Skip to content
  • Vacations
  • Reservations
  • About Us
    • Why Brand g?
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Solo Travelers
  • Booked Guests
  • Vacations
  • Reservations
  • About Us
    • Why Brand g?
    • Blog
    • Podcast
    • Solo Travelers
  • Booked Guests
Contact Us

What’s it Like to Travel Internationally Now?

12/28/2021

Many people have hesitated to go abroad just yet, worrying that Covid restrictions will turn their trip into an orgy of quarantines, Real Housewives marathons, and unhealthy relationships with room service waiters.

So we asked those Brand g guests who have traveled with us from August to December of 2021 what it’s been like to travel while Covid restrictions are still in place.

93% said that the requirements for travel had very little impact on their experience and that, indeed, they would do it again, for two primary reasons:

  1. The opportunity to travel again, after a very long two years. (Drinking wine and sobbing in the bathtub loses its glorious luster after a while.)
  2. To get to do so with far fewer crowds. At Machu Picchu, for example, it was as if we were the only people there, an experience that was completely magical. (Typically, this sacred Incan citadel has more tourists than a New York tenement has cockroaches.)

Another frequently cited benefit of traveling now is the gratitude guests have experienced in the countries we visit. It’s been so touching to have everyone from restaurant workers to ship line personnel to souvenir stand operators tearfully thank us for coming. They’ve been terribly impacted by the drop in tourism; and discovering that we’re making such an impact on their lives has been quite profound.

We’ve had little incidence of Covid upsetting our travel apple cart, with the exception of our early October Scotland trip, when the river cruise line pulled our ship out of operation just as we were about to board it because some crew members tested positive. (Ironically, guests said they enjoyed the revised land tour version of the trip as much or more than they would have the cruise version, because they felt they got to see even more than they were going to on the cruise. Not to mention that they got to see cruise director Jonathon Gallagher in a kilt, which he apparently prefers to wear as a miniskirt.)

So, what are the current general requirements?

  • Proof of vaccination or negative Covid test is required for international travel by both airlines and destinations. Brand g requires proof of vaccination.
  • Some testing (even with proof of vax) is required to enter certain countries (currently including your return to the U.S.) and/or travel on river cruises. (On Brand g trips, we make all the necessary arrangements for in-trip and return-home testing.)
  • Many countries will require a health declaration form to be filled out online prior to arrival.
  • Masks are sometimes required.

Here’s a more specific example: in November, I traveled with Brand g to Peru, and these were the requirements:

  • Proof of vaccination or negative Covid test was required to enter the country. (Of course, Brand g, as stated above, requires vaccination.)
  • Masks were required indoors and outdoors, although they were optional on the Amazon River, since we’d all been tested before boarding (as had the crew) and the ship was all ours. (Pe-cruise testing was coordinated by Brand g.)
  • Testing (also coordinated by Brand g) was required to fly home to the U.S.

Please note that Covid requirements do remain a bit fluid for the time being.

But the guests who have traveled with us in 2021 have told us over and over what an extraordinary time they had, and most would absolutely do a trip again during Covid. Hopefully, restrictions will continue to be relaxed or lifted in 2022 as we approach the end of the pandemic.

So, if you haven’t gotten to see the world since 2019 (or earlier), perhaps it’s time.

Just be careful climbing out of that tub. Bathrooms kill.

Recommended Articles

How Does Brand g Choose its Vacations?

Believe it or not, gay travel companies don’t just spin a globe or play drinking games to select the destinations for their vacations.  Careful deliberation,

Read More
04/07/2025

All About Being a Solo Traveler On a Brand g Trip

Brand g has a lot of solo travelers. Some are happily single, some are divorced and looking for a new relationship, some are widowed, and

Read More
03/05/2025

The Best and Most Economical Ways to Get Airport Lounge Access

Lounges make life prettier. Everyone eventually tires of sitting around departure gates that look like detention centers, where one guy’s eating smelly tuna fish and

Read More
01/06/2025

More for your money with Brand g!

All of our trips include arrival and departure airport transfers, most meals, included beverages and so much more! Plus our trips are hosted, meaning someone from Brand g will be with you the entire time to take care of the details, so you can simply relax and enjoy your vacation.

Book Now

Book Now

Helpful Links

  • About Us
  • Testimonials
  • Brand g Gives Back
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • Agent Resources
  • LGBT Travel
  • Privacy Policy

Traveler Resources

  • Manage Reservation
  • Brand g VIP Club
  • Travel Insurance
  • Travel Blog
  • Podcast
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us

Contact Us

  • +1.952.405.9309
  • [email protected]
Facebook Instagram
A+ BBB Accreditation

© 2025 Brand g Vacations. All Rights Reserved.

  • Back to Top

Stay in Touch


Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed of deals and promotions

  • Testimonials
  • Travel Insurance
  • Contact Us
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • Brand g VIP Club
  • Testimonials
  • Travel Insurance
  • Contact Us
  • Join Our Mailing List
  • Brand g VIP Club
  • Travel Insurance
  • Agent Resources
  • Booked Guests
  • Contact Us
    • Join Our Mailing List
  • 952.405.9309
  • Brand g VIP Club
  • Travel Insurance
  • Agent Resources
  • Booked Guests
  • Contact Us
    • Join Our Mailing List
  • 952.405.9309
  • Brand g VIP Club
facebook_w
instagram_w
youtube_w