Safe travel? How would you do this?

[ahisma]

We live in Michigan and are planning a week in Bar Harbor - fully complying with the testing requirement. Once there, we will stay in an airbnb and do day hikes. Its not our first visit and we are happy to do some less popular hikes.

Because we cannot go through Canada, it's a LONG drive - 19 hours. We're thinking of staying the night along the way, but cannot sort out the best option. We are pretty risk adverse. We do backpack and have gear, so the backcountry camping option is a hassle under the circumstances, but not totally crazy.

I'm also stuck on the bathroom situation. Ugh.

[pharmjenn]

Someone recently gave an update to her plan to drive to Florida to their vacation condo, and commented that the bathrooms they stopped at were all pretty clean.
I would stock up on wipes and sanitizer, and wipe things down as you need to. I feel that as long as everyone is hand washing at every stop, maybe even before and after using the bathroom or eating, and wearing masks when you have to enter a facility, you will minimize risk.

Packing camping gear for one night seems like a lot of work. Once you get into the hotel room, maybe before the family enters, you can wipe everything down, and remove the coverlet if the hotel uses them. If you plan to bring any pillows and blankets for the road, you can use those instead of hotel pillows, and then wash when you arrive in Maine.

[Liziz]

I picked Air BnB - As I've read more and more that surface transmission is less likely and air transmission is causing most of the transmission, I'm squeamish of places where I'm inside with lots of other people -- i.e. - hotels. I feel like at an Air BnB (if you pick one that's a whole house) there's less of that risk. I would bring sanitizer/wipes and be ready to wipe down high-touch surfaces myself, just to be safe. I'd pick driving straight through if it was reasonable, but at 19 hours, I don't think it is. I'd also probably look at the risk maps on your drive, and try to pick a place to stay that is a location with lower cases. (I know in my state, there's some "good" places to stay right now and some places you want to stay FAR from!)

[SnuggleBuggles]

I’d also pick an Airbnb. Camping for just a night seems like a lot of work.
Though, my first instinct would be to change your destination. We made our travel radius max 5 hours and I ultimately picked something 2.5 hours away. Just enough different but in the same state so no quarantine rules and close enough that if there are any problems, we can be home fast.

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[sf333]

Something else to consider when using public restrooms.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/health/coronavirus-toilets-flushing.html

[Reader]

I thought Maine had a 2 week quarantine. That would be great news for us if it doesn't. I'd love to see the ocean this summer. NVM, I reread your post. Off to research getting tested before arrival.

[wendibird22]

I'd do hotel. I'd trust hotel cleaning protocols better than AirBnB. Either way you are probably wiping surfaces down yourself. I'd chose a hotel or motel with either an outdoor entrance to the room (like motel) or a hotel with just a few floors to shorten an elevator ride or be able to take stairs. I'd also request a room that was not occupied that day, if possible.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'd do hotel. I'd trust hotel cleaning protocols better than AirBnB. Either way you are probably wiping surfaces down yourself. I'd chose a hotel or motel with either an outdoor entrance to the room (like motel) or a hotel with just a few floors to shorten an elevator ride or be able to take stairs. I'd also request a room that was not occupied that day, if possible.

The motel idea could work. The newest info about how long it can stay airborne inside makes me not want to do a hotel. The ventilation system plus more people would concern me more than how well things are wiped down in a private house. The Airbnb cleaning policy is pretty good and if they choose not to follow it then they have to wait 72 hours between bookings. Our upcoming one took the training required to (supposedly) receive enhanced cleaning status.


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[ahisma]

Something else to consider when using public restrooms.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/health/coronavirus-toilets-flushing.html

Yes - this is definitely stressful. I haven't heard of transmissions this way, but who knows, I guess. We have a Luggable Loo that we are considering bringing... https://www.rei.com/product/876179/reliance-luggable-loo-portable-toilet?CAWELAID=120217890000800432&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=100738964535&CATCI=pla-366418484527&cm_mmc=PLA_Google&product_id=8761790001&ad_type=pla&channel=online&partition_id=366418484527&target_id=pla-366418484527&brand_flag=&adgroup_id=100738964535&campaign_id=9919350858&location_physical=9017518&cid=432163240269&network=g&network_type=search&device_type=c&merchant_id=1209243&gclid=Cj0KCQjwupD4BRD4ARIsABJMmZ_NjTEeVU4y5KdSmNg4 BYfYo5PZrhK3Dk05E7guVDqXQZ4bPtuPU-MaAs8rEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Philly Mom]

A lot of hotels are allowing contact free check in so you won't have to run into other people. I could do the drive in a day. As for restrooms, I stopped at a place that had a single toilet. I was able to wipe everything down and we were in and out quickly. We are in Maine now, but further south. It is lovely. We have had to make adjustments to avoid people around the 4th, but overall, we were able to avoid people.

[erosenst]

I was the one who posted about the road trip. I felt much (much) "safer" than I thought I would although we did use a ton of sanitizer and wipes. The bathrooms were rarely crowded, had high stalls, and were clean. For some reason having a disposable mask that I threw away after the bathroom trip made me feel safer - the NYT article was one of the things that prompted that. I also wore a dress so nothing hit the floor. (DD went with me but is a camel/won't use public restrooms unless REALLY an emergency....)

I would 100% stay in a hotel overnight. Having said that - I'd pick one with 4 floors or fewer if I could. The only "issue" we ran into was shared elevators. I usually pick the top floor (no one running on the floor above us) but was glad to be on the second floor in the one with crowded elevators. If you have Hilton/Marriott account and app you can usually pick your room.

[catsnkid]

We stayed in a hotel in NY state. They were cleaning everything with Lysol and had a Lysol sticker on the door. They left us some wipes. Sanitizer was everywhere. The hotel was not very busy, probably 20 % capacity at most. Stay at a major chain with good reviews.

[ezcc]

I voted hotel, it just seems easiest- it won't be crowded, will be clean I am sure. Airbnb a possibility but a lot of unknowns there- how it was cleaned, how to get in- just seems like a hassle for one night.

[SnuggleBuggles]

This is the latest on the airborne nature and why I’m leary of indoor spaces https://www.yahoo.com/news/airborne-coronavirus-now-121733735.html


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[ahisma]

This is the latest on the airborne nature and why I’m leary of indoor spaces https://www.yahoo.com/news/airborne-coronavirus-now-121733735.html


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Yes! This is what is giving me pause re: our previous hotel plans. With that in mind, maybe an airbnb is safer?

[TwinFoxes]

The motel idea could work. The newest info about how long it can stay airborne inside makes me not want to do a hotel. The ventilation system plus more people would concern me more than how well things are wiped down in a private house.

This is how I feel. I'm surprised hotel has the most votes. Although I was picturing a hotel, with a lobby and elevators etc, vs a motel where all but one masked adult could skip the lobby. There's no way I would lug camping gear for one night (although I guess it's two because you'll have to do the same on the way back, no?) Gear takes up so much room. It's not worth it to me.

[mmsmom]

We just spent a night in a hotel. I chose a large hotel chain that had their Covid policies and cleaning protocols on their website. I felt a large chain is better able to develop protocols than an individual owning an AirBnb that who knows who is cleaning. I also chose a motel so I could leave the door open to the outside for a while when we arrived. I’m not worried as much about surfaces but more about sharing air. The hotel said they are rotating rooms so there is as much time as possible between guests. We arrived late so there were more hours between check out time if there was someone in the room the night before. So far we are all fine.

Only one person from party could enter lobby. They handed me key in an envelope and didn’t want a credit card so there was nothing to exchange or sign.

[smilequeen]

I'm not sure if there is a huge difference between a hotel or an air bnb. Do what you can find that works for you. If you travel, you have to accept that there is going to be some small risk that you can not control the same way as at home. I'd consider it low risk, but certainly there is a risk.

[ahisma]

A lot of hotels are allowing contact free check in so you won't have to run into other people. I could do the drive in a day. As for restrooms, I stopped at a place that had a single toilet. I was able to wipe everything down and we were in and out quickly. We are in Maine now, but further south. It is lovely. We have had to make adjustments to avoid people around the 4th, but overall, we were able to avoid people.

That's good to hear! We have a list of less popular trails that we want to try so I really do think we'll be okay. It's just the getting there and back that's tricky. I'm hung up on shared air systems in hotels, but realistically tons of folks live in apartments and all is well...

[mom2binsd]

So isn't Maine requiring a 14 days quarantine?

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[Philly Mom]

So isn't Maine requiring a 14 days quarantine?

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With a negative test within 72 hours before traveling to Maine you don't. We have been quarantining anyway and staying away from people even though we tested negative.

[ahisma]

With a negative test within 72 hours before traveling to Maine you don't. We have been quarantining anyway and staying away from people even though we tested negative.

Correct. There is an exception for a handful of states, but not ours (Michigan). We will definitely test before we leave and plan to distance through the trip. I do think that quarantining means not leaving your accommodations, which is not what we are planning to do. We will leave and hike, which is permissible with a negative test.

[mom2binsd]

With a negative test within 72 hours before traveling to Maine you don't. We have been quarantining anyway and staying away from people even though we tested negative.Oh I see, although I don't know how that really protects people, you can literally get covid 15 min after your test, so in the end you 3 days from test to arrival no guarantee folks aren't covid free. I'm not saying you aren't following the rules and I totally think the trip sounds great, I just think the logic behind Maines rules seem faulty.

I would have no concerns with staying in a hotel or airbnb. Maine sounds heavenly right now!

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[gamma]

This is also great for travel. Very discreet.
The Tinkle Belle Female Urination Device | Portable Urinal Without Case-Stand to Pee While Staying Fully Clothed! Easy, Compact, Reliable for Hiking/Camping/Travel/Concerts/Festivals/Dirty Toilets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BLXJ549/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_mRBbFbV6RB278

[candaceb]

We just made a very similar trip - Ann Arbor, MI to Cape Cod. We debated whether to drive straight through or stay at a hotel, and ultimately decided that the amount of risk from staying at a hotel was less than the amount of risk from being overtired.
On the way out, we stayed at the Doubletree in East Syracuse NY. We saw 3 people - the person who checked us in, a customer who came in behind us, and the person at the desk when we left. The hotel was almost empty judging by the parking lot and it really felt OK. On the way back, we were at a Marriott in Buffalo. There were a few more people around, but not many and it was nowhere near full. Again - parking lot was empty.
We also realized that having a hotel gave us one less public bathroom to use.
We minimized restroom stops but everything I read said the bigger the better so we stuck to highway rest areas that were huge. They were mostly empty. We tried not to touch anything and used hand sanitizer when we got back to the car. We did all of our meals drive-thru and had a bunch of snacks and drinks in the car so we wouldn't need to stop any extra times.
While we were on the cape, we were staying in a family owned house and we were the first visitors of the year. Most indoor stuff was closed so there weren't any choices to make about "should we". We got carryout and had picnics on the beach. We minimized grocery trips just like at home. We did a ton of outdoor activities and ultimately decided that whatever risks we took by traveling were worth it for the mental health aspects. We are most likely facing another shutdown, so it was good to get out while we can.
Overall, I am a medium-risk kind of person. I obeyed the stay home order while it was in effect in MI and only grocery shopped once a week. But now that things have opened up, we have done outdoor activities with friends and I'm still trying to minimize shopping but not as much as during the stay home order. We have been out to exercise and do outdoor activities for the duration and have gotten carryout food every weekend since the beginning.
I have no regrets about going and we show no signs of having gotten sick since we returned.