The holidays are always an exciting time, but they can also be pretty stressful for a number of reasons — one of the main ones being travel. While many people are opting to stay put this year and not travel home for the holidays [1], others still are, and while that's OK, you need to make keeping yourself (and others around you) safe and healthy [2] your top priority. Not only do you have to worry about making it to your flight on time, but there's also the added fear of contracting COVID-19 before or during your travels. While venturing to a new location via any form of public transportation can be nerve-racking, we're here to put your mind a little more at ease. We spoke with Samir Midani, MD, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Nemours Children's Specialty Care in Jacksonville, FL, and with a flight attendant at a major airline who wishes to remain anonymous, about their top five tips for staying as safe as possible while travelling this holiday season.

Wear a Mask

Although we shouldn't need to explain this one at this point, we'll say it anyways. According to Dr. Midani, wearing a mask [3] is the most effective way to keep yourself and others safe while travelling home for the holidays. "The most important thing is wearing a mask," Dr. Midani stressed to POPSUGAR. "Wearing a mask is the thing that's going to get us out of this. It's going to protect everybody." For most public transportation services, masks are not optional, and you will be kicked off of your flight, bus, or train ride if you don't comply with the rules. Keep your mask on for the entire duration of your travel time.

Maintain Six Feet of Distance

Although this might be difficult on trains or buses, try your best to maintain social distancing rules while travelling this season. Dr. Midani says that while six feet of distance is ideal, three feet will suffice if there's a limited amount of space and you have no other options. Many airlines have eliminated the middle seat on planes in order to enforce social distancing rules, and bus services like Megabus do not allow passengers to sit next to each other [4] during their trip. If someone is getting too close to you, speak up and kindly ask to create more space.

Bring Whatever You Need to Feel Comfortable While Travelling

According to the flight attendant, they've seen people bring everything on planes from their own sanitizing wipes to hazmat suits. Although many airlines will provide you with Purell wipes and clean each plane with electrostatic spray in between each flight, your safety and comfort is still the priority, so take whatever you need on your trip to feel confident about your safety. Face shields, gloves, extra hand sanitizer — it's all fair game.

Assess How You’re Feeling Before You Travel

Have an honest check-in with yourself before you travel in order to feel confident that you're not putting others at risk. Dr. Midani emphasised: "If you are sick, don't travel and don't get close to other people." While public transportation services are going above and beyond in order to keep passengers as safe as possible, it's up to you to be socially responsible. While it's heartbreaking to cancel plans last-minute and miss spending the holidays with your family, keeping yourself and them safe is more important so you're able to spend all future holidays together.

Quarantine If Necessary

While going somewhere for the holidays is exciting, if you start to feel COVID-19 symptoms upon your arrival, you must quarantine for 14 days, and if you're able, get tested. If you have family members or friends you'll be seeing who are in the high-risk category, it's not worth jeopardizing their health just for some Thanksgiving turkey.