The covid rules keep changing, and sometimes it's hard to navigate what is required when traveling, but travel is definitely resuming again! While covid is still around, numbers seem to be substantially lower pretty much everywhere, and many countries are removing/loosening their restrictions.
In Roatan, masks are still required inside of enclosed areas such as bank, grocery stores, and the airport, and we're still waiting on the government to ease their restrictions on shared space that required us to close up our dorms. But for the most-part, day to day living is back to normal, and travelers are enjoying all the great activities that Roatan has to offer.
I just made the trip from Roatan to Canada via the US. To prepare for my trip, I needed to get a rapid test (Canada no longer requires any testing to enter, but the US requires one, even if just in transit). The cheapest option was at Island Med in Coxen Hole across from Petrosun. $20 for a couple minutes of someone's time to do the swab, and then get the lab work done, which was back about 1 1/2 hours later. The US uses an app Verifly, but it wouldn't work for me- I don't know if it would have made any difference, I think it just meant I had to show someone my test paper at the airport when I checked in. Canada uses an app called ArriveCAN, which I downloaded and completed (Canada requires that travelers be vaccinated to enter, so I had to upload my proof of vaccination.
Getting checked in at the airport in Roatan for the flight was fairly straightforward. I went a few hours early, and everything went smoothly. Had time to enjoy a mochaccino at Espresso Americano before I went through immigration. Once I boarded the flight, I could take my mask off. The plan was probably around half full, so my seat row companions moved off and I had the row to myself. In Miami, the initial going through immigration wasn't bad (fortunately as a Canadian, I can go in the same lines as US citizens, which is way, way faster than the section for travelers from other countries). After clearing immigration, if you have a connecting flight, you need to go back through security again (and pick up your bags and recheck them if you have any, but I just had carryon). It was a bit chaotic, there were pretty long lines to get checked back in, but I had lots of time between flights.
My flight to Toronto ended up being full, so I got offered a travel voucher and hotel night to get bumped to the next day, which was a huge bonus! The following day, coming back to the airport, again there were huge lines to check in to security, and this time, they pulled aside my carryon, opened it up, and swabbed my bags of coffee. That completed, I gathered up all my stuff again (the day before, I didn't have to take out liquids, laptop or take off shoes, but this time I had to do all 3), and made my way to the gate.
The flight to Toronto, we didn't have to wear masks, but it was announced that a mask would be required once getting off the plane. I had thought Canada had dropped the mask rule, but apparently not in the airport. We arrived on time, but then spent 2 hours sitting in the airport, as immigration was too backlogged (apparently this has been a huge issue at the Toronto airport for the last couple weeks). We finally could disembark in groups of 50, with our masks on, and then it was another hour to get through the lines in immigration. Once I finally got to my turn in immigration, that was super quick, and no testing was required (I don't know if they are still randomly testing some people).
Now that I'm back in Canada, it seems like things are pretty much back to normal- no masks required to go in to any shops, nothing special asked when entering a restaurant.
Got a story about your recent travel experience? Feel free to share!
In Roatan, masks are still required inside of enclosed areas such as bank, grocery stores, and the airport, and we're still waiting on the government to ease their restrictions on shared space that required us to close up our dorms. But for the most-part, day to day living is back to normal, and travelers are enjoying all the great activities that Roatan has to offer.
I just made the trip from Roatan to Canada via the US. To prepare for my trip, I needed to get a rapid test (Canada no longer requires any testing to enter, but the US requires one, even if just in transit). The cheapest option was at Island Med in Coxen Hole across from Petrosun. $20 for a couple minutes of someone's time to do the swab, and then get the lab work done, which was back about 1 1/2 hours later. The US uses an app Verifly, but it wouldn't work for me- I don't know if it would have made any difference, I think it just meant I had to show someone my test paper at the airport when I checked in. Canada uses an app called ArriveCAN, which I downloaded and completed (Canada requires that travelers be vaccinated to enter, so I had to upload my proof of vaccination.
Getting checked in at the airport in Roatan for the flight was fairly straightforward. I went a few hours early, and everything went smoothly. Had time to enjoy a mochaccino at Espresso Americano before I went through immigration. Once I boarded the flight, I could take my mask off. The plan was probably around half full, so my seat row companions moved off and I had the row to myself. In Miami, the initial going through immigration wasn't bad (fortunately as a Canadian, I can go in the same lines as US citizens, which is way, way faster than the section for travelers from other countries). After clearing immigration, if you have a connecting flight, you need to go back through security again (and pick up your bags and recheck them if you have any, but I just had carryon). It was a bit chaotic, there were pretty long lines to get checked back in, but I had lots of time between flights.
My flight to Toronto ended up being full, so I got offered a travel voucher and hotel night to get bumped to the next day, which was a huge bonus! The following day, coming back to the airport, again there were huge lines to check in to security, and this time, they pulled aside my carryon, opened it up, and swabbed my bags of coffee. That completed, I gathered up all my stuff again (the day before, I didn't have to take out liquids, laptop or take off shoes, but this time I had to do all 3), and made my way to the gate.
The flight to Toronto, we didn't have to wear masks, but it was announced that a mask would be required once getting off the plane. I had thought Canada had dropped the mask rule, but apparently not in the airport. We arrived on time, but then spent 2 hours sitting in the airport, as immigration was too backlogged (apparently this has been a huge issue at the Toronto airport for the last couple weeks). We finally could disembark in groups of 50, with our masks on, and then it was another hour to get through the lines in immigration. Once I finally got to my turn in immigration, that was super quick, and no testing was required (I don't know if they are still randomly testing some people).
Now that I'm back in Canada, it seems like things are pretty much back to normal- no masks required to go in to any shops, nothing special asked when entering a restaurant.
Got a story about your recent travel experience? Feel free to share!
RSS Feed