TRAVEL DURING THE PANDEMIC - 5 TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE IT SAFER

After a wonderful, month long Christmas holiday I flew back from Budapest to San Diego on the 19th of January, not knowing what was coming in the following months. Leaving my family, boyfriend, and friends behind. My idea was to visit again in April but of course all travel plans had to be cancelled. Victoria and I have been cooped up inside our apartment since the middle of March, socially isolating, celebrating 5 of our birthdays on Zoom and Messenger. Life slowed down, or rather, came to a complete halt. Our tennis season has been canceled, gyms were shut down, new movie premieres happened in our living room via streaming. Thankfully the weather was pretty nice, perks of living in San Diego, so we took long walks daily in our neighborhood. As the months passed by, I started to panic, anxiety built up as we could not see the end of it. Not being able to plan ahead and travel is something unthinkable for us. When your family and loved ones are living on a different continent, it is important to visit each other as often as you can, especially with aging parents.

Finally, I saw the opportunity to get on the road despite the uncertainty of the Covid crisis. It also helps to have dual citizenship as we are allowed to enter European Union countries as well. I joined few online groups to inquire about information on everyone’s travel plans as there are so many other Hungarians living in the US with the same dilemma. I carefully watched the ever-changing rules of travel, health requirements, and airline cancellations to figure out our best options. After delaying our trip several times, I was ready to book our flight towards the later part of August. I choose KLM via Amsterdam, only one stop, fairly good connection. It was hard to find great deals as lots of airlines would not even fly, and some kept canceling their flights last minute.

Preparing for the trip was crucial. I kept on top of all the news both in the States and in Hungary as every other week travel restrictions changed. We had to take two Covid PCR tests within 5 days before entry to Hungary, but 48 hours apart. It was a challenge to get it done on time but after two weeks of harassing the insurance companies and doctor’s offices, we got it scheduled. Had our tele-visits with both of our doctors (welcome to the future) and did the nose swiping/digging test twice. I got my second negative test results 10 minutes before leaving our apartment to drive up to Los Angeles. Oh, how I love this suspense right before travelling….

Drive was easy, dropped the car at the rental station outside of the airport and took a bus with only two other people on it to LAX. I heard from others describing the International Tom Bradley Terminal as a ghost town, but it is still shocking to experience it in person. We travel internationally several times a year, so seeing it abandoned like this gave us an eerie feeling. Practically no lines to check in, security was a breeze, and both TSA (which I have clearance for) and regular security check which my daughter had to go through, was quick and easy. Most VIP lounges are still closed, such a bummer as the Centurion Lounge at LAX finally opened up but is still shut down due to the pandemic. There are limited options for dining as well. Actually, the only hot food place open was Panda Express which I cannot call dining but rather getting some warm food quickly before a long day of flying. A few coffee shops and of course the duty free stores are also open, but that is it.

Boarding the plane was pretty fast and efficient considering our flight was only about a fifth full. It is nice to have your own row to stretch out. Masks are a must during the entire flight unless you are eating or drinking. KLM served the usual fair, hot lunch but no options to choose from, it was a vegetarian meal probably designed to suit any dietary needs. Wine, beer, and other alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages were readily available. We were handed a plastic bag full of water bottles and snacks after the main meal and the flight attendants left out lots of other goodies in the alleyways for the passengers to choose from until the final small meal. You can tell that the airline staff tried to limit all contact with passengers. The flight was uneventful, and we landed in Amsterdam smoothly. Passport check was simple as we were travelling on to Budapest. Unfortunately we had a long layover and had to kill about 5 hours. Schiphol airport was much busier than LAX, most restaurants were open, people were walking around, shopping, dining. We headed for a VIP lounge by Airspace which had a very limited selection of food, all prepackaged. It was not busy at all, not my first choice but still most of them are closed and we were lucky to be able to hang somewhere away from the crowds. Inside the lounge people did not wear their masks as we all sat pretty far apart. Coffees, teas, juices, and alcoholic drinks were all self-serve, with plenty of options.

Our second flight to Budapest was a completely different story. The plane was packed, no empty seats. Lots of ill-behaved passengers with their masks hanging on their chin or below their noses, not practicing social distancing at all. We set next to each other with Victoria in a two seat row for the two hour flight. Arriving to Budapest and deplaning was also a bit scary with people piling on top of each other, no announcement to warn the passengers of the rules or stand 6 feet apart, which frankly was disappointing. Anyways, no passport control or separate line for people arriving from the States. Nobody asked for our Covid tests, which we of course had. Only randomly pulled passengers were asked of their original destinations. We quickly grabbed our bags, probably took only 5 minutes (which has never happened before) and walked out of the airport as fast as we could to finally greet our family. We are home!

Now that we settled down in Budapest and quickly visited close family and friends, we wanted to plan a short vacation while Victoria was still in town. Our options were limited, especially that most Hungarians stayed in the country and headed to Lake Balaton, which made it a very crowded choice. We settled on venturing out of the country to the beaches of Croatia. We did not want to drive more than 6 hours, so choose a beach city called Medulin, close to Pula, a cute little town right on the water. Found an amazing house with a pool in the garden, Jacuzzi on the top floor large balcony, seven bedrooms with all in-suite bathrooms, and a large kitchen to accommodate nine of us. The idea was to cook our meals in-house, visit secluded beaches and attractions. I have to say, it was much safer because there were very few tourists everywhere. In the grocery shops everyone pretty much obeyed the rules of mask wearing and keeping the 6 feet distance.

One night we visited the beautiful city of Rovinj and had dinner at a restaurant sitting outside, without any crowd. The beaches we visited were also pretty abandoned, especially the one we walked to everyday from our house. Besides us, there was nobody on the beach or in the water but one particular gentleman who came down to swim every day with his dog at the same time in the afternoon and took a naked dip in the water. Of course he was far enough, so his privacy was preserved.

We also checked out the highly recommended National Park of Kamenjak, a must for everyone visiting the area. The Cape Kamenjak, near the cute town of Premantura, is a nature park which is located in the southernmost part of Istria. It is a 30 kilometer long rugged coastline with spectacular cliffs and beautiful beaches, and it is also a popular spot for cliff jumping. I personally just observed how my children jumped off into small caves off clear blue water from very scary heights. They went higher and higher and I was more terrified by the minute. Miraculously we all survived. The vacation spot, the house, the surrounding towns and beaches were amazing and we had a wonderful vacation while we stayed very safe during this crazy time.

We understand that traveling during this pandemic is not an option for some of you but if you are able to get away, here is our advice on how to make the best of your trip while following all the rules and requirements.

1. Do your research

   Visit different government sites to find out about all the rules and regulations on a daily basis. Remember, rules change daily or weekly, depending on the pandemic. Entry requirements are also country specific, so you need to go to exact country’s official government site to get the correct travel information.

2. Join online groups

   I joined several Hungarian groups on Facebook. It is the easiest way to find out how others travel, what experience they had entering the country, what airlines they booked, or which ones were canceled. I also started discussions to get more information out of the local groups.

3. Research airline data

   It is important to know which airline cancels flights often, or which ones fly even if the flights are half or less full. I found that the most reliable airlines are KLM - Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa - German Airlines, SwissAir. Swiss Airlines, Delta and United were quite reliable although they did have some cancellations. Under no circumstances pick Turkish Airlines, almost all their flights got canceled. Normally, I am comfortable buying tickets on third party sites but this time I wanted to make sure if there is a reason for not being able to fly, I can change our tickets without extra fees. Of course it made the ticket a bit more expensive but in case of an emergency or illness or sudden travel restrictions, you are fully covered and you do not lose your ticket or the value of your ticket.

4. Get tested

   Even if the country where you are heading is not requiring Covid tests, get yourself tested. You do not want to be turned away at the arrival airport or carry the illness and infect others. We took two Covid PCR tests each, 5 days before our travel, 48 hours in between as it was required by the Hungarian Authorities. Even though they did not ask for our test, I felt more comfortable traveling and seeing my family. Make sure you schedule your test in advance and find out if you can get it back on time before your departure. Unfortunately, not all tests come back as fast as ours and you might have to delay your trip if you can not provide negative tests on arrival.

5. Be prepared for your trip

   Check all airline requirements as some are different. Most airlines ask you to wear a mask at all times while flying and while at the airport. It is a good idea to bring more than one mask with you, especially on a long haul flight, so you can use a fresh mask every few hours. Make sure you have a mask that your airline approves, for example KLM did not allow passengers to wear neck scarfs or bandannas on their flight. They did offer disposal medical masks to those whose face covering did not meet their required criteria. Make sure you have disinfectant wipes, enough to clean your seat and surrounding areas on the plane, wipe your hands as needed. I did not pack liquid disinfectant as it is available everywhere through the airports and on the planes. Consider packing snacks and food, as the offerings are not as you are used to. Most airport restaurants are closed, especially in the United States. Flight meal services are limited and it might not meet your required dietary needs, or amount of food you are used to. Better to be prepared for any kinds of unexpected occasion, especially if you are flying overseas.

Hope you enjoyed reading about our travel experience and ideas on how to be fully prepared for your trip. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us here or at doubletake.lifestyle@yahoo.com.