Favorite Brands to Travel In + What it's Like Traveling Overseas right now...
As if packing and getting organized to travel overseas wasn’t already stressful enough but throw in a global pandemic and WOW. For some reason, figuring out what to wear on the plane seems to be one of the most overwhelming parts. One of my most FAQ’s is about travel style & I think I have it down. So let’s start there.
I’ve found that the easiest, comfiest and most chic outfit to wear on the plane is all black but with a mix of texture and proportion. Mix faux leather with knit or cotton and add a great pair of boots and you’re golden. My go-to’s when traveling are the track pants, leggings and oversized jackets from Alo Yoga. A tailored sweatsuit (I love Cotton Citizen, MWL by Madewell- I mean, have you SEEN THIS sweatshirt jumpsuit!? It’s perfect & Donni).
The final touch no matter what you wear is a great leather jacket. It instantly elevates and also doubles as a great blanket.
Now that you’re ready to travel let’s actually get down to the dirty details of traveling overseas right now. Before I share our experience and travel details for going to France please note: travel restrcitions are changing RAPIDLY & and vary greatly depending on destination and airline. So PLEASE make sure you check requirements for your destination and airline.
That being said, I wanted to share our experience as many people have been curious if it was difficult to travel overseas at this time.
The short answer is: no! It’s not complicated to travel right now as long as you meet the requirements of your airline and destination. France is currently only allowing vaccinated travelers so having our vaccination cards was integral. France also requires proof of a negative test (negative PCR within 72 hours of flight time OR negative antigen test within 48 hours of flight time). It is NOT an either or situation. You have to have documentation showing vaccination record AND negative test. We needed to both upload online AND show at multiple points during our travels.
Honestly, I was a little stressed leading up to travel. Not because I didn’t meet the requirements but I was nervous something would go wrong or something wouldn’t be accepted. There truly was no reason to be stressed. As long as you have the requirements (bring paperwork with you to the airport too) it’s super simple!
In France, you are unable to do almost anything unvaccinated. They operate on a vaccine passport system which you can apply for HERE. When your application is accepted, you’re emailed a QR code that will be scanned ALMOST everywhere to enter. If your application doesn’t go through in time, it’s nothing to worry ab out it! France makes it super easy and efficient to get the QR code once you arrive. When you arrive, you can go to almost any pharmacy or pop by one of the tents around the city (they’re all over). You will take a rapid test and be emailed results + the QR code. The only downside to doing it this way is that it lasts 72 hours so you need to re-test every 3 days.
My French vaccination passport was accepted in time for our trip but Mom’s was not (apparently it’s mostly luck). It was SUPER easy for Mom to get tested and get the QR code when we arrived.
Lastly, to travel home, you also need proof of a negative test. To come home, they do offer the self administered tests. United had a test that was affiliated to the airline (They use BinaxNow) so you download the app and it walks you through everything. You take the test on your own but on facetime (kind of, they see you, you don’t see them) so the airline can insure you administer correctly. It was SUPER easy and took less than 30 min in total.
All in all, traveling overseas was less stressful than I thought it would be. I’m so glad we decided to go and 100% would get on a plane to Paris again tomorrow if I could.
Let me know if you have Q’s and DON’T base what you do off this post! Remember to check the requirements of your destination and airline and check them OFTEN!
xx Ali