Traveling International during COVID

I have stayed working throughout the pandemic, which I am very blessed to say. Mike and I were fortunate enough to take voluntary time off during a few of the peak months of the virus (may + June), but returned to work in July. July is when a few of the countries, including mexico, opened to American Tourists.

My first flight to Mexico during the Pandemic was in August, a work trip to Chihuahua, Mexico. This was the first time i truly felt comfortable to take the risk an travel internationally for leisure. When I saw how seamless and safe the process was for work, it inspired us to start planning for Mike’s “Dirty 30!”Towards the end of September, we were itching for a leisure trip somewhere, it almost didn’t matter where! Mike was turning 30, and the big birthday bash we had originally planned was postponed. Cabo San Lucas seemed like the best opportunity to go and visit for a few days.

A few things to note when traveling anywhere right now:

SEE my blog post on air travel tips during COVID

• check the COVID19 requirements for the country of interest. Some countries may require negative rapid test results before arrival. Mexico, however ,does not.

• Masks are to be worn throughout your entire journey. This means in the airports at all times, during boarding, flight and deplaning.

• Customs may take a long time, and take it from me, use the bathroom before entering any customs line.

• when given customs forms, fill out the entire thing and keep the bottom portion with you ALWAYS. You will need it for your exit out of the country. oh, and remember a pen. People do not like to share their pens right now for good reason.

• You will be given additional paperwork regarding your recent travels and any COVID19 symptoms you may be experiencing.

The lack tourism has hurt this country that depends on it so tremendously, and the locals were excited to see people traveling here again! There were hotel deals, 2 for 1 drink deals at almost every restaurant. We were able to use the day beds at Cachet Beach Club by just buying food and drinks. We ended up ordering sushi and coronas (ironic? I think not).

The steps that every establishment was taking were Temperature checks are giving when entering any building. Hotels rooms are sanitized, you are giving hand sanitizer when using the shuttle or any sort of transportation. When we returned to our hotel, they even have a UV sanitizing booth that uses UV light and a sanitizer spray, to spray you down with. It was a bit intimidating at first sight but soon became routine.

Make sure to keep your distance between you and others and enjoy yourself!

XO,

SYDNIE

What you need to know about traveling during COVID

Since the beginning of this pandemic, Airlines have taken this extremely serious and continue to do so. During the months of March-June airline travel plummeted, but is now making a come back towards the holidays. A few countries have opened their borders to American tourism, and more travelers are seen through TSA every day.

So what are Airlines doing to take precautions:

• Each airline has taken special cleaning procedures to ensure a safe and healthy environment on every single flight. Higher level disinfectant, each seat and all of its parts are being santized, as well as common used areas such as the Flight Attendant Galley and the Lavatory.

• Contrary to popular belief, airplane air is some of the healthiest air to consume. Airplanes have hospital grade HEPA filters that filter the air you are breathing up to 99%. These filters can produce cleaner healthier air up to every 3 minutes, making it even healthier than Hospitals.

• Airport employees, crew members, as well as passengers are required to wear masks or face coverings throughout the entire journey. This includes in the airport at all times, boarding, during flight (unless you are actively eating or drinking), and deplaning.

  • PLEASE NOTE: if you have a mask or face covering that does not fit the compliance, they can and will provide you with one that is. Check your airlines policies on the masks accepted. They also can remove you from flight and flying with that airline in the future if mask compliance is not admitted!

• Some airlines have temporarily suspended food and beverage service for the safety of passengers as well as crew. So make sure to listen to the Gate Agent announcements regarding service before boarding the flight if you feel you may me hungry or thirsty. There also may be s goodie bag handed out at the time of boarding, these bags can include a snack, a water bottle, and a sanitizer wipe.

  • PLEASE NOTE: You can generally request if you need something as well, don’t be afraid to ring your flight attendant call button if you are in need of something.

Remember to wear your mask and happy traveling!

XO,

SYDNIE

Things to know before visiting Venice, Italy.

If you have done your research, great! If not here are a few things you need to know before heading to one of my favorite places in Italy!

1. No wheels. And when I mean there are no wheels anywhere in the downtown area of the floating city, I mean not even bicycles. There are no cars and no bikes, it is strictly for pedestrian use. Sure there are ways to drive to the town square but not any real access. So if you anticipate on renting a car and staying in the city center, I recommend to rethink or rebook.

2. 24 hour water taxi tickets are a great idea! They are 20$ for 24 hours, but given this is the only way to get around the city, I recommend investing in a pass and paying close attention to when you may need to renew it.

3. The gondola rides are not worth it. For 30 minutes we paid 100 Euros, and that was split between 6 people. We almost fell over and tipped the boat, we were unable to move at all during the ride, and they did NOT serve us wine. I will say it may have been better if it were just us 2 and maybe not a group of us, but the price for that is outrageous to me. We also went during a busy time of night, so there is a possibility that it away not be as chaotic if you were to time it right.

4. Also, visiting the island of Burano is a MUST! it is such a quaint little town with eccentric houses painted bright colors. The locals are extremely nice, but everything closes around 6pm so make sure to get there early in the day before all the locals head home for italian family dinners!

Things to know before visiting Tulum, MX

We recently visited Tulum in March 2019, and fell in love. This unique jungle meets the ocean area is by far one of my favorite places to travel to. However there are a few things to know before booking your next trip to this amazing destination.

• Where you should fly into! There is no airport in Tulum, the closest airport is either Cancun or Cozumel. in order to get there from Cancun you can take a 2 hour taxi, bus or rent a car. If you plan on flying into Cozumel like we did, you can take a ferry into Playa Del Carmen and then drive the rest of the way which is about a 45 minute drive. There is also a ADO bus from the Cancun Airport that you can take for 13 $USD for 2 hours to Tulum.

• Currency is the Mexican Peso. Any google search for the exchange rate should work or you can download XE Currency App on IOS to enter it in if you do not have the internet available. the average exchange is about 19 (pesos) to 1 (usd). Some of the restaurants and vendors have their own exchange rate that can range anywhere from 16-19 so pay attention to what they have listed.

• RENT a car! or a bike/ scooter. Tulum is made of 2 parts. The beach and the town which are about a 20 minute drive from each other. We took a taxi each time we wanted to go down to the beach, and it started to get a bit expensive. So I suggest renting a car if you plan on staying in the town, as the hotels and Airbnb's are less expensive and plan on venturing to the water.