Travelling in a Pandemic, with kids.

Should you or shouldn’t you? I want to start by saying, do what you think is best for you and your family. This is 100% a personal choice, and I fully recognise the need to minimise travel and the risks associated. But I thought it might be useful to share why we did travel and will continue to, and our personal experience with it.

We moved to London from Australia, for the hustle & bustle of a large city, with travel on our doorstep. In a brief moment, everything we loved about the city was gone, and everyone we loved in Australia was separated from us with closed borders. I know everyone's had a different experience with Covid, and my heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones at this time. My personal experience and how it did impact me was that I felt isolated more than ever before. Dealing with the pressures of working from home, whilst having toddler twins at home full time, being worried for my family in a pandemic, having all our plans with loved ones cancelled, not being able to go home during a personally difficult time, seeing my boys miss out on so much.. we really started feeling boxed in. Also with everything closed, the only things we could do with kids were to take them to a park or a playground.. and whilst everyone else was doing the same, these places felt like a breeding ground for Covid. And so from my perspective, and for my own mental health, I needed a break, away from my own 4 walls, more than ever. So after extensive research we decided to bite the bullet and we travelled to Algarve, Portugal. I'm writing this, because if you're feeling like this too and considering travelling, here's my experience with it..

A few things we considered on our trip, which you should too;

The number of Covid cases were low at our chosen destination, they had stringent Covid measures in place, we weren’t high risk nor living with anyone who is or would need to be in contact with anyone who is. We chose Portugal because it was a place we were familiar with, as we travel there often. We chose a secluded beach town in Algarve, rather than a city break in Lisbon. Portugal was also one of the first places in Europe to introduce a tourism stamp of approval for hygiene and cleanliness on all hotels and tourist attractions. This meant, any hotel to be compliant with international Covid cleanliness standards had to go through rigorous tests to gain their stamp, giving their guests additional comfort for their stay.

Here are some things I noticed on our trip;

Airport / Flight

• Less people travelling, meant less lines at security / baggage checks

• We went to the lounge and found a corner for ourselves, usually buffet food is offered but they have now turned these to table service via an online menu

• You have to wear masks on the flight, I would opt for the disposable ones as they are more breathable than the material ones. Kids under 12 don’t have to wear a mask

Transfers

• We hired a private transfer, and the car and car seats were sanitised before we got in

• You have to wear a mask for the trip, kids don’t

Hotel / Restaurants

• You are temperature checked every time you enter the hotel

• Masks are worn in the lobby and communal areas

• Only one family per lift and sanitiser stations are located throughout the hotel

• Rooms are no longer cleaned daily, to minimise contact. But thoroughly cleaned every 3 days

• The beach shuttle from the hotel was upgraded to a city bus to allow for more space to social distance

• Hotel breakfast is no longer self serve buffet, they have servers who wear masks and headwear. You have to wear a mask unless you’re sat down at the table to eat. There are stickers on the floor to wait in line and directional arrows to avoid people walking past each other

• Restaurant tables are cleaned and sanitised between each guest

• By the pool, one staff is dedicated to sanitising the sun loungers every time someone leaves

Ultimately, it is much easier to social distance at a remote beach, than a busy park in London. We were impressed by the way things were handled. We were happy abiding by their rules because the staff were being consistent, which meant all guests followed the rules and made the stay much better. We were so comfortable with it, we have decided to go again to Algarve this month. It’s a little different this time around, with tests required to travel, but we have done extensive research on this too and have received our packs in the mail (that’s a whole other blog post, msg me if you want these details)

My thoughts are, do your research and be comfortable with your decision. You don’t want to be second guessing and thinking about it whilst you're meant to be relaxing on your holiday after all! If you decide you're not ready, then that's what's right for your family. But if you are, you know your family's particular situation best.