From Hungary to Croatia: travelling during a pandemic

Like many things, tourism took quite the hit because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Some countries depend on tourism, however. This is what it is like travelling to one of those countries, Croatia, from Hungary.

Most of the travel restrictions in the European Union were lifted in the second half of June and early July, however, the number of new coronavirus cases started increasing in some countries.

There were a rising number of cases in Croatia, for example, but they were reported to have been from family gatherings, weddings and christenings and not from tourists and travelling. As a precaution though, Croatia did close its borders to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

Although it is now possible to travel between most EU states, there are still precautions one has to follow in order to make the trip as safe as possible and to minimise the chance of a second wave of the coronavirus. Countries have been categorised into green, orange and red zones, depending on the number of cases in the given country. The Hungarian government asks people to be cautious when travelling, even if the country is considered low-risk, as it is crucial to avoid a second wave.

Green countries – such as Croatia – are deemed safe to travel to and do not require a two-week quarantine after returning to Hungary. Orange countries require either a two-week quarantine or two negative tests after returning. Travel is not allowed to and from red countries. People are already looking for loopholes to avoid quarantine if they were to travel to orange countries.

By now, everyone knows that masks are required in public spaces, such as public transportation or grocery stores. Not everyone is okay with this rule, though, refusing to wear them over their nose or at all. Some governments took to fine those who refuse to wear them. Washing your hand regularly and thoroughly is another practice besides wearing a mask that lowers the risk of catching the virus as well as keeping a distance of 1,5-2 meters from others.

So do people actually follow these rules and precautions while travelling? Do Croatians take it more seriously than Hungarians or is it the opposite?

Masks

On Hungarian trains, a lot of the time, not even the conductor is wearing their mask correctly, or at all, and these conductors do not tell people to put theirs on either. While other conductors will get into fights with passengers until they put the mask on. The same can be said about Croatia, whether the mask rule is enforced depends entirely on what the conductor is like.