April 19, 2021 • 19 mins
Traveling again is going to require some extra thought, planning, and patience. This episode provides some thoughtful ideas about where and how to travel during the pandemic.
[00:40] Status of International Travel
- Mexico, Croatia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos, and other Caribbean destinations
[02:52] Countries Open in Europe
- Albania, Croatia, Malta, Iceland, Estonia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, UK
[08:16] Best Bets in Europe for the Summer/Early Fall
- UK, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, other mainland European countries
- Travel Insurance
- EU member websites
- State Department website
[12:24] Reduced Capacity
- Flight schedule changes
[15:26] Possibility of Snap Lockdowns
Dream. Learn. Plan. Prepare. Go to Guidester/Virtual-Vacation
Season 1: Episode 7
#Travel #Vacation #Europe #traveleurope #covid #covid-19 #pandemic #airlinechange #UK #Statedepartment #Unitedkingdom #Iceland #Spain #France #NorthMacedonia #Montenegro #Albania #Croatia #travelinsurance #travel #europe #vacation #traveleurope #travelguide #tourguide
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Arnold (00:00):
What's the status of international travel?
Can Americans travel to Europe,and how has the vaccine roll
out progressing in Europe?
When do you expect Europe toopen back up and when should I
make my travel plans to Europe?
What will be required to travel whenthings open back up and what are
the greatest risks for COVID travel?
Travel to Europe is off limits forthe time being, but we can still keep
the flame of wanderlust alive throughthe Virtual Vacation with Guidester,
(00:23):
the weekly podcast, where host JackBaumann, founder of Guidester and travel
enthusiast Arnold Stricker, dive intonew destinations, exploring their unique
history, culture and special vibe.
You will also get insider tipsabout these destinations you
won't get from other sources.
Now let's join our host, theGuidester himself, Jack Baumann.
Jack, people have been waiting along time to get through the pandemic.
(00:46):
It's been a big burden on somepeople, especially people who
like to travel and get around.
People are now travelingaround the United States.
What is the status ofinternational travel?
Jack (00:57):
Yeah, that's a good question.
It really is destination specific.
International travel generally isstill discouraged; it's still difficult
but more destinations are opening up.
The destinations that Americans aregoing to right now that are outside
the U S are mostly in the Caribbean.
Now that multiple vaccines have comeout, governments across the world
are ramping up the distribution andimproving methods for testing and
(01:18):
detecting so we can open one more safely.
A lot of countries are shootingfor the summer of this year, the
fall, I think for sure, but it'sreally destination specific.
So there's a handful of countries thatare actually open to American travelers
right now with certain restrictions.
Usually just have to providea negative COVID test.
Some have additional health screeningsand documents that you have to provide.
(01:39):
Some are doing quarantines, but themajor destinations right now that
people are going to are Mexico,Croatia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St.
Lucia, Turks and Caicos andother Caribbean destinations.
This podcast is focused on Europe, sowe'll spend the remainder of the episode
discussing COVID related travel to Europe.
Arnold (01:55):
Yeah.
And we went down to St.
Croix over the Christmas NewYear's holiday at the U.S.
Virgin Islands and we had tohave a COVID test and proof of
that going into the airport.
No problems, they were all set; theyhad been preparing and doing all
their mask wearing and cleaning.
Jack (02:12):
So it went smooth in St.
Croix?
Arnold (02:13):
It went very smooth.
They were actually more on topof it, I think, than a lot of the
states here in the United States.
Jack (02:20):
Tourism is such a big deal for so much of the world,
including the Caribbean.
So they are incentivized to,to do it well and do it smooth.
Arnold (02:27):
They really have suffered a great deal because of the tourism.
I agree with you.
Jack (02:30):
That's exactly right.
Arnold (02:31):
So can Americans actually travel because recently; Italy put
the screws on, England's put thescrews on being able to come in?
The vaccines, not working over there,maybe some don't want to take the vaccine
similar to the United States here.
Can we actually travel to Europe?
I know you mentioned Croatia wecan go to, but what about if I
wanted to go to Germany or France?
Jack (02:52):
So there are a few countries in Europe right now that are open which
I'll list here in a second, but mostof Europe is really just shuttered.
Most of Europe is still going throughtheir third wave I think it is.
They're not allowing foreign nationals,most foreign nationals, and that includes
the U S it's not just, we're not the sickkid on the block or anything like that.
Europe is still very muchshuttered depending on the country.
Arnold (03:13):
So what are the countries that are actually open?
Jack (03:14):
So the countries that are open to Americans in Europe right now are
Albania, Croatia, Malta, Iceland,Estonia, Montenegro, Macedonia, which
is actually North Macedonia now.
Used to be former Yugoslavia Republic.
Anyway, so Macedonia or North Macedonia,Ukraine, and Ireland; although Ireland
(03:34):
is definitely not worth it cause there'sjust so many restrictions and I think you
have to quarantine, when you get there.
So all of these destinations requirenegative COVID tests and a few
do require quarantine measures.
So it's probably best towait, but like Iceland.
I have a tour planned to Iceland inJuly and I think that's going to happen.
Iceland's accepting visitors right now.
Croatia is taking visitors;all with a negative COVID
(03:56):
test and some contact tracing.
You have to let the authoritiesknow what hotel you're at but,
there are a few countries inEurope that are open right now.
Because Europe is so interconnected,I would probably wait until
the rest of Europe opens up.
Arnold (04:08):
Now you have to have that negative test coming in.
I have heard of countries, you haveto have a negative test going out.
Actually the States require it.
Jack (04:14):
That's exactly right; I think it's 72 hours and you have to have a negative
test to reenter the U S even all U.S.
Citizens.
That really is the burden.
Now in the Caribbean, it's easierbecause these resorts are providing
the COVID test for you free of charge.
But if I'm in Croatiait might not be as easy.
So again, just for that sake,Iceland, probably, I think they
do have some easy rapid tests.
(04:36):
Cause, Iceland is just much moreadvanced than Croatia, but I, I do
think it's possible, but it's justmore of a burden than it was before.
Arnold (04:41):
Then there is one of those famous Caribbean resorts that actually ran out
of COVID tests and they had to put peopleup in a hotel and they had a quarantine.
So it was a real problem.
Jack (04:53):
For the hotel, not the person,
Arnold (04:55):
But they had to stay in their hotel room and they had
a minimal kind of food budget.
They couldn't go out of the room.
It was a nightmare.
Jack (05:02):
I've actually heard of a couple of resorts; basically just
saying you can't leave the property.
A couple people that I've talkedto have tested positive and the
resort paid for their whole stayfor that seven or 10 day quarantine.
And they just stayed.
I think there were certain rules,you got to come out at certain times,
but they paid for their whole stay.
So it just depends on the resortand what their policies are but it
(05:25):
is going to create a bottleneck.
Arnold (05:26):
How has the vaccine rollout going in Europe?
The information we get in theStates here is that it's haphazard.
Some of them are not working,
Jack (05:35):
Europe's in different stages of the vaccine rollout.
Several countries have even temporarilyhalted the use of AstraZeneca
vaccine due to health concerns,but I think that's back on now.
New purchase orders and pushesby the government are seeing
ramp ups in all member States.
The UK is doing the best job.
Their vaccine rollout is exceedingexpectations and they're actually
(05:56):
going to plan to ease all restrictions.
They started the phased roll back ofrestrictions in April and they're planning
to have all restrictions removed theentire United Kingdom by end of June.
Arnold (06:05):
It means if I go over there and I can travel over there, I can
still get into the tower of Londonand all the other wonderful things that
you've talked about in previous shows?
Jack (06:13):
Exactly.
Time will tell what actually willreopen as far as the museums and
the restaurants and the pubs.
But yes, the plan is by the endof June, everything in the UK, from
shops to pubs, to attractions, to theparks and everything will be open.
There will be no morerestrictions at the end of June.
Arnold (06:29):
How about France or Italy or Germany?
Have you gotten any word onthat from some of your contacts?
Jack (06:34):
Italy is not doing well.
The EU has gotten a badstart to the vaccine rollout.
There's various reasons forthat; their purchase orders,
the way they distributed it.
There's definitely some hiccupsand the UK is not subject to that
cause the UK left in December.
So I think that benefitedthem a little bit.
They had more control over the buyingof the vaccines and distribution.
That's benefited the UK.
(06:54):
Italy's far behind on those rollout,but it has plans to vaccinate
60% of its population by the endof July, and 80% of its entire
population by the end of September.
France has been particularlyslow as well; due to government
regulations and purchase orders.
Also France , I did not know thisuntil I did some more research,
they have a lot of anti-vaxxers.
France is I think the most anti-vaxxerWestern European country in Europe.
Arnold (07:19):
Really?
Jack (07:20):
Yeah.
I confirmed that with my friend wholives in Paris as well he's French.
He said the same thing; there's a bigswath of the population that are generally
very opposed to vaccines . So France isbattling that cultural problem but also
their government is getting in the way.
They do have plans to inoculate 30 millionof his citizens by the end of summer.
That's about 45% of its population bythe end of summer, so behind Italy.
Spain right now, about 10 anda half percent of its population
(07:42):
have one shot, which is almostidentical to all of Europe.
Again, different countries are indifferent stages, but Spain has been
an indicator of all of Europe combined,which right now is about 10 and a
half percent have received one shot.
I think four and a halfor 5% have received both.
Arnold (07:59):
So maybe Brexit was good for the Brits, for the vaccine?
Jack (08:04):
Yes.
I that's a whole other podcastthat I would love to delve into,
but it does seem like Brexit, atleast in this case was a good thing.
They just have less hoops to jumpthrough; they don't have to go through
the EU steps that all the othermember States have to go through.
Arnold (08:16):
Jack you had mentioned earlier in our discussion here
when I should travel to Europe.
In your opinion, is that going to be abroad brush statement for all of Europe
or should I be careful as it relatesto going to Italy or to France because
of the anti-vaxxers that you mentioned?
Jack (08:33):
I do think that the EU is trying to do a collective
effort to open up all of Europe.
It really is heavilydependent on destination.
Now, if, when we're talking EU,we can remove the UK from that.
So let me just start withthe UK before we remove it.
As I said, the UK is by far the furthest,along in their vaccine rollout, I
think in the world maybe Israel isahead of them, but in the whole
(08:54):
European continent, definitely the UK.
So if you're wanting to go to Europe oranywhere in Europe, the UK is your best
bet right now, just because of how farthey are along with the vaccine rollout.
Greece has plans to open by the endof summer, Spain again, France is not
doing so great, Germany, in Italy too.
I actually have a trip plannedin Italy to Rome in September.
(09:15):
Honestly, I would give that a 50, 50chance maybe a 60, 40 that it'll happen.
It really just depends on two things.
The vaccine can continue to rollout and people taking it, but
then also how the local businesseswill respond to reopening.
So I would say if you're burningjust to get to Europe this year, I
would make plans anywhere in Europe.
Now again, the UK, I thinksummer is a good bet.
(09:36):
I do think Greece, endof summer is a good bet.
Iceland, for sure.
But when you're talking Italy, Spain,France, Germany, other mainland
European countries, I would make plansfor late September, early October.
There's a very good chance doingit in the summer is possible.
But I think you're playing with fire;because then you'll have to change
plans and changing plans is not abig deal, but you want to avoid that.
(09:57):
If you're just burning toget to Europe this year late
September is a very good bet.
Then just make sure when you bookthat it's a fully refundable trip,
which airlines are giving creditsand some are even giving cash back.
The hotels are doing like a fiveday prior cancellation 10 day.
So you can make these reservations withoutbeing out of pocket, if it doesn't go.
(10:18):
Again, so what I would do, I'm making myplans for September and probably by June
early July is when I'll make my decision.
And the planes I've madeare fully refundable.
I think that's the best way; and tomake it certain that you're doing the
right thing and get travel insurance.
Arnold (10:32):
I was going to mention travel insurance on a trip
like that is very critical.
Jack (10:37):
I would say.
Yes, it's critical mostly for whatcould happen while you're there.
It's not as critical for cancellationsdue to COVID because the hotels and
the airlines should already havecancellation policies in place.
Arnold (10:47):
Now, one of the biggest things which we previously discussed a
little bit is having a negative test.
Are there other specific kinds ofrequirements that are going to be imposed
upon travelers as they enter a country?
Jack (11:01):
The EU is still negotiating this on how they're going to proceed.
There's a lot of talk about the vaccinepassport, having some sort of centralized
passport database that verifies you'vebeen vaccinated and allowed to come in.
Right now, as it stands you've got to havea 72 hour negative COVID test to enter
even the countries that we mentioned thatare open Iceland, Croatia, et cetera.
(11:22):
So that'll definitely be part of it.
Whether or not it's going to be a COVIDpassport, EU is still negotiating that.
These guidelines are really fluidand I expect they'll be updated
multiple times before the summer.
So the key is check the statedepartment's website and then
also check the EU member sites,italy.gov and other country specific
websites will be able to help you.
(11:43):
But quite honestly, too, this isa great reason to use Guidester,
but also to have a travel agent.
If you know a travel agent, this is agreat reason to use an agent because
they're going to have the most up-to-dateinformation on where you want to go.
Arnold (11:56):
And all the more reason to listen to the Virtual
Vacation with Guidester podcasts.
Jack (11:59):
That's exactly right.
We're going to give you all the goodtips and the tricks and and if you
do go to Guidester.com, you can signup for our members only newsletter.
As part of that, we includea COVID update packet.
I'm going to be sending out at leastonce a month, if not more, probably
twice a month updates on countryspecifics requirements for Europe.
So if you want to know more aboutEurope, destination tips, tricks,
(12:21):
inspiration, but also the COVID updates.
That's a great way to do it.
Arnold (12:24):
That's really great information because if I made my travel plans to go
to England and I've checked everythingout on the national website, and I've
gone to some of the minor websitesof the sites that I like to see, the
most frustrating thing for me is if Iget over there and things are closed.
So what restrictions do you see withsome places opening up like restaurants
(12:49):
, big tourist attractions, hotelsor transportation kinds of things.
I want to go through the Chunneland go to France, even though
they're anti-vaxxers over there.
What am I going to do?
Jack (13:01):
You definitely hit the nail on the head that the real concern is
reduced capacity potential closuresfor attractions, restaurants,
and other points of interest.
I would say most sites are goingto have at the very least that
reduced capacity, which meansplanning ahead will be crucial.
Some museums and attractionsmay be closed altogether.
I actually read a report a coupleof months ago that one in six
(13:23):
museums around the world will neverreopen and that could be high.
Arnold (13:27):
Wow.
Jack (13:27):
Yeah, and that could be as high as one in three.
Arnold (13:29):
Now the folks couldn't see, my eyebrows just went through the ceiling.
Jack (13:33):
Yep, one in six.
These world tourism boards havedone these polls and one in six have
indicated they will never reopen; onein three said they might not reopen.
So at the very least one in sixmuseums around the world, not just
Europe; but one in six will probablynever reopen and one in three might
not reopen or might not reopen to thesame capacity that they had before.
It's not only reopening it's followingthe guidelines and then can they stay
(13:57):
profitable at a 50% or 25% capacity?
What does that do for your revenuestream if you're really relying
on those ticket admissions.
So that's going to be your biggest thing.
As you said, doing your researchand again, using Guidester.
This is what we do, we do ourresearch, we give you a personalized
guide that tells you what's open,what's closed and how to get around.
Guidester is more invaluable nowthan it's probably ever been.
(14:18):
Other things that you wantto consider are canceled and
ever-changing flight schedules.
To me, that's going to bethe most dangerous thing.
The closures will be an annoyanceand there's opportunity there
because new things will open.
It kind of pivots you into something else.
It could be good.
Some of my best moments are unexpected,unplanned attractions and things.
But I think it's going tobe the flight schedules.
(14:40):
Flight schedules have always beenfluid, but now it's just really bad.
Arnold (14:43):
They want to make sure those planes are packed.
Jack (14:45):
That's exactly right.
They want to make sure they're packed, butthen also new guidelines that come down.
. The airline industry is doing thebest they can but I do think they
have a lot of challenges ahead tomake sure that the flight schedules
that they had before will continue.
And as you said, they're notgoing to fly these long haul
flights at 25%, 50% capacity.
So don't be surprised if youget the flight that you hope you
(15:05):
wanted changed at the last minute.
Arnold (15:08):
We had our flight to the Caribbean changed three times.
Jack (15:10):
Exactly.
Arnold (15:12):
If want to get a discount on your Guidester personal travel guide,
use the coupon code Guidester Podcast.
Don't forget if you want to get 10% offyour Guidester personal travel guide,
use the coupon code Guidester Podcast.
Jack (15:26):
One other thing to consider here is the changing guidelines and the snap
lockdowns that could potentially happen.
Arnold (15:33):
Talk about snap lock downs.
What do you mean by that?
Jack (15:35):
So the EU has agreed to travel restrictions in Europe which state that
if the epidemiological situation getsout of control travel restrictions could
be rapidly introduced . So if the virusgets out of control in a certain area
anywhere in Europe, in a given country;if it worsens quickly and if a country
is found to have a high incidence of aworrisome variants, you hear about a lot
of these variants, that comments likethe UK variants, the Brazil variants.
(15:58):
So if there is a variant that's spiking ina different country, travel restrictions
could be quite rapidly introduced.
That could be a day.
That could be two days.
One thing to consideris have an exit plan.
If you're in France and they say,okay, you've got three days to
leave the country or make plans.
My guess is the snap lockdowns will bea week or two weeks and they might not
(16:20):
happen at all, but they have agreedcollectively that it's in their power
to do snap lockdowns . The snaplockdowns could be as short as 24 hours.
Arnold (16:30):
What is the best way to get information on the snap lock downs?
Jack (16:34):
The state apartment has a a website where you can sign up where they're
going to give you updates on your trip.
You go to the state departmentwebsite, and now with COVID,
it might be a little different.
How it worked in the past is youentered your travel details and any
updates for those destinations, youget an email saying this is the update.
It's called the Smart Traveler EnrollmentProgram, STEP from the state department.
(16:55):
You can just Google that and that'sthe best way to stay ahead of things.
If you want to be proactive,just go to the country's
website that you're going to.
But if there's a snap lockdown, yourhotel obviously will notify you.
So if you're staying in Rome andthere's this snap lockdown, and you'll
certainly be notified and then you'llhave to make your plans accordingly.
Arnold (17:13):
I thought you made a great point.
It's good to have an exit plan.
Maybe you can't get back and you leftthe kids with grandma and grandpa.
Do they want to keep them for anothertwo or three weeks or four weeks?
Jack (17:24):
I think considering all angles, my guess is a snap
lockdown will not be that long.
A snap lockdown could be threedays, it could be seven days,
could be as long as two weeks.
It's going to be an isolated situationand they just want to keep it from
spreading, outside that regioncould be a city, could be a region.
Just have an exit plan.
How am I going to get outif I do have to stay here?
What things do I need totake care of back home?
(17:46):
We hope that doesn't happen and Ido think Europe is on a positive
trajectory for opening back up, butit's better to be safe than sorry.
Arnold (17:53):
And that's great news to hear because we hear a lot of things going
on with the pandemic it's nice to knowthat Europe is on a positive trajectory.
It's going to give us anopportunity to hopefully get back
over there sooner than later.
Jack (18:05):
Exactly.
I do think Europe's on a goodtrajectory and I think the
United States is doing very well.
So well to the point that we're goingto be on the UKs green list of accepted
travelers for the UK to come here.
So I think the U.S.
and the EU member countriesare on a good path.
I do think by the summer/fall, travelis going to be more possible for us.
Arnold (18:24):
We need to keep our listeners updated with this Jack.
Jack (18:26):
We will.
Keep coming to Virtual Vacation withGuidester Podcast, share with your
friends and let's get back to traveling!
Arnold (18:32):
Sounds great!
We appreciate you listeningto this episode of Virtual
Vacation with Guidester.
If you enjoyed this episode,please consider letting us know.
The best way to do this is by ratingus on Apple podcasts; reviews are
always welcome and encouraged.
Virtual Vacation with Guidesteris produced by Motif Media Group.
For Jack Baumann and Virtual Vacationwith Guidester, I'm Arnold Stricker.
What's the status of international travel?
Can Americans travel to Europe,and how has the vaccine roll
out progressing in Europe?
When do you expect Europe toopen back up and when should I
make my travel plans to Europe?
What will be required to travel whenthings open back up and what are
the greatest risks for COVID travel?
Travel to Europe is off limits forthe time being, but we can still keep
the flame of wanderlust alive throughthe Virtual Vacation with Guidester,
(00:23):
the weekly podcast, where host JackBaumann, founder of Guidester and travel
enthusiast Arnold Stricker, dive intonew destinations, exploring their unique
history, culture and special vibe.
You will also get insider tipsabout these destinations you
won't get from other sources.
Now let's join our host, theGuidester himself, Jack Baumann.
Jack, people have been waiting along time to get through the pandemic.
(00:46):
It's been a big burden on somepeople, especially people who
like to travel and get around.
People are now travelingaround the United States.
What is the status ofinternational travel?
Jack (00:57):
Yeah, that's a good question.
It really is destination specific.
International travel generally isstill discouraged; it's still difficult
but more destinations are opening up.
The destinations that Americans aregoing to right now that are outside
the U S are mostly in the Caribbean.
Now that multiple vaccines have comeout, governments across the world
are ramping up the distribution andimproving methods for testing and
(01:18):
detecting so we can open one more safely.
A lot of countries are shootingfor the summer of this year, the
fall, I think for sure, but it'sreally destination specific.
So there's a handful of countries thatare actually open to American travelers
right now with certain restrictions.
Usually just have to providea negative COVID test.
Some have additional health screeningsand documents that you have to provide.
(01:39):
Some are doing quarantines, but themajor destinations right now that
people are going to are Mexico,Croatia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St.
Lucia, Turks and Caicos andother Caribbean destinations.
This podcast is focused on Europe, sowe'll spend the remainder of the episode
discussing COVID related travel to Europe.
Arnold (01:55):
Yeah.
And we went down to St.
Croix over the Christmas NewYear's holiday at the U.S.
Virgin Islands and we had tohave a COVID test and proof of
that going into the airport.
No problems, they were all set; theyhad been preparing and doing all
their mask wearing and cleaning.
Jack (02:12):
So it went smooth in St.
Croix?
Arnold (02:13):
It went very smooth.
They were actually more on topof it, I think, than a lot of the
states here in the United States.
Jack (02:20):
Tourism is such a big deal for so much of the world,
including the Caribbean.
So they are incentivized to,to do it well and do it smooth.
Arnold (02:27):
They really have suffered a great deal because of the tourism.
I agree with you.
Jack (02:30):
That's exactly right.
Arnold (02:31):
So can Americans actually travel because recently; Italy put
the screws on, England's put thescrews on being able to come in?
The vaccines, not working over there,maybe some don't want to take the vaccine
similar to the United States here.
Can we actually travel to Europe?
I know you mentioned Croatia wecan go to, but what about if I
wanted to go to Germany or France?
Jack (02:52):
So there are a few countries in Europe right now that are open which
I'll list here in a second, but mostof Europe is really just shuttered.
Most of Europe is still going throughtheir third wave I think it is.
They're not allowing foreign nationals,most foreign nationals, and that includes
the U S it's not just, we're not the sickkid on the block or anything like that.
Europe is still very muchshuttered depending on the country.
Arnold (03:13):
So what are the countries that are actually open?
Jack (03:14):
So the countries that are open to Americans in Europe right now are
Albania, Croatia, Malta, Iceland,Estonia, Montenegro, Macedonia, which
is actually North Macedonia now.
Used to be former Yugoslavia Republic.
Anyway, so Macedonia or North Macedonia,Ukraine, and Ireland; although Ireland
(03:34):
is definitely not worth it cause there'sjust so many restrictions and I think you
have to quarantine, when you get there.
So all of these destinations requirenegative COVID tests and a few
do require quarantine measures.
So it's probably best towait, but like Iceland.
I have a tour planned to Iceland inJuly and I think that's going to happen.
Iceland's accepting visitors right now.
Croatia is taking visitors;all with a negative COVID
(03:56):
test and some contact tracing.
You have to let the authoritiesknow what hotel you're at but,
there are a few countries inEurope that are open right now.
Because Europe is so interconnected,I would probably wait until
the rest of Europe opens up.
Arnold (04:08):
Now you have to have that negative test coming in.
I have heard of countries, you haveto have a negative test going out.
Actually the States require it.
Jack (04:14):
That's exactly right; I think it's 72 hours and you have to have a negative
test to reenter the U S even all U.S.
Citizens.
That really is the burden.
Now in the Caribbean, it's easierbecause these resorts are providing
the COVID test for you free of charge.
But if I'm in Croatiait might not be as easy.
So again, just for that sake,Iceland, probably, I think they
do have some easy rapid tests.
(04:36):
Cause, Iceland is just much moreadvanced than Croatia, but I, I do
think it's possible, but it's justmore of a burden than it was before.
Arnold (04:41):
Then there is one of those famous Caribbean resorts that actually ran out
of COVID tests and they had to put peopleup in a hotel and they had a quarantine.
So it was a real problem.
Jack (04:53):
For the hotel, not the person,
Arnold (04:55):
But they had to stay in their hotel room and they had
a minimal kind of food budget.
They couldn't go out of the room.
It was a nightmare.
Jack (05:02):
I've actually heard of a couple of resorts; basically just
saying you can't leave the property.
A couple people that I've talkedto have tested positive and the
resort paid for their whole stayfor that seven or 10 day quarantine.
And they just stayed.
I think there were certain rules,you got to come out at certain times,
but they paid for their whole stay.
So it just depends on the resortand what their policies are but it
(05:25):
is going to create a bottleneck.
Arnold (05:26):
How has the vaccine rollout going in Europe?
The information we get in theStates here is that it's haphazard.
Some of them are not working,
Jack (05:35):
Europe's in different stages of the vaccine rollout.
Several countries have even temporarilyhalted the use of AstraZeneca
vaccine due to health concerns,but I think that's back on now.
New purchase orders and pushesby the government are seeing
ramp ups in all member States.
The UK is doing the best job.
Their vaccine rollout is exceedingexpectations and they're actually
(05:56):
going to plan to ease all restrictions.
They started the phased roll back ofrestrictions in April and they're planning
to have all restrictions removed theentire United Kingdom by end of June.
Arnold (06:05):
It means if I go over there and I can travel over there, I can
still get into the tower of Londonand all the other wonderful things that
you've talked about in previous shows?
Jack (06:13):
Exactly.
Time will tell what actually willreopen as far as the museums and
the restaurants and the pubs.
But yes, the plan is by the endof June, everything in the UK, from
shops to pubs, to attractions, to theparks and everything will be open.
There will be no morerestrictions at the end of June.
Arnold (06:29):
How about France or Italy or Germany?
Have you gotten any word onthat from some of your contacts?
Jack (06:34):
Italy is not doing well.
The EU has gotten a badstart to the vaccine rollout.
There's various reasons forthat; their purchase orders,
the way they distributed it.
There's definitely some hiccupsand the UK is not subject to that
cause the UK left in December.
So I think that benefitedthem a little bit.
They had more control over the buyingof the vaccines and distribution.
That's benefited the UK.
(06:54):
Italy's far behind on those rollout,but it has plans to vaccinate
60% of its population by the endof July, and 80% of its entire
population by the end of September.
France has been particularlyslow as well; due to government
regulations and purchase orders.
Also France , I did not know thisuntil I did some more research,
they have a lot of anti-vaxxers.
France is I think the most anti-vaxxerWestern European country in Europe.
Arnold (07:19):
Really?
Jack (07:20):
Yeah.
I confirmed that with my friend wholives in Paris as well he's French.
He said the same thing; there's a bigswath of the population that are generally
very opposed to vaccines . So France isbattling that cultural problem but also
their government is getting in the way.
They do have plans to inoculate 30 millionof his citizens by the end of summer.
That's about 45% of its population bythe end of summer, so behind Italy.
Spain right now, about 10 anda half percent of its population
(07:42):
have one shot, which is almostidentical to all of Europe.
Again, different countries are indifferent stages, but Spain has been
an indicator of all of Europe combined,which right now is about 10 and a
half percent have received one shot.
I think four and a halfor 5% have received both.
Arnold (07:59):
So maybe Brexit was good for the Brits, for the vaccine?
Jack (08:04):
Yes.
I that's a whole other podcastthat I would love to delve into,
but it does seem like Brexit, atleast in this case was a good thing.
They just have less hoops to jumpthrough; they don't have to go through
the EU steps that all the othermember States have to go through.
Arnold (08:16):
Jack you had mentioned earlier in our discussion here
when I should travel to Europe.
In your opinion, is that going to be abroad brush statement for all of Europe
or should I be careful as it relatesto going to Italy or to France because
of the anti-vaxxers that you mentioned?
Jack (08:33):
I do think that the EU is trying to do a collective
effort to open up all of Europe.
It really is heavilydependent on destination.
Now, if, when we're talking EU,we can remove the UK from that.
So let me just start withthe UK before we remove it.
As I said, the UK is by far the furthest,along in their vaccine rollout, I
think in the world maybe Israel isahead of them, but in the whole
(08:54):
European continent, definitely the UK.
So if you're wanting to go to Europe oranywhere in Europe, the UK is your best
bet right now, just because of how farthey are along with the vaccine rollout.
Greece has plans to open by the endof summer, Spain again, France is not
doing so great, Germany, in Italy too.
I actually have a trip plannedin Italy to Rome in September.
(09:15):
Honestly, I would give that a 50, 50chance maybe a 60, 40 that it'll happen.
It really just depends on two things.
The vaccine can continue to rollout and people taking it, but
then also how the local businesseswill respond to reopening.
So I would say if you're burningjust to get to Europe this year, I
would make plans anywhere in Europe.
Now again, the UK, I thinksummer is a good bet.
(09:36):
I do think Greece, endof summer is a good bet.
Iceland, for sure.
But when you're talking Italy, Spain,France, Germany, other mainland
European countries, I would make plansfor late September, early October.
There's a very good chance doingit in the summer is possible.
But I think you're playing with fire;because then you'll have to change
plans and changing plans is not abig deal, but you want to avoid that.
(09:57):
If you're just burning toget to Europe this year late
September is a very good bet.
Then just make sure when you bookthat it's a fully refundable trip,
which airlines are giving creditsand some are even giving cash back.
The hotels are doing like a fiveday prior cancellation 10 day.
So you can make these reservations withoutbeing out of pocket, if it doesn't go.
(10:18):
Again, so what I would do, I'm making myplans for September and probably by June
early July is when I'll make my decision.
And the planes I've madeare fully refundable.
I think that's the best way; and tomake it certain that you're doing the
right thing and get travel insurance.
Arnold (10:32):
I was going to mention travel insurance on a trip
like that is very critical.
Jack (10:37):
I would say.
Yes, it's critical mostly for whatcould happen while you're there.
It's not as critical for cancellationsdue to COVID because the hotels and
the airlines should already havecancellation policies in place.
Arnold (10:47):
Now, one of the biggest things which we previously discussed a
little bit is having a negative test.
Are there other specific kinds ofrequirements that are going to be imposed
upon travelers as they enter a country?
Jack (11:01):
The EU is still negotiating this on how they're going to proceed.
There's a lot of talk about the vaccinepassport, having some sort of centralized
passport database that verifies you'vebeen vaccinated and allowed to come in.
Right now, as it stands you've got to havea 72 hour negative COVID test to enter
even the countries that we mentioned thatare open Iceland, Croatia, et cetera.
(11:22):
So that'll definitely be part of it.
Whether or not it's going to be a COVIDpassport, EU is still negotiating that.
These guidelines are really fluidand I expect they'll be updated
multiple times before the summer.
So the key is check the statedepartment's website and then
also check the EU member sites,italy.gov and other country specific
websites will be able to help you.
(11:43):
But quite honestly, too, this isa great reason to use Guidester,
but also to have a travel agent.
If you know a travel agent, this is agreat reason to use an agent because
they're going to have the most up-to-dateinformation on where you want to go.
Arnold (11:56):
And all the more reason to listen to the Virtual
Vacation with Guidester podcasts.
Jack (11:59):
That's exactly right.
We're going to give you all the goodtips and the tricks and and if you
do go to Guidester.com, you can signup for our members only newsletter.
As part of that, we includea COVID update packet.
I'm going to be sending out at leastonce a month, if not more, probably
twice a month updates on countryspecifics requirements for Europe.
So if you want to know more aboutEurope, destination tips, tricks,
(12:21):
inspiration, but also the COVID updates.
That's a great way to do it.
Arnold (12:24):
That's really great information because if I made my travel plans to go
to England and I've checked everythingout on the national website, and I've
gone to some of the minor websitesof the sites that I like to see, the
most frustrating thing for me is if Iget over there and things are closed.
So what restrictions do you see withsome places opening up like restaurants
(12:49):
, big tourist attractions, hotelsor transportation kinds of things.
I want to go through the Chunneland go to France, even though
they're anti-vaxxers over there.
What am I going to do?
Jack (13:01):
You definitely hit the nail on the head that the real concern is
reduced capacity potential closuresfor attractions, restaurants,
and other points of interest.
I would say most sites are goingto have at the very least that
reduced capacity, which meansplanning ahead will be crucial.
Some museums and attractionsmay be closed altogether.
I actually read a report a coupleof months ago that one in six
(13:23):
museums around the world will neverreopen and that could be high.
Arnold (13:27):
Wow.
Jack (13:27):
Yeah, and that could be as high as one in three.
Arnold (13:29):
Now the folks couldn't see, my eyebrows just went through the ceiling.
Jack (13:33):
Yep, one in six.
These world tourism boards havedone these polls and one in six have
indicated they will never reopen; onein three said they might not reopen.
So at the very least one in sixmuseums around the world, not just
Europe; but one in six will probablynever reopen and one in three might
not reopen or might not reopen to thesame capacity that they had before.
It's not only reopening it's followingthe guidelines and then can they stay
(13:57):
profitable at a 50% or 25% capacity?
What does that do for your revenuestream if you're really relying
on those ticket admissions.
So that's going to be your biggest thing.
As you said, doing your researchand again, using Guidester.
This is what we do, we do ourresearch, we give you a personalized
guide that tells you what's open,what's closed and how to get around.
Guidester is more invaluable nowthan it's probably ever been.
(14:18):
Other things that you wantto consider are canceled and
ever-changing flight schedules.
To me, that's going to bethe most dangerous thing.
The closures will be an annoyanceand there's opportunity there
because new things will open.
It kind of pivots you into something else.
It could be good.
Some of my best moments are unexpected,unplanned attractions and things.
But I think it's going tobe the flight schedules.
(14:40):
Flight schedules have always beenfluid, but now it's just really bad.
Arnold (14:43):
They want to make sure those planes are packed.
Jack (14:45):
That's exactly right.
They want to make sure they're packed, butthen also new guidelines that come down.
. The airline industry is doing thebest they can but I do think they
have a lot of challenges ahead tomake sure that the flight schedules
that they had before will continue.
And as you said, they're notgoing to fly these long haul
flights at 25%, 50% capacity.
So don't be surprised if youget the flight that you hope you
(15:05):
wanted changed at the last minute.
Arnold (15:08):
We had our flight to the Caribbean changed three times.
Jack (15:10):
Exactly.
Arnold (15:12):
If want to get a discount on your Guidester personal travel guide,
use the coupon code Guidester Podcast.
Don't forget if you want to get 10% offyour Guidester personal travel guide,
use the coupon code Guidester Podcast.
Jack (15:26):
One other thing to consider here is the changing guidelines and the snap
lockdowns that could potentially happen.
Arnold (15:33):
Talk about snap lock downs.
What do you mean by that?
Jack (15:35):
So the EU has agreed to travel restrictions in Europe which state that
if the epidemiological situation getsout of control travel restrictions could
be rapidly introduced . So if the virusgets out of control in a certain area
anywhere in Europe, in a given country;if it worsens quickly and if a country
is found to have a high incidence of aworrisome variants, you hear about a lot
of these variants, that comments likethe UK variants, the Brazil variants.
(15:58):
So if there is a variant that's spiking ina different country, travel restrictions
could be quite rapidly introduced.
That could be a day.
That could be two days.
One thing to consideris have an exit plan.
If you're in France and they say,okay, you've got three days to
leave the country or make plans.
My guess is the snap lockdowns will bea week or two weeks and they might not
(16:20):
happen at all, but they have agreedcollectively that it's in their power
to do snap lockdowns . The snaplockdowns could be as short as 24 hours.
Arnold (16:30):
What is the best way to get information on the snap lock downs?
Jack (16:34):
The state apartment has a a website where you can sign up where they're
going to give you updates on your trip.
You go to the state departmentwebsite, and now with COVID,
it might be a little different.
How it worked in the past is youentered your travel details and any
updates for those destinations, youget an email saying this is the update.
It's called the Smart Traveler EnrollmentProgram, STEP from the state department.
(16:55):
You can just Google that and that'sthe best way to stay ahead of things.
If you want to be proactive,just go to the country's
website that you're going to.
But if there's a snap lockdown, yourhotel obviously will notify you.
So if you're staying in Rome andthere's this snap lockdown, and you'll
certainly be notified and then you'llhave to make your plans accordingly.
Arnold (17:13):
I thought you made a great point.
It's good to have an exit plan.
Maybe you can't get back and you leftthe kids with grandma and grandpa.
Do they want to keep them for anothertwo or three weeks or four weeks?
Jack (17:24):
I think considering all angles, my guess is a snap
lockdown will not be that long.
A snap lockdown could be threedays, it could be seven days,
could be as long as two weeks.
It's going to be an isolated situationand they just want to keep it from
spreading, outside that regioncould be a city, could be a region.
Just have an exit plan.
How am I going to get outif I do have to stay here?
What things do I need totake care of back home?
(17:46):
We hope that doesn't happen and Ido think Europe is on a positive
trajectory for opening back up, butit's better to be safe than sorry.
Arnold (17:53):
And that's great news to hear because we hear a lot of things going
on with the pandemic it's nice to knowthat Europe is on a positive trajectory.
It's going to give us anopportunity to hopefully get back
over there sooner than later.
Jack (18:05):
Exactly.
I do think Europe's on a goodtrajectory and I think the
United States is doing very well.
So well to the point that we're goingto be on the UKs green list of accepted
travelers for the UK to come here.
So I think the U.S.
and the EU member countriesare on a good path.
I do think by the summer/fall, travelis going to be more possible for us.
Arnold (18:24):
We need to keep our listeners updated with this Jack.
Jack (18:26):
We will.
Keep coming to Virtual Vacation withGuidester Podcast, share with your
friends and let's get back to traveling!
Arnold (18:32):
Sounds great!
We appreciate you listeningto this episode of Virtual
Vacation with Guidester.
If you enjoyed this episode,please consider letting us know.
The best way to do this is by ratingus on Apple podcasts; reviews are
always welcome and encouraged.
Virtual Vacation with Guidesteris produced by Motif Media Group.
For Jack Baumann and Virtual Vacationwith Guidester, I'm Arnold Stricker.
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