At this time it has been 16 months since I have been able to travel outside of my hometown area. With the restrictions lifting I have finally taken my first trip. Now since I was not ready to travel outside the country just yet, I decided to head to Alberta and bring my niece. So what is it like traveling during a pandemic? Honestly, it was like any other time I have travel with more sanitizer. I will say the people are a little bit crazier lol.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to being vaccinated. I have both my shots. I did it to protect my family, myself and I knew we would need it to travel. I’m not against vaccines. I get updated vaccinations everywhere I travel to. Having the vaccine before traveling did make things more at ease. Even with the no masks mandate in Alberta at the time I still wore mine inside stores.
Here is how I planned out my vacation during the pandemic and the steps I took to make sure we were less likely to come into contact with Covid.
Choosing the right place
I decided to go somewhere to explore the outdoors. This way I’m not around a lot of people. It is also a great way to lose some of this covid weight. Banff has great camping and OTentik (yurts). Avoiding hotels as much as possible but still being comfortable. At this time Alberta had lifted all their restrictions, no masks, no rules to follow. I will be honest, I’m not ready just yet to remove the mask. So in areas where there are lots of people I still had mine on. Choosing the right place is a big decision and you may be comfortable being in crowded places. Choose what best works for you.
Read : Ultimate guide to Banff National Park
Getting there
Since I didn’t have a lot of time I decided to fly. I got an amazing deal with Flaire Airlines. I haven’t flown with them before but will do a review. Here is what I packed for my 4 hour flight. I brought a lot of sanitizer and wipes. Making sure to pack masks. We still have rules to fly with them on and I am all for it. I have both of my shots but still love the caution.
I rented a car, instead of taking a bus, once again avoiding crowds. Plus getting around Banff is not hard but I like to go at my own speed and see as much as I can.
Staying outdoors
As I mentioned before we went camping (yurting) for most of the trip. The plan was to avoid the popular places during busy times. Going to places like Lake Louise and Moraine Lake early mornings and hiking the trails in that area right away. There are so many trails in Banff. We never really got close to anyone except on Big Beehive and the higher stages as the trails got thin.
Read : Top hiking trails around Banff
Dining out
Well you know me if you have seen my other blogs that I’m a foodie! Banff had no shortage of great places to eat. Since there was no mask mandate here, we decided to grab and go. It wasn’t as busy as I thought it would. I will be honest if it was not for Covid the town would have been packed!
One of the things that I loved the most was it almost forced you to eat outside and enjoy the view.
Final Thoughts
Traveling to Banff at this time was such a great experience! Although I was nervous, we still made the best of it. We did wear our masks inside and yes, people did look at us funny. You will travel the way you feel most comfortable.
Not much really changed for me. I still like to wipe things down, not that I don’t trust the cleaners, just makes me at ease.
You can’t be afraid to travel. You just need to take all the precautions you can to ensure you health and safety. I treated this trip like I do with all others, with safety in mind.
Maybe you are not ready to get out there just yet. I hope that one day things will go back to “normal” and you too can feel safe enough to get your wings back!