Frequently Asked Questions

All guests traveling on one of our tour or river cruises through to at least December 31, 2022 are required to be fully vaccinated.

You will need to provide an authentic COVID-19 vaccination certificate (electronic or paper showing date and time of vaccination(s)) which is current and valid in the travel destination, with the final dose and/or booster dose given at least 15 days prior to the start of the tour, to your Travel Director, Cruise Manager or Wellbeing Director upon arrival.

Please check your destination’s entry requirements, as well as requirements for accessing restaurants and venues to ensure that you’re prepared for your journey. For children not eligible for vaccination and/or booster at the time of travel, you will need to provide proof of a verifiable negative test result for COVID-19 (electronic or paper showing date and time of test) taken within 72 hours prior to the start of the trip departure until further notice.

Please note that guests will also need to comply with specific requirements imposed by airlines and/or authorities in the destination visited, which may be more restrictive than above.

Fully vaccinated means that you have had a complete course of an approved vaccine at least 14 days. The day you had your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days. In the future, this may also include any booster shots to keep the vaccine current and valid.

Different countries only accept certain types of vaccines so please ensure you check the entry requirements of the country you are travelling to.

You will be asked to show an authentic COVID-19 vaccination certificate (electronic or paper showing date and time of the vaccination(s)) with the final dose given at least 15 days before the start of your tour, to your Well-Being Director or Cruise Manager upon arrival and before joining the trip. We recommend taking a picture of any paper vaccination certificates in case of loss of the original. Certain destinations may also require you to fill out additional forms online.

Any testing that is required pre travel will be the responsibility of the guest to organise, as these requirements will be in accordance with airline policies, and the entry requirements of the destination you are travelling to. During your tour, your Wellbeing Director, Cruise Manager and Travel Director will facilitate any mandatory testing and this will be done with as little impact as possible to your experience. This testing will be at the expense of the guest. Any testing required post travel will again be the responsibility of the guest to organise.

If you or a guest tests positive during a trip, your Travel Director and Wellbeing Director will follow a specially-designed protocol as follows:

• First, they will notify the local health department of the country you are in (together with our Operations and Guest Support teams) to initiate contact tracing for the locations your tour has visited.
• Then, they will work to establish who in the tour group may have been exposed (close contact), check them for symptoms and initiate further testing.
• Guests who are identified as being (potentially) positive will be separated from the group and referred for additional medical services. The local health department may require quarantine. Our Guest Support Team would stay in touch with these guests at all times until they are able to resume travel or return home.
• Those who are cleared as fit-to-travel by a health care professional may rejoin the group.
• Fully vaccinated people without symptoms and those who have recently recovered (without new symptoms) do not need to be tested (as per current CDC guidelines). Other countries may have different requirements.
• The CDC also recommends that anyone with any signs or symptoms of Covid-19 get tested, regardless of vaccination or prior infection.

Bressenden Travel highly recommends you obtain travel insurance to cover situations such as quarantine. Unexpected events can happen when you travel, like an accident or illness during your trip (such as Covid-19), which can bring additional personal risks and costs. Please be sure you are covered for the complete dates of your tour and please validate that you have the appropriate level of coverage in the currency for your country of origin, in the following categories: Trip Interruption (to cover the cost of your trip, including air); Trip Delay; Emergency Evacuation/Repatriation; Medical Expenses from Illness (covering individual or pandemic event); etc.

Depending on the airline you travel with, you may be required to show proof of vaccination and/or testing, and similarly the destination you are travelling to may have specific requirements with regards to the vaccine and / or testing.

In terms of travelling on any trip, we highly recommend you purchase travel insurance ahead of your tour that covers you for unexpected events including accident and illness (such as Covid-19). You will also need to fill out our pre-travel Travel Declaration. In terms of testing requirements, vaccine passports etc, most countries are still evolving their requirements. The cost will depend on the country you are travelling to and their specific testing requirements.

Your Wellbeing Director, Cruise Manager and Travel Director will facilitate any testing requirements while you are on tour. Currently testing requirements differ from country to country. Rest assured, your Travel Director and Wellbeing Director will clearly communicate what is required and what you need to do while you are on tour, and as policies are confirmed we will of course keep guests informed and up to date.

If you test positive for Covid-19 prior to flying home, you will need to quarantine in that country for the required number of days as stipulated by your local government. In this situation, your Travel Director, Cruise Manager, Wellbeing Director and the support team behind the scenes will defer to the advice of the local authorities, but please be assured we will be able to make necessary arrangements for your accommodations, keep in touch with you and support you until you are able to return home.

Any costs incurred for having to quarantine will be your and/or your insurance provider’s responsibility, which is why we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance before your tour begins.

If you test positive upon re-entering your home country once your trip is complete, you will need to follow the guidelines as stipulated by your local government.

If you test positive for Covid-19 prior to flying home, you will need to quarantine in that country for the required number of days as stipulated by your local government. In this situation, your Travel Director, Cruise Manager, Wellbeing Director and the support team behind the scenes will defer to the advice of the local authorities, but please be assured we will be able to make necessary arrangements for your accommodations, keep in touch with you and support you until you are able to return home.

Any costs incurred for having to quarantine will be your and/or your insurance provider’s responsibility, which is why we highly recommend purchasing travel insurance before your tour begins.

If you test positive upon re-entering your home country once your trip is complete, you will need to follow the guidelines as stipulated by your local government.

We highly recommend you obtain travel insurance to cover situations such as this. If you test positive on your pre-travel PCR test, you should self-isolate and delay travel as symptoms may well develop, or until you have recovered from COVID-19. You will be unable to join your tour with a positive PCR test and we recommend you contact your local health department and health care provider.

Your Travel Director, Cruise Manager or Wellbeing Director will be on hand to help facilitate any required testing while on trip, with as minimal inconvenience as possible. Test requirements vary by destination. It is important to note that any testing will be at the expense of the guest.