International Travel During COVID in 2022: Prepare to be FLEXIBILE

We just took our first international trip since February 2020, and it was so wonderful to be out in the world again. We loved our trip to the Azores Portuguese Islands, but traveling now was not as simple as it used to be. I had a hard time figuring out what to expect before our trip, so I wanted to share our experience to help others who are contemplating traveling internationally again.

COVID has taught all of us more flexibility and resilience with events cancelled, work from home, school cancellations, and more. Embrace that flexibility and you’ll be just fine. If it’s very important to you for everything to go according to your carefully laid plans on a trip, then you may want to wait a little longer before booking a ticket out of the country. The normal uncertainty that is part of any travel is definitely magnified during a pandemic.

Flight Changes

Flight changes and even cancellations are more common than ever. Almost every flight we have booked during the past year has either had a time change or been cancelled and rescheduled, including our domestic flights. Airlines have been scrambling to keep enough workers on duty during pandemic times, and they just can’t always staff every flight.

One positive from all this is that many airlines are waiving change fees, and when something about your flight changes you can almost always talk to the airline and be moved to another flight that works better for you with no additional cost. You just need to be proactive and search for your preferred flight then call the airline to request the change.

COVID Testing

A tricky thing about COVID testing is that requirements change often. Make sure you research requirements just before your trip for arriving in your destination and for flying back home.

Also, we all have to accept the reality when planning a trip now that you or a travel companion could test positive for COVID and end the trip before it begins, no matter how much planning you did. So approach travel with an open mind for now, and be ready for last-minute changes. Still, chances are that everything will go smoothly and you’ll get to enjoy seeing the world again!

Entering Another Country

Many international destinations require proof of a negative COVID test before you are allowed into the country, and requirements vary with each location. You’ll need to read up on the requirements for your destination, and then be ready to be flexible once you get there.

For example, we arrived in the Azores with our negative RT-PCR COVID tests, taken within 72 hours, and were told that the way our samples were collected was not accepted in the Azores (even though we had done our research and followed all the guidelines) and we would need to be retested. The worker told us that this was happening a lot since their specific requirements weren’t clear online. They tested us right at the airport and didn’t charge for the tests, so it all worked out fine. But it was still a little nerve-wracking to arrive in a foreign country and find out that our tests weren’t accepted after all the work I’d put in learning requirements, scheduling tests, and making sure we had copies of the results (with all the necessary information included) in time for our flight.

Testing requirements also mean filling out more forms online and bringing more paperwork with you. For our flight to the Azores we needed to register our trip on the MySafeAzores platform (once for each person), fill out a Passenger Locator Form for each family member, and have proof of our negative COVID tests, along with our passports. It was a lot of forms, but it is doable!

Flying Back to the US

For our flight home, we brought rapid COVID tests from eMed and those worked great. We were able to show our eMed lab reports from our email when we checked in for our flight home and we were all set. (Tip: if you plan to use an eMed test to get back into the US, we recommend you bring an extra test in case yours is missing a part or gets damaged on the trip! Then you won’t have to scramble to find last-minute testing in a foreign place.)

We read that we needed our Passenger Locator Forms printed for the flight home since we had a small layover in Lisbon, but they could not be filled out ahead of time and we had no access to a printer in the Azores. My husband read on a FlyerTalk Forum (a great place to get current information from other travelers!) that the form should be available on the flight, so we filled them out on line just in case then went ahead without worrying about it too much. It turns out our dilemma was common because workers were passing out copies of this form when we checked in for our flight and helping everyone fill them out.

In our experience, workers have been very patient and helpful and understanding during this time since all the paperwork and requirements can be confusing. It was a little trickier than it would have been a few years ago, but our trip went well and we are hoping to travel again soon.

Happy Travels! We would love to hear about your international travel experiences during COVID.