Plitvice National Park was one of my stops when I was in Croatia last month.

Last week, I returned from a three-week trip to Croatia and wanted to share what I learned about navigating the current madness of international travel. This post is meant to be a resource with helpful links and tips. Keep in mind that things are changing every minute so what I write one minute might not be the same the next.

If you’ve got an upcoming trip or planning to travel internationally (especially to Europe), here a few things to keep in mind:

1. Book Refundable Flights

I booked my Croatia trip and all of my travel for the rest of the year on miles because the miles and fees are fully refundable. This was crucial for my Croatia trip since things were crazy when I left the U.S. in early September. This varies by airline so check before booking. (I booked on miles through American Airlines.)

Also, keep in mind that often a “refundable” flight just means a voucher and not a full refund. Often these vouchers are only good for a year so be sure that you only book on airlines you fly regularly. It’s also best to book directly through airlines now so you can deal with them directly for changes/cancelation instead of a third-party site.

2. Avoid International Connections & Fly Direct

I had a connecting flight in London on both legs of my trip, which created a nightmare. Even though I had a short layover, I still had to follow England’s COVID entry requirements. Stopping in London also meant I had more requirements for Croatia. If I’d flown from the States directly (not an option), I would have only had to show my vaccine card. When I arrived in Croatia, they asked for my vaccine card and immediately asked how long I’d been in England. Since I had only been there a few hours, it wasn’t an issue thankfully.

 3. Testing & VeriFLY App

Every country has different requirements for testing and many still require it even if you’re vaccinated. England is VERY specific about testing standards (≥97% specificity, ≥80% sensitivity at viral loads above 100,000 copies/ml). Most places require a test 72 hours in advance before departure but Croatia required a test 48 hours BEFORE arrival because I stopped in England. I ended up taking four tests to ensure I met all the requirements and to make sure I got all results back in time.

Since I flew both American Airlines and British Airlines, I used the VerifFLY app to upload my test results, proof that I filled out the passenger locator forms for both countries and other requirements. (For England, I did not have to book a Day 2 or 8 test since I wasn’t in the country long enough. The app still wanted a number for the test bookings so I just typed in all zeros and the app accepted it.)The app verifies test results in just a few hours so I was able to just show the app at the airport for my trip to Croatia and back to the U.S. It expedited the check-in and boarding process tremendously. When I arrived in England and back in the U.S., I didn’t have to show anything. Only in Croatia did I speak to a person who asked for my vaccine card. It seems like the countries are leaving it up to the airlines to enforce the testing and vaccine requirements. The airlines verify at check-in and on departure (only for my flight from London to NYC).

The app itself is a bit confusing at first and only works with certain airlines—American, Alaska, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, Japan Airlines and Royal Air Maroc.

If you’re traveling to Europe, I highly recommend the Reopen EU website that lists requirements based on where you are traveling from: http://reopen.europa.eu

The BinaxNOW home tests are easy to pack. The dimensions are one inch thick, eight inches long and four inches wide. 

4. Use eMed & Abbott’s Rapid at Home Tests

Abbott’s BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test is a rapid test that is FDA approved and accepted for entry to the U.S. The testing process takes less than 30 minutes and requires a video call to eMed certify results and accuracy. Results are emailed by the end of the call and show up in their Navica app. I uploaded these results to the VeriFLY app and they were accepted for entry to England, Croatia and my return trip to the U.S. (Tests are ordered directly through

I traveled with three tests and took one in Croatia before returning home. The company recommends always having an extra test in case something goes wrong, which is exactly what happened to me. One of my tests had an empty bottle of fluid for the test so I was glad to have a backup test! The tests are ordered directly from eMed. It costs $150 for a pack of six tests—only $25 each. When I called eMed about replacing my faulty test, they sent me a pack of SIX new tests as a replacement! Overall, I highly recommend them due to the price.

(I’ve also had PCR tests done at CVS, which are free under the CARES Act. These just take longer to get results and there’s no guarantee they will arrive in time especially if you have a flight on a Sunday night, which was my situation.)

5. No Online Check-in or Luggage Transfer between Connecting Flights

When I connected flights at JFK airport in New York City, they would not transfer my luggage between flights. The airport staff said they stopped doing it due to COVID. So, I had to go to another terminal to check my bag, which was a nightmare because I arrived at night but my flight wasn’t until early the next morning. Due to “security reasons,” they would not let me check my bag the day before so I basically slept in the terminal for two hours until I could check in my bag and go through security to go hang out in the lounge. (They are FINALLY starting to open the lounges again!)

Also, I could NOT check in online for any of my flights on any airline. It had to all be done at the airport so they could verify my documents and test results. This also meant I couldn’t select my seats until the last minute, which was annoying.

 6. Airports are Short-staffed

Heathrow was so short-staffed that our flight was delayed an hour leaving because there wasn’t anyone from British Airways to work the gate to let us board the plane! When I connected in Heathrow, there were only two security lanes open for everyone so it totally slowed everything down. Checking in for flights was always really fast and there was never really a line because most of my international flights were not full. (I’m sure this will change when the U.S. opens to vaccinated travelers on November 1st.)  Immigration was automated in the UK and fast in Croatia.

There’s still a lot of closed restaurants and amenities at the airports. They are starting to open lounges again finally! Yay!

7. Buy Travel Medical Insurance*

My biggest fear for my Croatia trip was getting a breakthrough case and being quarantined. To alleviate this fear, I bought travel insurance that included quarantine coverage through SafetyWing. They include it with policies that are 28 days or longer. Your policy needs to be in place for the entire length of the quarantine. If you test positive on the last day of your policy, then you’re out of luck. I bought a SafetyWing policy that was 10 days longer than my trip. (It was a three-week trip so that put me over the 28-day minimum for this coverage to be included. The cost was only $70, which was totally worth it. Policies start at $40/month for people age 18-39. I just turned 40 last month so it went up.)

As a general rule, I ALWAYS buy travel medical insurance for traveling abroad because most U.S. health insurance is worthless overseas. For more on travel insurance read my Travel Insurance 101 post. I’ve also got a post about travel insurance case studies and why credit card travel insurance is also helpful.

For more resources, check out my travel resources page.

* Affilate link. If you make a purchase, I earn a small commission at no cost to you, which goes towards the expenses of running this website. I appreicate your support!