Traveling Internationally 11/2021
Traveling in general today is much different than it has been in the past. There are restrictions and then you have to watch for Airline related cancelations and issues. International travel is the trickiest kind of travel there is right now. This past week I traveled internationally for the first time since January of 2020. I took a trip to Costa Rica for five days. This post will be about what I did to prepare and what I experienced when traveling internationally to Costa Rica
Before The Trip – Costa Rica research
A couple months before our trip I began researching what the current situation was in Costa Rica including what was needed enter the country. Every country has different rules for entering. Some require a negative test, others require vaccination and some have a combination of rules. I check with the country itself by looking at the countries travel page and I also look at websites like below that give you the rules of most countries in the world. In my case, Costa Rica does not require a negative test but does require the filling out a health form that included my vaccination status, some general health questions, and where I was going to stay in Costa Rica. If you are not vaccination you are required to purchase insurance that covers a quarantine stay if you are infected. The form creates a QR code that you show Passport Control in Costa Rica. For me as I like to be prepared and covered, I always purchase travel insurance for international trips as your US medical insurance does not cover care out of country. I purchased coverage that would cover a two week quarantine in a hotel in chase we got a breakthrough case. Just to be extra safe we got a PCR test from a lab the day before we left just to make sure we did not have an asymptomatic case.
Country Travel Information: https://www.trafalgar.com/en-us/about-us/coronavirus-travel-restrictions
Costa Rica Travel Page: https://www.visitcostarica.com/en/costa-rica/planning-your-trip/entry-requirements#Document
Southwest Airlines Costa Rica Page: https://www.southwest.com/coronavirus/costa-rica/
Before The Trip – United States research
I also keep apprised of what the requirements were for returning to the US as they changed right before I returned on November 9th. For my return the rules were as follows:
- If you are vaccinated you must test within three calendar days of your flight home. Our flight was on Tuesday morning so I could take a test starting on previous Saturday Morning. If you are unvaccinated you have to test the day before your flight. You can use a Rapid Antigen Test or a PCR test coming into the US. Other countries have different rules.
- You must fill out an Attestation Form also within 72 hours of your flight with your airline certifying you have taken a test or have recovered from covid within the last 90 days (you must provide proof from a doctor you have recovered).
- You must provide the airline at check in contact tracing information such as where you will be staying once you arrive in the US (in my case its home).
Since I needed a test I contacted the Hotel in Costa Rica to see what testing options I had. They let me know that they do not do testing at the hotel on the weekend so I would need to go to a clinic. I continued researching and saw that they have 24/7 testing at the airport in San Jose with guaranteed one hour results for Antigen tests if I needed it. I ultimately decided to also bring with me a couple of test kits where you keep them unopened and when you want to test you do a web video call with a doctor who monitors your testing and provides you the results by email. For us the two kits cost $50 each. With those options I was covered for coming back home.
Travel Covid Kits: https://www.cityhealthuc.com/rapidreturn-southwest/
On the Way to Costa Rica
For an international trip I always double and triple check all my documents and keep them in a folder I bring on every trip. We also packed our Covid Vaccination cards as they are a must now. When we got to the airport we had to go check in at the front desk. Since airlines are responsible for bringing someone home if a country rejects your entry they are careful to make sure you have all the right documentation. They checked our passports, checked to make sure we both had the required Costa Rica Health form filled out with the QR code. They also checked our Covid Vaccination cards and asked if we had the insurance needed (it was not needed for us since we are vaccinated). They stamped our boarding passes that our documents were in order. Once we got to the gate they announced you must have the stamp on your boarding pass or you will not be allowed to board. When we boarded they confirmed that we were good to go and we headed out to San Jose, Costa Rica.
At the San Jose International Airport
When we deplaned in San Jose, Costa Rica the first thing we passed by was medical personnel watching people through a thermal camera to make sure no one had a fever. They asked a man who was wearing a neck gaiter to put on a surgical mask they provided. We waited in a socially distanced Passport Control line for about an hour when we got to the agent. The agent asked us for our QR codes, our passport and asked us how long we were staying and to make sure we had return air tickets. Once clearing that pretty easy check we were able to meet our driver and head to the hotel. It was really an easy process if you have come prepared and I felt very safe with the way the Costa Rican government was handling travel during the pandemic.
While in Costa Rica
We found that the people of Costa Rica were really taking the pandemic seriously but still are living their lives in a more normal fashion. When we arrived at the hotel they took our temperature and made sure we sanitized our hands. When we were on tours everyone wore masks and when we went into any attraction they took our temperature and had us wash our hands at sinks. Masks were required inside all the museums and sites we visited. All restaurants were open and we ate at a few local restaurants on our tours but they were mainly outdoor patio type dining. Even when walking on the streets of downtown San Jose the majority of people were wearing masks. When talking with different people the country is pretty heavily vaccinated (at this point 57% fully vaccinated and near 75% with at least one dose). Vaccine mandates are coming in the country for doing activities in public and for children. I found in Costa Rica vaccines are not nearly as politicized as they are here in the US and I did not meet anyone against vaccines. We felt safe (safer than back home in many cases) while we traveled in Costa Rica.
Testing to Come Back Home
We decided to go ahead and use our test kits we brought with us on Sunday (two days before our flight back home). All we did was got up a little earlier than normal and in our hotel room scanned the kit QR code, I entered in passport and other information and turned on my camera for my phone (I was connected to the hotel wifi). The technician guided me through the process as I showed my passport and the un-opened test kit to them. All I needed to do from there was get the pieces of the kit ready, swab my nose and wait for the results that took ten minutes to come back. I showed the results to the technician and they informed me I tested negative. Within five minutes after the call my results were both emailed and texted to me so I could print them out for the flight home. It was a very simple process and only took Donna and I around 30 minutes before breakfast to be ready to head home.
Heading Back Home
Sunday evening before the flight I went to the Southwest airlines website to fill out the attestation form. It only took me around 5 minutes to complete putting in my flight information and certifying I took a test within the proper time frame. We got to the airport a few hours early not quite knowing what to expect other than the paperwork needed. When we walked into the airport the Costa Rican medical personnel were once again watching to see if anyone had a fever. We went to the Southwest ticket counter and they needed our passports, Covid vaccination cards and our test results. They confirmed we were vaccinated and that the negative test results were during the right time frame. The Southwest agent asked for the address of where we would be staying in the US and then our boarding passes were stamped that our documentation was good to go. The security process was normal as was the boarding process for the flight. When we arrived in the US the Passport Control and Customs was not different than normal and was quick. We were off the plane and through US Passport and customs in around forty-five minutes.
In Conclusion
I did all my research but I still was not completely sure what our first international trip would look like in regards to Covid Restrictions. In the case of our experience to Costa Rica it was a very easy. We just had to fill out the paperwork needed and made sure to get our test in the proper time frame. Id recommend researching a couple different testing options as a backup if needed. We thoroughly enjoyed our first international trip and are excited to get back out into the world. Every country is different so you could have a more strict and a different experience than we had. Its also heavily recommended to get vaccinated before international travel since you don’t want to be quarantined in a different country for multiple days. Its up to you when you want to travel again and especially when you want to leave the country but you can get an idea from our experience it might not be quite as difficult as you might think depending on where you go.
