1. Do your COVID-19 & travel restriction research

Prior to setting off, we took our own COVID travel advice. Our goal: to make sure the places we wanted to visit weren’t identified as COVID-19 hotspots and that we wouldn’t be required to quarantine upon arrival or encounter problems upon our return home to Germany.

This is in addition to all the usual travel logistics and destination planning we do.

2. Plan. Remain flexible. Adapt. Expect to cancel.

I’m with Dwight Eisenhower on this one. “…[plans] are of no particular value, but [planning] is indispensable.” Eisenhower was quoting a military officer speaking about managing peace after World War II, but the premise applies also to the winds of change of travel.

Plan, yet remain flexible. Accept that you may be forced to change plans or cancel at any moment, either while planning or on the road. Adapt your expectations and decisions to the discovery of new information. Preparation opens the mind to possible outcomes; the resulting flexibility helps maximize satisfaction. The less surprised you are as scenarios arise, the more equipped you will be to respond. And the more resilient you’ll become.

If you happen to be a fan of the saying, “It’s all about the journey, not the destination,” this ought to resonate.

3. Take advantage of the shoulder and off-seasons

We’ve always been fans of traveling in the shoulder and off-seasons not only because of fewer crowds, but also because it benefits local businesses by helping to extend their season. Prices and availability of accommodation and transport tend to be better, too. With social distancing and crowd avoidance concerns, this approach makes even more sense.

4. Lifelines: Ask a friend to send you important updates

For the sake of joy, sanity and time management, we cut off our attention from most news during the trip. After a few days, however, we realized our disengagement and wondered whether we’d miss a news item which might affect our trip. We asked a friend in Berlin to alert us of developments like border restrictions or closures that might impact our trip or return home.

Had such information arrived at the start of our trip, we may have opted to cut the trip short.

5. Be OK following the rules.

When you travel, you are essentially a guest in someone’s else home. Accept that you’ll be expected to comply with the requirements of the destinations you visit. That’s as true now with COVID as it’s ever been, only the stakes are higher.

If you aren’t willing to comply with local laws and requirements -– either as they are, or how they may develop in response to circumstances — don’t go. This also applies to any possible quarantine and testing rules back home. Otherwise, you’ll make yourself and others miserable.