DS wants to go to Sri Lanka

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DS is on a gap year and wants to go to Sri Lanka volunteering through an organised scheme.

Dh and I can't decide if it's a good idea or not. DS just about has enough money to pay for hotel quarantine on return if necessary, but that would clear out all his money before heading off to uni in Sept.

Obviously, he is nearly 19, and will make his own decision, but as a parent, what would be your advice to him?

I's say to him:

Go for it.

I hope he ha an am\zing time.

I'm a frequent traveller
Approx this time last year, I decided to return from holiday early, due to news about covid & countries that had gone into lockdown
I was at a major international airport, the queues were enormous & it was chaos !
My original paid for flight was cancelled by the airline
I booked several different flights home & most were cancelled by the airlines within 24 hours, but the airlines still took the money !
I had travel insurance & access to lots of emergency savings
I made it home, before the quarantine restrictions were put in place
The flight refunds took 7+ months

My point is that covid has changed the world

I agree he needs all his travel vaccinations, travel insurance, covid tests & fast access to emergency money

Secondly, the rules of quarantine currently change frequently in relation leaving & entering countries & the extra costs involved

I am not travelling internationally in a pandemic !

I'm going to add that your DS might not mind getting stuck in a foreign country for an unknown amount of time
I had some responsibilities, so I was glad to return home

I'm not normally a stressful person

If his flights home are via a red list country (eg Qatar/UAE) he will need to pay for hotel quarantine on hisreturn to the UK. Does he have the will and the funds to do this?

It's in the OP, he does but it would wipe out all his savings before uni.

I wouldn't advise going to the subcontinent or Sri Lanka now as Covid is out of control there. Bangladesh & Pakistan are already on the red list, it won't be long before India and Sri Lanka joins them. Philippines is on the red list as well & Bangladesh is entering lockdown from today.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/world/sri-lanka-reopens-its-airports-despite-a-surge-in-cases-and-chaos-around-a-shamans-tonic.amp.html

I would also check how much travelling & visiting sites/local places he can actually do. I know a few people who have returned from there (I'm not in the UK) and they had to stay in the resort and visit places on a strict timetable. Some places were only open to tourists for a couple of hours a day. They had to eat at the hotel, local places were not allowed to cater to tourists. I would love to go but we won't go at the moment.

Sri Lanka is a beautiful and generally very safe country, with very high standards of healthcare available (via private clinics, so ensure your son is well-insured and look out for any Covid exclusions).

I live in Sri Lanka and also involved in 'managing' volunteers as part of my job. Firstly, if he's not vaccinated, at the moment he will pay have to pay for 'quarantine' for two weeks in a 'level 1' hotel for 2 weeks. After an initial pcr test, he can use hotel facilities but will not be allowed outside the hotel grounds apart from arranged tourist visits to designated places with approved transport for 14 days. This is the present situation and rules are changing quickly at the moment.

COVID in Sri Lanka is not out of control as an earlier poster said and there is no comparison with India. Sri Lanka may have reopened to tourists in January but there has been strict protocol for anyone coming into the country whether they be tourists or repatriates. We've also be subject to strict lockdowns - much stricter than the UK and mask wearing in public places (outside as well) has been compulsory since the beginning.

A 4 week stint as a volunteer with no previous teaching experience will be of more benefit to him than anyone he may be helping however. Most likely is that the only people profiting will be the 'voluntourism' company charging large amounts of money that would be much cheaper if he just planned a holiday!

Feel free to pm me if you want more info. P.s. In the 10 years that I have lived here, I have never had to bribe a policeman 🤔

update
DS received communication today from the company saying he should change his destination. They recommended going West, or South. So Costa Rica, Peru, etc, or Africa.
He still wants to teach, as he's spent two terms working in a school helping out with teaching and taking sports/lifeguarding, and enjoyed it.
Peru sounds interesting….(but no cricket!!)