Top Considerations for Post-Pandemic Travel You May Not Have Thought Of

Post COVID travel - photo courtesy Pexels.com

Photo credit: Pexels.com

Contributor Jesse Clark of Soulful Travel offers advice on things you might not have thought of when planning travel, post-COVID.

With vaccines being rolled out and COVID-19 restrictions loosening worldwide, you may be considering traveling again. A vacation can be a wonderful way to shake off pandemic stress and reconnect with the world after months of staying home.

Before you book your tickets and pack your bags, beware that post-pandemic travel is a bit different from what you might be used to. Read on for a quick guide to considerations to keep in mind as you start planning new adventures in the “new normal.”

Is your dream destination open to tourists?

While many countries have opened to tourism, not all have. As of March 2021, one in three tourist destinations were still closed to tourists, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Check government websites regarding entry restrictions of any country you plan to visit. Even if a country is open, there are likely new entry requirements, like COVID tests or proof of vaccination.

Do you want to deal with air travel — or is a road trip more your speed?

According to UCLA Health, air travel poses a higher risk of COVID-19 infection than driving. This is mostly due to the fact that airports and airplanes expose you to many people, often in enclosed spaces. If you aren’t comfortable flying, opt for a road trip instead. If you drive, make sure your vehicle is ready before you go. For longer trips, get a tuneup to avoid potential breakdowns. For more tips on how to equip your car, consult Ride Digest.

Can you find COVID-friendly accommodation?

In light of COVID, you may also want to reconsider your accommodation when you travel. Large hotels mean interacting with many people, increasing your exposure chances. You can minimize your risk by staying in an Airbnb or small boutique resort instead. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest staying in a private house or vacation rental as a safer alternative to hotels.

Has your luggage been packed with health and hygiene in mind?

When packing your luggage, include a COVID checklist. You might want to pack extra masks, plastic gloves, and hand sanitizer. Make sure you have the right type of mask to meet the requirements of your chosen destination. Some countries require FFP2 models. Keep these items readily available while traveling. For example, if you’re flying, stash them in your carry-on, not your checked bag. If you’re driving, have them up front, not in the trunk. If you’re looking for a new travel backpack, our friends at Dive In have a great set of reviews on the best travel backpacks.

How are you adapting your usual travel practices to protect against COVID?

You may want to adopt added precautions to stay safe and healthy when traveling. For example, when you get off public transportation or out of a taxi, you probably want to wash your hands or use sanitizer as soon as possible. These shared vehicles contain many high-touch surfaces full of germs. As Nature explains, although COVID has largely been determined to be transmitted via air, touch-based transmission can’t be completely ruled out.

Are you upholding non-COVID-related best practices for travel?

Best practices designed to promote safe, efficient, and convenient travel will make your trip more comfortable. For example, if you’re taking a road trip, make sure you’ve got a full tank of gas before you leave. If you’re traveling by air, check the Transportation Security Administration’s quick tips on how to pack for a fast security check. If you’re traveling to countries without safe drinking water, steer clear of produce washed in tap water.

The world and the way we see it has changed in the face of COVID-19. However, travel is still possible. Keep the above considerations in mind as you prepare to rediscover the world.

Columbia River Gorge: Eagle Creek Trail

Treacherous icicles

Don’t move!

Part 2 of our Columbia River Gorge winter hikes feature is the Eagle Creek trail! This is one of the most popular trails in the gorge due to its close proximity to downtown Portland and relative easiness. The trail gently slopes and you can pick how far you want to go – if you only make it to Punchbowl Falls, you’ll log 3.8 miles round trip. The furthest people tend to hike in a single day trip is Tunnel Falls, which would be a solid 12 miles round trip. You can go a total of 26.5 miles to Wattum lake, which people tend to turn into a multi-day backpacking trip to make it more doable. Any way you slice it, the Eagle Creek trail is a crowd-pleaser with a lot of options. But that being said…it should be noted that you’re not going to get very far on this trail in the dead of winter. Or at least, we didn’t.  Continue reading

Columbia River Gorge: Cape Horn Trail

the view from a lookout along the Cape Horn Trail in the Columbia River Gorge.

the view from a lookout along the Cape Horn Trail in the Columbia River Gorge.

This is part 1 of 3 of our favorite winter hikes in the Columbia River Gorge! This post covers the Cape Horn Trail. As far as PNW beauty goes, it’s hard to beat. The trail is a loop that runs a hair over 7 miles long with an elevation gain of 1350 ft. – moderate, but totally doable. It’s a newer trail with a lot of varied views, from deep woods to great lookout points to waterfalls to even some black sheep on the way back! Enjoy: Continue reading

The 10 Types of Travelers

Travelers are all individuals. Most come complete with delightful quirks and idiosyncrasies. That being said, having founded and run a travel business in the Galapagos Islands for 10 years, I’ve come to recognize some definitive traveler types. Here are my top 10 – which category do you fall into?

Giant Tortoise and boy, San Cristobal

A Giant Tortoise and boy in San Cristobal.

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Travelers Rejoice! New Backpack Design Keeps Valuables Safe

The RiutBag, courtesy of their Kickstarter page.

The RiutBag.

If you’re well-traveled, chances are you’ve either been the victim of pickpocketing or heard one too many horror stories of people losing valuables like laptops, cash, phones, and cameras with priceless pictures on them – memories impossible to recover.

Thankfully, one brilliant Kickstarter campaign is looking to change all of that – by redesigning one of the key features of a backpack. The RiutBag (pronounced “riot bag”) was designed specifically with travelers in mind, with all zippers strategically placed facing the wearer’s back, rendering them inaccessible to pickpockets. Continue reading

14 Tips for a Fool-proof Honeymoon

Marcia Miller and camels

The writer, Marcia Miller, hangs out with her favorite camel pals.

If you happen to be getting hitched during the “prime time” of the upcoming summer months, that means your honeymoon isn’t too far away! Your honeymoon is a wonderful extension of your wedding. Every wedding seems to have a glitch you talk about for the rest of your life, but you want your honeymoon to be perfect. Whether you have traveled together before or this is your first adventure, here are the tips to smooth the road and take it up a notch. After all, this is the beginning of your life together. Continue reading

Overwater Bungalows – not just in Tahiti

When you think of overwater bungalows, you (like most people on the planet) probably think immediately of Tahiti.

In fact, they’re not really a native Polynesian thing–they were invented by the Bali Hai Boys, Kelly, Muck and Jay, who came to Tahiti from California several decades ago.

Coconuts Beach Club Resort, Samoa

Coconuts Beach Club Resort, Samoa

Although they’ve become wildly popular in French Polynesia, they’ve also been built all over the world–most notably in the Maldives.
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Travelogue: 3 Months in Southeast Asia

Visual Itineraries’ marketing coordinator, Andrea Zenn, recently returned from a 3 month trip through southeast Asia. Here’s the story of her adventure…

Sunrise in Cambodia

Sunrise in Cambodia


I flew into Hanoi and stayed overnight to adjust to the time, weather and cultural changes. The biggest culture shock came from the traffic, which would be so dense with cars, buses, and mopeds that people would drive on the sidewalks.

traffic in Saigon — in Vietnam

Traffic in Saigon — in Vietnam

My number one piece of advice: when crossing a busy street in the city, watch what the locals do. The traffic is not going to stop for you so you have to just start walking very slowly into the street while the cars and motorcycles go around you. It definitely got my adrenaline going every time, but there is no other way to cross the street. Hanoi is an extremely dense city so I took the first chance I got to leave the city and head for Halong Bay. This UNESCO World Heritage site is worth the three hour bus ride from Hanoi. I booked an overnight cruise through my hotel which included a hike around Cat Ba Island, and a kayaking trip. When I returned to Hanoi, I stayed one more night and then booked a hop-on/hop-off bus ticket heading south down the narrow country. This was definitely the cheap way to travel, and only recommended for the adventurous soul.

The positive side of this was that I got to meet some other awesome travelers and gather tips from them. For the less adventurous, I would recommend hiring a car. From Hanoi, I made stops in Hue, Hoi An (one of my favorite towns in SE Asia), Nha Trang, Da Lat (another one of my favorite towns) and Ho Chi Minh city. Ho Chi Minh, formerly known as Saigon, is another big city but it is a utopia for those interested in the history of the Vietnam War. From Ho Chi Minh, I booked a cruise around the Mekong Delta and had the opportunity to stay with a host family and visit the floating markets, which I highly recommend if you get a chance.

Floating Market - in Vietnam

Floating Market - in Vietnam

Continuing clockwise around South East Asia, I made my way to Cambodia.

traditional Cambodian dance

Traditional Cambodian dance


Make sure to hire a guide who takes you all the way across the border as it is fairly common for drivers to take you five miles from the border and then ask you to either pay double or walk. Thankfully this did not happen to me.
Rabbit Island - Cambodia

Rabbit Island - Cambodia

Another tip is to always have American currency on hand. Even though the countries in South East Asia are so close to each other, they will often not accept currency from a neighboring country.

Kep — in Cambodia

Kep — in Cambodia


In Cambodia I stayed in a treehouse hotel in Kep, just outside of Kampot. Kep was the ultimate relaxing oceanfront town, if you want to spend a couple days in a hammock in the rainforest, than this is the town for you!

Fast food in Phenom Pen

Fast food in Phenom Pen


After leaving Kep I headed to Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh has a fascinating history and I would recommend everyone to educate themselves about the Pol Pot regime before going. Other recommendations for Phnom Penh would be to visit the Central Market, Evergreen Vegetarian restaurant and Friends the Restaurant (a non-profit restaurant that offers training for local youth to get involved with the hospitality industry).

Paddling down the Mekong Delta — in Vietnam

Paddling down the Mekong Delta — in Vietnam


From Phnom Penh, I headed to Siem Reap to visit the world famous Angkor Wat. Depending on your interest in ancient ruins, you could spend three to seven days just walking around temples. My advice is hire a local guide to take you around in a Tuk Tuk (a bicycle powered carriage).

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat


Get there early to see the sunrise over the temples and beat the heat (and crowds) of the afternoon. From Siem Reap, I returned to Phnom Penh and flew into Bangkok, Thailand.

Monks riding a Tuk Tuk in Thailand

Monks riding a Tuk Tuk in Thailand


Bangkok was a world wind of western influence and ancient South East Asian culture. If you like to shop than you’re in luck! While I was there I visited the Chatuchak Weekend Market, the famous Khao San Road, the Grand Palace, and Wat Pho. I then booked a trip to Kanchanaburi where I visited an elephant sanctuary, the Tiger Temple, Erawan Falls, and stayed in a floating guesthouse.

Tiger temple - Thailand

Tiger temple - Thailand


I decided to continue further north-west to Sangkhlaburi (on the border of Myanmar) to get away from the tourists.

elephant in Thailand

Elephant in Thailand


From there I returned to Bangkok and took an overnight train to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai was beautiful, and a great opportunity to do some outdoor activities. If you have time I would also recommend a trip to Pai, a quiet little mountain town, but remember to bring some motion-sickness medicine with you for the winding mountain roads.
Rope swing in Laos

Rope swing in Laos


After about a week of exploring Chiang Mai and Pai, I got on a bus and headed east towards the Laos border. I stayed overnight in Chiang Rai before making the 3 hour trip to the border and then a short boat trip to Huay Xai in Laos.

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang


To get to Luang Prabang from Huay Xai, you have to options 1) go by bus; or 2) go by “slow boat.” There is also a third option for a speed boat, but these are extremely dangerous. I chose the slow boat (which takes two full days) because I was not short on time and I was tired of riding on buses. If you go this route, make sure to get to the boats early because they can get crowded. I thoroughly enjoyed floating along the rainforests of Laos, but you may want to bring a book for the trip. At night you stop at a riverside town whose main source of income are travelers from the slow boat. The ETramping Adventure Travel site has this great guide to things to see and do in Luang Prabang.

beautiful slow boat ride to Luang Prabang

Beautiful slow boat ride to Luang Prabang


After another full day on the river you arrive in Luang Prabang which was my favorite town in all of South East Asia. The entire town is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is filled with old French Colonial buildings and Buddhist temples. While I was there I did some kayaking down river rapids and visited the night market. From Luang Prabang I took a bus back to Hanoi, if I did this trip again I would have preferred to fly directly into Hanoi instead. If you have more time (and money), I would recommend exploring northern Laos as I hear it is beautiful and there are a lot of eco-tourism options.

In Hanoi, I spent another day wandering the city and then decided to spend my final week in Sapa, which you can get to by train. If you get to visit Sapa, watch out for tourist companies who advertise homestays as they often exploit the local populations.

Kuli and I in Sapa, Vietnam

Kuli and I in Sapa, Vietnam


I met a local woman named Kuli who offered to be my guide and invited me to stay with her family for a fraction of the price that the tourist companies were offering, (enough to provide her family with dinner that night). Kuli was the highlight on my trip, she taught herself English so that she could walk 10 miles a day to sell her handmade goods at the market. She was an extremely knowledgeable guide and was happy to teach me about her culture. She introduced me to some of the other women in the village and explained to me what life was like for her and her husband, her children and grandchildren, and relatives in other villages.

Cruising....Vietnam style

Cruising....Vietnam style

Overall I had an amazing trip, met a ton of fascinating people, learned a great deal about the different cultures, and gathered enough memories to last a lifetime!