I got back this week after a two week holiday to the US and thought I'd post a quick thread in case anyone is thinking about overseas travel or wants to ask any questions.
Basically everyone I talked to before I left told me I was crazy and it wasn't a good time to travel. I even started doubting whether I'd made the right decision.
But, I had a great time and it was all pretty easy. I'd even go so far as to say it's a really good time to travel. The main differences were:
Sydney Airport: Was a ghost town. It took me all of 10 minutes to check in my bags, go through customs and get to my gate. I suspect it will get busier, but when I left there were only a handful of flights leaving to a limited range of destinations.
Covid testing: This was the biggest change. I had to get a certified test the day I left and one the day I returned. There's a giant testing tent set up in Sydney and my result came back in about an hour and cost about $70. Testing in the US took a bit more planning and was more expensive. I know the Australian government recently eased up restrictions so you can get a certified RAT instead of a PCR test, but the cost in the US for these was basically identical.
Airfares / flights: A bit more expensive than pre-covid but not too bad. I paid $1500 return with Qantas. Pre-covid I think I paid about $1200. The flight was only at about 10% capacity so I had an entire economy row to myself. I did have to keep my mask on for the 15 hour flight which sounds terrible but wasn't.
Insurance: Similar pricing to pre-covid but now it is fairly easy to get a policy that covers you in case you catch covid and need to cancel your trip (and vice versa).
Other stuff: One change is that airlines ask for your to submit an international vaccination certificate, test results and declarations online before you check in. Not a huge drama but about an extra 15 minutes of time. Experience while travelling in the US was basically like covid didn't exist.
Any questions, fire away.
Basically everyone I talked to before I left told me I was crazy and it wasn't a good time to travel. I even started doubting whether I'd made the right decision.
But, I had a great time and it was all pretty easy. I'd even go so far as to say it's a really good time to travel. The main differences were:
Sydney Airport: Was a ghost town. It took me all of 10 minutes to check in my bags, go through customs and get to my gate. I suspect it will get busier, but when I left there were only a handful of flights leaving to a limited range of destinations.
Covid testing: This was the biggest change. I had to get a certified test the day I left and one the day I returned. There's a giant testing tent set up in Sydney and my result came back in about an hour and cost about $70. Testing in the US took a bit more planning and was more expensive. I know the Australian government recently eased up restrictions so you can get a certified RAT instead of a PCR test, but the cost in the US for these was basically identical.
Airfares / flights: A bit more expensive than pre-covid but not too bad. I paid $1500 return with Qantas. Pre-covid I think I paid about $1200. The flight was only at about 10% capacity so I had an entire economy row to myself. I did have to keep my mask on for the 15 hour flight which sounds terrible but wasn't.
Insurance: Similar pricing to pre-covid but now it is fairly easy to get a policy that covers you in case you catch covid and need to cancel your trip (and vice versa).
Other stuff: One change is that airlines ask for your to submit an international vaccination certificate, test results and declarations online before you check in. Not a huge drama but about an extra 15 minutes of time. Experience while travelling in the US was basically like covid didn't exist.
Any questions, fire away.
