Travel Update: February 2022

Are you like the rest of us and have been constantly questioning when you would be finally able to take that dream holiday or new adventure post pandemic? We’ve all been through 2 years of constant policy changes from governments, more restrictions then less restrictions, borders open then borders closed. For this week’s blog, we’re giving you all the answers to the questions you have regarding countries reopening dates in 2022!

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is open to international tourism. The government decided to reopen the country on the 21st of January 2021, after 10 months of strict pandemic closure. Fully vaccinated travellers can enter Sri Lanka with an on-arrival PCR test or a quarantine.

In case you haven’t been following our instagram page, you can see that Sri Lanka is open and we are now currently on our second tour this year! Rosemary from the UK had this to say about her tour. “​​The tour guides are exceptional, not only do they deal with reopening post Covid, but they allow everyone to relax while seamlessly organising the tour and guests… I cannot thank you guys enough for another amazing experience”

We still have a few spaces left on our Sri Lanka tours on March 21st and April 1st. For our March 14th tour, it is being sold at a 15% discount using the code 14MARSL22. You can find all the details and other dates in 2022 and 2023 for our Sri Lanka tour here.

Maldives

The Maldives is open for international tourism. The Maldives took a different approach than most countries, pursuing one of the most liberal opening policies in the world. To protect tourism, the country reopened its borders to all travellers in June 2020.

The Maldives are presenting themselves as a tourist destination offering a “normal” vacation thanks to the fact that most hotels are located on isolated islands, and that the vast majority of leisure-seekers stay in-resort rather than venture out. However, when visiting the Maldives you should be prepared to stay in one place as movement between resorts and islands is currently banned meaning you will not be able to visit any other Island that the one you are staying at. Because of this, we’ve been forced to stop selling our Maldives addon with our Sri Lanka tour.

Japan

Japan is currently not open for international travel. The most likely date for the reopening of Japan’s borders to general tourism is the first half of 2022. It is expected that lifting Japan’s travel ban will be a phased process – starting with students, business travellers, and then foreign tourists. If you plan to visit Japan, we recommend that you book your flights and tours for dates for the spring of 2022 at the earliest.

If you are concerned about booking a trip and having it cancelled, you can book a tour by paying a small $200 AUD deposit. This way, you’re not subject to future price increases and you can ensure your spot on the date that best suits you. Or, you don’t have to choose a date, we can make your booking “open-dated” which means you can email us whenever travel appears to have

returned to normal and you can select your date at that time, with the price at the time of booking! You can find all the details of our Japan tours here.

Indonesia 

Indonesia is gradually reopening for international tourism. The island of Bali is open to foreign tourists from a limited number of countries. However, even vaccinated visitors must undergo 5 days of quarantine in a designated hotel. Entry to other parts of Indonesia is still limited to foreigners.

We expect our Bali/ Java Indonesia tour to reopen in mid 2022. By then, the mandatory quarantine should be scrapped and travel between Islands will be back to pre-pandemic norms. We will visit a total of 3 provinces during our  Indonesia tour including Bali, East Java and West Nusa Tenggara.

India

India’s borders are currently open for international tourists. Vaccinated foreigners from more than 100 countries are allowed to enter India quarantine-free from November 15, 2021. However, due to the high population of India, many travellers are still reluctant to travel to India at this time.

We are remaining in contact with our tour guides and hotel suppliers in India and will provide updates on our Facebook and Instagram pages when we are ready to re-launch our 14 day India tour.

The Philippines

The Philippines’ borders were reopened to international tourism on February 10, 2022. Fully vaccinated foreign tourists are now allowed to enter the Philippines, quarantine-free. Nationals from 157 countries (the same list as before the pandemic) can enjoy visa-free travel for up to 21 days. Unvaccinated foreigners are currently banned from entering the Philippines.

In December of 2021, a typhoon hit the Philippines. The island Palawan, one of the most beautiful provinces in the Philippines, was most heavily affected. ​ It left many people without homes, food, and water. Connection had been cut off from areas affected; roads and bridges have been damaged and inaccessible.

With the help of the Odette Palawan Relief Fund, the people of Palawan were able to rebuild their communities. They are now ready to host tourism again! We have added dates for our Philippines tour starting on April 4th until the middle of June. If you want to escape to a tropical paradise full of white sand beaches, boat cruises around our private island and exploring the local way of life, then this tour is for you! You can find all the dates and details here.

Now that you have a hint of what is happening post pandemic with us here at One Life Adventures, why not make it a reality and book a holiday to one of these amazing destinations? You can find all tour details and start dates here.