This is certainly the year for the summer day trip. We had a full year of vacation travel scheduled and budgeted for this spring through fall season. Events we attend have been rightfully cancelled. Places we enjoy staying for a week of leisure are partially open but are now COVID-19 hot zones. No thanks. As hotels and restaurants are doing their best to be safe, too much is still unknown. That’s why we have taken to day trips. Our plan is to take at least 2 day trips a month. Here are our pandemic daytripper tips for those who are itching for a little fun while doing your best to be safe.

Pandemic Daytripper Tips For a Little Fun as Safely as Possible

Obviously the safest thing to protect us from the virus is to stay at home in isolation. We have all been doing that and for some of us it’s getting a little old. According to health officials we also should socially distance and wear a mask when in public. Unfortunately not everyone is willing or able to do that. Judging from the massive infection and hospitalization upticks around the country, this virus obviously remains a viable threat.

What we decided is that we can have fun day trips and take necessary precautions to do so without too much viral worry. The pandemic daytripper tips being shared here will hopefully give you ideas of your own to get out of the house and have some feeling of a normal but different travel season.

Pick a destination and do a little research before you travel

How Far To Travel

First thing I did was decide on how far we day trip. I decided for now that we would pick a destination that allowed us to get there and home on a single tank of gas. Roughly a 300 plus mile round trip. So far that has been plenty to get us where we want to go, allow for some casual exploration once there, and get us home with plenty of fuel left to spare.

There are cases of COVID-19 in our county and town but so far very few compared to bigger urban locations. So picking a gas station close to home that’s away from a freeway to fill up is a virus avoidance decision. As always these days, I avoid fueling standing directly in front of someone on the other side of the pump. When I have clorox wipes available I pre wipe the gas handle. If not, I use the paper towels most stations supply as a hand to handle barrier. I then always use hand sanitizer after fueling. I never touch my face until after I get home to thoroughly wash my hands. These are good refueling pandemic daytripper tips if you have to fuel up anywhere, especially in a viral hot spot or heavily trafficked gas station.

Where To Travel To

In our case there are nearby rural and mountain recreational type counties we have spent little to no time in other than driving through them to go somewhere else. We have often seen smaller towns, their exit signs, and other points of interest and thought it would be fun to check them out.

I do a quick online search (XYZ county/city/etc. COVID-19 case numbers) to research their county’s coronavirus numbers and whether there are restrictions in place. Such as mandatory face masks, full closure or limitations of restaurants, etc. so we can be prepared and decide whether we want to visit. I never want to go where I won’t be welcome or have no safe reason to go.

In one destination that we day tripped to they only had one county counted COVID case so it was of little surprise to see not one person in that rural town wearing a face mask. Even so, we did wear ours out of respect when in public because we traveled from somewhere else. Another targeted day trip destination was dropped after reading they had a large spike of cases and some of the infected refused to cooperate with contact tracing efforts. Virus drama I would just rather avoid.

Know Your Route before You Go

Like any road travel it’s best to pre plan your route. I like to go online and check for any major construction zones and even check the weather for where we are headed. I even prefer to see if there are alternate routes so we can go one way and return a different route.

Along with this it’s a good idea to see what towns and rest stops you might pass and any services offered or restricted. Nothing worse than having to go and there’s no place to stop. When we do stop, we prefer stopping at a local grocery where we can also buy a cold beverage or treat, like an ice cream bar on a hot day.

What To See Or Do Once There

Some of the places we go have a point of interest. Others are a gateway to BLM or other outdoor recreation. We have either already heard about it or we do an online search to find out. Others are just in a beautiful place. We go because we have never been there before and want to see it. Other times it’s all about the drive. The destination is just a place to stretch our legs and have lunch. 

Not knowing exactly what we will find in the way of eateries, we pack a small cooler with drinks and lunch. Although there may be cafes or restaurants open, they may hit their safe service capacity.  Aside from that, even as restaurants are doing their best to be safe, we’ve decided that for this travel season we will avoid indoor dining. We do love a nice outdoor spread out seating experience. Especially a food truck parked next to a craft brewery. If we do find our lunch someplace then we just eat our packed lunch for dinner once home. 

One of our pandemic daytripper tips regards going to destinations where we know we will be eating our packed lunch. For example, a mountain lake or hiking trail. We schedule that day for dinner leftovers that evening. That way after a long day having fun on the road we don’t have to worry about a lot of work cooking dinner once home.

Pandemic Daytripper Checklist 

Have a basic tool kit, flat tire essentials, auto maintenance up to date, owners manual, etc. Treat any day trip like you would a normal year’s road trip preparation even though your travel distance is far less. The same kinds of travel mishaps can still occur.

Make sure cell phones are fully charged before leaving. I use a flip phone that holds its charge a long time while my wife’s marvelous smartphone needs daily charging to remain topped off. Nothing worse than finding out when you need your phone for a photo, call, or data search that it’s dead. 

Always have a face mask with you for any public interaction. Even if your destination is remote or there are no plans to leave the car. Bathroom breaks, auto breakdown, an adventurous decision to explore the wonderful creations of a food truck, etc. can put you in close proximity to others.

Carry hand sanitizer and even your favorite sanitizing wipes. Necessary handwashing won’t always be available. We carry small refillable pocket hand sanitizer and also have Clorox wipes in the car for our day trips. 

Make sure to pack food and water or other favorite beverage. Do this even if your plans are to pick something up at your destination. You never know if there are last minute shutdowns or capacity issues. We encountered a convenience store on our first trip that had some out of state licence plates in the parking lot and was full of non-socially distant maskless folks. We decided we wouldn’t join in the fun.   

Let someone know of your plans. Especially if traveling to a remote location where there may not be cell service. Anything can happen and if it does you want to be missed sooner rather than later.

Print out good directions and having a map is even better. Relying solely on your cell phone or a garmin for directions can lead to mishap.

Do a quick online weather check for your route and destination before leaving. A prediction of heavy thunderstorms means possible travel, leisure, and safety issues. Take appropriate clothing for the conditions you are traveling through and to. 

Making The Best Of What We Have Now

We enjoy our little daytripping adventures. It breaks up what has been a bit of a rut in our pandemic lifestyle as I’m sure most can agree gets a little old. However, it’s nothing like our normal vacation season and we still miss it. 

One thing for certain is that we are spending far less money this year because of it. Keeping that in mind, we over tip in full appreciation when we have the opportunity to enjoy a good meal out. Our retirement travel budget excess is being set aside for when things hopefully return to normal in the future. It will be then that we’ll make up for this lost travel year.