Kayak Covid-19 Travel Resources Interviews
* Due to the user traveling internationally, this interview was conducted over email

Justin

Tell me a little bit about yourself

I’m an oncology nurse living in Seattle, I grew up in China and moved to the states when I was 18, a year after I did a big trip within the country from the west coast to the East and fell in love with traveling.

In a typical year, how often do you travel internationally?

At least once a year

You've traveled internationally during the pandemic, could you tell me a little bit about that? (some things to think about: how you decided where to go, how you felt about it, why you went, where...really talk to me about anything)

I started rethinking about international travels when the restrictions in Europe are being lifted last summer in 2021, and I started to see more people traveling internationally on my social media. It felt very good to travel to another country again, my first international trip in pandemic was Copenhagen in September 2021. At the time, Denmark has cancelled all COVID restrictions, it was refreshing to be in that environment and take a break from the everyday stress I face back home.

How has traveling internationally during covid differed from a normal year?

There were still some COVID travel requirements in place so that’s something I needed to plan ahead, each country has their own entry requirements regarding to pre-travel Covid testing, so I had to do research on what kind of tests (PCR vs. antigen) they accept, and what’s the window to test (within 72hrs or 24 hrs).

How did you decide where to travel?

Usually through social media and word of mouth then I look up how much the flights cost and if it’s in my budget.

What factors played into deciding on your destinations?

Cost of flights and accommodation, the duration of flights, and since I have a Chinese passport, I need to check wether I need to apply for a tourist visa and how difficult the application process would be.

Did the pandemic affect your travel choice?

Yes, I can’t just pick a desired destination to go, it’s heavily depended on how strict the country’s COVID policy is. For instance Japan is on the top my list to visit after the pandemic because as of now they’re still closed for tourism.

Have you found any challenges in traveling internationally in the current climate?

Mostly the planning around where and when to take travel-related COVID tests.

For my first trip abroad I was afraid to tell people/coworkers that I was traveling to Europe because we were still in a pandemic. Then I found out there were multiple people at work traveling internationally that summer, even my manager went to Mexico so I stopped worrying about that.

Walk me though the steps in planning a trip start to finish.

Months ahead of time, I request the time of from work, then I set up price alert on Hopper to monitor the flights. Then I book the flights, accommodations and apply tourist visa if needed. Then I look up roughly what I want to do on this trip, and COVID entry requirements. A week before leaving I double check the COVID requirements to make sure I’m up to date. A couple of days before traveling I gather all my documents needed for flying then I’m ready to go.

Is there anything you wish you had known beforehand when traveling in covid?

Not really, I’m an over-preparer, so thankfully all the trips worked out the way it was intended to, no surprises or shocks regarding to the pandemic.

Do you feel that anything is limiting you're ability to plan an amazing international trip?

Mostly COVID restrictions and reduced flights, I had to cancel a trip to Paris last December due to Omicron surge, but all my bookings were refundable so it wasn’t a huge lost.

If there was a tool to help you plan in these times what would it have?

A tool where it has updated COVID entry requirements to all countries. So far I have to check this info on each country’s embassy page.

Is there anything you're avoiding in travel due to the pandemic?

No clubbing

Why do you think our demographic is traveling right now and what are they looking for when doing so?

I see a lot of immigrants traveling to/from home country to see family, and a lot of adults in their 20s/30s traveling to take a break from the daily Covid life they’ve been in for the last two years.

Any closing thoughts / things you think I should know?

International traveling is doable depending on destinations, and I see the trend of countries slowly opening back up again (Denmark lifted all the Covid bans, Australia is scheduled to open up fully in the coming two months), so there’s hope to returning to normal travels!