Travelling through a worldwide pandemic - Covid

​I’m sure no one is oblivious to the current situation that has been holding the world hostage for over
a year. COVID-19 has impacted every person on this world in some kind of way. An industry that has
suffered enormously has been the travel industry. With many countries implementing various
lockdowns and imposing travel bans left and right, traveling has not been easy. Regardless, I hoped
to continue my travel dreams which resulted in me ending up in Split, Croatia.
My original plan had been to finish university and then travel around the world. Of course it became
clear that that wasn’t happening anytime soon and that I had to change my plans entirely. As I still
wanted to travel, a friend recommended me to volunteer at hostels. So I joined a Facebook group for
hostel work and 2 weeks later I had my interview with Split Hostels. I got the job and a month later I
left for Croatia.
Traveling is risky now and you need to take certain precautions to make sure you are not responsible
for spreading the virus even further. With that being said, Croatia has some rules you need to comply
with to enter into the country. One of the requirements if a negative PCR-test taken within the last
48 hours before your arrival to Croatia. So off I went 1.5 days before I left the Netherlands to get my
PCR-test. Luckily for me it came back negative because damn…. it would’ve been a real bummer if it
had come back positive at that time. I had to fill out declaration of health for my airline and that was
it. Upon arrival, all I had to do was show them my negative PCR-test and there I went: I was allowed
to enter Croatia.
To my surprise, the streets were much more filled here than in the Netherlands. But I suppose that
makes sense because the restrictions were much less severe here than in the Netherlands. We had
been in multiple lockdowns varying in severity but all in all, we were facing restrictions for over a
year already. My time in Croatia has thus been a welcoming change of pace because life feels almost
normal here. When I came here a lot of things were open, shops, restaurants (just outside terraces
but that’s more than enough!), gyms. Things I had all been missing in the Netherlands. I have been
enjoying sitting at restaurant, shopping, and going to the gym so much. This has definitely been one
of the biggest perks of moving to Croatia! Another perk: I got to see all the tourist attractions without
too many busy crowds or too long lines. Now the tourists are slowly filling the streets which is also a
nice change to see.
While traveling in corona-time is risky, it is still possible and I am having a great experience so far.
With 2 months remaining of my time here, I am enjoying life here to its fullest (within the borders of
covid measures of course).