Travelling can be stressful at the best of times, let alone with a global pandemic going on. New rules seem to pop up all of time and leave us reeling with doubts about how to travel in the safest way possible, whether to stay in a hotel or an airbnb or whether travelling really is the best thing to do right now.

Staycay or vacay?

Our advice is go with your gut. If you’re feeling anxious about taking your local bus right now, perhaps getting on a plane isn’t for you. Do you have a car or are you open to a short train journey? We went on a weekend mini-break about an hour from our flat, and it was still really restful to just escape the place we’d been shut in for months! You don’t need to jump on a long-haul flight for it to feel like a holiday.

On the other hand, if you’re booked a holiday that you’re really excited about and you need to fly there, that’s fine too. You’ll just need to suss out the rules and regulations when travelling. We’ve got you!

Travelling outside of the UK?

If you do plan on travelling outside the UK, you need to fill out the UK government’s passenger locator form, even if you are visiting a country in the official ‘travel corridor’ list (basically a safe list). We suggest filling it out, downloading a copy and emailing it to yourself so you have it on your phone if needed.

Do you have to ‘Self-isolate’?

Flying, getting on a ferry, driving a car… it doesn’t matter what mode of transport you take, you just need to figure out if you have to self-isolate when you get there and return home.

When returning to the UK from a high-risk country, you’re facing a minimum of 2 weeks quarantine which means that you’re not permitted to leave your accommodation, not even to take a walk in the park or do the food shop. If you can’t work from home, have a dog, or just really don’t feel like the pay-off is worth it for you, consider changing your plans. The full list of countries within the UK’s ‘travel corridor’ is here. Any country not on the list requires you to self-isolate on your return to the UK.

Quarantine is in place to keep us safe, and countries with rising infection rates are the ones on the list, so it is best to stay away. Saying that, we found out that the Netherlands was added to the list the night before our flight and we still went because we were visiting family we hadn’t seen all year, and staying in the remote countryside. We made the choice to stay away from the larger cities on our visit and not mix with too many people. You just have to be smart about it.

Flying

Do your research

Every airport has its own rules when it comes to flying. Don’t just check with the airline, make sure to visit the airport’s website to see what their guidance is during corona-time as it can be different. For example, we booked priority tickets on a Ryanair flight from Dusseldorf to the UK, with a suitcase and bag as the carry-on luggage allowance on the flight. However, Dusseldorf has a rule of one carry-on bag only per person for all flights during Covid (Cue us urgently trying to flatten a backpack into a small suitcase at 6am). Make sure you do a little research before you fly.

Keep your distance

Let’s be honest, humans are creatures of habits. Even with signage on the walls and markings on the floor, people still cram together when queuing up for passport control or when the flight is called. Don’t be part of that - try and keep a safe distance of at least 2 meters if possible and hopefully people will take your lead.

Wear a mask

At all times. It seems like a horrible thought to wear a mask on a flight but actually you get used to it pretty quickly (especially with the disposable, paper ones). Our advice is to eat before getting on the plane so you can keep your mouth covered for the duration of the flight. It’s not worth those risking it for those overpriced pringles…

Staying at a hotel

We were a bit apprehensive about staying in a hotel post-lockdown, but it actually felt very safe. Hotels need to adhere to strict cleaning regimes now and also should have one-way systems in place to keep you at a safe distance from other guests. We stayed at an airport hotel the night before our flight from Stansted, and each room was sealed off to show that no one else had been in it after it was cleaned. Buffet breakfasts are obviously out, but a lot of hotels are doing their best to arrange for room service and waiter-service in the breakfast room instead. If you have any worries, contact the hotel for details on how they are dealing with the ‘new normal.’

If you have coronavirus symptoms?

Last but not least is the most important point we can make. Do not travel if you have coronavirus symptoms.