Ways to road trip safely during a pandemic

Summer is usually the busiest season for travel. Unfortunately, the current pandemic has brought most recreational travel plans to a screeching halt. Although it’s risky, there are some instances when people must travel due to work or life events. In today’s article, I will give you my top tips on ways to protect yourself while road tripping during the age of COVID-19.

A little back story:

Last month, I spent 2 days driving from the Lone Star State of Texas to the beautiful Palmetto State of South Carolina. My goddaughter was graduating from high school and I wanted to be present for this momentous occasion. However, I did not want to risk contracting coronavirus by sitting on a plane with 100+ strangers for a 3 hour long flight to get there or possibly infect others if I was an asymptomatic carrier myself.

After comparing all of my travel options, I decided that driving cross country would be the best travel route because I would have better control over my environment. Driving would also allow me to limit the number of people I would potentially come into contact with. Here is what I learned from the experience.

Road Trip Tip #1 Pack these items as part of your disease fighting arsenal before you hit the road.

1. Lysol disinfecting spray
2. Hand sanitizer
3. Gloves
4. Clorox clean-up spray
5. Paper towels
6. Masks
7. Travel pillow and blanket
8. Laundry pods
9. Squirt water bottle
10. Hand soap

These 10 items will come in handy especially if your road trip will include a hotel stay along the way. You can read my previous clean freak’s guide to surviving a road trip here. If you want to know how I sanitize a hotel room, stay tuned for next week’s post.

Road Trip Tip #2: Plan your restroom breaks in advance.

This may sound weird but plan your potty breaks. My best tip for restroom breaks is to skip the rest area or local gas station bathroom and head directly to your nearest hotel. Most hotel lobbies have a public bathroom for visitors and guests. Simply mosey on into the hotel, ask the front desk clerk where the bathroom is, and go on your merry way.

The front desk clerk will assume you are there to visit a guest or just need a pit stop before heading to your room. The best part is that hotel lobby bathrooms are usually 10x cleaner and less crowded than a gas station bathroom so you can practice social distancing with ease.

Pro-tip: Be sure to check for any signage on the door of the hotel requiring you to show a room key for entry. Some hotels prohibited visitors from entering for guest safety during the pandemic. I’ve had great experiences with potty breaks at Hampton Inn so I usually seek out this hotel chain along my route.

Road Trip Tip #3 Keep your pit stops to a minimum.

“Your risk is much lower if you are able to avoid the three Cs, which are closed spaces, crowds, and close contact.” Payal K. Patel, M.D.

During this pandemic, it is vitally important to be as cautious as possible. This can be done by limiting exposure to crowds. However, at some point during the road trip you will need to get fuel and food so it will be necessary to come into contact with others. Here are some ways you can do this safely.

1. Wear a mask. I promise it won’t kill you to wear a mask in public. I wear a respirator, a surgical mask, and a face shield for 12 hours a day and I am alive to tell the story. Please spare me the CO2 debate.

2. Wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer. Remember that squirt water bottle and hand soap I told you to pack? This comes in handy if your hands are visibly soiled and you can’t get to the bathroom. Squirt a little water on your hands, get a pump of soap, lather for 20 seconds, squirt water on hands to rinse. Boom. Clean as a whistle. If you’ve touched an object like gas handle or credit card, the hand sanitizer will suffice.

3. Opt for take-out with curbside delivery to your vehicle or hit up one of the many fast food options along your route. You can also choose pack your own snacks for the least amount of exposure to others.

Tip #4: Be sure to share your location with others through location sharing apps.

This tip is essential if you are traveling solo. Before I started my journey, I sent a link to my family to track my iPhone in the event that they could not reach me. I traveled through quite a few national forests in Mississippi and Alabama which caused my service to be a bit sketchy. Sharing my location gave them some peace of mind so they could see my last location.

Tip #5: Wear some compression socks & boost your immune system

I always wear a pair of compression socks to help keep my blood circulating appropriately during long drives and even during long flights. I would highly recommend wearing compression socks to help prevent formation of blood clots from keeping your legs in a dependent position for hours at a time. Lastly, support your immune system by taking a daily multivitamin and vitamin C.

The last 2 tips will make your trip more enjoyable.

Opt for outdoor activities along your route.

The best part about a road trip is running into cool attractions along the way. During these trying times, it is best to opt for outdoor activities. Stop and take a photo of that cool monument or visit that beautiful garden posted on the billboard sign at exit 5. Skip the indoor activities this time around.

Make it fun by creating a road trip playlist in advance.

This is the one thing I wish I had done during my initial drive from Texas to SC. I spent a lot of time scanning the tuner for area radio stations. However, I quickly learned that lesson and spent some time putting together a few playlists based on different moods before my return trip and it made the drive back much more enjoyable. If you are traveling with others, be sure to allow everyone contribute their favorite songs. I’ll be sharing my top playlist picks in a future post.

SMS Community: What are your tips for traveling safely during the pandemic? What do you pack in your disease fighting arsenal? Leave your comments down below.

Thanks for reading. Be safe and stay blessed.