Where Can Americans Travel Right Now?
The options for those who want to add another stamp to their passport have steadily grown since the world was first put on hold last year – albeit often with more paperwork, testing, and pre-planning required. Those who fly back to the United States will also be required to show a negative test before boarding a flight home. To provide even greater peace of mind to travelers, many airlines and airports have started offering on-site rapid COVID-19 tests.
Additionally, vaccinated travelers are now allowed to travel freely, according to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Below is a list of some popular countries currently accepting American travelers along with each destination’s travel protocol and their advisory level determined by the State Department.
Anguilla
The Caribbean island is open to pre-approved tourists from certain countries, requiring them to apply in advance and submit a negative COVID-19 PCR test within three to five days before arriving.
Visitors also have to prove they have health insurance to cover potential medical expenses related to treatment of the virus and remain in an approved location for at least 10 days.
Antigua and Barbuda
Visitors to Antigua and Barbuda over the age of 12 are required to arrive with a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test from within seven days of their flight, according to the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the OECS.
Aruba
Aruba requires all U.S. residents to complete an Embarkation/Disembarkation card, a personal health assessment, and show a negative COVID-19 test, which can be either taken up to 72 hours before departure and uploaded in advance of coming or completed upon arrival. For those who complete the test upon arrival, they may have to quarantine at their hotel until their PCR test results are ready. Aruba no longer has a curfew and beach restrictions.
Bahamas
Travelers to the Bahamas can skip the islands’ mandatory quarantine if they test negative for COVID-19 within five days before their departure, along with applying for a Bahamas Health Travel Visa after their test. Travelers will then have to take a second, rapid antigen test on day 5 of their visit.
Children 10 years old and younger will not need to get tested prior to arrival. Visitors are then required to opt-in to mandatory COVID-19 health insurance when applying for their Health Travel Visa. The Bahamas requires everyone to wear masks in public.
Barbados
Barbados is open to foreigners who are willing to travel with a negative PCR test for COVID-19, taken within 72 hours of their arrival. The country will only accept specific types of PCR tests taken by a healthcare provider and performed by an accredited lab. Quarantine requirements have shifted – even for those who are vaccinated or arrive with a negative COVID-19 test – following the spread of the UK variant. Quarantine policies and testing rules are being constantly updated here.
Belize
Visitors to Belize need to book with a hotel that complies with their nine-point initiative, entitled the Tourism Gold Standard Recognition Program, in which the approved hotels – listed on their tourism site – have implemented health and safety standards including online check-in and check-out and mandatory mask-wearing in public spaces.
Travelers have the option to take a COVID-19 PCR test within 96 hours of departure or a rapid antigen test within 48 hours of departure. Fully vaccinated travelers who can prove it has been two weeks since their final shot are exempt from the testing requirements.
Bermuda
Travelers to Bermuda must apply for a Bermuda COVID-19 Travel Authorization one to three days before departure, which must be submitted 24 hours before travel. The authorization requires a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than five days before arrival. Travelers who do not take a COVID-19 test before arrival will have to quarantine for 8 days. They will be required to wear a quarantine bracelet, for which they’ll be charged $300.
Vaccinated travelers must also submit a Travel Authorization application before departure and quarantine until they receive their results of a COVID-19 test taken upon arrival. Following a negative test result, vaccinated travelers will not have to quarantine but must test on days 4, 8, and 14 of their trip
Face masks are required to be worn in public places.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is welcoming visitors from all U.S. states. Travelers must complete an online Health Pass form within 48 hours of boarding a flight and show proof of travel insurance that covers medical expenses and accommodation in case they are forced to quarantine.
This follows the country’s reopening for international visitors from several other countries in August, including from Canada, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.
Dominican Republic
As part of the Dominican Republic’s “Responsible Tourism Recovery Plan,” visitors are no longer required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test in order to enter the country. Additionally, mass testing will not be performed at the airport upon arrival, but will instead be done at random. Travelers must fill out a Traveler’s Health Affidavit online before traveling to the DR.
Italy
Italy announced in late June 2021 that vaccinated travelers coming from the U.S. will not have to quarantine upon entry to Italy.
For vaccinated or unvaccinated U.S. travelers, “COVID-free flights” into the country are still an option – run by Delta and Alitalia, currently depart from New York City and Atlanta. Travelers on these flights are required to get tested before departure and again on arrival, regardless of their vaccination status, but are exempt from quarantine.
Jamaica
Jamaica requires incoming passengers to show either a negative COVID-19 PCR or antigen test from a certified lab taken within 72 hours of boarding a flight, according to the country’s tourism board. Children under 12 years old are exempt. Travelers must also apply to come to Jamaica seven days before their projected arrival date.
Maldives
Americans looking to take advantage of the luxury of overwater bungalows need to look no further than the Maldives. Visitors must show a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 96 hours of their departure, according to the Ministry of Tourism. There is no required quarantine upon arrival for tourists who show a negative COVID-19 est.
Mexico
The country is open to tourists arriving by air travel from the U.S. Travelers do not have to show proof of a vaccine or a negative PCR test for COVID-19 to enter Mexico.
St. Lucia
Travelers to St. Lucia are required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test within five days before their arrival and complete a pre-arrival registration form, according to the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the OECS. Travelers must then have a confirmed reservation at a COVID-19 certified accommodation for the duration of their stay.
Saint Lucia has implemented a COVID-19 certificate for hotels, requiring them to meet more than a dozen criteria for sanitization protocols, social distancing, and more.
Sint Maarten
U.S. travelers heading to Sint Maarten have to fill out an online immigration card prior to travel, according to the U.S. Consulate General in Curacao. Travelers must also present a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 120 hours of arrival.
Turks and Caicos
In order to visit the island, visitors need to apply for a travel authorization, upload a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within five days of travel, have insurance that covers COVID-19 costs, and complete a health screening questionnaire, according to the Minister of Tourism. Children under 10 years old are exempt from the testing requirement.
From lounging on Caribbean beaches to sightseeing in Europe, Americans now have options when it comes to international travel.
Credit: travelandleisure
