As we learn how to live, and travel, with COVID 19 as part of our world, we’d like to share a few useful and simple travel tips to help you prepare and enjoy your holidays. Here are our team’s essential travel tips for the covid world:
BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
In addition to having a valid passport and all your usual travel tips, in the post-covid world it is important you check your country’s official travel advice and specific travel requirements for your destination.
It will give you an indication of travel rules you might need to follow when you get to the destination and back from your trip such as locator forms, vaccination certificates or if a test or quarantine period are required… It is important to note that if your own government advises against travelling to a particular country, your travel insurance might not cover your trip.
Check the official government website relevant to your country when planning and before travelling, for instance the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland, Foreign Travel advice in the UK and the US Department of State Travel Advisories in the US.
If you are travelling within the European Union, the Re-Open Europe has useful information on the requirements when travelling within the European Union, the EU Digital COVID certificate and specific requirements for each country, if any.
Which takes us to our next essential travel tip: always book travel insurance for peace of mind and, if you are an EU citizen, take your European Health Insurance Card with you. The European Health Insurance Card gives you access to the public health system of the country you are visiting, under the same conditions as locals. If you don’t have one, it is very easy to apply for one at your local health office (in Ireland).
If you are not feeling well before your trip, we recommend you stay at home and contact your doctor to get medical advice.
EU DIGITAL COVID CERTIFICATE
The EU Digital COVID Certificate rolled out by European countries is making travelling within the European Union easier. This facilitates travel to those who have been fully vaccinated, who have a negative PCR or have already recovered from the illness. This certificate issued by health authorities can be downloaded to your phone or you can print it to keep with your travel documents.
COVID ETIQUETTE
Be mindful of your own well being in addition to the well being of other travellers and passengers, following the essential etiquette rules we have become so accustomed to by now: wash your hands regularly, wear a mask when required, avoid touching your face and keep a safe distance from other travellers.
AT THE AIRPORT
Each airport is likely to have slightly different measures and procedures in place so make sure you get familiar with them before you travel, as well as rules and measures for each specific airline: you will have to wear your mask at all times for instance, selling food on board is being reduced to a minimum or done online so it is advisable that you take some snacks with you and check information for your airline before travelling.
DESTINATION RULES
Each country is bound to have slightly different rules and protocols in place in relation to compulsory mask wearing for instance, opening hours of bars and restaurants, the number of people attending events, etc… so we recommend doing some basic research before travelling to avoid being fined for instance.
In most cases you will also need to fill in a ‘passenger locator form’ in order to enter the country and before you come back home.
Be kind and be patient as services slowly reopen as both staff and visitors get used to the new rules and regulations. Booking meals in advance at restaurants for instance is highly likely to be required and things are likely to take a little bit longer… It is time to think about travel at a slower, kinder, more gentle pace.
We hope you find these travel tips for the COVID world useful and we hope to see you travelling with us again soon. Have you got some useful travel tips for the COVID world you’d like to share? Let us know!
If you are looking for travel inspiration, have a look at our pages with lots of travel ideas: JWT CAMINO, JWT SCHOOLS, JWT SPORTS, JWT MUSIC.
For more information about our upcoming trips, inspiration or advice, talk to our travel experts at JWT.
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