No matter where you live in the world, road trips are one of great summer pastimes. There’s almost nothing better than hopping in a car with the window rolled down, breeze blowing in your face, amazing scenery passing the window and your favorite playlist going.

The yearn for wanderlust doesn’t disappear just because you can’t get on a plane, in many ways it is heightened exponentially. We don’t know when it’s going to be safe to travel via plane – especially internationally – which is why road trips are the next best thing!

Road tripping is one of the best ways to travel when you are living through a global pandemic. You can hit the open road on a new adventure with family and friends (the people you have most likely been in quarantine with for the past few months), limit your contact with others, and have complete control over how long it takes you to get to your destination (whether you’re the drive straight through kind, or take the road less traveled, stopping for mini-adventures along the way kind).

Whether is spring for the flower fields, summer for hiking and wine tasting, or fall for leaf-peeping, road trip season is here, and although there may be some adding precautions here are some tips, tricks and best practices (based on my recent experience to Shenandoah and Loundon County) to road tripping in the age of coronavirus.

How to safely plan a road trip right now

There are many aspects to take into consideration when planning a road trip, especially if you live somewhere where you don’t need a car. Time, planning and being overly prepared are going to be your three best friends.

If there is one thing to remember when planning a road trip during an unusual travel time is to make sure you have given yourself leeway when it comes to your road trip adventure – the more time you have in advance to plan and prepare the smoother things will go.

If you don’t have a car, is it safe to rent one?

The short answer is yes, it is safe to rent a car right now, pending you are going with a larger company vs. a quick get-around-town company like Zipcar. The larger car rental companies people go to for multi-day rentals, such as Enterprise and Hertz are taking even more precautions when it comes to cleaning and sanitizing their vehicles in-between each rental.

But, research the car rental company properly

Now is the time to sign up for a rewards program with one of the larger rental car companies. Personally, I am a BIG fan of Enterprise. I have been renting with them for years, long enough to amass a wide variety of points that have given me free upgrades and low prices.

But before you do this you need to do your due diligence and research these larger companies to see what their COVID policies are. Yes, being a loyal member has its benefits, but you also want to make sure you are aligning yourself with a company who is taking everything very seriously i.e. the sanitation process for their cars and requiring employees to wear masks.

Back to Enterprise, the reason I love this car rental company so much is I have consistently found the lowest rates with Enterprise, their staff is always super helpful and during this time they are doing everything they can to make sure you are as safe as possible, all of their employees are wearing masks, the cars are impeccably clean, and have a social distancing pick-up curbside pickup option for their cars.

Tip to note: If you are a Costco member make sure you make your rental car booking through Costco Travel! Not only can you enter in your rewards/membership number for companies such as Enterprise, you also get the added benefit of even lower prices.

When you get your car: Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces

This is when you need to make sure you bring hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, as well as disposable gloves if you have them, in addition to your mask. Think about it as bringing the same “gear” you would also bring to the grocery store.

Once you get your car use your disinfectant wipes to wipe down the door handles (both inside and outside of the car), it’s best to also wear disposable gloves when you are cleaning these surfaces. Other high-touch areas you should clean in your rental car include the mirror, parking break, shifting handle, steering wheel and front controls (AC, radio, etc.).

Even though my car was pristine when I picked it up, I still felt more comfortable doing this before leaving Enterprise. I also did this throughout the days I had the car, just because I was getting in and out at different locations.

Make a list, and check it twice

No matter where you are going it’s always best to have a list of items you’ll need a head of time, and put together a little travel kit.

Part of the fun of a road trip is the planning so take to Pinterest, get out your guidebooks and magazine, and pick a memorable route. Sometimes it can also be fun to meander without a specific plan, but during this extraordinary time it’s probably best and safest to stick to the route you’ve planned.

If you can, stock a cooler or cooler bag with drinks, snacks, lunch and ice packs. This will help reduce the amount of times you need to stop at a rest stop or restaurant to fuel up and expose yourself to others, because undoubtedly you’ll be on the road during at minimum lunchtime.

When it comes to your travel kit, pack away the following:

A mask (for yourself and anyone else you may be traveling with), plus an extra or two
Travel hand sanitizer, and a large bottle to refill your travel size bottles
Disposable gloves
Disinfectant wipes – it’s best to have a couple of packs
Alcohol wipes for your devices (sometimes I think we forget to wipe our phones and computers down; I know I do)
Travel laundry detergent and Shout wipes or Tide pens so that you can clean up any spills and refresh/clean your face mask
A thermometer – because you honestly never know
An extra cell phone charger
And any linens you may need

When you do stop at rest stops and gas stations take the proper precautions

If you are on a longer road trip you are most likely going to need to fuel up on gas and use the restroom. The thing is you can’t forget that you are still out in public and still around people, so do your utmost best to not touch anything (and if you do to do so with gloves or even plastic baggies), wear a mask, and liberally (and frequently) wash your hands and use hand sanitizer.

If you are paying with paper or coin money remember to place it on the counter rather than handing it over, to not touch your face after handling and lather up on the hand sanitizer, in this cause it’s best to use a touchless method of payment. In general, counters should always be wiped down between customers, so if you don’t see the store clerk doing so pull out your disinfecting wipes.

When you pump your gas the same rules apply: do so with gloves, wipe down the gas pump, number pads and touch screens, and use a liberal amount of hand sanitizer after you are done.

Research your destination(s) ahead of time

This is something you really should be doing before you even pick up your car. You want to make sure the places you have on your itinerary are open, if their hours have changed, what is and what isn’t open and if you are able to properly social distance.

If you are going to a national or state park, check their websites to see if all facilities open, if certain entrances/exits are closed, if their hours have changed at all, what bathrooms/rest stop are open, and if any of the trails are closed or limited.

If you are going to a city, check the local tourism board and see what phase of reopening they are in. This will give you a good indication of what will be open when you visit and ultimately if it’s worth your time visiting. For example, when I went to Loundon County I had the Davis Mansion at Morven Park house on my list, but all of the car entries were closed so I would have had a take quite a walk to visit the grounds of the house (the actual home is currently closed), and based on my time restraints I opted out.

Discover Charm mural in Leesburg, Virginia

And finally, if you are planning to road trip to a location outside of your home state, double and triple check the quarantine and COVID test requirements. This will vary from state to state, as some states are not allowing certain states (even down to the county) in, and other will let you visit if you quarantine for 14-days. In some cases, the 2-week quarantine can be reduced if you show up with a negative COVID test, but you need to make sure you are getting the right kind of test. I recently learned that there are multiple types of tests but the PCR test is the one most required and accepted for traveling because it will indicate if you have an active infection.

When staying at a hotel, B&B or Airbnb expect things to be a little different

I haven’t stayed at a hotel or B&B yet, but I’m looking into it for this month – but I am prepared for all of the changes to keep me safe, and you should be too.

If you are booking your room through a third party site such as Hotels.com or Booking.com it’s always best to call the hotel after to make sure your booking went through successfully and they have you confirmed on their end. Nothing’s worse than assuming a hotel got your reservation and then showing up to find you don’t have a room to your name.

This is especially important during this time so they can take the proper cleaning procedures to prepare for your arrival. Many hotels and B&Bs are taking the proper social distancing guidelines, and requiring employees to wear masks, and ask that you do as well, especially when in public spaces such as the lobby or any shared lounge space.

Similarly to when you get your car rental, be prepared to wipe down and disinfect all of the high-touch surfaces in your room: remote, all door handles, AC controls, lamps, tables, TV controls, mirrors, the toilet, the water controls in the shower, etc.

Many hotels have suspended housekeeping services throughout this time, which is completely understandable, so you should come prepared on that front as well.

Although not required, it is a good idea to bring your own pillows, linens and towels. If for anything else, it can help alleviate any travel anxiety you may have, and help make you feel a little safer knowing you’ve brought items you have control over.

I’ve also noticed that many hotels and B&Bs have stopped their buffet and self-serve meals and instead have switched them over to a “to-go” type of service, bringing them directly to and dropping them off outside of your room, or allowing you to come by and pick up your meal. Personally, I think this is a great way to have a picnic all prepared for you!

Always, ALWAYS, respect social distancing guidelines and mask requirements

These guidelines are in place for a reason. I have seen too many times people getting “comfortable” and not wearing their masks in public around other people, it’s a simple thing that protects you but also helps protect others.

Just because one place in in phase 3 of reopening does not mean another place is. No matter where you are, whether you’re in the US, France or the UK, every region is at a different stage of the pandemic and in a different stage of reopening.

When taking a road trip you’ll be driving through multiple destinations with multiple requirements and precautions, and if you decide to stay overnight then you need to even pay closer attention to restrictions along your journey.

No matter where you are, and what reopening phase the location is in, many public spaces still require masks – something we all should be respecting. My suggestion would be to also bring hand sanitizer with you every time you leave your home, if you get into this habit where you live then it will be second nature to bring it with you when you road trip and visit new places.

When you are out in nature many state and national parks have limited the amount of people that are allowed on hiking trails and they are still requiring you to wear a mask inside of the park, and social distance, even though you are outside.

Traveling isn’t something that is completely off the table right now, you just need to do it responsibly and with respect to your fellow travelers and the locals whose home cities you are visiting.

Happy road tripping!

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