My friend recently asked me this question. I decided to create a post around my answer.
This is one of those “into my brain” posts. It’s different from my posts on How to Decide Where to Travel—The Practical Deviation and How to Decide Where to Travel—The Personal Deviation. This one is more process-based, where you get to see how my brain works when I start planning for travel. It’s also based on what I do now as a short-term travel soloist.
My process now is budget-based and interest-based with a final look at safety. I have to admit, it’s something I’ve been doing a lot throughout the pandemic. I look up destinations and plan trips I can’t go on yet. Sounds a bit sad writing it like that but this has actually helped me get through this long period of no travel. Now I have several trips in mind, ready to be booked when the time feels right!
I’ve flown twice on JetBlue to New York in the last 4 months since getting vaccinated. One was an unexpected trip and the other was planned. Both were interrupted by the industries labor shortage.
I was reminded how different travel is and will be in the near future.
I hope this post gives a bit more insight into air travel during COVID-19. I provide highlighted tips throughout for folks who are thinking about flying in the US again. This is what you might be in store for, including what’s really happening with COVID-19 safety procedures and the airline industry as a whole.
I was hoping to be in another country this month traveling for my birthday. Alas, COVID-19 hit and threw us all for a loop.
No, like, a literal loop. When will this groundhog day end?
Well, it can end tomorrow if you want it to. I am here to report that all is not lost in the way of mixing up your life with travel. I discovered first hand last week, after a stay in a tiny house north of my home in Miami, that domestic and mostly local travel is still an amazing option.
Travel during covid-19 just takes a little, extra creative thinking, planning, and—dare I say it?—deviating! This post includes a brief yet highly necessary overview of what your options are and the precautions you need to take to travel and stay safe.
Johannesburg, South Africa is often talked about as a pretty unsafe city for travelers. The most common crimes are petty, such as having valuables stolen from your person or your car. But that's the kind of hassle you don't want when you're having a good time on your trip.
Most places in the world are safer than you assume. But realistically, some places are going to be less safe than others. When the facts point to unsafe conditions where you're traveling, you don't necessarily need to avoid the place entirely. You just need to enact some precautions based on local recommendations.
In this post, I describe one night I spent in Johannesburg and my tips for staying safe. I only had to make small edits to my behavior. I chose to stay in a better neighborhood, I walked around with a friend, and I didn't carry my phone with me at night.
The result was an easy going night of listening to local music with a new friend. No issues. No sweat!
Have you ever wanted a monkey for a pet? Ever since I watched Disney's Aladdin as a child I have wanted to have a friend like Abu (sorry, Genie). I've had such a strong obsession with the idea of making friends with a monkey, I've managed to ignore all the reports of monkey attacks on humans and poo-thrown at zoo keepers in the media. This kind of passion led to my arrival at the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, Bali.
With reports about the monkeys stealing tourist's cameras and biting them for food, I was careful to take the necessary precautions. I also ensured my interactions with them were not forced while I was there. I wanted to be certain I would meet my new friend as ethically and safely as possible. The result was an incredible amount of cuteness, lots of rambunctious monkey behavior, and even a few selfies captured with these friendly and curious cousins of mine. I also got a lot of the action on video—a must see at the end of this post!
