Know Your Travel Risk
Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.
- Some travel activities, like staying at guest lodgings, can increase your risk of getting COVID-19. Your chances of exposure are higher if you come into close contact with others, especially people you don’t know, or use shared public facilities (like restrooms or picnic areas).
- Doing things and spending time with people you live with is less risky than doing things and spending time with people not from your household.
- COVID-19 is spreading in the United States. Visiting parts of the country where there are fewer cases of COVID-19 may be less risky than visiting parts of the country where there are more cases of COVID-19.
| Lowest Risk | Lower Risk | Medium Risk | Medium-high risk | High risk | |
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| Transportation |
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Flights* |
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| Lodgings | A house or cabin with people from your household (e.g., vacation rentals)
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Hotels or multi-unit guest lodgings with people from your household** | Staying at a family member’s or friend’s home** | Shared spaces with some people outside your household, (e.g., shared hotel rooms with family outside of your household or hostels with friends)
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Shared spaces with many people outside your household (e.g., dormitory-style hostels)
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| Food | Bring your own food and drinks | Use drive-thru, delivery, take-out, and curbside pick-up options |
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| Camping | Camping with people from your household only and not sharing bathroom facilities with individuals outside of your household | Camping in separate tents or cabins with shared facilities where distancing >6 feet is possible | Camping in separate tents or cabins with shared facilities that are crowded | Sharing tents or cabins and facilities with persons outside of your household | Camping in large dormitory-style settings with persons outside of your household |
* Air travel requires spending time in security lines and airport terminals, which can bring you in close contact with other people and frequently touched surfaces. Most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on flights because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes. However, social distancing is difficult on crowded flights, and sitting within 6 feet of others, sometimes for hours, may increase your risk of getting COVID-19. Factors that may increase risk of air travel include flight duration and whether others onboard are wearing masks.
** Based on individual circumstances and risk assessments (staying at a family member’s or friend’s home may be less risky than staying at a hotel or multi-unit guest lodging with people from your household)