Travel it seems, is well and truly back on the agenda. Plenty of people took off on international journeys this year. We all know someone who is in Europe at the moment and while on the one hand I am envious, on the other I’m glad it’s not me traipsing through crowds of tourists in 40 degree heat.
Of course it’s good news for so many communities that tourists are on the way back. One of my travel partners, Raymond Hawkins, who is organising our India Adventure in Nov 2023, told me that in Jaiselmer this January, as he walked up the road to the Golden Fort, crowds of local people started cheering and clapping. As much as he wanted to believe it was due to his charisma, he realised that because of Covid lock downs and travel bans, he was the first tourist they had seen in two years.
Other colleagues like Walter Mason who is leading a tour to Vietnam next March tells me small businesses in Vietnam have been decimated. Many local tourist companies have gone bust and while tourists are keen to come back, the infrastrucure they took for granted before is harder to find.
And how do you feel about travel these days? Are your fears about getting covid in an out of the way place with no decent medical care, keeping you within the borders of your own country? Have you lost the fearless attitude you once had?
Before we set out on an adventure these days, there are many more things we have to consider.
What do you do if you get Covid while you are travelling? Hopefully you are in a cheap pensione with a kind Nonna who leaves minestrone at your door and after a few days on the bed you are ready to go again. That’s fine if you get a mild case, but what if it gets serious and you have to go to hospital. You need to have read the fine print in your travel insurance to make sure you are covered. Have a look here for a guide to what you need to be aware of . What if like this guy, regulations between countries differ and you get stuck somewhere while your family flies home.
While responsible travel companies will have protocols in place, you need to have a contingency plan up your sleeve to cover the extra cost of a room for a week and transport to get you out of there, after the group has moved on. I like to think that companies will be as helpful and they can but they won’t be wanting to cover any extra expense caused to them. You need to check their protocols, terms and conditions thoroughly as well as checking what the government regulations are in the country (ies) you are travelling in. While it may be more strict or lax in your country of origin, don’t expect it to be the same elsewhere.
Am I talking you out of travel? I hope not.
My old girl guide motto says it all — Be prepared!
Here is a checklist to help.
Happy Travels!!
Check out our upcoming workshops and journeys here
Draft Busters Online, ongoing.
Byron Bay Long Weekend, Oct 2022
Fiordland New Zealand, Nov 2022
Italy, June 2023.
