Perks Include: Remote Locations, Outdoor Activities, Vaccine Requirements and No Overpriced Rental Cars!

As we emerge, vaccinated, from our COVID caves, stir-crazy has fused with FOMO (fear of missing out) to drive a serious uptick in demand for US travel and tourism.

In a classic case of pent-up demand, 77 percent of US travelers plan to take a trip in the next few months, according to tourism market researcher Destination Analysts, which has been conducting a large long term study of travel sentiment since March of 2020, when the pandemic struck. But international travel is still a no-go for some 56 percent of those surveyed, with just 10 fearless percent declaring this IS the year for bucket-list international travel.

US Travel Is Hot; International Getting Warmer

Sentiment may shift, thanks to an overdue development last week, when the U.S. State Department added some nuance to its April near-blanket warnings against travel to more than 80 percent of the world’s countries. The agency downgraded dozens of countries to less severe travel cautions, including countries we have pending trips to this year, including Spain, Portugal, Romania and Bulgaria, Panama, Ecuador, Guyana and our Amazon River Cruise via Peru. We’re hopeful that Costa Rica will soon have its travel warning right-sized as well!

But while travelers ponder international destinations, we, too, feel a strong sentiment in the direction of US travel and tourism, with our guests lining up for US trips with vaccine requirements. (We added vaccine requirements earlier this year for all trips, effective July 1, 2021.)

We have been gratified to sell out many US trips and continue to add several more in 2021, responding to the needs of travelers who are raring to get out there — just not TOO far out there.

Guided US Travel Has Its Benefits

The benefits are many to guided US nature and birding tours:

• It’s a low-density activity in a remote outdoors location.
• Vaccine requirements allow you to relax around your fellow travelers.
• We’re now traveling in smaller vehicles rather than vans. 
• You don’t have to worry about renting a vehicle on your own, which has become significantly more pricey post-lockdown — and that is if you can find an affordable rental car!

Our recently added US birding and nature trips (with vaccine requirements) include:

• Aug. 22-27, Shorebird School at Alabama’s Dauphin Island, which also includes a private boat tour of “Alabama’s Amazon,” the deeply biodiverse Mobile-Tensaw Delta. 
• Nov 1-9, South Texas Birding and Nature with extra time in the Rio Grande Valley, timed to lead into the 26th Annual Rio Grande Birding Festival in Harlingen, TX, which starts Nov. 10. 
• November, TBA, Louisiana Yellow Rails and Rice, birding the rice harvest with guide Andrew Haffenden. Email us at travel@naturalistjourneys.com for more details — this one is so new we are still putting it together!
• Dec. 4-10, give yourself the gift of California Birding Wine Country, in Lodi’s historic Wine and Roses Hotel, featuring some of the best cuisine in Central California. We bird premiere National Wildlife Refuges and sip wines in lush gardens and elegant tasting rooms.