.
In Brazil I advise you to choose destinations that are free from closed environments . Urban trips with museums and churches, for example, should be postponed due to social agglomeration.
Destinations where there are national or state parks , such as Itatiaia (RJ), Petrópolis (RJ), Ibitipoca (MG), São Raimundo Nonato (PI), Barreirinhas (MA), Cambará do Sul (RS)… See here an ICMBIO booklet with information about some Brazilian parks.
Beaches are great for this moment, but skip the lists of '10 beaches to know who knows where '. Look for alternative , more empty beaches . In Ubatuba , for example, they always send you to visit Itamambuca, but not Vermelha do Sul. The city has 102 beaches in total!
Escape the beaches where there are kiosks, because it is usually where the people are (people who eat hahaha).
The Jalapão can be a super destination because it is more empty and isolated, you will spend four days with only the guide and 2 or 3 other people.
Can you imagine sharing kitchens and common areas? Guys, we're going to have to wait for a vaccine.
Hotel will also be complicated in relation to breakfast, reception, corridor, elevator ...
What's left, then, for God's sake?
Camping
This is a great option for us to start traveling after the coronavirus pandemic, because the tent is yours and nobody else will enter or touch it.
There is the possibility of doing wild camping (that is, in the middle of nature), but there are many structured campsites with wifi and everything. You can set up your tent the furthest from everyone and follow the WHO recommendations on distance.
Airbnb
Renting a house or apartment is the best solution at the moment, because it is an exclusive environment for you: bathroom, kitchen, living room ... It will not be necessary to share these spaces, reconciling coronavirus and travel in the best way.
To avoid social contact and thus avoid possible contagion, I recommend using Blablacar, a collaborative ride app. You register your trip as 'looking for a ride' and agree with someone who is going to the same destination a value for the race. Your contact will be with only 3 or 4 more people.
If you don't like this type of experience, a tip is to rent a car. In addition to safety due to the coronavirus, you have the freedom to walk - the fourth piece of advice in this post.
Having a rental car you have the freedom and security to reach a more distant beach, a park, a distant attraction. So you avoid taking taxis, buses or hiring agencies.
The agencies usually bring together groups of 10 or 20 people and this cannot happen anytime soon. So the alternative is to hire separate guides if you like to be accompanied by someone who understands the place.
Of course, guides are more expensive than agencies, but in the midst of this crisis everyone will be open to negotiation. Exchange an idea and you will be able to reach prices that are affordable for you and fair to the professional.
So, if you also enjoy this experience, look for farms, farms, permaculture and bioconstruction projects . I worked a few days on a farm in Ecuador (before the coronavirus shit my backpack) and it was an incredible activity, which I would definitely like to repeat.
When working on a project like this, you remain open and without social contact. At most it will be you plus one or two volunteers and the owners of the place.
I use the Worldpackers website and there you can find several options to carry out works of this type.
Recommendations for traveling in the coronavirus era
And when it will happen again, we don't know! For now let's wait and see what the coronavirus and travel relationship is like and date the places we would like to visit. Use the blog for that!
Incidentally, coronavirus and travel is a topic that has caused many doubts among travelers. Should I cancel my trip? Should I change the date of my vacation? When are we going to be able to travel again?
Reflecting on this I came to 5 conclusions that I turned into tips for people to start traveling after the coronavirus. I wrote about destinations, transport, accommodation, tours and volunteering. Come and see!
The reality of coronavirus and travel
Nothing will be back to normal. There is no use waiting for governments to announce the end of the quarantine, because you will not be able to simply pack your suitcase and travel around.The reality of the coronavirus and travel pandemic is that our way of traveling will be different. All the travel experiences you've ever had will not be the same.
We will not end the coronavirus. Until we have a vaccine against it, we are going to live pandemic crises . That is, we will be able to have outbreaks of COVID-19 without notice and in any region of the world.
Until then, the reality is that social distance will continue, changing interpersonal relationships , especially when traveling.
The good thing is that there is a way to maintain a relationship between coronavirus and travel. You don't have to despair! The only thing is that everything will happen more carefully and slowly.
Read these tips and tell me what you think, okay?
5 tips to start traveling after the coronavirus
1 - Choosing destinations
As I said above, we are going to live pandemic outbreaks without warning until they have the vaccine. So, to reconcile the coronavirus and travel, I advise you to travel around Brazil right now .Imagine if you go on vacation to Chile and, in the middle of the trip, there is an outbreak of coronavirus in the country. The guys will close the borders on the spot and you will be stuck without being able to get home, work and the dog! You will spend days or weeks spending on food and accommodation without knowing when it will end.
It happened to me in Ecuador and thousands more Brazilians around the world. Some had to wait a month or more to be repatriated. In Peru alone, there were more than 5,000 Brazilians waiting to return home.
In Brazil I advise you to choose destinations that are free from closed environments . Urban trips with museums and churches, for example, should be postponed due to social agglomeration.
Destinations where there are national or state parks , such as Itatiaia (RJ), Petrópolis (RJ), Ibitipoca (MG), São Raimundo Nonato (PI), Barreirinhas (MA), Cambará do Sul (RS)… See here an ICMBIO booklet with information about some Brazilian parks.
Beaches are great for this moment, but skip the lists of '10 beaches to know who knows where '. Look for alternative , more empty beaches . In Ubatuba , for example, they always send you to visit Itamambuca, but not Vermelha do Sul. The city has 102 beaches in total!
Escape the beaches where there are kiosks, because it is usually where the people are (people who eat hahaha).
The Jalapão can be a super destination because it is more empty and isolated, you will spend four days with only the guide and 2 or 3 other people.
2 - Accommodation
Sadly, if you enjoy travel using hostels, like me, as soon as notice will not roll yet. This is a reality in relation to coronavirus and travel! If the intention is social distance, you cannot sleep in the same room with 5 or 9 more people.Can you imagine sharing kitchens and common areas? Guys, we're going to have to wait for a vaccine.
Hotel will also be complicated in relation to breakfast, reception, corridor, elevator ...
What's left, then, for God's sake?
Camping
This is a great option for us to start traveling after the coronavirus pandemic, because the tent is yours and nobody else will enter or touch it.
There is the possibility of doing wild camping (that is, in the middle of nature), but there are many structured campsites with wifi and everything. You can set up your tent the furthest from everyone and follow the WHO recommendations on distance.
Airbnb
Renting a house or apartment is the best solution at the moment, because it is an exclusive environment for you: bathroom, kitchen, living room ... It will not be necessary to share these spaces, reconciling coronavirus and travel in the best way.
3 - Transport
Even if they open land and air borders in Brazil, I do not recommend taking trips by bus and plane. At least 30 people go on the bus and at least 100 on the plane.To avoid social contact and thus avoid possible contagion, I recommend using Blablacar, a collaborative ride app. You register your trip as 'looking for a ride' and agree with someone who is going to the same destination a value for the race. Your contact will be with only 3 or 4 more people.
If you don't like this type of experience, a tip is to rent a car. In addition to safety due to the coronavirus, you have the freedom to walk - the fourth piece of advice in this post.
4 - Tours
Taking your tours combining coronavirus and travel is very easy!Having a rental car you have the freedom and security to reach a more distant beach, a park, a distant attraction. So you avoid taking taxis, buses or hiring agencies.
The agencies usually bring together groups of 10 or 20 people and this cannot happen anytime soon. So the alternative is to hire separate guides if you like to be accompanied by someone who understands the place.
Of course, guides are more expensive than agencies, but in the midst of this crisis everyone will be open to negotiation. Exchange an idea and you will be able to reach prices that are affordable for you and fair to the professional.
5 - Volunteering
I love / am traveling volunteering and I know that in relation to coronavirus and travel it will be difficult to do volunteering again anywhere. Hostels and social projects will not roll over on account of contact.So, if you also enjoy this experience, look for farms, farms, permaculture and bioconstruction projects . I worked a few days on a farm in Ecuador (before the coronavirus shit my backpack) and it was an incredible activity, which I would definitely like to repeat.
When working on a project like this, you remain open and without social contact. At most it will be you plus one or two volunteers and the owners of the place.
Where to find these volunteers?
I use the Worldpackers website and there you can find several options to carry out works of this type.
Recommendations for traveling in the coronavirus era
- Always wear masks, whether or not there is a spike in contagion.
- Keep your hands clean by always washing and using gel alcohol.
- Have your personal utensils, such as cutlery and glass.
- Avoid crowds of people, preferring less crowded times and places.
- Respect the security measures of the destination where you are going.
And when it will happen again, we don't know! For now let's wait and see what the coronavirus and travel relationship is like and date the places we would like to visit. Use the blog for that!
