Paul Rubio, journalist, Condé Nast Traveler, Nerd Wallet, Palm Beach Illustrated, Yahoo Lifestyle

Paul Rubio, journalist, Condé Nast Traveler, Nerd Wallet, Palm Beach Illustrated, Yahoo Lifestyle (see his TIBIC profile here)

Trips You Took in 2020: Tanzania, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, and Mexico.

Outlook for 2021: Continuing to seek out open spaces and nature.

For those who feel comfortable traveling and who love nature, there's never been a better time to travel. Across the board, my wildlife and marine-life sightings the past few months have been my best ever. This applies to my recent travel to Tanzania, Costa Rica, French Polynesia, Mexico, and even the Florida Keys, where the water is bluer than I've seen in my lifetime. Most upscale lodges abroad are empty—it's like having a private buyout without the price tag. And perhaps it's because I live in South Florida, where few follow rules, but I've found myself feeling far safer abroad during this pandemic than in my own neighborhood.

I want to remain optimistic, but I don't think the pandemic will disappear as quickly as we'd like. Most had to write off 2020, and I feel it will be the same for the first half of 2021. But I hope come late summer 2021, we'll really see things start to pick up again—and by 2022, it'll be game on!