Four Tips For Traveling Through Hurricane Season Posted by Suzy Guese on 29th, August 2012 Four Tips For Traveling Through Hurricane Season As hurricane season gets into full swing, many travelers are forced to take a gamble. You either take the chance and head off to the Caribbean and Gulf Coast of the United States or cancel those plans all together. Having traveled during hurricane season, just after a passing hurricane on America’s east coast, I learned a few things about hurricane travel that I wish I knew beforehand. When a road becomes impassable due to hurricane damage and you have to reroute your vacation plans, you will be glad to have these tips in your pocket ahead of time. Purchase Travel Insurance and Refundable Polices: If you book your travels during hurricane season to places like the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast of the United States, you will want to purchase travel insurance. This will cover your travel expenses should it become impossible to travel where you intended to go. Travel Insurance Advice | Hurricane Tips Safety
Island Hopping Across The Caribbean Also, travelers should consider booking accommodations that are in fact refundable this time of year. Many hotels will advertise cheaper rates for rooms that are not refundable. If you don’t want to spring for travel insurance, at least make certain your accommodations are refundable if you need to cancel. Monitor Actual Weather Reports: The media loves a good storm. It presents hours of speculative airtime and build up to see if the
hurricane will truly be as bad as predicted. However sometimes this is just media hype. It is important for travelers to monitor actual weather reports and radar. Checking in with weather bureaus like the National Hurricane Center can make the situation more clear as to whether you should cancel your trip or risk it. Sometimes a place isn’t being hit by the hurricane, but the media hype has spooked you into considering the idea of cancelling. Always check with weather reports leading up to and on your vacation to ensure you have the best and most accurate information about the storm. Vacation Travel Tips | Hurricane Tips Safety
Planning A Trip Keep Your Options Open: Perhaps you are set to take off on a two-week road trip down the Carolina coastline as I did last September. Hurricane Irene ravaged the area, destroying a key road on the Outer Banks, a key path on my road trip route. Once I saw a storm building that was predicted for the area I would be traversing, I kept my options open as to which way I would travel. At that point, my trip could have changed courses and it wouldn’t have been an issue. It is always a good idea for travelers to remain flexible and open with their itineraries. You might want to refrain
from planning out what you will do every day and how you will get there. Embrace hurricane season by embracing the beauty of the open and flexible itinerary. Pack For Emergencies: If you do decide to brave the strong winds and flooding during hurricane season, you will want to pack accordingly. Whether that means including several sets of clothing in your suitcase in case you get stranded at the airport or ensuring you have all of your necessary medications with you, getting through hurricane travel has a lot to do with what you pack.