Fun, Sun, And COVID-19: Is It Safe To Go On Vacation This Summer? What Precautions Should You Take Against Coronavirus?

Going on vacation is more than a frivolous drain on your budget — truly "switching off" in a completely different environment reduces the risk of depression and anxiety, and significantly slashes your stress levels. Vacations can make us happier and physically healthier, as well as boosting our workplace productivity long after we return home. 

Anxiety, loneliness, stress, and depression have been on the rise since COVID-19 so suddenly turned the world upside down, the World Health Organization reports. If you're not among one of the many people who's suffered budget cuts or even job loss as a direct result of the pandemic, you probably have been biding your time in lockdown — and have become intimately acquainted with the things that kind of situation can do to your mental health. 

Should you go on vacation with COVID-19 still on the loose? 

All decisions we make are based on multiple factors — and if you're currently trying to figure out whether you should take a vacation or not, you'll make those choices based on more than your potential risk of contracting COVID-19 alone.

You may, for instance, be in poor mental health at the moment, as coronavirus-related anxiety, cabin fever, fear, and all those other nasty feelings crept up on you over the course of many months. If you're a parent, you may be concerned for your kids' wellbeing. After being stuck indoors without physical school for what now seems like an eternity, they may truly need a break. You may think the benefits of a vacation outweigh the risks. 

Going on vacation may also offer a chance to be reunited with relatives who live abroad or far away, which could be so important to you that you don't mind taking a chance. 

The more people you are in contact with, the longer that contact lasts, and the close that contact is, the higher the risk that you will encounter someone who has COVID-19 — and that they will spread the virus to you, even if they don't have active symptoms and may not have a clue they are infected. 

All that means, in short, that staying in your home and not having contact with anyone outside your household is still your safest bet. Risk assessment results in degrees of risk, of course, and there's a lot of room between "total lockdown" and "week-long beach party with 1,000 people". 

Safer vacation ideas for people who want to have fun, but not get COVID-19

Keeping the idea that your risk of catching the coronavirus goes up with every person you meet and spend significant amounts of time with, here are some vacation (and, OK, "vacation") ideas, ranked roughly from least risky to most risky. 

• Going camping in a tent in your backyard with people from one other household who have also been socially distancing. The smaller your contact bubble is, the less risk you expose yourself to, and expanding your bubble to include people who've also not seen anyone else for good a while is fairly safe.
• Going camping at an actual camp site near your home, and making a serious effort to avoid close contact with anyone else. Cook your own meals over that campfire, and don't go to restaurants. Do not share public facilities with anyone.
• Stay in air BNB a few hours away from your home that has been thoroughly disinfected (best yet, do it yourself, too). Travel there by car. Your own car. Avoid public transport and other people, but get some nice meals delivered. Go for walks late at night or in very uncrowded areas. 
• Go on vacation at your relatives' beach home abroad. Travel by plane, and maybe hit a restaurant or two, but still try to avoid other people. 

Least safe would be something like hitting the beach without a face mask, interacting with every stranger who seems cool, getting drunk at night clubs, and eating out in places that haven't made any efforts to coronavirus-proof their establishments. 

OK, I get it. What do I need to know if I'm traveling abroad anyway?

• Don't go to places with very active outbreaks. 
• If you have an underlying chronic condition, or someone else in your household does, take your added risk into account. 
• Wear face masks at all times during which you may be exposed to people outside your household. 
• Avoid the busiest travel times — and that includes month, day, and time of day — especially if you will be using a means of transport where people will be getting on and off all the time, such as buses or trains. 
• Check what you need to do to actually be allowed to travel with the country you are going to, and if you're flying, the airline. You can expect to need a negative PCR test to travel.
• Stay six feet (two meters) away from others at all times if you can. If your travel plans do not make that possible, try to reconsider them. Follow all the other measures you've gotten used to already religiously — you definitely know the drill. 
• Have your travel and health insurance in order. Check what access you have to healthcare if you fall ill with COVID-19 or have any other medical problem. Take more money than you need in case you need access to healthcare. 
• Check your own country's travel advice regularly. If the recommendation is against all non-essential travel, consider whether your vacation is truly essential to you. 

It is ultimately up to you to determine your own threat model, based on your mental health, need to see relatives, your current physical health, and probably other factors we haven't thought of. Remember, though, that the fact that some borders are opening up again doesn't mean that the risk of catching COVID-19 is now non-existent. The fact that you can lay on the beach or dance the night away in a very crowded club doesn't mean you should. Even if you do decide to go on vacation, there are ways to reduce your risk — and we suggest you make full use of them.