LH Franz In the spring of 2022, rules around international travel were a patchwork of national, international, and intra-national regulations. Some countries forbade any visitors coming from abroad at all, some allowed entry only with proof of vaccination against Covid-19. When rapid testing became available, some countries tested arriving passengers for Covid and either denied them entry or quarantined them if they tested positive. The policy for the United States was, regardless of vaccination status, travelers flying to the country had to show documentation of a negative Covid test taken within twenty-four hours before getting on their plane. This also applied to citizens returning home. Those who could not provide that proof wouldn’t be allowed to board at the departure airport. If they tested positive, they had to stay where they were and quarantine for ten days before trying to board again.
I wasn’t too worried. By May 2022, I had had four vaccinations (the initial series of two, plus two boosters). I had come in contact with people who had positive Covid tests and had diligently tested myself after exposure. Results were always negative. In addition, I was traveling to a country where about 90% of the population had been fully vaccinated. The chance of encountering the virus there seemed very low.
There were a good number of places in Reykjavik where we could get our tests done. We set up appointments to be tested at the central bus station the day before our scheduled departure.
But the “what ifs” started to crawl into my brain. What if I’m exposed before or during my trip and catch it? What if a new variant not specifically included in the vaccines bubbles up and I catch it while I’m there? What if I have to quarantine for ten days in Iceland? What does that even look like? What would it cost?
A happy afternoon of online research (looking at documents on the Centers for Disease Control website, Googling, consulting traveler forums, reading news articles) provided some answers. I found there were hotels in Iceland which had quarantine protocols in place where you could stay for ten days. No discount deals on those, though. You would have to pay for ten nights at regular rates. It would cost quite a bit. Iceland isn’t cheap. Alternatively, since we were going to be staying at an apartment/hotel, we could theoretically quarantine in the apartment and have food contactlessly delivered for two weeks. (Dominos does do business in Reykjavik. I checked)
There was travel insurance available as well. In the event you had to quarantine, the insurer would pay a daily stipend to offset costs of an extended stay in Iceland. So we took out travel insurance. That was my Plan B.
