Is it safe to travel in the age of COVID-19?

FILE - This July 11, 2017, file photo, shows a Delta Air Lines jet and a United Airlines plane at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco. The Trump administration said Friday, June 5, 2020, it will let Chinese airlines operate a limited number of flights to the U.S., backing down from a threat to ban the flights. The decision came one day after China appeared to open the door to U.S. carriers United Airlines and Delta Air Lines resuming one flight per week each into the country. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) (Marcio Jose Sanchez, Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A very different summer travel season is taking shape amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a recent survey from the personal finance website ValuePenguin, 61-percent of respondents say they plan to visit family or friends once travel restrictions are lifted.

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"The safety of travel is really dependent on where you're going and where you're coming from," says Baylor College of Medicine's Dr. Jill Weatherhead.

Tricia Montz flew from Cleveland to Los Angeles with her family and is driving back home cross-country in an RV.

"We have our masks, we have our hand sanitizer. We're just ready to go," she says. Every traveler should stay up to date on the number of COVID cases both at home and their vacation destination.

"Isolation and keeping up with social distancing, even when you're on vacation, is going to be important," Dr. Weatherhead notes. No matter whether traveling by plane, train or bus, passengers should wear masks and wipe down their seats.

The same advice goes once you reach final destination, whether hotel or rental: Wipe down commonly used surfaces. And what about where to stop if you decide to take a road trip?

“Biggest thing is going to an area where it’s not crowded, where there’s not a lot of people packed in together,” Dr. Weatherhead advises.