Travel in the Time of COVID
When my husband & I got married in September 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic, I was adamant about having an international honeymoon. Our choices were limited, but I didn’t care as long as we were leaving the country, and we ended up choosing St. Lucia. Traveling during a pandemic was difficult, but also had some perks! Here’s what our experience was like…
First and foremost, the worst part was just finding flights that would stick. Airlines are still trying to figure out the right amount of flights to offer so that they’re full enough to be worth it, and were constantly changing the schedule on us. I had to re-book our flights 6 times leading up to our trip. If I wasn’t a travel agent with a good idea of my options in each cancellation scenario, it could have been quite the disaster to have to rework the trip that many times. Once the trip was set, then the fun really began.
Pre-Travel health Requirements
Most countries right now have implemented pre-travel authorization processes and COVID testing requirements in order to be let into the country. In some countries, these are changing constantly -- yet another great reason to have a travel agent on your side to help keep you up to date. For St. Lucia, we were required to take a PCR COVID test within 7 days of arrival in St. Lucia, submit the negative results online, and fill out a registration form which would generate an approval email from the tourism board.
I’m not going to lie – this process, while simple, was stressful. Knowing that our expensive honeymoon was riding on a COVID test was extremely nerve-wracking. The St. Lucian process was very smooth other than that, but I have heard some horror stories from other countries of passengers who are on their way to the airport who still had not received authorizations from their destination country. It is not for the faint of heart!
We were required to have physical copies of all of these documents in hand as we travel, and they were checked at our originating airport when we checked in, prior to boarding our international flight, and upon arrival. Once on the ground we were all lined up what looked like a corral outside a military tent. Once inside the tent, we were required to sanitize our hands and they took our temperatures. We approached a table where they checked our test results and authorization forms. St. Lucia was extremely strict about these guidelines - the COVID test results HAD to say that your test was specifically PCR, and you had to show proof that you were staying in a COVID-certified resort or you would be denied entry and transported to a government quarantine facility. We did see a number of people pulled aside to a separate area - I’m not sure if they were denied or what, but they didn’t look happy. If approved, you would receive a wristband and proceed to their usual border control area and on to your vacation.
In Flight
Masks were required at ALL times in the airport, through security, and on the plane. Occasionally we were asked to lower our mask briefly so that security or border control could compare our faces to our IDs, and we were also permitted to lower them while eating and drinking with the expectation that we’d cover back up as soon as possible between bites or drinks.
The masks requirements were taken EXTREMELY seriously. Flight attendants monitored mask-wearing throughout the flight and passengers who didn’t wear their mask throughout or even just had it below their nose were given a stern talking-to. Airlines have also implemented policies stating that you could be banned from flying with them again if you refuse to wear a mask.
We flew on American Airlines & the flights were packed full. Delta & Southwest at the time of writing are currently blocking middle seats to allow some more space for social distancing, but this was not the case on American. Almost every seat was filled.
We were given a ziploc bag with a mini water bottle, Biscoff cookies, and a sanitizing wipe as we boarded, and that was the extent of the food & beverage service. Our flights were relatively short (2.5 & 3.5 hours), so I’m not sure what a longer international flight would look like.
On Location
As mentioned earlier, upon arrival, St. Lucia was very strict about their requirements. We did a split stay at 2 resorts, and at both, all staff were wearing masks, but guests were not required to wear their masks at either resort except for in tight spaces like the airport transfers or the gift shop.
Our first resort was Serenity at Coconut Bay. When we arrived, our bags were taken to be sanitized, and we were escorted to our room which had been pre-sanitized & sealed. Plastic dividers were put up at the bar and our temperatures were taken at breakfast and dinner each day.
This was the absolute perfect destination for social distancing. With 24/7 butler service and private pools in every suite, in theory you would not ever have to leave your room! Each suite also has a room service “mailbox” — the butlers would deliver our food and drinks to the box discreetly, and we’d put our dishes back in the box when we were finished and they would take them away without us even knowing — no contact required! We also felt like we had the property almost to ourselves, since they are not operating at full capacity and there were only 7 other couples staying at this resort.
At the time of our travel, St. Lucia was still in phase one of re-opening, which meant we were not allowed to leave the resort except on approved tours arranged by our hotel. We had two excursions included in our package with Serenity — an island tour & a sunset catamaran tour. On the island tour, we were given a private driver who took us to the botanical gardens and the Soufriere volcano while offering commentary along the way. These sights had JUST re-opened, and while they are normally packed with people & chaotic, we had the gardens and mud baths all to ourselves — a rare experience according to our driver, so that was one huge benefit of COVID.
The second resort we stayed at was Sandals Regency La Toc on the Caribbean side of the island which was a very different experience. This was a much more upbeat, lively atmosphere and it was extremely packed & busy. Every beach chair and cabana was full all day long. To be quite honest, other than being required to sanitize our hands upon arrival and before every meal, things didn’t seem much different than they did pre-COVID. They did, however, track our meals — every time we visited a restaurant, they noted our names & room number, and what time and where we were seated to help with contact tracing.
Ultimately, travel during the pandemic wasn’t all that different other than the mask requirement. Even in the busier resort, there was still plenty of room for social distancing, and knowing that everyone had to have tested negative before they arrived eased some of my qualms about health & safety in the destination. And the benefit of having a little bit more privacy and feeling like we were the only ones on the island was completely worth the trouble for these honeymooners who love their space! So what do you think? Are you ready to get traveling again?