If you’re thinking about a trip to Europe, the state of the pandemic will pose some challenges, but with proper planning and a vaccine card, you should be able to have a memorable experience.
Peter Greenberg, the travel editor for CBS News, said he’s seen a lot of havoc during his European travels this month — on trains, planes and cruise ships.
“Travel has come back with a vengeance,” he said, “and it’s much more rapidly than the industry anticipated.”
Airlines have seen the biggest setbacks, with longer wait times, staff shortages and cancellations.
“If they don’t have a crew, you’re not getting on a plane,” he said. “And what we’re not looking at is connecting times between flights. The biggest problem is, planes are not on time, so if your first flight is late and you miss that connecting flight, you’ll be spending hours at that intermediate airport.”
Once you do get to your destination, you should expect to be tested for COVID-19 often.
“Your CDC vaccination card is an important piece of proof, but you should still expect to be tested multiple times, depending on the country,” Greenberg said.
Even with all that, it’s still coming up on the best time to travel — many overseas destinations have experienced a downturn in tourism.
“September — that’s the magic month when kids are back in school and airfares go down, especially overseas,” Greenberg said. “If you can do it, you will benefit.”
