WARNING: Long post!
In pre-COVID times, I traveled internationally about half of every year, usually in developing countries, so I’ve spent a lot of time on researching and living this issue. I was actually traveling with my BF in Southeast Asia/South Pacific/Australia for months when the SHTF in mid-March 2020 and we had to rush back to the US (me) and Scotland (he), including multiple cancelled flights, etc. trying to get home. I had 4 other major trips with flights and/or tours already booked for the remainder of 2020 (Tajikistan, Greenland, Madagascar, and Trans-Siberia/Mongolia/China/Tibet), and it took months and MONTHS of effort to claw back all the money and/or travel credits associated with those including issues with bankruptcies, complaints to the DOT, etc. I’m happy to say we finally have been made whole by and large.
During 2020 I made two pre-vaccination trips to the UK – including required self-isolation there, but no testing expected at that point. Even then I never felt unsafe in the airplanes (which were pretty empty then, and which studies had shown were not a huge risk), or while over in the UK, where I was in a very isolated place which had next to no cases. I admit I did don masks, goggles, face shields, gloves, etc. on that first flight, however. LOL!!
In 2021, post-vaccination, I made another long trip to the UK (May/June), with self-isolation PLUS a whopping $615 paid for all the required COVID testing before, during, and after the trip! Yikes! Planes were noticeably more crowded, but everyone mask compliant, etc., tested prior to travel, etc. so the travel itself still felt safe. While there, we traveled to more urban areas this time, some with high COVID incidence, but were mainly outside (camping, walking around, etc.) so it didn’t feel too risky. I almost always wore a mask.
And finally, I have started traveling again to other countries. In fact, I am currently finishing up a month-long backpacking trip in Nicaragua. This is budget, independent travel we’re talking about -- chicken buses, all manner of boat, minivans, collective taxis, and walking to get around, with little or no social distancing possible. I stay in cheap hotels, but private rooms with private bathrooms. I rarely eat inside in restaurants, and am widely spaced when I do. I am religious about wearing a mask, even outside (using an N95 whenever on public transport, and a high quality cloth mask with N95 filter inserts the rest of the time). And frankly, I am almost always outside. When I am inside in museums, etc., more times than not I am literally the only person in the building except the guard and ticket taker, because there are few/no tourists here right now.
So why did I decide to do this trip? To be clear, I did not assess that this trip was without any risk, it was just within an acceptable risk for me, for an activity which is a very high priority for me. (Which is how I think we’ll be dealing with COVID in general going forward). I am fully vaccinated, I have no underlying conditions and am very healthy, and I do what I can beyond vaccination to protect myself with masks, social distancing, good hand hygiene, etc. So a calculated risk.
I am virtually 100% positive that I must have been exposed at some point to COVID while here – it’s quite rampant in some parts of this country, low rates of vaccination, etc. There is a fair amount of mask compliance, especially in buses, etc., and a lot of hand sanitizing everywhere, but still plenty of opportunities to be exposed. So I am assuming I did not contract the disease due to a combination of the vaccine being effective, my mitigation with masks, etc., and just dumb luck. Again, not zero risk, but calculated risk. And honestly I’m not sure traveling here was any worse than visiting some parts of the US right now.
Anyway, I’m ready to do more traveling now – I’ll be back in the UK in Oct/Nov, and may try to tag on another trip to another country. I echo a lot of what has been said above about the incredibly complicated and frustratingly dynamic logistics required to travel right now. My main observations:
• Multi-country trips are still extremely difficult (outside of Europe perhaps, although even there “it’s getting complicated”…..). Especially in developing countries, meeting the almost universal global requirement for recent PCR tests to enter each and every country is logistically challenging (testing often available only in main cities), not to mention expensive. Traveling overland in particular. I have found that even adventure-oriented budget tour companies are having to cancel their multi-country itineraries left and right because of this.
• Related to this, you even have to be careful about your flight itinerary to avoid problems, especially if you are coming/going from the UK or others who have “red” countries requiring mandatory (and expensive) hotel quarantine.
• For now I will largely stick to one-country in-depth travel, like the trip I’m doing now. Some independent, some with local in-country tour companies.
• Even with this, as many have mentioned, the requirements in each country are constantly changing, and it’s hard to keep up. Two online resources I have found particularly useful to quickly access the specific and updated requirements of each country are:
o IATA - International Travel Document News (iatatravelcentre.com) (interactive map that summarizes country entry/testing/quarantine requirements for all nationalities); and
o COVID-19 Country Specific Information (state.gov) (country-specific COVID information specifically for US citizens, but useful for everyone in providing info on where to get tested locally, etc.).
• Even though these sites are good, I always double-triple check the Embassy websites of the specific country in question just to make sure of what is expected and check on any recent changes. (In the case of Nicaragua, for example, you have to send your COVID test results to the Ministry of Health 36 hours prior to flight time, with very specific requirements to get pre-approval to fly – you can’t just show up at the airport!). I would also note that beyond COVID, the visa requirements themselves of many countries have also changed, e.g., suspending the ability to get an e-visa or visa on arrival, so you have to figure that into the calculus as well.
• Another thing I accidentally came upon in researching my trip to Nicaragua is the proliferation of pop-up Facebook pages to share current information on entry requirements, etc. for specific countries. I have no idea if this is a ‘thing’ beyond Nicaragua, but I wouldn’t be surprised. I learned a lot that helped my real-time travel logistics from tracking a few of these pages, and will certainly search to see if other pages exist for destinations I’m interested.
• I have noticed a positive change for vaccinated visitors being able to avoid quarantine in some countries, and am hoping that trend continues. To prove status for US travelers, in addition to my paper CDC vaccination card, I also contacted my state IIS (Immunization Information System) to get an official copy of my state vaccination record (sent by email on their letterhead), which I also carry with me. I’ve also registered with the CLEAR app to upload my vaccination results.
• Re: required testing to return to the US (from anywhere), I successfully used the Abbot Binax NOW test that I had purchased prior to leaving the States. As mentioned by others, I had been reading that there were long backlogs to wait for the online proctor to witness the test, however I did it last night and there was literally NO wait at all – I got on instantly!! In less than half an hour I had administered the test and received my results in the NAVICA app and by email. At about $30 a pop, this is the way to go (I would have had to pay $150 to get the test done here). You have to buy a package of 6 online at this point, but more than one person can register to use the tests, related or not. The tests expire in a year, so my objective is to use all of them before they go bad! ?
• If you need a new passport, the State Department website warns that it can take many months – in fact they recommend you start the process 6 months prior to travel. I usually have two passports, and applied to get my second one renewed in mid-July, and got my new one in 5 weeks, so perhaps the backlog is getting resolved. I’d still err on the side of caution, however.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but hope some of the information in it is useful for others.
