02 Aug 2021,  By Maayan Hess Ashkenazi

So, you’ve decided to go on a trip abroad during coronavirus times? We’ve prepared for you some of the key advice that will help you keep safe during the trip. These guidelines will also help you in the days after the corona when many countries around the world will be upkeeping various restrictions and safety methods in order to prevent a new outbreak.

1. Choose green countries

Select a destination through the endcoronavirus.com website from countries that have been defined as green countries; countries that have managed to overcome the corona pandemic and where the level of corona cases is low. In these countries, the number of patients has dropped drastically, and the rate of infection is very low. These include Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and other countries are listed on the website. For more information on the condition of the virus in these countries, you should check the worldometer.com website, which provides information about the number of people infected, the rate of infection, the number of recoveries, the number of deaths and other important data worth knowing about the destination country. In addition, it is important to check for each of the countries whether it is possible to enter and return from it without quarantining.

2. Choose non-crowded countries that allow for traveling in the open air

As part of choosing the countries for your trip, it is worth choosing destination countries that allow for the possibility to travel in the open air, meaning countries with a low population density. These countries include cities that are relatively unoccupied with neither locals nor tourists and have enough open space to allow for a variety of nature trips. For example, on Turipo you can find suitable travel plans for these countries such as 10 days in Cyprus, 10 days in Finland, 10 days in Estonia, 10 days in Hungary, 10 days in Iceland, 10 days in Ireland, vacation in Mauritius, 14 days in Taiwan, 28 days in Thailand and dozens of other routes that you will find on Turipo.com.

3. Book guest rooms and small boutique hotels instead of large hotels

In order to avoid contact with a large population, opt for booking guest rooms and small boutique hotels (see booking.com website for accommodation) over large hotels that house many guests who you can come in contact with when registering at the reception, in the lobby and the dining room.

4. Pre-order digital tickets to attractions

In order to reduce the waiting time in long queues at the entrance to the various attractions and to avoid unnecessary contact at the ticket counters, it is highly recommended to pre-order digital tickets for various attractions. You can do this through the leading sites for booking tickets and attractions: Tiqets, Viator, klook and other similar sites.

5. Special equipment for traveling during corona

Hand sanitizer gel with at least 70% concentration of alcohol to clean your hands, alcohol wipes for disinfecting surfaces in the plane, rental car, hotel. restaurants, ATMs and more, a large package of disposable face masks or reusable cloth masks and disposable gloves that will be used by you, for example, when withdrawing funds from ATMs or during the security check at the airport. In addition, take a thermometer with you to check your body temperature daily to make sure you do not have a fever (see section 10).

6. Precautions to take at the airport and during the flight

When checking in at the airport try to avoid contact as much as possible: present the documents as a digital file, wrap the passport in a cover that can then be removed. If you have the option, it's better to book seats by the window in order to reduce the contact area with other passengers and if you are traveling as a family or as a group, it is better that the vulnerable person sits by the window. Be sure to wear a mask throughout the flight, clean the plane seats, handles and food trays using the alcohol wipes. In addition, it is advisable to arrive at the trip with enough cash, especially when traveling for a short duration in order to avoid contact with ATMs and entry to local banks.

7. Travel by rented vehicle instead of public transport

Upon landing in the destination country, opt for renting a car in advance on websites like rentalcars.com so that you can greatly reduce contact with a large population on public transportation. Clean all contact points in the vehicle with the alcohol wipes, such as the steering wheel and gears, try to minimize the stopping points while traveling from destination to destination and plan the stopping points ahead of the trip, while setting a preference for open areas over closed. Try to minimize stops and favor taking food and drink with you on the way instead of entering a restaurant.

8. Instructions for traveling on public transport

If you still choose to travel by public transport, keep your face covered, open the windows while traveling, keep a distance of at least 2 meters in the line on the train or bus, reduce travel time to a minimum, prefer less busy travel hours, walk as much as possible and bridge long distances by taxi with the windows open.

9. Instructions for sitting in a restaurant

First, minimize the time spent in a restaurant or cafe. If you do decide to sit in a restaurant, choose non-crowded places, make sure at the entrance that the rules of protection from corona are maintained and choose top priority sitting in an open, well-ventilated place with a distance of at least two meters from other diners.

10. Stay at home or in the hotel room if you’re sick

Most of the advice we have written are meant to protect you from the coronavirus, but this tip is meant to prevent you from endangering your environment and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. According to the World Health Organization, one should wait at least 48 hours after experiencing a fever of over 38 degrees, after the fever has completely subsided. It is advisable to check in each country the rules of defense against the corona in order not to violate the local law regarding dealing with this matter.

 We wish you a successful trip and lots of health!