Nuts & Bolts: Traveling During Covid
Traveling can be stressful, no doubt. For some, the mere thought of a flight brings on crippling anxiety. Traveling during a pandemic can be that person’s worst nightmare. Fear can come in many forms, and fear of the unknown, or feeling a total lack of control are common travel-related fears. Obviously the threat of contracting Covid-19 is now a legitimate concern, and everyone has varying levels of susceptibility and risk. That’s a big reason why there is no one-size-fits-all rule or recommendation for how to travel in this new Covid world. My hope with this post is to help describe my experiences to simply alleviate some of the unknown.
ADMISSION: as a travel designer and a lover of all things related to travel, I did a LOT of research leading up to this trip. Like...a LOT 😳. Things were changing weekly but I stayed on top of it all, asked questions when necessary, and knew that we were as prepared as we could be, given the circumstances. That’s what a travel agent SHOULD do for you, so all you need to worry about is how many swimsuits to pack!
Dave and I flew from JFK on JetBlue on a Saturday morning. Direct flight, scheduled for just over 4.5 hours. We were not asked to show proof of our negative Covid test at any point before or during the flight. The flight itself was very comfortable, obviously with very little service other than each person receiving a plastic bag with a tiny bottle of water and two small snacks. Our flight was probably about 60% full, no middle seats booked unless traveling together.
People disembarked from both the front and back of the plane, and walked across the tarmac to a shuttle bus. We were some of the last few on the first (very full) bus before it drove < 1 minute to the airport entrance. Luckily we were also some of the first off the bus, meaning we were toward the front of the line(s) for everything else. Staff directed people to the left if they had a negative test or right if they didn’t. We waited maybe ten minutes and there were two women checking test results. At the front, we showed our printed out negative test results, the woman asked where we were staying for quarantine (The Crane), and she waved us on. The whole interaction lasted < 30 seconds.
We then walked into the airport terminal, where you sanitized your hands and then someone took your temperature right at the doors. This next part was a bit less organized, but there were a handful of people huddled in one area handing out health forms on a clipboard (we were told to just fill out one form between us) where we had to fill out our names, ages, where we’re staying, duration of stay, and contact info. They also gave us two wristbands - a red one noting quarantine and a white one noting The Crane. We then took the clipboard and form and walked past the kiosks to immigration. The man looked at our passports and the printed out Barbados immigration form we had completed online the day before we left, and waved us on. (No passport stamp😔) We then waited in the next line just past immigration for another 8-10 minutes. The women at the front collected the health form, confirmed where we were staying, and gave us & briefly explained the quarantine rules and forms for filling out temperatures twice a day. (We brought our own thermometer, which I’d recommend.)
We then picked up our bag, stopped at duty free which was open (HOORAY!! 🍷🥃), and headed for the exit. But wait, there’s more! Before the door to outside, another woman asked for both our names, checked off which hotel we were staying at, and waved us outside. Then ANOTHER woman who seemed to be organizing transportation asked for our names and then handed us off to a man who walked us along the sidewalk and directed us to a small transfer van where there were already other guests waiting to go to The Crane. We waited briefly for two other people to join (pretty full vehicle) and then finally headed out! Whew! By the way, all this happened and we arrived at The Crane almost exactly one hour after we landed, so pretty impressive!
At the Crane, we were (again) lucky to be one of the first few people in line at reception so were helped almost immediately. The woman made copies of our test results, we signed documents agreeing to their quarantine rules, she confirmed all our details and explained a bit about their policies. We also removed the two wristbands from the airport and she gave us new blue Crane wristbands. When we asked about the second Covid test, she said it would be done five days from arrival and said Wednesday would be fine - so counting our day of arrival, Saturday. She said someone would call us that morning to finalize details, it would cost $50 USD per person, and we’d get results the next day. We had booked six nights for quarantine so this worked out great and we would have a “free” night to actually explore Crane Beach and enjoy the full resort before we moved to the south coast for the remainder of our stay 🥳
Welcome Drinks = The famous Barbados Rum Punch!
Obviously in this new Covid world, things continue to change - and fairly quickly in some cases. As of October 1st, the new rules in Barbados say that people traveling from a high-risk country (aka US) can now get their second Covid test 4-5 days after the first test - which is different than what we experienced, which was 4-5 days after arrival. Test results are back in 24 hours, meaning as of now**, people visiting from the US should only need to quarantine for 2-3 days at the most. Depending on how this goes for locals and tourists alike, this may change, but so far Barbados has been on the ball with everything! I can also tell you that quarantine in Barbados can be pretty heavenly if you choose the right place.
Footnote: Dave and I have good patience when it comes to travel, as we both work in the industry and understand that you can’t always control every step. Obviously given the unprecedented times we’re ALL dealing with, this is even more true. Yes, there were a LOT of new steps between getting on the plane and to our hotel. (Everyone we encountered wore a mask and was very friendly btw.) But to us, it was all absolutely worth it to now be in beautiful Barbados 😍. Please remember that being polite and friendly always goes a loooong way in how you experience these extra steps (and life in general!!!) 🥰
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