Traveling to Mexico during the Pandemic (and do we recommend it?)

This is probably going to be a big of a controversial post – and first and foremost I want to acknowledge how complicated, emotional and stressful the pandemic has been for everyone. The decision I made to go on an international trip during the pandemic was not one I took lightly, and I almost cancelled our trip several times, including the night before we were set to leave. With that being said, I want to share my experience and be as honest and open as possible about both the positives and negatives of our trip to Mexico in December 2020.  

We decided to book a trip to Mexico in September after having to cancel our 3^rd international trip for 2020. For me, travel is my passion, my stress relief, and what I am always looking forward to at any given moment. I can be going through the hardest time, but if I have a trip coming up – even 6 months in the future, it gives me something to work towards. With the pandemic raging on, and after being stuck in our home and away from my family since early March 2020, I finally decided to take the plunge – and we booked a trip to Playa del Carmen in Mexico for the beginning of December.  

Extra Precautions we took: 

Staying at a 5- star Resort 

We are normally very frugal travelers, and focus on traveling on a budget, but because of the pandemic we decided for the first time to go to an all-inclusive, 5-star resort (Xcaret Hotel) to ensure we would have the highest chances of being safe and healthy. After research, we found out that the hotel we booked at has a physician on site, as well as a block of rooms for quarantining in case we happened to contract COVID-19 while on our trip. We also booked for only 5 days because we wanted to reduce the chances of contracting COVID-19 by staying somewhere for a long period of time.  

Quarantining and COVID-19 Testing 

To be extra safe before our trip, we quarantined in our home for 10 days before leaving and took a COVID-19 test 3 days before our trip to ensure we weren’t going to be going on a plane or to a foreign country with COVID-19. We are currently quarantining for another 7 days upon returning before doing another COVID-19 test to ensure we are in the clear.  

Travel Insurance with COVID-19 Coverage 

We also purchased travel insurance with coronavirus coverage – these plans ensure that if you were to contract the virus while traveling, you have coverage for medical treatment, tests, the cost of staying for the extended timeframe, and returning home. We found our coverage through squaremouth.com and ended up purchasing a policy from Trawick International which cost us ~$115 total (we opted for the highest level of coverage). There are different types of policies: primary (which pay first and then go to your personal insurance), and secondary (which bill your insurance first and then pay), so we opted to get primary coverage. Seven Corners also has coronavirus only coverage, which is significantly more affordable, but we were not eligible due to our state of residence.  When buying insurance, make sure to confirm it has coronavirus coverage. We called many different companies to confirm coverage, and all of the customer service agents we spoke to were extremely helpful, so don’t be afraid to call and chat with someone if you aren’t sure of something!  

The Positives: 

• We flew Alaska airlines, and they currently have all middle seats blocked to ensure social distancing. Our flight was also only 1/3 full both ways, which made us feel even more comfortable. Some people had entire rows to ourselves, and many rows were completely empty. Masks are required for the entire flight, and they did limited meal/drink service to ensure limited contact. They also did a good job of sanitizing the airplane between flights.  

• The resort we stayed at gave you masks and sanitizer when you arrive. They had hand sanitizer every 10ft or so, and it was always in stock. Our bags were sprayed down with sanitizer and we were required to walk through a disinfectant every time we entered a building.  
• Masks were required at almost all places at the resort apart from in the pool, while actively eating or drinking, or in your hotel room. This made us feel very safe and comfortable. They also did temperature checks upon arrival and each time you came to or left the resort.  

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• On our trip we also went to 4 different Xcaret parks (Xplor, Xenses, Xel-ha, and Xcaret Park), and at all of these they required hand sanitization frequently and before doing any activities, as well as requiring masks always, including while on zip lines or even during some water activities. Although this felt odd, we got used to it and barely noticed after the first hour or so.  
• Because the hotel and parks were at limited capacity, it felt a lot emptier and more open than it would have normally. We rarely encountered lines or crowds, and this made it super easy to social distance. It was also just extremely nice to have an emptier resort at our disposal. 
• Our trip was much cheaper than it would have normally been. Even though this was splurge trip for us, our room was ~50% cheaper than the normal rates due to lower travel demand. If we weren’t traveling during the pandemic, we probably wouldn’t have been willing to pay the full price.  

The Negatives: 

• You can’t control other people – while most people were abiding by the guidelines, there were always some people in site that were trying to skirt the rules by taking off their masks when there were no employees in site or wearing the masks below their noses or like a chin strap. This got extremely frustrating as someone who was being very careful and trying to keep others safe by wearing a mask.  I will caveat and say that everywhere we went, every single employee both at the airline and resort were wearing masks at all time, the issue was other travelers.  

• It was inherently stressful because of the above – even though we were in paradise and everything was clean and safe, I felt very anxious and on edge several times during the trip because I felt like no matter what I was doing, I wasn’t safe due to the selfish actions of others. It really got on my nerves seeing people blatantly ignore the rules, and this made for a less than relaxing experience overall.  
• There is an inherent risk – even if you do everything you can. While we managed to do our trip without being exposed to the virus and had a good time, we were taking a risk by going. We had to be ‘comfortable’ with the idea of potentially getting sick and having to be quarantined in Mexico. Because we are both relatively young and healthy, we were comfortable with that risk, but it’s a factor you need to consider.  

My Recommendations: 

• Pick a resort with clear COVID-19 guidelines and precautions in place. By picking a highly rated resort, they are more likely to be taking the virus seriously as their reputation relies on it. Normally we are die hard Airbnb travelers, but in this case a resort felt like a better pick. With Airbnb, if you get coronavirus, you might be stuck with nowhere to go.  
• Research the entry requirements – we flew into Mexico which didn’t have any requirements, but we were prepared with extra insurance and with a negative COVID-19 test.  
• Buy extra travel insurance with guaranteed COVID-19 coverage. I also recommend getting a negative COVID-19 test before leaving so you can prove to insurance you didn’t contract COVID-19 before your trip if you need to. From my research, travel insurance will often use this as a reason to not provide coverage, so it’s better to be safe and be able to prove you had quarantined and had a negative test before you left to travel.  
• Bring lots of masks – we personally brought a 50 pack of disposable masks so we could swap them out several times a day. If you are doing water activities like we were, they come in handy as they are more breathable if they get wet, unlike cotton masks. Whether or not it is logical, sometimes we were required to wear the masks in places that they could get wet. Get comfortable with wearing them – after the first hour or two, we really didn’t notice them anymore.  
• Come to terms with the fact that this isn’t going to be a regular vacation – it won’t feel normal because things aren’t normal right now. For me, this meant the vacation felt inherently more stressful than a normal trip.  
• Be a good citizen and quarantine before and after your trip. Even if this isn’t required by your state or province, it helps protect those around you from being exposed to the virus in case you are unknowingly an asymptomatic carrier.  

Overall, we had a good experience, and I would do it again. The airport in Mexico was taking far more precautions than were being taken in the USA (temperature checks, COVID-19 surveys, sanitization), and our resort was being very careful as well. With that being said, if we had come down with COVID-19 from our trip, I would probably have a very different sentiment right now, so I acknowledge traveling right now is complicated and there really isn’t an easy yes or no answer.  

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below and I’ll be happy to answer and offer my opinion! If you want to hear more about our experience at the Xcaret Hotel specifically, I’ll be writing a blog post about that soon.  Happy and safe travels!