Travel in the Time of COVID: What’s It’s Really Like

Thinking about showing up at the airport last minute? Well, the days of true spontaneous travel won’t be back around for a while.

The coronavirus pandemic devastated the travel industry. No sector within the industry was left untouched, and now, almost a year into the pandemic, Caribbean travel expert and influencer Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, has started to travel again.

She shared with Girl Around The Globe her experiences while traveling and the precautions she wants everyone to take when deciding to travel. She strongly warned other influencers and professional travelers what to expect before, during, and after an adventure in the time of COVID.

Each Country Has a Different Set Of Rules When It Comes To COVID-19 Testing. Know Them & Follow Them.

Greaves-Gabbadon began traveling again in November 2020 for the first time during the pandemic and headed to the Caribbean. During that month she went to Grenada, followed by a trip to The Bahamas in December 2020, and planned to travel to the Turks & Caicos Islands in January 2021. Each trip required a negative PCR test to be uploaded to an online portal within days of her leaving her home in Miami, although they varied in when the tests had to be administered.

“There are 30 something different Caribbean countries that people from the U.S. generally fly to. Each country has its own different set of entry protocols,” Greaves-Gabbadon said. “Every time I travel, I have to get a PCR test. That PCR negative test result can be within three days, five days, seven days, 10 days before departure. It depends.”

For Turks and Caicos, she had to get tested no more than five days in advance of departure and for The Bahamas, she had to get tested within three days of departure. She noted that in The Bahamas if you stay longer than four days, you have to do a rapid antigen test on day four. While you’re waiting for those results you have to remain quarantined.

With that being said, researching the travel visa requirements is imperative before booking your flight to determine if you have the time and ability to adhere to a country’s guidelines.

There’s A New Normal For Travel. And That’s OKAY.

Thinking about showing up at the airport last minute? Or even buying a plane ticket the day of? Well, the days of true spontaneous travel won’t be back around for a while.

There is a lot of pre-planning required to fly. Traveling is also a lot less about glitz and glam because of constant health checkpoints at international flights, hand sanitizer, and handwashing stations, wearing a mask, and optionally a face shield that reminds you of how unsafe your trip could be.

“If you’re wearing a double-mask and wearing a shield it doesn’t engender relaxation, you’re just very aware of ‘Oh my goodness, I’m in a silver bullet hurtling through space with recycled air,’” Greaves-Gabbadon said.

She added, “Honestly, travel is not that much fun right now. Being there at the destination is fabulous. But getting there — it’s no fun. So, if your idea is that you want to go somewhere and relax and chill. Traveling right now is not the way to do it.”

There Is A Lot of Unknown When It Comes To Your Travel Plans.

At the time of my interview with Greaves-Gabbadon, she was still awaiting the results of her PCR test a day before she was expected to board her flight to Turks and Caicos.

“Here we are the day before the trip, and I still haven’t got my results back. So I just don’t know if I’m going to be able to go tomorrow. Because unless those results appear sometime in the next couple of hours, which then allows me to upload them to their health care site and get the authorization, I can’t go,” she said. “So it’s just, it’s one of the new realities that we have to take into account when we’re traveling today.”

After days of isolation, Greaves-Gabbadon wasn’t able to get her test results in time and, as a result, couldn’t go to Turks and Caicos as planned.

Traveling right now means that your whole trip is determined by a negative test result that you can hopefully get within a country’s specified timeframe. So, make sure you protect your trip in case you have to cancel at the last minute.

Travel May Involve More Isolation Than Exploration.

Greaves-Gabbadon said she was isolated at her home in Miami between the time she got a PCR test for travel and her flight to ensure she didn’t come in contact with any COVID-19-positive individuals after getting tested.

When she went to Grenada she showed proof that she tested negative within three days of departure, but per the country’s rules, she also had to quarantine for four days, get tested on day four, and was only free to roam the country after her results came back, which in Greaves-Gabbadon’s case took one additional day. All in all, that meant she quarantined for nearly a week in total between pre and post-arrival to finally dip her toes in Grenada’s sandy beaches.

Even if the country you’re visiting doesn’t require quarantining upon arrival, it is in your best interest to follow Greaves-Gabbadon’s suit of getting tested then isolating before travel so that you don’t put others at risk.

Finally, when you return to the United States you should adhere to the latest CDC Guidelines.

Be Conscious About the Risk You Pose to Residents.

Many countries such as the ones in the Caribbean rely on tourism for their income and, therefore, were hit the hardest when they were forced to close their borders due to the pandemic.

The nations that have reopened because they need money from tourism are also risking their lives by trusting that travelers have been COVID compliant. With that being said, don’t be reckless when it comes to traveling to countries that may have more relaxed requirements in terms of PCR testing.

Although Greaves-Gabbadon acknowledged her own risk of contracting COVID-19 from travel, she revealed she was more concerned about the risk she posed to residents.

“I’m much more concerned for people who are in the tourism industry in the Caribbean, which is so tourism-dependent… When I travel, I’m trying to do all I can not just to protect myself, but protect the people in the destinations I’m traveling to,” she said. “So yes, it was absolutely something that I thought of and that to be honest, I still feel conflicted about even though I traveled twice already.”

Get Travel Insurance In the Event Things Go Awry.

Travel insurance is now required for some countries due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it’s still wise to get it even if it’s not required. You don’t want to overwhelm the healthcare facilities of your vacation spot if you get sick before or after departure.

“I think it’s irresponsible for anyone to leave home without health insurance at this time because you never know what’s gonna happen,” Greaves-Gabbadon said.

She recommends Allianz Travel Insurance. The company offers singular trip insurance or monthly plans that cover everything from emergency health services to car rental theft.

If You Don’t Have to Go, Don’t.

Greaves-Gabbadon is a career traveler and despite going here and there during the pandemic, she’s both apprehensive and facing the reality that “there’s no going back to normal.”

She is also against the recommendation of traveling for leisure instead of work during this time.

“I have traveled for work. I have traveled because for me, it’s my livelihood. But I’m the first person to say that I don’t recommend it for leisure. Honestly, travel is not that much fun right now.”

Adding, “Travel is a personal decision, and what you consider essential might not be what I consider essential. I have to work. I haven’t worked for nine months. So, I consider it essential. I’m trying my very best to do it, and to show by my example, to show people how to travel as safely as possible. Not just for themselves, but for other people.”