COVID-19 Travel Quarantine Slump: 5 Considerations

Does the COVID-19 quarantine have you in a slump? Were you traveling soon or hoping to take a vacation?

Perhaps being stuck at home is challenging, and you need a change of scenery. With schools, bars, restaurants, and various other locations to some extent closed, we likely have felt various ups and downs over the last several weeks.

Perhaps you experienced the feeling of running unexpectedly into a brick wall at full speed. I did – at least metaphorically.

As of late, I’ve found travel and mobility – including different types – provide an outlet.

Pre-Travel Rut and Post-Travel Blues

Despite overcoming a state of dissatisfaction that lasted a long period of time, I still felt unfulfilled in my recent past.

It took a while to change my mindset. Change takes effort. It can be uncomfortable. Embrace it.

Here is one way I recently pushed myself further – travel. Why? I found it helps me grow as well as relax.

Let’s Do This

I obtained my US Global Entry access in November 2019. The feedback I got when I shared this news: “Where will you go to break it in?”

The younger (or older) version of me would have waited for months to make a decision.

I booked a trip to Iceland that day, scheduled to depart in less than 3 weeks.

I traveled alone. It was scary, lonely, fun, and amazing. So many emotions in one short trip, but I learned a lot about myself.

Again? Yes, Please!

While in Iceland, I got the travel bug. I booked another trip for less than one month away.

In January, I did a solo 8-day, 7-night trip to Italy. I visited Rome, Florence, and Venice.

Perhaps the rookie or first-timers’ list of cities for Italy (or so I was told by many locals as well as friends), I still had fun.

On my second-to-last day in Italy, I booked another trip for April to Dublin.

Lockdown Arrives

Despite my urge to continue to travel, far more important matters came into practice.

The current state of travel restrictions and the precautions put in place – both my own and those mandated by others – would not permit me to go on my next adventure when planned initially.

Mobility and movement are important to me. Whether exercise, growth, or learning, I like to continue moving; however, I understand the need to continue to stay-in-place.

Many of us have likely changed our day-to-day activities, as well as future plans, to some extent due to COVID-19.

5 Considerations to Move Forward

Here are a few items to consider if you’re making potential changes and/or new upcoming travel plans.

1) Obtain Information

Firstly, what are your options? A few airlines are only reviewing travel booked a few weeks out from today.

Changes in the news and impacts from the ongoing COVID-19 quarantine will continue to also evolve.

This will help you determine any potential next steps. A few are below.

If you’re booking new travel, make sure you understand any current travel restrictions.

2) Get a Refund / Discount

Depending on the terms of your existing purchase, you might be able to get a complete refund.

This might be a full credit back on your credit card or come in the form of a check.

Not all airlines or other travel providers will offer a refund.

However, this is an exceptional time, so exceptions could be made. The same applies if you’re booking new flights.

3) Seek a Voucher (and More)

If a refund can’t be obtained, ask for details about a voucher for credit for future travel.

A friend and I had plans to visit Dublin in early April. We ended up applying for a voucher being offered by the airline.

The voucher includes our original travel purchase plus an additional 10 percent credit.

We’d like to still travel at some point in the future; we found the voucher appealing for this reason.

Ask what other offers exist, as you might be surprised by what airlines and other travel providers can offer. You could also find a great new deal for travel at a future date.

4) Exercise Your Option(s)

I usually don’t purchase trip insurance. I currently have plans (though looking slim at this point based on the extended quarantine) to travel to Turkey in June for a friend’s wedding.

We’re still waiting on details if the wedding will be postponed, but I’m not very confident that the wedding will be as planned.

For this trip, we didn’t purchase travel insurance. Our options at this point are to:

• (1) request a similar flight that must be to the same destination at some point in the future; or,
• (2) pay a $450 cancellation fee per ticket in order to get the rest of our purchase back.

We ended up booking through an online third-party provider, so the airline can only do so much. That said, we haven’t checked in a couple of weeks – things can change.

If you’re purchasing trip insurance for a new trip, make sure you consider your options from different providers. Coverage costs can vary.

Related: DEFENSE Wins Championships: Insurance

5) Sit Tight and Wait

Finally, doing nothing (for now) might be the best choice.

With Turkey, we opted to wait; I’m not certain yet what will happen with the wedding.

Although the wedding is toward the end of June, some airlines aren’t yet even considering changes to flights after May at this point.

Patience can present opportunities. Just don’t wait too long.

Who knows? You might also find an opportunity to visit somewhere that you couldn’t afford at a different time.

Bonus: A Familiar Thing to Remind Yourself

This won’t last forever. Let’s try to make the best of the time we do have available now. And remember:

Don’t Try to Control What You Can’t Control

Just like health matters, no one knows for certain when the markets will go up or down, or how far and for how long. Models are useful but not always accurate.

If you hear otherwise, be wary. Related, no one can control or predict these aspects of the market.

However, leveraging personal finance as an example, you can generally have some influence on the following (among others):

• Asset Allocation – depending on your savings or investment objectives, different types of asset classes might be more pertinent to your unique circumstances.
• Expenses – you can’t decide or set the expense ratio of a mutual fund. But you can decide which ones to invest in.
• How Much You Save – admittedly, there are variables that can arguably determine how much you can or can’t save, but you ultimately have the ability to save less or more of your income.
• Your expectations – what you feel and think is influenced every day by countless factors; however, you ultimately decide how you are impacted.

The above might relate to personal finance, but it applies to many other areas of our lives.

You can decide how much you exercise, read, write, learn, or do for any other activity.

Focus on what you can control. Being positive doesn’t mean being ignorant or naive – just be mindful of how you process in your own head.

Looking Back and – More Importantly – Ahead

I’m grateful for the opportunities I had in the last few months before the quarantine to travel.

I’m thankful for the eventual opportunity to travel again at some point in the future. Hopefully, it’s sooner than later.

Overall, despite the frustration and other mixed emotions that come from sitting in-place, I know there is something much more important going on outside.

Stay healthy and stay safe.

Readers, how are you handling the current COVID-19 event? Have your travel plans or thoughts on the same changed at all?  If so, how?

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