At times, it is not fun.
By David Enna, Tipswatch.com
“COVID is just a cold.”
This is how our Overseas Adventure Travel tour leader explained Europe’s (and most of the world’s) new attitude toward COVID-19. And it is a milestone in world travel, marking a dramatic change toward this now-endemic malady.
The theory is: Most people have been vaccinated. Many people have already had a bout or two with COVID. For most people, symptoms are cold-like — producing coughs, some aches and possibly a fever. Nothing too serious.
Travel policies vary from country to country, but in almost all European countries there is no need to prove you are vaccinated, wearing face masks is optional, testing for COVID is optional even if you have symptoms, and isolating is optional even if you do test positive. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control advises:
Travelers who develop any symptoms compatible with COVID-19 during or after travel should self-isolate and seek medical advice and test for SARS-CoV-2 to exclude a diagnosis of COVID-19.
Note the word “should.” This is not a requirement. The world is eager to bring back the flow of travelers and is transitioning to a “don’t ask / don’t tell” policy on COVID.
That is a massive change from the situation two years ago. I’ve been thinking back on our travel experiences since 2020 and realized how much things have transitioned as our fear of COVID lessens.
February 2020. During the very early days of COVID (when the U.S. probably had fewer than 100 reported cases), we traveled by boat up the Nile to Cairo. About halfway through the trip, a doctor suddenly appeared on board and hand-sanitizing stepped up. One of our travel friends was having difficulty breathing. We later learned that another Nile cruise ship — at the same ports at the same time with American travelers — had a huge outbreak of 70 cases.
We couldn’t travel overseas again for two years. But then we took off with a vengeance:
April 2022. We were with a group of 15 travelers in Sicily. To travel then you needed to 1) prove you had been vaccinated, 2) take a verified COVID test before departing and 3) take a verified COVID test before returning home. No one in our group had any symptoms of COVID. At the time, if our tour leader tested positive, he would have been banned from leading tours for one month.
May 2022. We traveled to the Czech Republic with an extension to Romania. Because of the combination of COVID and the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the main portion of the trip had only six travelers and the Romania portion, four. All the same rules applied. I can remember feeling very relieved when we tested negative for COVID in Bucharest so we could return home. No one had any symptoms of COVID.
Since June 2022, people traveling by air no longer need to provide a negative COVID test in order to enter the United States.
August 2022. This was a combination land-cruise ship experience on Viking. During the land portion (Fairbanks to Anchorage) we traveled by bus with 37 passengers. A few days in, I noticed a lot of people coughing (harshly) around us. My wife and I were wearing face masks on the bus, but many people weren’t.
To board the 900-passenger ship, you had to first test negative for COVID. Of the 37 people on our bus, 13 tested positive, including a friend we were traveling with. The 13 positive cases were sent to a hotel room and flew home the next day. No isolation was required (which wasn’t true in Canada at the time). At this point I realized that when you fly on a plane, you may be sitting next to a person with a known case of COVID.
My wife and I and our remaining friend (a doctor) boarded the Viking ship and took off. Within a couple days, we all tested positive for COVID, the first time for all of us. Symptoms were minor for us, but a bit worse for our friend. We all had come prepared with prescriptions of Paxlovid, which we began taking and isolating as much as possible. Within two days, my wife and I tested negative.
December 2022. We traveled with Overseas Adventure to Costa Rica. Travel rules had greatly eased by this point. Unfortunately, near the end of the trip, one of our travel group did get COVID and had to isolate for the remainder. So at this time, travel companies were still enforcing a five-day isolation period. The ailing person, however, flew home with the rest of us.
September 2023: We traveled in northern Greece, Albania and North Macedonia with a group of 16 that included 6 other family members. Midway through the trip, one of the cousins got COVID and he and his wife had to isolate for five days and then rejoined the trip, still wearing face masks and isolating at meals. Their rejoining caused almost-heated complaints from a couple of other travelers. But that was the policy, and the travel leader held to it.
And then … May 2024
We just returned from a 16-day trip through northern Spain and northern Portugal.
As I noted earlier, European travel in 2024 is mostly “don’t ask / don’t tell” when it comes to COVID. On our trip, with 16 travelers, two arrived with active hacking coughs. By the end of the trip, that number grew to maybe 12. Face masks were not required, but my wife and I often wore them while on cross-country bus trips. Some others didn’t.
A few days before the end, my wife and I tested positive for COVID and so did at least six other people. But no testing was required and a couple travelers told us they saw no need to test <cough, cough, it’s just allergies>. I honestly think a dozen people ended up with COVID, and at least one person had more serious symptoms.
Everyone — COVID or not — flew home on the same day.
For me, the symptoms were minor — a very mild fever and a bit of congestion. My wife had a bad cough that continued for a week. We again had prepared with Paxlovid, which we began taking just before flying home. We are fine.
Final thoughts
This isn’t a travel blog, but I think this is valuable information for people who are planning overseas travel. At this point, the risks COVID presents to a vaccinated and healthy population are fairly minor … yes, more like a cold. But the risks remain.
Honestly, COVID has sapped some of the fun out of traveling. It’s not fun to travel by bus, surrounded by coughing people. It’s not fun to be constantly swapping face masks on and off and struggling to talk to people who hear only muffles.
On the other hand, this is a world we want to see and experience. So we will keep traveling. Advice:
Keep a helpful, positive spirit. If you know you are ailing, take steps to protect your fellow passengers.
Prepare for your travels by stocking up on COVID test kits and quality face masks. You may need neither, if you are lucky.
At least once a year, get a COVID vaccine booster. My most recent shot was Dec. 7, 2023. But we met a couple on this trip who were vaccinated two weeks before leaving and the husband got COVID (minor case).
Wear your face mask through the airport on your departure day and until everyone is boarded, ready for take off. That’s a pain, I know, but you do not want to get sick as you are leaving for this adventure.
If you are traveling by bus or car with people who are coughing, put on your face mask. If you are about to enter a very crowded, tight-space religious shrine …. er … skip it. Enjoy the outdoors.
If you can get a prescription to Paxlovid before you leave, do it. (Some doctors will do this; others won’t.) My doctor warned that it can have harsh side effects, but for me the only nasty effect is a lousy taste in my mouth, which remains today after my last dose Friday night.
Also, if comfort is a concern, consider traveling by river boat or a smaller cruise liner, which offer much better options for isolation and relaxation. The trade-off is losing some on-the-ground history and experiences. (There is no way I would take a 3,000-passenger cruise, however.)
Share this advice with anyone you know who is planning a trip overseas.
Happy holiday weekend, everyone.
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David Enna is a financial journalist, not a financial adviser. He is not selling or profiting from any investment discussed. I Bonds and TIPS are not “get rich” investments; they are best used for capital preservation and inflation protection. They can be purchased through the Treasury or other providers without fees, commissions or carrying charges. Please do your own research before investing.
