A Covid Era Travel Perspective

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A Covid Era Travel Perspective

Are you longing for the days of travel again? 

Feeling like you want to travel, but not sure if it’s safe?

 

     Okay, you are wanting to get away, but all you hear is "It's not safe to Travel" or "Stay in Place" and stay safe.  We can tell you that you need to do what you personally feel best.  I want to share our experiences with travel as we just returned from visiting two completely different parts of the world.  We had some time and took advantage of visiting Los Cabo's on the west coast of Mexico, and then flying over to the Dominican Republic for another week.

     If you want to experience beautiful, remodeled, and clean resorts, now is the time to do it!  Most of the resorts are allowed to operate at 50% capacity now, but I can tell you that most are lucky to be at 30% currently.  This means, less people, more space, and better service.  We found that typically the rooms are spaced apart that are occupied and you are more likely to get an upgraded view.  This is the view from our suite of the resort.  We did not ask for this, but we received the best suite on the resort in my opinion.  Restaurants were all close around us, the pool right in front, and a short walk to the beach.  And yes, that is a golf course in front as well!

     But, let's backtrack a bit and describe our experiences arriving at the airport and the check in to the resort.  Our flight was operated at about 50% capacity as well, with middle seats being left open.  You still only get a couple of crackers and a small bottle of water when you enter the plane, so bring a few snacks with you.  At the airport, we are quickly whisked through immigration and our passports stamped.  Probably only took 35 minutes to get out to our waiting transfer vehicle.  

     I always book my transfers in advance with a reputable company.  This way, I just walk past the hoards of taxi drivers and tour operators to a man holding up a sign with my name on it.  We are greeted by name as he was expecting us, given a moist towel to freshen up, hand sanitizer, and then we have our bags completely sanitized prior to them going in his vehicle.  The van is sparkling clean and safe as we know they have cleaned them and it is very obvious they care about their vehicles and the clients.  

     The drivers speak great English and we are eager to talk with them about their struggles with low tourism, and how much it means to them that we are here traveling.  We get a great tour of the area as we drive towards our resort.  At the resort, we are greeted by the staff by name again!  They sanitize our luggage again, give us hand sanitizer and take our temperature.  Many resorts now have full infrared scanners measuring temperature as well.  We step onto a set of mats to clean our shoes before entering the resort.  

     The staff all wear masks and some are even required to wear face shields all day!  We are required to wear a mask upon entry, check-in, and then we can remove them for the rest of our stay.  The only other time we need a mask is to enter and exit a restaurant.  Our temperature is scanned at every restaurant, spa, and gym.  The shoe cleaning mats are at every location you enter.  I can say I feel safer here than at your typical box store back home!

     Our rooms are beautiful and clean.  A special seal is affixed to the door between guests letting us know that the room has been cleaned and sanitized as well. 

     I wanted to show you this picture of the beach.  This was taken at around 11am and you can see how many chairs are available.  I am telling you that now is the time to travel!  It's clean, it's safe, and it's cheap.  Three night stays with airfare and transfers are less than $1500 for two people.  This is a great get-away!  I hope you can look past some of the media hype and experience life!  Sure, you might need a Covid Test upon your return, but think of how great your vacation away was as you share your pictures with your jealous friends!  :)

     We can be reached at: pat@twobytwotravel.com if you want to talk about our experiences and see how we can help find you that perfect get away destination for you and your friends.  Visit our website for more get away ideas!