Travel Safely and Comfortably with Hilton Grand Vacations

This article is sponsored by Hilton Grand Vacations, part of the Hilton Portfolio of brands. As always, all opinions are our own. Photos were provided courtesy of Hilton Grand Vacations.

The global pandemic of 2020 has changed the world in many ways, and one that may leave the longest lasting impression is in the travel industry. From taking a long-distance bus or train to attending an event, staying at a hotel, or even jumping on an airplane, many in the travel industry are simply holding their breath waiting to see what the future brings.

Us included.

Early trends are emerging; however, and there are recurring themes popping up when discussing the future of travel, namely: familiarity, comfort, and of course, safety.

While we yearn for the days where we can pop around from place to place, stay in an untold number of hotels, and generally move freely, for the foreseeable future we see staying close to home, returning to places we know and love (like our recent socially distant road trip to the Finger Lakes), and booking extended stays at any given destination. 

One such travel style that checks all those boxes is vacation ownership, and Hilton Grand Vacations is doing a lot to help travelers feel safe when visiting in the future.

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How to Take a Socially Distant Road Trip During the Pandemic

Being stuck at home for six months was not originally on our 2020 travel plans, and as much as we have tried to minimize our outings, there was a point where we hit a wall and needed to get away for a few days for sanity's sake.

So we decided to take a road trip.

Our original intention was to head northeast to Maine to spend some time with friends. But after thinking about it, we decided to stick closer to home and spent a weekend in the Finger Lakes instead. In this one, we wanted to share some of the extra steps we took to safely go on a socially distant road trip during the pandemic.

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Packing Cubes Review – Which Are the Best to Save Space?

I recently got the opportunity to acquire a handy travel accessory that I would not have purchased under normal circumstances- compression packing cubes. These packing cubes were advertised to increase packing efficiency and available space in your luggage, and naturally I was a bit suspect.

The product always seemed like a bit of a wash to me, as it sounds somewhat unreasonable that a zippered packing cube best organizes my luggage and saves space. And prior to receiving them, they were not something that I would ever want to spend $20 per set for.

But after receiving them I have to say, I was impressed. Now I never leave home without them.

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All You Need for Your Around the World Trip Packing List

Sold, Moved, RTW

Hooray!  We've sold all our furniture, moved out of our apartment, and have begun packing our final few items for our upcoming long-term trip in our travel bags. As this is Living the Dream's second long-term adventure, we have the opportunity to revisit our long-term travel packing list.

For this go around, we're trying to include the theme “multi-purpose” in as many ways as possible.  But what does that really mean? Let's find out!

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