Anyone know if travel for has become a real PIA for sohern afrca locatins?
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We were in Tanzania (photo safari) the last two weeks of November. Can't speak of Southern Africa, but I would imagine it equal or worse, due to the new flavor of the month. Get all your jabs, pills, and paperwork in order.
For all I know, there may now be a ban on it by powers that be. this is likely not the place to be getting specifics, but I hope this helps.
PITA it is. Covid test locally 72 hours before departure in Anchorage thru Seattle, into NYC. We spent a day there, partly for travel lag adjustment, then on to Amsterdam, and Kilmanjaro Airport, where we again had to have the quick test, along with the other 250 or so people on the plane...by 3 technicians. We had all our paperwork in order, so cleared customs in about 3 minutes (2 agents) , once we got up there, which was about 2 1/2 hours after deplaning Saturday evening.
My wife's bag was still in Amsterdam....it caught up to us 3 days later, in our second hotel on the rim of the Rift Valley above Lake Manyara/ 3rd night stay, as KLM didn't fly to Kilmanjoro on Sundays. We both had a spare set of clothes in carry-on, but next travel time, we will each carry half of the other's clothing. (DUH!)
Had I known laundry services were available (should have- 5 star hotels - and they WERE), I'd have taken half as many clothes. The original 4-star hotels booked by Gate 1 had closed, at least temporarily, due to Covid/lack of business (Tourism was about 20% of what it was pre-Covid). someone has a rule that rebooking had to be equal or greater, so we wound up in 5 star facilities. Except for maybe the last night- that may have been 4 star. Still good!
Part of the long delay at Kilmajaro Airport was we were sitting mid-plane (won't happen again if we can help it) , and they deplaned fore and aft, putting us within about 20 people of end-of-line. Part of it was yahoos ahead of us who didn't have their chit together, and took up to 15 minutes or more once they were at the customs cage. Interestingly, there were 20-30 people who had not gotten visas ahead of time on the 'net, and they were walked (literally, by guards) right through, different route to get visas. Way faster than our line was moving.
Once out of the airport terminal , we went mask-less until our return. Airports and planes require mask wearing. We took plenty, and changed every few hours. Brushed our teeth too, twice a day.
We got quick tested at the Serengetti headquarters a couple days before our return. Our Gate 1 guide handled it all, easy peasy. Except someone had put an 8 as my last digit on my paperwork, vs the 9 (or vice versa) on my passport. Typo. 20 minute delay, and a couple phone calls by our guide (in Swahili) and it was taken care of.
As our return was "only" about 36 hours long, never leaving the air terminals, no further testing - just baggage claim and customs again at JFK. That went quick. Except for the 3 days of jet lag following.
Our dogs were ecstatic on getting out of "jail".
I'd go again in a heartbeat, PITA or not , but skip NYC. I think coming west was worse than going east.
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