International travel is back on the cards. Here's what you need to think about before booking that ticket

Dust off those passports and get keen: Australia's finally reopened its borders after almost 600 days.

Fully vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents can now leave the country freely to reunite with their loved ones, attend birthdays, weddings and funerals, or just have a holiday (how novel) - but there are heaps of dangers still and travel's gonna look a little different.

What are the new rules?

Before you hop on that plane, you'll need to provide proof you've received both shots of a vaccine that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has either approved (Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson) or recognised (China's Sinovac and India's Covishield). And the second dose has to have occurred at least seven days prior to travel.

Some countries and airlines require a negative COVID-19 PCR test at check-in in order to leave Australia. This is different from the standard free test we've been getting throughout the pandemic. These can cost between $150-$170 and are done at private clinics.

On your way back to Australia, everyone must have a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure. If your flight is delayed longer than the 72 hour window, the negative PCR test is still valid. But if your flight is rescheduled or cancelled, you'll have to take a new one.

If you're in New South Wales, Victoria or the ACT, you won't have to undertake any quarantine once you come back. But other states are being more cautious, and still require quarantine at home or in a hotel for up to two weeks.

Unvaccinated people will have to wait until December 1 to avoid the need for a travel exemption. It'll also be pretty inconvenient to return to Australia, because you'll still be subject to passenger caps and 14 days of hotel quarantine.

So where can I go?

Aussies can now travel quarantine-free to the UK, the US, Canada, Italy, Greece, Germany and South Africa.

From next week Singapore will also be on that list - and it should grow over the next few weeks and months.

You've also got to comply with the rules of whatever country you're going to and airline you're flying with, which aren't always easy to find, said Dominic Michaelis, who is a travel agent in Sydney.

"Once you can fly into Thailand, and leave from the other side of Asia and make your way as you want through the countries, we're definitely going to see a lot more restrictive processes around how you can move between places," he said.

Dominic said he's seen a massive surge in enquiries because people are desperate to travel but also kinda bamboozled by all the rules.

"It's incredibly hard to find the information but also to trust that it is an actual source of information that will be used at time of travel, and not just something being reported on."

Dominic said the biggest things to keep in mind when booking are the costs of PCR tests, extra time in airports and masks on flights.

The good news is so many countries are keen to see tourists return, there are some really sweet deals.

"Where the deals are to be found are the countries that rely on tourism, so we were talking about Singapore, Thailand," said Dominic.

Travel writer Ben Groundwater said while double-vaxxed young people may not be that concerned about getting really sick with COVID19, it's worth considering how difficult it could become to get home.

"You can't get back to Australia unless you test negative with a PCR-test, that's where people are gonna run into trouble," he told Hack.

"Say you test positive trying to get back into Australia that means you can't leave anymore, so you have to stay in that country wherever you are, you have to look after your own accommodation, you have to rebook your flights, you have to pay for anything until you test negative or prove you've recovered from the virus."

What do I need to take with me?

You still need your passport, usual visa for the country you're visiting, a negative PCR test and your international proof of vaccination certificate. Here's how to download yours.

Travel insurance is a little more complicated.

Erin Turner, the director of campaigns at consumer group Choice said if you're looking at booking a trip, you've got to know if your insurance would cover you if you got COVID and needed treatment overseas.

"Get in touch with the insurer and ask straight up - 'Does this policy cover me for anything related to COVID?'" she said.

Erin also recommended asking questions like what would happen to your flights and accommodation if you got stuck in a lockdown and had to change things around.

"What's the cancellation process? What do you get back? If anything? Will they give you a credit or a voucher?"

"Unfortunately, there aren't uniform laws covering consumer rights in this scenario."

What about quarantining once I get back?

As exciting as the prospect of travelling again is - not every Aussie can take advantage.
Our borders are open, but state and territory governments still differ in their rules around quarantine.

Fully vaxxed Aussies returning to NSW, Victoria and the ACT don't need to quarantine in hotels or at home.

If you arrive from overseas directly into one of the other states, you'll still have to do mandatory hotel quarantine. Tasmania will open its borders on 15 December and South Australia will start easing restrictions from 23 November.

To avoid hotel quarantine, you might have to do some strategic booking: If you live in Queensland, for example, you could book your flight home to Australia to Sydney or Melbourne, then spend two weeks in one of those states (staying wherever you like, not in hotel quarantine) before entering Queensland.

Queensland's said it won't open quarantine-free international travel until it reaches 90 per cent fully vaxxed. The Northern Territory has a home quarantine plan starting from 23 November.

Western Australia hasn't got a reopening plan yet, and won't let anyone from NSW or Victoria enter the state without an exemption, two vaccines and 14 days of quarantine.