Traveling during COVID can be very stressful, especially when traveling internationally. There are so many unknowns and guidelines to be followed. I have now traveled out of the country three times since COVID 19. Each one of my trips have been to a different continent so I have gotten a decent grasp on what to think about before traveling internationally. I hope these tips help 🙂
IMPORTANT! Requirements are constantly changing. They could and will change without any notice!!! Make sure you check each government’s requirements frequently.
AIRPORT CHECKLIST:
Know the exact COVID test requirements for departure and return even for your layovers. You will find that almost every destination requires either a PCR or antigen test for both arrival and departure. However, you want to make sure that you check the requirements in all countries first . This includes your country’s embassy, the country’s you will be transiting through, your final destination, and your airline’s information pages for COVID. For example, I am going to Italy in January, and the US just updated their restrictions to include a rapid test within 24 hours of returning back to the US. So always stay updated! For US citizens, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel.html is a very reliable website to stay updated on! Your own country should have something similar.
Look to see if documents (and in some cases, even a hotel reservation as impractical as it seems, are required at the location of any layovers. Checking on documents you may need on a layover may sound silly and even the hotel requirement is a bit unreasonable, but it’s better to be prepared. Trust me, I can say I learned this the hard way. On my way to Africa this past July, I didn’t even think of checking to see if I needed documents on any of my layovers. In Brussels, I was required to have a hotel reservation at our next layover (even though we were not even getting off the plane in that layover…weird) and a health assessment document filled out in order to get on the plane to Africa. I will never make that mistake again because of the crowds, chaos, and almost non-existent Internet service. I was the last person on the plane, and it was one of the most stressful airport moments I have ever had. Don’t make this mistake!!
Look at the documents that are required to enter the country of final destination. This is something that is more common sense but a must do!! For practically all international travel, you are required to have a copy of the COVID test results and a health assessment document, etc. The best way to look up what documents are needed in your final destination is to check your country’s embassy website for the country you are traveling to. For US citizens: https://www.usembassy.gov/Â
TRIP CHECKLIST:Â
Look at destination guidelines for masks, curfews, regulations, shutdowns, etc. Just because your home country has certain guidelines in place doesn’t mean every country is the same. Guidelines and regulations are changing around the world daily. Make sure you know the exact regulations before traveling so you don’t get fined, detained, quarantined, or in any trouble.Â
Look at the COVID guidelines for any tourist sites or excursions you are participating in on your trip. You don’t want to miss out on an activity because you forgot your COVID test, mask or other documents. There may be specific rules that companies or tourist sites want you to follow during the excursion so always read what is needed before you arrive! Italy’s Super Green Pass for example requires negative COVID test results AND a record of being fully vaccinated before you can use public transportation or enter public spaces such as restaurants, theaters, or events.
When you are deciding where to get your COVID test for your return back home. Make sure you look at the specific list of places the airport allows in the destination you are in. You may think that you can get a COVID test at any location in the destination you are visiting. In most cases this is true, however some countries have a specific list of COVID testing locations you have to pick from. This information will be located on the US embassy website of your travel destination. https://www.usembassy.gov/Â
A FEW TIPS:
Look into getting a CERTIFIED FOR TRAVEL PROCTOR ADMINISTERED at home COVID test kit. I have found that this is so much easier. The best part about it is using this in the destination you are traveling to for your return home. You then don’t have to worry about finding a location or wasting any time at a clinic on your trip. The best place to get this test is emed.com. When it is time to take the test, you get on a video telemedicine call, proctors the test, and writes you up an official results document for your trip. Be careful! Like I said before, this might not work for any of your destinations.
Keep all COVID documents organized. Since COVID started, there are more documents you will have to keep up with. In the airport, it can be very frustrating pulling out documents over and over. To keep things easier, I have a folder solely dedicated to any document needed on the trip. You can easily put the folder in your carry-on, purse, backpack, etc. That way, in the airport or on the trip, you can just pull out the folder and have a copy of anything they are asking for!Â
Recommended Websites:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel.html
Airline Websites
Website of Destination Country
Website of Any Transit Country
