I think this is the question most travelers are asking right now. If the desire to travel is clearly very lively, as shown by the number of requests we receive, the questions that travelers ask themselves are still many. Won’t it be dangerous to go to India for Ayurveda treatment? Is Sri Lanka safer than India? Is it possible to do a yoga retreat in Thailand safely? Isn’t it too complicated to travel now? Going far with the risk of not being able to return?
In order to be able to answer even more accurately, I myself decided to leave for a trip to Sri Lanka that I could not and above all did not want to postpone further. Travelling is my job, but it is above all my source of internal energy and inspiration. You cannot discover new destinations and new paths by remaining closed in an office.
I have to be honest, the first preparations stressed me out a bit. Understanding what documents were needed, organizing the trip so as to be protected from any inconvenience, all at a time when I too was forced to quarantine at home and “liberation” seemed far away.
But travelling is far from being impossible, the important thing, I will be biased but I highly recommend it, is to get help from a travel agency, especially for long haul journeys. The knowledge of the rules allows us a certain tranquility in guiding the traveler, who could feel “lost” in a myriad of details and regulations. For a cost that is identical to what you would pay by booking directly at an Ayurveda center or yoga retreat, you get more service and assistance.
Each country has its own access rules, even if, in short, by now to travel to non-European countries, with vaccine and swab before departure, you are sure to be able to leave. Each country then has specific formalities. From registration on public health portals to booking in certain authorized hotels, to the obligation to have travel insurance for illness. But these details are secondary and are seen from time to time being updated constantly. You also need to pay attention to the country of departure and its rules. In fact, if practically all European countries now allow trips outside Europe, it is necessary to check in detail the exit and return conditions. Italy currently allows tourism trips in a very limited number of countries, unfortunately there are not our most popular destinations among them. France, on the other hand, only allows vaccinated people to travel to non-European countries for tourism.
What other recommendations? The first is to always travel with travel insurance. The policies now all provide for coverage in the event of an on-site quarantine obligation. But this is a fundamental rule for any trip.
Are we afraid that the risks are greater going for an ayurveda retreat in India or Sri Lanka? With the spread that the pandemic has had in Europe, I have my doubts. The important thing is to travel reasonably. However, paying attention and avoiding unnecessary risks. What if for any reason I don’t want to go far or can’t travel outside Europe? Well, Europe itself offers us the possibility of wellness holidays, Ayurvedic treatments, yoga retreats and even the warmth of winter with Madeira and the Canaries, which have nothing to envy to holidays in distant countries.