Are we doomed to only local travel if we are not able to be vaccinated?

2020 saw much of what we love get torched. Travel is a great love story for so, so many people and it was shut down and is now threatened further by the powers that be. If you are unable, for personal or medical reasons, to get the mRNA Covid Vaccine, then where do we stand with getting to travel? Last year in the US we were able to travel to a most states via car or air plane with out much problem. Places like South Dakota and Florida actually saw increases in tourism due to pent up travel bugs. But what is the current state of travel? Legacy media sources indicate it is now or fast becoming impossible to travel sans vaccine. This is not the truth.

As of right now, only a handful of countries are requiring Covid vaccinations to enter without quarantine. While it is still an evolving topic, you can scratch your travel itch in many foreign and domestic ways.

Domestic Travel:

For people living in the US we can travel to any state with no vaccine requirements. Only Hawaii still requires proof of negative Covid Test or do a 10 day quarantine. This is great news! And even Hawaii will be soon removing that requirement. The tourism dependent areas have been suffering greatly under the lockdown orders and restrictions so they are working to get as many people to visit as possible. This means they are fast removing even masking requirements.

International Travel:

If you are unable to get the vaccine will you become a second class citizen of the world? Well, not yet. There are still some restrictions but in effect they are similar to the work of getting vaccinated and proving it. It is maybe even a little easier because we have had a year of practice following the PCR testing protocols. Even countries that are giving special treatment to vaccinated travelers have a means to enter without the vaccine. You just get the negative Covid test. Some countries like Greece still require a PCR test but it is not difficult to get these tests. If you have the vaccination you have to figure out how to get proof of vaccination and then know whether that form of proof will be accepted at your destination. If a centralized system of “vaccine passport” is ever implemented it is still months or years away. And remember that currently the US Federal Government is still required a negative covid test or proof of recovery to reenter the USA no matter your vaccine status. So at this point you should not be worried about being restricted by vaccine requirements.

Who is discriminating the most?

Mauritius and Iceland are currently quarantining healthy vaccine-free visitors. Many countries such as Canada are still on strict lockdown so it is important to do your research or have a professional help you understand the entrance requirements. This is especially true if you are vaccine-free.

Hopefully, if you are a person who is not able to get the vaccine you can rest a little easier knowing that you do have the option to travel to almost anywhere a covid vaccinated person can travel. As more information emerges around this topic we will progress toward a better understanding of the virus and the affects of the vaccine. Get out there.

Maybe you noticed I did not address cruises. Most of my clients have not expressed any special interest in cruising but it is a huge part of the travel industry so I will list the best cruise lines for vaccine free travelers in my next post.