Too early to travel internationally? Navigating travel in our new normal
It’s been close to three years since I travelled internationally. It felt for quite some time that international travel was still a distant hope with the journey to international borders reopening a daunting concept.
We aren’t living in a post-COVID world nor a pandemic but rather an endemic. It has been interesting in these recent months, to see the efforts made to enable life to return to some level of normalcy.
This ‘new normal’ is on one hand filled with vagueness and uncertainty, and on the other, excitement and desire.
But, what does it mean for travel?
A lot has changed from what we know the booking, check-in, boarding and arrivals stages to be like, however, it isn’t all doom and gloom. There are so many hygienic measures in place now that you start to wonder why it wasn’t like this before the C word.
Having just returned this week from my first international holiday since prior to COVID-19 where my family and I spent a week in Singapore, here are my three tips to travelling internationally in this new normal.
Plan, plan, pivot, plan
What had started out as a two-person holiday to Bali changed directions more times than I can count as restrictions eased, were reintroduced, then altered, then eased and then reintroduced. In the end our flights were cancelled a month out from our scheduled April 2022 trip. By that point, it was getting too challenging to change airline providers which meant in the three weeks prior to our departure to Bali, we changed destinations completely to Singapore.
Singapore looked to be one of the easiest destinations to travel to. It has also been praised for how well they have managed COVID-19.
Read the fine print
It is more important than ever to be prepared for travel and with that there are a few things to consider, including entry rules, permits and visas, test and quarantine requirements of both airlines and destinations, test and quarantine requirements for arriving home, travel insurance and proof of documentation.
At the time, those returning to Australia needed to show a negative test result 24 hours before the flight's departure. We had unfortunately missed this 24-hour window by a fraction and needed to race to the other side of the airport terminal to get a last minute RAT test. That also meant that our valid Digital Passenger Declaration needed to be redone, which was stressfully done as we also waited for our test results.
Take your time
There are going to be queues, lots of queues. The paperwork required upon checking in was extensive. Depending on where you are going and the test requirements of the destination, you will most likely just need to show your vaccination proof and negative test results. However, it’s constantly changing so ignorance can’t be an excuse, you need to ensure you are up to date and informed.
It took just under three hours from lining up to check-in, getting through security and lining up at the gate at the Sydney Airport. I had just enough time to buy a coffee and a book before lining up to board the plane, the rest of my family on the other hand who were 30 minutes behind me, just made it on time to board.
A positive though, is because there are less travellers on arrival to Singapore and Sydney, going through customs and immigration was quicker than ever.
Of course, it could be argued I may have been too early to travel internationally as we still navigate this new normal world. For me, this trip has just inspired me to think about my next international trip and reminded me that it’s going to be ok.
With this new found inspiration and confidence, my next destinations are:
Tasmania
Scotland
New Zealand
Sparrowly Group’s Jackie Hicks is passionate about the tourism industry and the future of travel in Australia and the world. She is a Problem Solver, Opportunity Creator at Sparrowly Group - a boutique management consultancy that provides considered, objective planning that enables thriving industries and communities.
