Flight to Puerto Vallarta
Flight day
My flight day came and no cancellation! (Earlier this winter, flights had been cancelled or combined often). I set off for the airport 2 hours ahead, and had plenty of time. There was a very long line of people checking in, which I was able to skip since I didn’t have a bag to check, so I thought there would be a full plane. But I would say it was only about a third full!
Why aren’t more people travelling?
The last Canadian government advisory to avoid international travel was put into place last fall, to stop the spread of the omicron variant. That obviously did not work. The World Health Organization has even stated that international travel restrictions have not been effective https://www.who.int/news/item/19-01-2022. But the advisory remains in place.
Canada’s travel restrictions are some of the strictest in the world right now, while our vaccination rate is one of the highest. Around the world, restrictions are being reduced or dropped. Check Flytrippers https://www.facebook.com/flytrippers/, these guys have all the details.
There have been Government of Canada https://www.facebook.com/travelGoC ads lately saying “now is not the time to travel”. The ads say
- some countries have very little to no covid testing capacity
- without a proof of a negative test, your return to Canada could be severely delayed
- new measures could be imposed suddenly while abroad
- access to health care while abroad could be limited and costly if you become ill, and even
- stay home.
All valid points, but I believe there is no basis for that last part.
Consider travel insurance
I won’t need covid testing because of my previous positive test, as I showed in my last post. But I have checked online and know that testing is easily available in Puerto Vallarta. Most hotels will even arrange testing for you. Check the government website of the country you are travelling to, contact any travel provider to check covid testing capability, and definitely consider travel insurance.
Access to health care while abroad could be limited and costly if you become ill (or injured), and this has always been a risk of travel. That’s why travel insurance has always been something I highly recommend. I’m satisfied with my GMS coverage, but there are other types of insurance that will cover all extra covid expenses, such as accommodation costs if you test positive and have to stay longer. It all depends on your risk tolerance, like with any insurance.
Should you be travelling?
Does that mean you should stay home? Apparently for a lot of people that is the case, since my one-third full plane would have been packed two years ago.
Only you can decide!