The world is really starting to open back up and that means we can all finally start to plan trips once again. In this episode of the Travel Babies Podcast we discuss the pros and cons of all the open destinations for Americans right now. Listen to hear why we are considering some destinations and not others in this week’s episode on should we travel right now?
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Transcript:
JQ: Hey Travel babies, travel rules are changing and countries are opening back up. Where should you go? This week we are discussing the pros and cons of all the open destinations.
Juliana: This is travel babies. We’re just two sisters trying to travel the world in style, but sometimes things don’t go as planned. Each week we talk about all the important travel topics to help you decide when, where and how to explore the world in style. I’m Juliana from Travel With Juliana, a professional travel blogger from Boston,
JQ: and I’m JQ from JQlouise.com. And I’m a travel writer, blogger and influencer, also a Boston combined. We have over 200000 followers across our social media platforms and we love sharing our travel tips and tricks with you all.
Juliana: But before we get started, don’t forget to subscribe and give us a review. If you enjoy our podcast, it really helps us a lot.
JQ: So last week we talked about the new rules that different locations have for travel requirements. But this week we wanted to talk about what we really think about these new rules and these new travel options, because Juliana and I are starting to plan our next trips.
Pros and Cons of New England Trips
Juliana: Yeah. So obviously there’s a couple of options now of, you know, general areas of where to go. So first, I thought we could start with, you know, local New England trips.
JQ: Great idea. So obviously, the profile of doing a local trip, it’s within driving distance. You don’t have to fly. You can go whenever you want and there’s a lot less pressure.
Juliana: Yeah, exactly. And, you know, if you’ve been doing shorter, smaller trips like us, you know that there’s so many different options, like you said, all within driving distance. Obviously, this past summer and fall and winter, a lot of these places were actually fairly crowded for how compared to normal, just because that’s where New Englanders can only really go, like all the ski resorts are always really crowded, actually.
JQ: Yeah. So, you know, that is kind of a pro and con. The fact that these destinations are so close. I mean, it’s a great choice, especially if this will be your actual first trip in the past year. Like if you’ve got nowhere, if you have just stayed home the whole time, I would recommend easing yourself back into travel by taking a road trip, taking a long weekend, taking a day trip, that kind of thing. I mean, that’s what Juliana and I did last year. The first time we traveled after the full lockdown was over was just local New England trips went to Maine. We went to Nantucket, we went to the Cape, that kind of thing. It was a lot less pressure. It was easy. We could control most of the variables. You know, you have your own car. You don’t need to take public transportation. You can still be very distanced, which is great for people who need to be extra careful during these times. So I would definitely recommend starting with a driving destination first. But if you’re like us, the con of these is, like Juliana said, that they could be very crowded. And I know I’m looking for something a little more exotic now because I’ve had a lot of fun doing these New England destinations. But I know I am looking forward to going a little bit further away.
Should we Travel Right Now?
Juliana: Yeah, me too. I think that’s definitely one of the cons is just if you’re if you’ve done so many of these trips already, which are still really fun, but you just want something different, that’s kind of hard. And I know that this summer, I’m sure that because, like, way more people will start traveling more because they’ve gotten vaccinated and they just feel more comfortable these places will be even more crowded. So obviously, if you want to avoid crowds, that’s not something you know, you might not want to always just do something close by. But I will say that a lot of these places, too, because they opened, you know, like last summer or early spring or late spring, I guess they were very prepared to make all these accommodations to stay safe. So I think and, you know, as everything changes, though, they’re also changing. Like, I think now you don’t need a test to visit Maine. So that’s something. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
JQ: Yeah, exactly. And I actually saw an article the other day that the Cape has reported that this is like a record breaking summer for rentals and like, you know, all of those vacation homes.
Juliana: Is it this summer? Yeah. Oh, wow. So it’s already like people are already looking that far out. That’s the thing. It’s like you also have to plan super far out, because if you’re just, like, planning, you know, even a month out, that’s not far enough sometimes.
JQ: Exactly. Especially if you want to get one of those luxurious, like beachfront rentals. But you’re already booked, I think.
Juliana: I know. I was just looking at like I love last summer we went to Rockport, which is my first time in Rockport. And I think we went there because you can take the train. And it was so easy and quick and it was just a nice little, you know, beach front town. And the hotel prices were so crazy high, like, even though and so I’m just wondering, like, what is it like normally in the summer? Like just a normal year. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
JQ: Yeah. See, I think like so if you already have something planned, great. If you’re looking to plan something, do it now because the prices are going up and there’s only limited supply because. I know. There are still some capacity restrictions.
Juliana: Yeah, but I think also the tricky part is these restrictions will probably change. Like, you know, even I have a couple of friends who are getting married and the venues keep changing their rules about how many guests they can have. So it’s just like it’s so hard to plan when things keep changing, too.
JQ: Exactly. So I guess the pro here is that obviously it’s close by and pretty low stress in terms of actual transportation. And the con is that many of these destinations are likely to be pretty crowded this summer. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
Should We Visit the Caribbean?
Juliana: OK, so next, let’s look at the Caribbean. So there is actually a ton of destinations open in the Caribbean. So that’s, you know, definitely a pro. You just have so many options. But you went to Puerto Rico. I went to Puerto Rico. You also went to Aruba. So there’s a lot of options open. I mean, you and I have been kind of like looking at flights for the past couple of weeks, just like seeing what’s happening there. So that’s definitely a huge pro.
JQ: It’s close by. Like, again, if you’re still kind of easing yourself back into travel. I mean, this is a great first international destination to head to mean any of these countries in the Caribbean. They all have great covid programs, covid testing programs. They’re very organized with the regulations and rules. So or if you just don’t know what to expect, I would definitely recommend heading to one of these very tourist friendly destinations in the Caribbean because they make it so easy to know the rules. All their websites are very clear. They really spell out all the things you need to do in preparation for your trip. So it’s not that stressful once you start doing your research. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
Juliana: Yeah, exactly. And I mean, it does feel like a kind of a real getaway. I mean, I personally love like every time we go to the airport and we, like, get on a flight, I’m excited because I’m like, oh, like, you know, in a couple hours I’m going to be somewhere new. So, you know, they do make everything easy with the covid testing. I mean, even just going to Puerto Rico, as soon as you get your test, you fill out the health declaration form. You just have a barcode. Then they make it really easy when you get there. But, you know, it is still kind of a pain because you do have to worry about testing and now you have to get tested when you come back to the U.S. So that’s definitely something to keep in mind, like figuring out where you can get tested when you are there coming home. But, yeah, I mean, it definitely feels like more of a getaway than just going like an hour from your house.
JQ: Exactly. And I would just say the only other real con of these trips is that the flight prices are kind of high right now. I mean, Juliana, I’ve been trying to plan a few Caribbean trips lately, and we keep delaying them because the flights keep popping up in price like we were planning a trip to Jamaica. And for a few weeks, the flights were only 400 dollars roundtrip from Boston. But then when we got ready to purchase the flights, they had gone up to 800 round trip. And it looks like they’re going to be that high for the next few weeks. So, again, if you’re thinking about a trip, really try to plan in advance, because right now the prices are so high because of all these people that are newly vaccinated, they are looking to travel. So definitely do your research and try to plan ahead.
Juliana: Yeah, I mean, all this is kind of like a couple of months ago was kind of hard to predict because I was like, oh, are flights going to be like all of a sudden really high? And I think they kind of gradually got higher. But I think what we can probably expect is flight prices are just going to be like really high again, like they kind of used to be. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
And that’s just something that you’re going to have to plan for. I think everybody is getting, you know, kind of sees a light at the end of the tunnel with covid. It’s like, OK, maybe things will eventually go back to what it used to be like. But that also comes with a lot of expense. I think just everything is going to be more crowded, more expensive.
JQ: Yeah. And I think the difficult thing is, like we’ve all gotten used to seeing these cheap flights for like a year now. And even though we couldn’t actually travel that much, I think just looking at them and seeing them kind of got us used to, oh, flights really be two hundred dollars.
Juliana: Exactly. And everything just being so not crowded like. Yeah. Like even if I just like take the t one place, I’m like, why are there so many people like all of a sudden on the T and I mean I think people are way more people are vaccinated now than a couple of weeks ago. So I think you it’s just you’re able to feel more safe. But yeah, it’s just weird things getting semi back to normal.
JQ: Yeah. I mean, this is definitely the transition we’re all going through. And I think a big part of the high flight prices is due to the fact that the routes are still limited. But there’s a way higher demand for seats.
Juliana: Yeah, I think I’m hoping that airlines will just start having more of the same routes like per day so that hopefully at the prices can kind of go down a bit. But I don’t know, I, I don’t know if they’re able to meet that yet.
JQ: Yeah. Because the other thing is it’s like, OK, the airlines have been losing so much. Money over the past year. So do they need to keep prices high right now? I don’t know. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
Juliana: Yeah, we’ll just have to keep watching. Exactly.
JQ: So to recap, I mean, the pros are visiting the Caribbean right now are that they are short haul flights. They’re very organized with their covid testing and safety programs. And they really do feel like an escape. But the con is that flight prices are unseasonably high at the moment. And just the fact that you do have to deal with covid testing because you’re going international on both ways when you go there and when you come back. So just keep all that in mind.
The Pros and Cons of Planning a Trip to Europe
Juliana: Yeah. OK, so let’s move on to Europe.
JQ: OK, so Europe is the big one we’ve all been keeping our eye on. And with the recent news from Iceland and Greece and Croatia, traveling to Europe, looks like it’s actually possible again or will be possible very soon. So obviously, the biggest pro here is that all of us are just dying to get back to Europe because it’s been the thing we haven’t been able to do at all for over a year now. So obviously, that’s the biggest pro. It’s just the excitement of being able to actually go back to Europe.
Juliana: Yeah, exactly. So, I mean, obviously, I really miss France and, you know, it just feels to me like the most vacation you can have because it’s just so different than, like going to someplace in the Caribbean and staying at a resort, going to just a short, you know, trip in the U.S. anywhere. It just is the most like exotic for us, but also easy and easy from the East Coast, because, you know, you usually have you can get a pretty quick flight. And it’s just really fun to always explore these European cities. So I think that’s really what we’re missing most. Exactly. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
JQ: I mean, we’ve been very fortunate that we’ve been able to go on some Caribbean vacations, going to Miami, that kind of thing. And those have been great getaways, but they’re not really trips.
Juliana: Yeah, exactly. It’s more like when you go to Europe, it’s you want to go for, like at least a week normally because the flight is longer and you want to have enough time to really explore. Whereas, you know, we’ve been to Miami a bunch of times and Miami is super fun. But again, it’s just like more of a quick getaway and also because it’s way closer than Europe. Exactly.
JQ: And I mean, for me, I kind of even miss, like, jet lag, you know.
Juliana: Yeah, I know. It’s kind of like, oh, like what time is it in Boston? You’re like, I’m not there, so it doesn’t matter. And it’s like, yeah, I think even like I think at least one time I was like, you know, working from Paris. And so it was it was funny because I was just like, oh, all my colleagues are like still sleeping because of the time difference. So I was like, I’m like, I’m a I’m a couple hours ahead of them. So even that kind of stuff. It’s just fun to experience on a trip. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
JQ: Exactly. And like, we just haven’t had that in so long. So that’s what I’m really looking forward to. But obviously there are plenty of cons as well. The biggest one is definitely just dealing with the covid situation. And this is kind of on both sides of it, the regulations to get into Europe and then also once you’re there.
Juliana: Yeah, exactly. I mean, right now, I think I think in the next couple of months are going to be telling of what’s going to happen in Europe the summer. It’s kind of a mess right now with vaccines. You know, they’re they obviously don’t have enough. They’re not getting well distributed. So I think that’s going to be kind of the main telling point of what’s going to happen.
JQ: Yeah, I mean, that’s definitely like the huge hindrance for Europe because they are way behind on where they should be in terms of vaccine rollout compared to the U.S. and the U.K. So we’ll see what happens. I mean, I’m glad countries that are very dependent on tourism like Greece and Croatia and Iceland have decided to open up to the world again because they are smaller. They can control their own covid situation internally a lot better than the bigger countries in Europe. But still, I mean, the issue is in Juliana and I talk about this all the time, is you’re always going to be connecting through a major city in Europe. So, like to go to Greece or Croatia, we’ve actually looked at the flights and we’re still needing to connect through Paris or Amsterdam.
Juliana: Yeah, I think that’s one of the things like, you know, you mentioned the airport like rules can change, like literally daily. And you go there and you think you have all the paperwork, you think you’re all set, and then they’ll they say it’s changing. Like I mean, I know I follow a lot of different influences and on different cities in Europe and they’re always kind of, you know, complaining about this and saying how hard it is to just even travel within Europe right now. And I mean, a lot of cities are still kind of like on different levels of shutdowns. So, yeah, right now it’s just still a really tough period in Europe. So I’m hoping it just gets better and.
JQ: Yeah, I mean, it just for me, it’s so stressful even trying to plan a trip to the countries that are open. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
Juliana: Yeah, because you really don’t know. And like you said, with the flights, my main issue is like, I don’t even want to book a flight. If it if it has to connect through a city that we’re still not allowed in or country that we’re not allowed in. So I think, honestly, if we were to go to Europe, I would want to do Iceland because we can do a direct flight.
JQ: I mean, I definitely want to look into that. And it’s just like the other con is that flight prices are still expensive. Like I did look into Iceland the other day in the prices are like twelve hundred dollars for a economy ticket.
Juliana: That’s crazy. Keep listening to hear if we should travel right now.
JQ: Like we used to be able to get those for like a hundred bucks. Yeah. Like sometimes like a hundred. Yeah. Like two hundred.
Juliana: Wow. That’s crazy.
JQ: So we’ll see. I mean just the pros are, I think the pros do still outweigh the cons in the long term. Yeah. But right now it’s very stressful trying to plan a trip to Europe.
Juliana: Yeah, but I’m still really excited about it. I mean, just think about how you feel when you first, like, sit at any European cafe.
JQ: I know it’ll just be so fun. I know, honestly, like, oh, it’s just like it’s so tough right now. But also, like, I know we’re going to go the first chance that we get. So, I mean, I think my main advice is to just keep doing your research, stay up to date on all the news and just try to find flight deals when you can. Yeah.
Juliana: And I mean, like, things can really change, like not overnight almost, but, you know, things can change quickly. So really, like in the US, I think things have really like I said, you know, people are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel like a ton of people have already gotten vaccinated in a short amount of time. So let’s just hope that other countries can follow. We hope you enjoyed this episode on the pros and cons of different travel destinations. Catch us next week for more travel tips. Thanks, JQ.
JQ: Thanks, Juliana.