Where Can Americans Travel Post-COVID This Summer and Fall?

Remember when an American passport felt like a gold card when traveling internationally? Those were the good old days for Americans.

Visa-free access to 174 countries around the world. Visas upon arrival in many countries like Indonesia, Lebanon, Cambodia, and Ethiopia. Honestly, we traveled like royalty at one point with our American passport. The privilege of rarely having to worry about being denied entry into another country, based solely on our country of origin.

And then the COVID-19 pandemic happened.

At first, there was only concern about traveling to Asia. And then things got worse.

The United States issued a level 4 travel advisory warning U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel. Being warned against doing the one thing that brings you joy was difficult. Yet, you knew this is only a minor setback.

The global community would eventually get a handle on the pandemic. As for the U.S., the assumption was that things would quickly be resolved because we have a state of the art healthcare system. Talk about fake news!

Over the past months, I’ve watched my fellow Americans refuse to wear masks. While others disregard warnings to social distance and continue to gather in large crowded settings like beaches.

Unfortunately, the international community also watched the United States do a horrible job of social distancing and systematically controlling the spread of the virus. Their response, revoking our gold card passport experience.

Travel is a privilege

Americans are notoriously ignorant of their travel privilege, kind of like they are about white privilege. The privilege of English being spoken in most tourist destinations. Or getting special treatment because you are American in another country, no matter your race.

Watching some of my favorite travel destinations reopen only to read the fine print, “Americans not welcomed,” feels like a dagger to the heart. Gone are those travel privileged days in some countries, but there is a sliver of hope.

Here is a list of countries accepting Americans post-COVID with no quarantine required. They are our hope for feeling the joy of international travel for now. Hopefully, we can do a better job of managing this pandemic in America so we can regain the trust of other countries.