Updated on May 20, 2020

Mike Parker, General Manager of Atlas Obscura Trips, shares the precautions we’re taking while traveling in the time of the new coronavirus, COVID-19.

At Atlas Obscura, we talk a lot about the search for wonder and the joy we find in sharing it. These values are at the core of who we are and what we do, connecting our travelers, readers, and contributors around the world. As members of this tightly connected global community, we’ve been deeply saddened by the impact of the coronavirus—on individuals, economies, and places near and far. 

Our travelers’ wellbeing, and the safety of the communities we visit, is always our top priority. In keeping with public health guidelines around the world, we’ve suspended our trips through the end of June. A number of trips in July and beyond have also been postponed. We’re working with guests to transfer their reservations to future dates or provide full refunds. We’re extremely grateful to those who have transferred their payments to future trips, allowing us to continue supporting our trip leaders and the small businesses who depend on our guests.

Whenever we develop a new trip, we commit to making a positive impact on the people and places we visit. Right now, honoring that commitment means putting immediate travel on hold. When it becomes safe to travel again, the impact our trips have on the people and places we visit will be more important than ever. So many of us are eager to be able to travel again, and our global community of trip leaders, colleagues, and friends is eager to welcome us back. 

Just days before travel shut down, Atlas Obscura travelers were marveling at Carthaginian ruins in Tunisia, exploring the desert art of Borrego Springs through the lenses of their cameras, and getting to know each other over seafood feasts in Galicia. Experiences like these have tremendous meaning both for travelers and the communities that host them. Making these connections possible is at the core of what we do, and that remains true as we look toward the future. 

When you join one of our trips, we want you to have peace of mind. Before every departure, the Atlas Obscura team in New York actively coordinates with third-party medical and security advisors, checks in with local contacts, and closely monitors government regulations, as well as updates from the World Health Organization, the U.S. State Department, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As we prepare for trips departing later this year and beyond, we’ll continue to take this rigorous approach to ensure our operations align with evolving travel guidelines.

We’re working closely with an experienced team of advisors at Global Rescue to rapidly adapt how we operate our trips in response to Covid-19. Our updated operational guidelines include adjusting our on-trip health, hygiene, and emergency-response protocols; conducting expanded trip leader training; establishing new standards for vetting all accommodations, restaurants, and transportation providers; and providing travelers with more resources both before and during the trip, including 24/7 on-trip access to Global Rescue’s travel-medicine specialists. As always, trip staff and leaders are expected to follow all local and international health, safety, and travel guidelines. 

If circumstances change and you need to change your travel plans, we want you to know we’ve got your back. If you join a 2020 or 2021 departure and ultimately decide that it’s not the right time to travel, we’ll help you update your plans by transferring your reservation to a future date or another trip. We have modified our policy to allow travelers the flexibility to transfer deposits to any Atlas Obscura trip taking place before the end of 2022. In the unlikely event that we need to cancel a trip you’ve booked, we’ll refund everything you’ve paid us for it. 

As always, your wellbeing is at the forefront of our minds, as is the impact of our trips on the communities we visit. Although this is a time to be extraordinarily thoughtful about when and where we travel, it’s also a time to look ahead, which is why we’ve just launched an exciting new lineup of trips for 2021. Across the globe, our community is waiting to reconnect, to learn boldly through experience, and to share moments of wonder through travel. And, when the time is right to do so, we’ll be ready to help make it happen.