Pack your bags, masks, and hand sanitizer—it’s time to make the most of those vacation days. While airline travel and hotel stays might not be the best option for you right now, these alternatives can be just as fun. Adjust your travel plans to incorporate social distancing and make more of a conscientious effort to protect yourself and others. However you choose to spend your time away, one thing is for sure: your vacation will be unlike any other!
Hit the Road
An RV can help keep your interactions with others to a minimum. Enjoy the freedom that an RV also allows you and travel at your own pace. There is so much more room to be spontaneous when you have total control of your lodgings. Choose a destination as far or near as you like, and hit the road. Not having to use public restrooms on the way to your destination is a major win, too!
Hotel Alternatives
Rent a cabin in the mountains to go hiking, kayaking, or mountain biking. Book your stay near the beach and enjoy listening to the waves while you hunt for seashells or go deep-sea fishing and crabbing. Reserve a lake house for some swimming, canoeing, paddle boarding, and fishing. Secure an AirB&B with a pool and a relaxing patio for a home-away-from-home feeling. Set up a tent to have a fully immersive experience at a new campsite. Spend the days hiking, hunting, or just enjoying the wilderness.
Get Outside
There are so many unique and fun experiences to be had outside: diamond digging in Arkansas, hiking sand dunes in Colorado, floating on the river in Texas, skiing in Utah, berry picking in Kansas. You could make it a goal to visit 3 or more state parks. Go horseback riding. Do some outdoor yoga. Walk around a local botanical garden. Complete an aerial course. Spend the evening at a drive-in movie. Visit a sculpture garden. Take your dog on a walk in a new park. Try gold prospecting. Go for a run along the beach. Tour a honeybee farm. The options are endless.
Dine Differently
Minimize contact with people while you are away by reserving grocery pickups or delivery. Plan to have your meals delivered as well or pick them up curbside. Eventually, the world will go back to normal, but for now, enjoy the moment—with picnics at the campsite, cooking in the RV, or roasting marshmallows on an open fire.
Family Friendly
Take the kids on an adventure to find treasure with this geocache app. Plan a trip around the harvest season of local flower/produce picking farms. Drive-through zoo experiences are fun for kids to see animals up close. Some even allow you to feed the animals from your car window. Ride bikes together and go exploring. Visit a splash pad on a weekday. Find a local fossil park for some educational fun. At the end of a long day, relax with some board games, puzzles, or good books. Take a break from the screens and take advantage of this opportunity to spend time together.