After many false starts, the Travel Industry is now breathing a collective sigh of relief that we can safely restart doing what we love. Whilst regulations do change, this Government announcement now gives the industry far greater confidence that this is the start that International Travel companies were looking for.
Given that we don’t operate in many of the ‘classic’ holiday destinations such as Spain and Portugal and our most popular destinations are in less developed countries such as Nepal and Zambia, this news certainly has been well received. When I told our head guide on the Zambezi, Lovemore Kalinda of this news, he was delighted, knowing that instead of the relatively small number of trips this year (three) in 2022 and 2023 we were likely to hit pre-pandemic trip numbers of 15-20 trips per season on the Zambezi, especially given that plans are well advanced on building the Batoka Dam 52 km downstream from Victoria Falls.
Obviously in addition to Covid-19 greatly affecting many businesses, it also severely impacts our guide and in country teams. Take for example Mukuma, who leads a team of porters carrying our gear in and out of the Zambezi River gorge. His income has been severely impacted by the lack of tourists, as well as Lovemore, Isaac and Darwin and their pay for a season. We were extremely grateful to our loyal guests who kindly contributed to a fund we set up to help our teams in Nepal, Peru and Zambia to look after their families at Christmas, so thank you everyone.
So where is now possible of the destinations we offer to travel to? On each trip page on our website, you’ll see a ‘Traffic Light System’ whether you live in the US or the UK, this will give an indication as to where you can take your next adventure vacation.
Currently Open to Fully Vaccinated UK and USA Guests:
Greece: Sailing The Greek Isles
Croatia and Montenegro: Sailing History and Rafting
Canada: Magpie River
India: Zanskar River & Brahmaputra River
Morocco: Hidden Morocco & Deserts & Rivers
Nepal: Karnali, Tamur and Sun Kosi Rivers
Papua New Guinea: Watut Rafting and Island Sea Kayaking
Switzerland: Weekend Adventures
Zambia: Zambezi Blast, Ultimate Adventure, and African Odyssey
USA: California, Rogue, Salmon and Grand Canyon
Imminently Expected to Fully Open to Fully Vaccinated Travellers
New Zealand: Multi-active New Zealand and River Rafting Road Trip
Australia: The Franklin
Peru: Rio Cotahuasi
Travel And Testing
Many countries are now accepting fully vaccinated travelers without testing prior to their flight providing they have a vaccination certificate. Some however are requiring PCR or Lateral Flow before travel or before return to your home country. We take the worry out of this for you, by researching what is needed and required and using our local knowledge to make this process really simple for you all. For example on our Zambezi trips, we book you all in for testing and the process is quick and simple after departing your hotel, we’ll collect results and make sure your next hotel has them before arrival. On our sailing adventures in Greece, we arrange medical personal to come aboard and do the tests one night near the end of your trip while we are moored up and your results will be waiting when you arrive in Athens. Our pre-departure travel app will contain all the info you need.
No matter whether you have wanted to raft the Mighty Zambezi, sail the azure waters of Croatia, or hike the Himalayas, let’s all go and have some fun! We deserve it! See you on the water!
