Where Can You Travel Now?
Written by David - December 14, 2020 (chart updated January 9, 2021)
Right now it’s quite clear we’re in the middle of a second wave of the coronavirus in Canada, with case numbers at home reaching new record levels. However, not all countries’ case levels are following the same pattern as Canada - some are much worse, and some are much better.
We have started receiving inquiry from Canadians eager to travel, who want to know where it’s okay to travel to now, and when they can expect travel restrictions to be eased in the future.
In this blog, we’re going to talk about where you can travel now, if you so choose.
Individual risk factors vary from person to person, and the decision to travel is a personal choice. But for those who have a certain amount of risk tolerance, we aim to provide as much information as possible to make an informed decision.
Anyone travelling outside Canada right now is required to quarantine themselves for 14 days when they return to Canada.
Beyond that, different countries have different requirements for visitors, and we have organized them into the chart below, to help you quickly identify countries which may be viable destinations for you to travel to now.
One of the main factors we consider is Active Case Rate. This is the rate of active cases per 100,000 people. Canada currently has an active case rate of approximately 142 per 100,000 people. We have organized the countries into four groups: Those with case rates higher than Canada, comparable to Canada, lower than Canada, and those with little or no active cases.
The other factor to consider is the desirability of travel to a destination, how easy it is to get there, stay there, and enjoy tourist activities.
We look at each country’s entry requirements, whether they require a negative PCR (polymerise chain reaction) test before or at arrival, whether or not your movement in a country would be restricted, or if you would be required to quarantine. We also look at the available flight options currently operating to those destinations, if there are direct flight options from Canada, or if not, if any connecting flights can be made easily without additional requirements of the country you’d be transiting through. Finally, we also look at the availability of hotels, tourist attractions, and general domestic infrastructure, to see if your experience as a tourist would be similar to pre-COVID times. From all of this information, we group countries as either Easy, Moderate, Difficult, or Impossible to travel to.
And of course, we can’t forget the big elephant in the room: The USA. We chose not to place them on this chart, as case counts and restrictions vary widely from state to state. Overall, we strongly do not recommend travel anywhere in the USA for tourism purposes at this time.
*We will be regularly updating this information as restrictions change around the globe.
We strive to be as accurate as possible, and have a wide variety of trusted sources upon which we draw our information, including government and consular websites of various countries. However, with the global situation changing rapidly and unpredictably, we cannot be held responsible for any inaccurate information. Please verify precise information about the country you wish to visit.
One final note as well: entry requirements are based on the assumption that you wish to travel for tourism purposes. Travel for business or family reasons may be subject to different requirements. Please contact us for further details about such a situation that may apply to you.
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