This time, let me share with you some travel hacks for 2022. They are more steered towards tips, but you may find some use either way.
This is a horrible time I am writing to you. I am currently sitting at my workplace, typing away as my country in a soft lockdown.
By the time you are reading this, the pandemic might not be as bad as it is right now, but one can never really tell the future.
Because of that, I will focus on COVID-19, and how you can use some travel hacks and tips to make trips easier and smarter.
Travel Hacks for 2022 – Preparation Tips
Compared to the usual days, we need to prepare more.
Depending on where you travel and what transport you use, you have to stack up on knowledge. For example:
1. Research what requirements there are
By that I mean, what requirements are for airports, and what requirements are for the destination.
Some airports may require you to show proof of negative Covid-19 test:
Keep in mind, if you cannot show proof of a negative test or documentation of recovery, you cannot fly and won’t be allowed to board the plane
As said on AA.com, starting January 26, 2021
That was last year. According to cdc.gov, “you will need to get a COVID-19 viral test (regardless of vaccination status or citizenship) no more than 1 day before you travel by air into the United States.”
All that is important to check, especially nowadays. We haven’t really gotten used to it since we have functioned all our lives in one way, so we have to adapt.
Be that as it may, you should read up on requirements and follow through with them to avoid not only getting sick but accidentally infecting others.
2. Prepare for trips
A true fact of Coronavirus is that it was spread by travel.
It couldn’t have gotten to us if people stayed in the countries. Obviously, we are not really at fault since we couldn’t have known all this exactly one year ago.
However, we do know much more now. That means, we carry more responsibility for other people’s lives.
That is why it’s very important to do some preparations. One of them is testing yourself at least 2 days before going on a trip.
I don’t know how fast the results come in your country, but in mine, I get an answer immediately. If the test comes positive, for the sake of others, DO NOT move around. You may carry it with ease, but older people may not be as lucky.
Apart from testing yourself, it’s a good idea to lay off activities for two weeks before the trip. Just limit your exposure and the risk is reduced greatly for you, as well as others.
Sanitation Tips
This is very important.
Yes, it is a no-brainer, but there are still ways to keep you cleaner, just because we overlook some points. Let me explain.
As you may know, the virus doesn’t only travel by air. It can also stick to items.
You may touch the items and then scratch your nose or eyes. Then it’s an easy job for the virus to enter your system.
According to Healthline, we probably touch our face 16 times an hour.
Quote from Healthline
16 times is more than enough to get sick. So try to be aware of your face-touching habits as much as possible, especially when you travel.
That is why washing hands and sanitizers are important. The hand sanitizer should be alcohol-based (at least 60-70% alcohol).
1. Use hand sanitizers, sanitizing wipes, and sinks.
These are common places for virus to get stuck on due to frequent touching.
Buy some Clorox wipes (at least 70% alcohol) and just wipe away your stuff.
If you get a rental car – get Clorox wipes.
If you touch some public surfaces – use Clorox wipes.
Public surfaces include handrails, elevator buttons, random doors, armrests, trays, seatbelts.
If you don’t have sanitizers with you, at least use your sleeves to open doors or when touching sink controls. That way your face-touching habits will not expose you as much.
2. If you travel by air, you can take hand sanitizers with you
According to tsa.gov, you can take a hand sanitizer that is up to 12 ounces. In comparison, all other liquids are limited to 3.4 ounces.
3. Air in airplanes is surprisingly clean
Despite our thinking of being in confined space, the air is well filtrated in airplanes.
They use HEPA filters that filtrate out 99.9% of the particles in the air that are over 0.3 microns in size. That also includes Covid-19 particles.
COVID-19 is actually 0.1 microns, but due to its tendency to bind itself to something bigger, it gets wiped away as well.
On top of that, they usually enforce an empty seat next to you. It’s not always the case, but as far as I’ve seen, they leave the middle seat empty.
So I can assure you that out of all spaces, airplanes are relatively safe.
Journey Tips
So to give some actual hacks that help in 2022, I will focus on the journey a bit.
1. Find random cheap flights 6 months in advance.
This is one of the things that Google just came up with recently, and I’ve been using it to the fullest.
Don’t know where to fly for a vacation, but want the cheapest flight possible?
I can fly to Paris in March for €30 if I buy a plane ticket right now – and that’s a round-trip price! There are tons of these deals available, that frankly, not many people know about.
To get them for free, go to Google Travel, choose “round-trip”, then choose “economy”, and change the date to the last month on the list. By doing that, you usually find that the price is the lowest of the bunch. You can, of course, check the other dates as well just in case.
2. Put a notification on cheap flights.
Back to using Google Flights again.
I tend to use Google Flights quite often as it is easy to use, and it’s straightforward.
I can even put a tracker to a destination I wish to travel to. With that, it will notify me via email if the price has drastically changed.
Unfortunately, it also notifies when it goes up. Plus, I can’t really track all cheap flights.
That is when I typically use ScottsCheapFlights.
They do the manual work by searching all the airline prices, and then sending them to you personally. It’s a good option if you want to be aware of the best prices.
3. Get drinks/food after going through airport security
Unlike before, many airlines are limiting their food and drinks offers. Many business classes stopped giving away free alcohol.
I recommend you buy food before you board the plane. That way you won’t have to suffer from an empty stomach during flights.
4. Be careful during road trips
Road trips are an awesome way to travel, but you have to be careful these days.
See also: 32 travel hacks for road trips!
It may seem like traveling by car is safer due to less exposure to other people, but it may not be the case compared to air travel.
We still have to get food from somewhere, visit restrooms, and fuel up.
That is why it’s very important to follow the sanitation tips I wrote above.
I may also recommend choosing restaurants that have a drive-through option. For example, McDonald’s. I used it quite often when I am in a hurry.
Now that Covid-19 has come, it seems they are “healthier” compared to restaurants that are frequently visited. The exposure is much smaller.
What about you?
Do you have any tips to share with other travelers? Leave them down in the comments for others to see!
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Stay safe!
