Travel with Purpose post-COVID
A look back at Sekou and Alicia’s trip to Côte d’Ivoire
Being back for a full month now, Sekou and I have had some time to deeply reflect on traveling to Côte d’Ivoire (CI) during the pandemic, and based on our experience we are feeling confident about hosting our next Travel with Purpose Tour of CI at the end of this year.
We feel confident about taking a group of adventurous, flexible, and vaccinated Americans to CI later this year because CI as a whole did not feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic like we have in the U.S. It hasn’t had the same sizeable impact that it had here and in many European and Asian countries. With just over 46,000 total cases and over 45,500 recovered, CI has only seen 291 deaths due to COVID to date. They are also doing well with vaccinations, having received 250,000 doses from the international community.
In the more densely populated areas such as downtown Abidjan and Adjamé, there are about 50% of people wearing masks or face coverings in public, and there is a mask mandate when entering stores and other indoor establishments. As we moved outside of the larger cities towards the outlying villages, masks became more and more scarce, but these areas have seen very few COVID cases, if any.
Most of our COVID-related travel challenges arose because of the COVID testing requirements for boarding planes and entry through customs. While there are public COVID testing sites around Abidjan, the testing process was time-consuming. Initially, we had trouble registering to get tested, as the website used for registration had some crucial flaws that had to be resolved with a representative over the phone. Even after getting registered, we were unable to make an appointment because testing is first-come, first-served, which meant getting in line early in the morning and still standing in line for a few hours. The actual testing process went very smoothly, and we got our results back within 48 hours. Though the process was not yet as efficient as it is in the U.S., they are working to improve it, and we have hope that it will be better by the time we travel with a group in December 2021, perhaps even allowing travelers who are fully vaccinated to skip the testing process.
Taking into account the extra time it took to get tested and get our results back, we have added a few days to the beginning and end of our tour to ensure everyone has time to go through the testing process comfortably. That being said, we are calling any adventurous and resilient travelers to come with us in December 2021! We are excited to guide you on a tour of a country that has just about recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you or anyone you know might be interested in traveling to CI with us, check out our revised itinerary here.
-Alicia