Tag: coronavirus

Travel in an Uncertain World – Part II

On By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Travel Tips12 Comments

Slowly, but surely, the world is starting to reopen once again. When everything first started shutting down three months ago, we weren’t sure what travel was going to look like after the pandemic. Obviously, it is still early days, but there are some hopeful signs ahead. We have tentatively rescheduled our trip to Turkey to October with the hope that travel becomes more stable and there isn’t a second wave of the virus. People have different reactions to the reopening of travel once again and there is no right or wrong response. Some people do not want to travel for a while as they are concerned about how safe it will be even with some of the safeguards that countries are trying to put in place. Others, like ourselves, are looking forward to traveling as soon as we are able and the places that we want to visit aren’t locked down.

Entrance to Hoa Lu in the Ninh Binh Province of Vietnam

Some countries are requiring health certificates that prove that you don’t have any symptoms at the time that you are traveling. Many places are requiring people to self-quarantine upon arrival, which doesn’t make a lot of sense unless you are going to be in country for a long period of time. The checking of temperatures and requiring masks is pretty common, but it isn’t consistent. For now, airlines seem willing to keep middle seats open or try to ensure that there is an empty seat between passengers, but we don’t expect that to last for long as they try to maximize revenue for the various flights. It is also important to not only understand what restrictions that you might face in the location where you are traveling, but it is important to understand if there are any conditions for returning from travel in your location of origin.

Ronda, Spain

At this point, it is too soon for us to consider traveling outside of the United States, but we are considering trying to take a trip within the country. As we make our decision, there are several factors that we are weighing. First is cost as the lack of demand doesn’t necessarily mean that airline tickets, hotels, or other travel associated items are discounted and in some cases they may even be higher in order to make up for the lack of customers. Second is the ability to go to restaurants, visit tourist sites, and other restrictions that might be in place. We use a couple of sites to help us determine what restrictions are in place, but you have to check frequently as the restrictions or lack there of can change on a weekly basis. For travel within the United States, we go to the state specific websites as the restrictions not only vary by state, but they can vary by county and city as well. For traveling outside of the United States, when that time comes, we are paying attention to the US Department of State site that tracks the restrictions by country.

Parliament Building Along the Danube River in Budapest

As the world begins to reopen and countries allow international travel once again, what are your travel plans? Do you have specific concerns about traveling yourself or are you worried about visitors from other countries coming into your country?

Two Reclining Buddhas in Laos (They are Farther Apart then It Looks)

Travel in an Uncertain World

On By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Travel Tips27 Comments

There have been plenty of uncertain times with outbreaks of civil unrest, war, terrorism, and even acts of nature such as tsunamis, hurricanes or cyclones, and earthquakes. Nothing, however, can compare to the worldwide impact of the current coronavirus pandemic and the impact that it is having on not just travel, but on how we interact with other people. Regardless of your opinion of whether governments are overreacting or not reacting with severe enough restrictions, every day is bringing a changing landscape in the world of travel.

Acropolis in Athens

We happen to have a trip to Turkey planned for mid-April and our attitude at the moment is more or less to wait and see what things are like and what restrictions are in place when the time comes. It doesn’t really matter if you plan to travel locally or someplace around the world, the reality is that popular locations might be closed as well as celebrations and sporting events cancelled. Any travel, regardless of distance or borders, is basically being discouraged at the moment. It is as if we woke up one day in some sort of alternate world that is completely foreign to the one that we’ve been living in for all of our lives.

Halong Bay

Although we aren’t concerned about ourselves being infected as we are healthy and don’t have any underlying conditions that would put us at risk, we certainly don’t want to inadvertently spread the virus to others. Unfortunately, the current circumstances will likely lead to some long term impacts. Many businesses that rely on travel will not survive if the travel restrictions remain in effect too long, which is obviously sad to think about. It is hard to say what other changes may be in store when travel resumes and we are confident that we will come to some sort of new normal, hopefully in the not too distant future. Perhaps countries will leave some sort of health screenings in place for all arriving travelers or as part of some border check. Who knows if people will interact in the same way ever again, kisses on the cheek, handshakes, and hugs might become a thing of the past, although we hope not.

The Great Pyramid

We will continue to share information from previous trips until we are able to resume our travels. If we learn any advice on how to navigate in the new world, we will certainly share that as well, but things are changing so fast that a crystal ball couldn’t predict what will happen next. We will continue to take one day at a time and hope for everyone’s sake that the restrictions serve their purpose and allow health officials to get the upper hand on the spread of the virus.