Traveling and the Coronavirus
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Everywhere I look, there it is – hysteria around the pandemic of Coronavirus. You have two extremes: people freaking out worried about dying and people who say it’s all a media craze and you’ll be fine if you just wash your hands a little more than usual. I’m not a health professional, so I’m not going to chime in on the medical aspect, but I am an expert in travel and there’s no denying that Coronavirus is seriously affecting travel.
Should I cancel my trip because of Coronavirus?
When it comes to traveling, my personal concern isn’t with contracting the virus; I’m more worried about canceled flights, quarantines, and closed tourist destinations. Japan was supposed to be my big trip of 2020. I was planning to go in late March/early April for cherry blossom season. Will I still be going? No. Not because I think I’ll get Coronavirus and die, but because schools, Disney, and so much more are completely closed in Japan right now. Flights are getting canceled to and from countries like China, Italy, and more could be added to the list any day. I’d hate to get stuck somewhere and have to stay in an expensive hotel room the entire time.
But at the same time, if you’re a budget traveler, now is the time to cash in. Both American Airlines and Delta have announced change fee waivers for tickets purchased this month with travel dates all the way up until February 25, 2021. With so many cancellations and almost empty flights, they have to do something to recoup costs. So there’s really no harm in purchasing a ticket this month for travel later in the year. The flight deals are great and if this thing blows over, it could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. And if it doesn’t, you could always cancel.
To be honest, I’m considering it. There’s no way to know just how long this will last, but resisting those flight deals is getting harder and harder, especially to places that aren’t that close to China! I probably won’t book anything before summertime, but after that, don’t be surprised if you see me jetting off to somewhere warm and sunny!
Would you travel during the Coronavirus pandemic?
Photo by Ryan Carpenter.
March 10, 2020 @ 7:11 am
Yes girl we were just talking about this last night. I’ve been checking all these amazing flight deals and I’m dying to book something probably for later in the year when this craziness blows over
March 10, 2020 @ 7:39 am
Yesss!!! The deals are just too good! I’m definitely not trying to get stuck somewhere, but I’m willing to take a chance on something in a few months!
March 11, 2020 @ 9:46 am
I haven’t found any good fare deals for when I want to travel (October), which is sad! But I am kind of unsure about travel at the moment. It’s a tough one for sure!
March 13, 2020 @ 10:28 pm
Hopefully things are better by then!! I heard the virus needs colder weather to thrive, so summer coming will help!
March 11, 2020 @ 2:56 pm
I was supposed to travel to Japan this year as well, for the Olympics. I sure am glad I never ended up booking anything. I would definitely consider traveling within the US, though.
March 13, 2020 @ 10:28 pm
Oh yeah, good call! I’m planning on going to Florida in May, but I’m considering driving instead of flying because of this! We’ll see!
March 11, 2020 @ 6:05 pm
I love your healthy perspective on all of this. I’m not freaking out about it but it is sort of puzzling to watch the whole world freak out and for all the hand sanitizers at Bath and Body works to be sold out! Do you think flights will go down in price to encourage people to begin traveling again?
March 13, 2020 @ 10:30 pm
And I don’t think the hand sanitizers are even strong enough to help with Coronavirus!! LOL. I think the flight deals are just to help the airlines actually bring some money in because they’re suffering right now. I’m hoping that things will be back to normal travel-wise by May or June!
March 11, 2020 @ 9:02 pm
I was actually chatting about this with my dad earlier this evening. I told them that the media is making this much bigger than it is. I’m not saying it’s not big, and I’m not gonna just travel on a whim because it’s cheap (necessarily), but I am gonna take everything I hear/read with a grain of salt and continue to take care of my body and be careful about being in large crowds of people. It’s just about knowing what you can handle and using critical thinking.
March 13, 2020 @ 10:33 pm
I feel the same way! I think it is important to stay healthy and cautious even if you’re not at risk. We don’t want to be in a situation like Italy!
March 12, 2020 @ 11:22 pm
It’s definitely something to worry about. But the media is making it so much bigger and scaring people so much. As a nurse…I wish people would do more research before listening to the media. I personally wouldn’t travel right now…but my job also wouldn’t give me the time off right now. LOL!
March 13, 2020 @ 10:31 pm
I agree! There’s soo much misinformation going around. I’m not traveling right now, but I’m shooting for May or June! Fingers crossed things are better by then!
March 13, 2020 @ 10:16 pm
For now, I think it is better to be safe than sorry. If your destination is not an affected area I wouldn’t worry about it. I would recommend you follow your intuition.
March 13, 2020 @ 10:32 pm
I’m taking a step back from traveling right now for sure. BUT that doesn’t mean I can’t plan some travel for later in the year!
March 18, 2020 @ 10:08 am
I wouldn’t consider travel right now, but we are thinking of booking something for our honeymoon for later on in the year. Chicago in winter is dreadful so it would be nice to have a trip to look forward to after all of this craziness settles down. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
March 18, 2020 @ 5:14 pm
Yes! Great idea!! It’s crazy to have so many unknowns, but something to look forward to is always a good thing 🙂
March 18, 2020 @ 4:24 pm
We are cancelling all of our travel plans until late summer – it just isn’t worth the risk of spreading the virus unknowingly to a new place.
March 18, 2020 @ 5:13 pm
I totally agree! Hopefully this all calms down soon and we’re able to get back to some normalcy!
March 19, 2020 @ 10:21 pm
I am not traveling for the forseeable future, which is sad because I had so many trips planned. But it’s the right thing to do for the safety of others.
March 23, 2020 @ 6:47 am
I hear you, girl! I’m so used to traveling non-stop and I miss it like crazy, but staying home is most definitely the right thing to do!
March 20, 2020 @ 2:03 pm
We’ve already cancelled travel for May and June just to be safe. It’s so hard but we know it’s the right thing to do. But hoping this all blows over asap!
March 23, 2020 @ 6:51 am
It’s absolutely the right thing to do!! I’m hoping the same. I can’t wait for things to get back to normal!!