The Deal Not Taken

frugal traveler During one frantic week, incredible travel offers emerged, only to evaporate as soon as the reality of taking advantage of them during a pandemic was weighed. For a budget traveler, it was the best of times, and the worst of times. For one very frantic week, while the country woke up to the spread of coronavirus at home and began swiftly shutting down schools, sports competitions and festivals, travel deals flooded my inbox. A week in the Azores islands for $699, including airfare from Boston.

The two trendy Arlo Hotels in Manhattan at 50 percent off, starting at $90 a night. A two-week G Adventures safari for less than $1,300 in South Africa and Namibia, which I could reach on Qatar Airways from $660 round-trip. But almost as soon as these offers emerged, the reality of taking advantage of them began to evaporate. European travel was effectively suspended.

Israel instituted a mandatory two-week quarantine for visitors. Argentina, among other countries, closed its borders. Viking and Princess Cruises stopped sailing until May; others postponed departures. Disneyland closed, and Disney World soon followed suit.

Events I was traveling for in March and April — my son’s baseball tournament in Florida, my friend’s Broadway opening in New York City and a conference in Switzerland — were canceled or postponed. I did my own canceling of flights, hotels, Airbnbs, rental cars and restaurant reservations. As friends gathered at a brewery and stood drinking several feet apart, many declared they would continue with upcoming spring breaks. But I began to wonder if travel was ethical any longer.

Would I — as a healthy person under 60 with no underlying health conditions — do harm by traveling? I’ve always subscribed to the Mark Twain adage that “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” and I think the world needs travel now more than ever. Still, vacations get a bad rap. They’re indulgent, we’re told.

Nonessential. Mental wellness, I argue, is essential and essentially tied to stress reduction and what the scientists at the American Psychological Association call “life satisfaction,” both improved by time off. Travel isn’t just about frolicking witless on a beach — and even if it is, so what? It supports the cabdriver and his family, the cook and her family, the hotel staffer and their orbit.