Traveling Internationally During the Pandemic

Thinking About Traveling Internationally During the Pandemic?

Two travelers share their experiences

By Ryan Kouame

Have you considered traveling during the coronavirus pandemic? A retired Charlotte banking executive, Bridgette-Anne Hampden, and her friend Dr. Clarence Ellis completed trips to Munich, Germany and Croatia last summer as two of their bucket list destinations and shared their travel experiences with us during this Q&A session.

Why did you decide to visit Croatia and Munich?

Bridgette-Anne Hampden: Croatia was on my bucket list of places to visit, and they were accepting vaccinated tourists from other countries. My son lives in Munich which is only a few hours away, so I figured why not kill two birds with one stone. Croatia gets cold and has its summers from June to September, so we decided to go in August when there are fewer tourists and it’s harder for the virus to transmit. Croatia also has a younger population who is less susceptible to covid, so all the boxes were checked off for safe travels.

What did you do in Munich and Croatia?

BAH: We landed in Munich first to spend some time with my son. Munich was stricter when it came to masking mandates in public. Everyone wore masks on trains and other forms of public transportation compared to Croatia where they were more relaxed. After spending some time with my son in Munich, we made our way to the main event — Croatia.

Riding on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia

Everything was open in Croatia. We visited museums and palaces, went on boat rides, relaxed in hot springs, and tried some delicious cuisine. My favorite activities were relaxing in the hot springs and visiting the palaces built by Ludwig II like the Nymphenburg [Palace], Linderhof [Palace], and Neuschwanstein [Castle] which inspired Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. Another famous landmark in Croatia that we visited was Dubrovnik where the Amazing Race and Game of Thrones were filmed. Clarence Ellis: We didn’t know anybody in Croatia, but we did come across a group of young Americans who took us on a boat ride for the day. We loved the emerald green views of the Adriatic Sea and Blue Lagoon where we spent most of our time when it got cold. An interesting aspect of the city and hot springs is that the volcanic activity powers the hot water that runs through their pipes, so they don’t require a hot water system.

Did the pandemic affect your travel plans?

CE: The pandemic didn’t affect our travel outside the need for careful planning. We weren’t too concerned about covid during our travels because we were vaccinated and visited low-risk areas. Croatia didn’t have a high number of cases compared to other parts of Europe like Italy, France, and other European countries that were heavily affected. There weren’t many restrictions like quarantining at this point in the pandemic considering most people were getting vaccinated and wearing masks. BAH: A few locals told us that Croatia is used to plagues so they were prepared because of past experiences like the bubonic plague. Their society was willing and ready to cooperate to slow the progression of the disease. Germany was stricter compared to Croatia when it came to covid because they have a larger population and infection rate. There were surprisingly more tourists than we expected in Croatia, so getting into some of the palaces and museums would’ve been hard had we not booked our activities before traveling. Masks were off at the tables of most restaurants as well considering the low death and infection rate.

What tips do you have for people who might want to do some international travel during the covid pandemic?

BAH: I encourage people to travel and explore with proper plans, health, safety and precautions. Covid is a new normal

Photo courtesy of Bridgette-Anne Hampden

Left: Linderhof Palace in Munich Center: Standing in front of the Grgur Ninski statue in Split, Croatia Right: Fortresses seen from the south old walls in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

so there is no need to be afraid if you are taking the right precautions. I like to plan ahead of time by using services like Scott’s Cheap Flights to save on travel and book all activities beforehand. Some general tips when traveling abroad are:

Be polite. You’re in a new environment so you need to pay attention to your environment and stay aware and curious. You’ll learn so much about cultures just from those two things.

Be prepared for unpredictability. We didn’t know much about the streets in Croatia and walked hundreds of steps hauling luggage throughout hilly Croatia before realizing that we kept missing the street because it looks more like an alleyway. When we finally got to the hotel, we found out that the hotel booked our room out to someone else, and we had to find somewhere else to stay. Needless to say, bring good walking shoes.

Plan ahead of time. Research good times to travel to a location versus when to avoid travel, what the weather will be like, precautions to take, places to go, and the best times to book flights and hotels. Young people and solo travelers may benefit from hostels where there are shared accommodations and experiences.

Get vaccinated. Wash your hands often, wear your mask and carry hand sanitizer. Some people even go as far as bringing their own linens and cleaning supplies, so that is also an option for extra protection. Also, educate yourself

on what the covid travel requirements are for where you’re traveling and things you may need to do before your return. P

Bridgette-Anna Hampden is a retired banking executive from Guyana who moved to New York in 1972 where she began her career in banking. She moved to Charlotte in 2001 where she currently resides and continued her career until retirement. Dr. Clarence Ellis is a medical doctor from Henderson, North Carolina, and co-founder of Metrolina Internal Medicine, an independently owned and privately-operated medical practice serving Charlotte for over 26 years.

For more information on travel guidelines from the World Health Organization, visit bit.ly/whotravelguidelines.