Honestly, it feels like a dream that we’re returning to semi-normal life here in the US right now with vaccinations for COVID helping us return to our somewhat normal lives.  I just got back from my first International trip to Iceland post-COVID and I’ve got several trips booked this Summer, which makes me so happy to know that the vaccines are allowing us to roam semi-freely without the stress of us catching or spreading the virus.  I will, however, be traveling differently for the next while and as I’ve been booking trips and thinking about our travel plans, I’ve realized that while we’re easing back into it, there are definitely things that I’ll be doing differently.  Here are all the ways of how I’m traveling differently post-COVID, at least for a while and some of these changes are actually making travel better!

Staying Longer in Destinations + Slower Travel

For most of the trips we have booked this Summer, we decided to stay longer than we normally would have a few years back.  First off, we’re wanting to really see places like we haven’t been able to for over a year and when we were booking both our Iceland trip and our trip to DC for a family wedding in a couple weeks, we decided to stay a full week in each place so that we can really enjoy the change of scenery and have a more leisurely trip.  We used to be a big fan of the 4-5 day trip and we’re extending several of our trips longer than that this Summer, even if we have to spend some time working remotely from those locations.  It’s worth it to just be traveling a little longer and slower, really savoring the time we get to spend in these locations that we’ve missed so much throughout the time of COVID.

Allowing Extra Time for COVID Testing

For international destinations for a while (and even some domestic ones), I think we’ll having to be figuring in time for COVID testing while traveling which means we need extra days to allow for that.  For example, when we were in Iceland at the end of May, even though we’re fully vaccinated, they required 1 COVID test upon entering the country and then again 72 hours before our flight back to the US as well.  This means that we’ll have to allow extra time in our destinations for COVID testing and waiting for results, which means we have to build that into our travel schedule for a while into the future.

Taking Less Photos and Being More in the Moment

On our trip to Iceland, our first out of the USA in a year and a half, I found myself taking less photos, planning less for our excursions every day and generally, just being more in the moment.  I found myself just taking it all in again, witnessing the world around me again, savoring the idea that travel is coming back and that perhaps this nightmare of COVID is headed toward its way out.  I know the world in general has a long way to go and I definitely understand that many countries are still in the thick of it, but we’re headed in the right direction, and just that alone makes me so grateful.  There were moments in Iceland that I just found myself feeling so grateful, so alive and I know that I won’t take travel for granted again for a long time after this.

Staying in More Apartment Rentals

For several of our trips upcoming, we ended up booking apartment rentals which is something we didn’t use to do very often.  But because we’re staying longer in locations and because we’ll be working from several of our destinations, we wanted more space so that Nick and I could both be working and not bother each other on calls throughout the day.  Plus, we can stick to ourselves and eat in our apartments instead of having to go out for every meal so we’ll be sticking with this routine for a while as we move into this post-COVID world.  We did this in Iceland a couple weeks ago and it was so nice to spread out, have our own space and multiple rooms in order for Nick and I both to have space to work when needed and I think it’s definitely something we’ll be doing more of for a while.