Patiently Waiting Until 2022 to Take My Big Trip…Maybe

Australia’s international border has been closed for the past 18 months, if anyone wants to travel overseas right now needs clearance by the Home Department to leave with a valid reason, related to either family, health, or business. Considering also that when returning, if you’ll be able to secure a seat with an astronomical price, you will have to quarantine at a government-designated hotel at the cost of $3000.   

PM Scott Morrison recently announced a plan to test home quarantine for vaccinated Australians starting in the state of South Australia, he also announced late last week the revised plan to re-open the country which has been set as follows:

• When 70% of eligible adults have been fully vaccinated, vaccinated residents will be able to travel domestically and a limited number of international students and economic visa holders will also be allowed to enter the country.
• When 80% of eligible adults have gotten the full dose of their COVID vaccines, Australians will be allowed to travel to safe countries overseas, and visitors from safe countries who have received one of the vaccines approved by Australian regulators will again be allowed to visit.

So, if you think we will be out of this nightmare soon, think again. The target sets by the government are pretty ambitious given that Australia is a pretty anti-vax fertile ground, therefore to reach those percentages the government will need to come up with solid strategies to turn some of that anti-vax into pro-vax, or change the plan and revise the percentage. 

After 18 months of living with restrictions and a couple of lockdowns, I am eagerly anticipating my first opportunity to travel. However, whatever happens, and that means even if the borders open sooner, I’ve decided to postpone my next big trip until the end of northern summer next year.

For months, I’d been debating where I should go for my first major personal trip since the pandemic began: Singapore, Thailand, the United States, Ireland, France, Germany, or Italy?

But now I’m going to wait a little longer before getting back on the road for a proper carefully planned holiday trip because I’ll need accessible places all over.

Yes, the continued risk of COVID-19 with the newer, more aggressive Delta strain is a factor in this decision. While I feel personally protected by the vaccine and wearing a mask, I don’t want to risk spreading it to others if I get it.

The other reason is to overcome the over-tourism factor that Europe and the United States are currently experiencing because of high demand in many popular destinations. Also, many popular Asian destinations are dealing with restrictions because of the increase in cases.

Even the journey from home to my next destination would almost certainly include crowded airports and delayed flights.

I enjoy travelling because it has been an integral part of my entire professional career as well as a hobby. And, after more than a year of only travelling for work, I’m looking forwards to my first big personal trip somewhere far away (and hopefully beachside). But that trip will have to be postponed.

When I will be able to plan my next trip — whether it be to Italy the country where I was born and visit my relatives or other places I love and places where I have not yet been.

That means putting my planning book away and focusing on my earning strategy for the rest of 2021. In 2022, I’ll spend some time planning my next big trip.

In the meantime, I’ll keep dreaming and thinking about those places, and when it’s safe, I’ll travel to New Zealand’s south island, as well a possible domestic trip in Australia, armed with my vaccination certificate and mask.

By Joe Cusmano