Here's why I'm canceling my trips now after several months of traveling

After remaining close to home from mid-March to early July, my family gradually began to travel more broadly over the summer.

While I wasn't collecting passport stamps or flying every week, from July to November I visited Disney World (twice), rented beach houses (twice), went skiing in early season in Colorado, and finally traveled to Utah and Zion National Park.

Some labeled my travel precautions and concerns as paranoid or excessive, while others deemed my plans reckless amid the ongoing pandemic. I can't determine who was right or wrong in this dilemma, but despite feeling quite anxious before that first pandemic-era flight in July, our travels during those months generally felt safe and suitable for our situation.

Until they didn't.

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It's not my place to dictate whether others should travel, especially during a pandemic that has claimed over 300,000 lives in this country and caused numerous other serious effects. However, since I often share my travel experiences, here's why we've chosen to cancel trips now, despite having traveled over the past few months.

The pandemic is surging

Let's address the most glaring reason for canceling multiple trips in December and January: The pandemic is arguably at its worst point in the U.S. right now. Generally, the areas in the U.S. managing the situation best are also the ones that are most restricted when it comes to leisure travel.

Moreover, things are generally continuing to deteriorate rather than improve at this time.

This suggests that a trip planned for a week or a month from now could coincide with a period when the healthcare system is even more overwhelmed and case numbers are rising even faster than they are currently. Although one statistic only provides a small glimpse of the situation, data from Johns Hopkins indicates a threefold increase in positivity rates from June until now.

When you factor in the strain on advanced medical resources in many regions, it seems reasonable to maintain a close-to-home approach now, especially when the pandemic appears to be worsening.

I hold significant optimism for 2021 and our progress against COVID-19 in the coming months, but my outlook for the next few weeks is much less bright—especially given the concerning trends in caseloads across various areas.

The stress was outweighing the benefits.

On a more personal level, traveling during the pandemic has become increasingly stressful as the what-if scenarios have multiplied.

Traveling in an era of masks, face shields, and constantly changing regulations regarding seat blocking and testing requirements was always going to be more complex, but we had adapted to a certain extent. Regular pre- or post-travel testing, masks and shields, and keeping up with the ongoing changes or closures had become manageable for us.

However, rapid and significant changes in what is permissible in travel present a different challenge. We've witnessed this recently in Hawaii, California, and Colorado, among others.

When case numbers were stable or declining and hospitals were not overwhelmed, it felt more acceptable mentally to venture out cautiously. Naturally, we still practiced distancing, prepared most of our meals at home or ordered them to-go, and tried to be as careful while traveling as we were at home. In fact, in some cases, we may have been safer on the road than in East Texas, where testing, distancing, and mask-wearing measures are not widely practiced.

But with travel regulations shifting rapidly and the risk of infection increasing—even while taking precautions—it ceased to be a relaxing or refreshing experience to be away from home. In truth, it became quite stressful.

Even if we were fortunate enough not to fall seriously ill from COVID-19, the need to plan around whether we could return home without exposing others or how we could quarantine in place for at least 10 to 14 days became a constant concern. Even a typical winter cold could provoke a heightened response until proven otherwise.

It's easy to advise that you should quarantine in place if you test positive for COVID-19 while traveling, but that can be far more complicated than it sounds.

Many rental properties won't allow bookings if you have a positive diagnosis. Even if you manage to find a hotel room, are you putting the housekeeping staff or guests in adjacent rooms at risk? What if you start showing symptoms but can't access a rapid test or receive results in your location to confirm your status?

Additionally, what do you do if you're in an unfamiliar area without access to food, groceries, or medicine delivery during isolation? A 14-day quarantine in such circumstances would likely be impractical, leaving you with a series of very unappealing options.

These are exactly the types of scenarios I began to contemplate during our late-November trip to Zion.

Although the park was stunning and our hotel in Springdale, just outside the park, was excellent, there were very few testing or medical facilities nearby. Furthermore, we soon discovered that food and grocery delivery services were practically nonexistent. If we found ourselves stuck there—whether due to illness or simply needing to isolate—it wouldn't have been ideal.

Even though I had begun to cancel winter trips prior to this experience, I became even more decisive afterward as the risks associated with travel no longer seemed worth the potential rewards at this time.

Things are going to improve.

Last but certainly not least, we can (fingers crossed) almost glimpse the other side of this situation.

When we began to cautiously resume traveling last summer, there was uncertainty about how long the pandemic would impact our lives. While staying at home was clearly the safest option, after several months of that, we chose to adapt to living with the risk of COVID-19. We masked up for in-person school, organized a few outdoor, distanced playdates, and took occasional trips.

Now, with what appears to be the start of a successful vaccination rollout, there is genuine hope that by next summer—or perhaps even sooner—conditions could significantly improve. Things might not return to an old sense of normalcy, but they also won’t be as uncertain as they are right now.

We haven't completely retreated back into our homes and locked ourselves away like we did in April, but for me, it's much easier to postpone a trip for six months now than it was to cancel everything and remain in lockdown for an uncertain period.

Experts indicate that this acute phase of the pandemic will come to an end, making travel both safer and simpler in the relatively near future. I believe this to be true, so if a trip can easily be postponed, I'm comfortable putting it on hold for a little while longer.

In summary

I had the opportunity to explore a bit this year before deciding to scale back on some of my plans. I acknowledge that I come from a place of privilege in multiple ways.

If I hadn't ventured out when I did, my mental state might be quite different now that we've entered a stretch of cold, damp, gray winter days.

Perhaps I would be more inclined to pursue some of the activities originally on my short-term calendar if I felt we could truly benefit from a change of scenery. However, having recently traveled thousands of miles from home with pandemic-related worries swirling in my mind, I realize that for now, staying within a short drive from home is the best choice for us.