This summer, my best friends and I went to Cancun, Mexico. It was an amazing trip full of laughs, fun, and adventure, but also had a lot of restrictions due to COVID-19.
When we got to the airport to head there, we put on our masks and headed in. I had not been on a plane since the pandemic began, so it was so crazy to see the airport full of masks, even though we all expected that. Keeping a mask on during the flight was definitely unusual, but none of us minded and were happy to wear them so that we could stay safe.
The hotel also had many COVID-19 rules. Masks were required everywhere except in the pool and when you were sitting down eating. We happened to spend a lot of time in those areas, but it was important to have masks on at all times in case you needed to run to the bathroom or go back to your room.
When going on excursions, you also needed to keep your mask on. When we got into the vans to head to each one, we kept masks on and only took them off when allowed when we got to the destination.
A few days before we left, we had to take mandatory COVID-19 tests at the hotel so that we were able to go back home. If you are going to a destination where you have to do this, I recommend scheduling your tests as soon as you get there. There are many other people at the hotel who will need to do the same thing, so you want to be able to get an appointment before you go.
I also recommend getting to the airport to go home at least five hours before your flight. The check bags station for us was also the station where they checked your COVID-19 test results so the line can get really long. We got there three hours before our flight and our flight got delayed three times because everyone who was supposed to be on it was still in line waiting to get checked. Once we got through this area, we also had to go through a mobile COVID-19 survey before we were allowed to go through security. All of these things were done to keep us safe, but I recommend getting to the airport extra early to ensure that you can get to your flight on time!
The COVID-19 restrictions did not really limit our experience. We were still able to do everything that we needed to get the full adventure, but just with some added precautions. We were able to do everything we wanted, with just a few extra steps to ensure our safety.