Is it safe to vacation yet?
As covid-19 case counts continue to roller-coaster, you may be wondering if it’s safe to travel again. Well, here’s our personal account of travelling to the Caribbean the last two weeks of January 2022, pretty much in the middle of yet another huge spike of covid cases in our native Canada.
Like many of you, it’s been two long years since our last trip to the Caribbean. While our governments are advising against non-essential travel, my wife and I aren’t getting any younger and time may be running short for adventurous tropical vacations, so we decided to head out anyways. Besides, who says that a Caribbean vacation isn’t essential for our mental well-being 😊. To be clear, we are fully vaccinated (now with 3 shots) and we are not exactly throwing caution to the wind – We continued to take reasonable precautions, minimizing our exposure to crowds, while not letting it get in our way of having fun.
We managed to book one of the last package deals with AC Vacations before they announced they were cancelling trips to the less frequented Caribbean Islands that we prefer. Although it just missed being one of my Recommended Islands to Visit in Winter 2022, we picked St. Kitts & Nevis as our destination of choice. We picked SKN because it has been on my (not so) short list of islands to visit for a number of years, and it was the best deal financially we could find.
Pre-travel activities were a little more involved (and expensive) than pre-covid days. Both AC vacations and the Government of St. Kitts required us to upload our proof of vaccination and time-sensitive RT-PCR test results prior to departure. Getting this done within 72 hours of our flight was a little stressful, however, it was really no big deal. We felt relieved once we received a letter from St. Kitts granting us permission to visit.
We arrived at a parking lot just outside Toronto Airport at 5:30 am on Sunday morning. Fortunately, we were picked up quickly by the shuttle bus and were alone on our brief drive to the terminal. The bus driver was separated from the passenger compartment by a plastic barrier.
It’s reassuring to know that everyone in the airport is (supposedly) fully vaccinated and most other travellers have also just passed a PCR test in the past couple of days. That said, we wore N-95 masks the entire ‘travel’ day, protecting both ourselves and others.
The terminal was not too busy and once we obtained our luggage tags from the AC check-in machine, we dropped off our luggage before breezing through security. We were at the gate in no time and eventually boarded the airplane. While social distancing was a challenge from time-to-time, airport personnel and other passengers all wore masks – so far, so good.
We were pleased to see that the airplane was less than half full, and once we were in the air, we moved to a row with nobody beside, behind, or in front of us. Cool! Again, airline staff and most passengers were good at keeping their masks on when appropriate.
Upon arrival in St. Kitts we walked across the tarmac to a special covid-19 facility (a giant tent outside of the terminal) built for initial screening of incoming passengers. Once authorities had established that we had been pre-approved to visit St. Kitts, we proceeded into the regular customs terminal. The Customs Officer processed our passports and verified our recent PCR test results. After picking up our luggage we passed through one final checkpoint before being allowed to leave the terminal. Once we showed our Vaccine Certificates, we were allowed to enter the beautiful island of St. Kitts!
Not being ones to stay still, we experienced a variety of transportation while we stayed on the island for a couple of weeks. All the taxis and tour buses we took had plastic barriers between the driver and the passenger compartments and some asked us to hand sanitize before entering their vehicles. The car rental agency had plastic barriers erected on their desks, and staff wore masks. Staff and passengers for ferries and water taxis, to get to/from Nevis, all wore masks and hand sanitizers were required before boarding their boats. We even took a scenic train tour, where they segregated cruise-ship passengers from folks staying on the island.
Our hotel was not very busy, so social distancing from other guests was never a problem, and the hotel & restaurant personnel wore masks most of the time. Staff and customers in grocery stores and other shops also wore masks.
I have to say that I was very impressed with the way the folks in St. Kitts and Nevis are handling the covid-19 situation – Very professional and responsible. Perhaps they should have made it into our list of Top 5 Islands to Visit in 2022 after all.
So far, our experience was comparable to our typical environment and routine at home, where we simply go to grocery stores, a gym with low traffic, and enjoy walks outdoors. Inside we wear masks, outside we don’t. Of course, wherever you go, whether at home or in the Caribbean, there is the usual small percentage of “special” folks who just can’t seem to keep their nose under their masks. Annoying, but not much we can do about it.
Honestly, the situation at restaurants and with local tour operators/guides was a little different for us. We were staying at Frigate Bay and were within walking distance of “the strip”, a string of 8 or 9 restaurant/beach bars, so that’s where we did most of our eating. While we didn’t visit them all, I can attest that the staff at two restaurants (Boozies and Patsy’s) diligently wore their masks. As for the staff at other restaurants, as well as almost all the patrons in all of the restaurants, the attitude towards social distancing and mask-wearing was pretty casual. That said, it is important to note that we’re talking about open-air restaurants where the refreshing Caribbean breeze was constantly flowing. Also, with so few tourists, the restaurants were fairly quiet, so it was usually easy to socially distance. The exception was when cruise ship passengers were bussed to the strip for the day, and on Friday nights when large groups of locals as well as (mostly American) college kids from the nearby medical schools came to party.
There were no covid-19 related impedances in terms of tours. When we were off on hikes or sailing/snorkeling tours, social distancing and mask-wearing were non-existent, however, we were outdoors with a single guide or a small group of people, so we consider these low risks activities.
Before we left the beautiful island of St. Kitts, we arranged for a (mask-wearing) local doctor to come to our hotel room to take a quick swab for our RT-PCR test before heading home. We had lab-confirmed negative test results later that afternoon via email. Easy-peasy!
When we entered the airport in St. Kitts to fly home, the AC representative confirmed that we had our latest negative PCR test results and had completed ArriveCAN before checking us in. The small terminal area was crowded, although everyone was wearing masks.
We also need to examine the Covid related costs associated with travel right now. For the two of us, we had to pay for PCR tests in Canada ($340) and St. Kitts ($300), and we purchased covid-19 medical/trip insurance ($490), which we ordinarily would not obtain. So, due to covid, we incurred extra expenses of $1,130 or almost 15% of our total trip budget – Not pretty, but you gotta do whatcha gotta do!
Unfortunately, arriving back in Toronto was an absolute shitshow – There is just no other word for it. Once we departed the airplane, we were held in a hallway, mingling with passengers from other flights for about 15 minutes or so. Eventually, we were released and went down to the Arrival / Customs area, where the scene was best described as turmoil. In many years of travel, I have encountered long lines in this area before, however I’ve never experienced anything like this. There was barely any CBSA presence so communication and supervision were desperately insufficient. The main line to the declaration machines snaked all around and eventually just spilled out into a mosh pit of people trying to exit the area to reach the Customs Officers. Thanks to direction from other passengers, we eventually figured out what we needed to do… Perhaps things were made worse by the fact AC didn’t have us complete a declaration card on the airplane – likely resulting in confusion and longer times at the machine. While everyone wore masks, there was absolutely no social distancing whatsoever, although we felt somewhat safe with our N-95 masks on!
After about an hour in the human blender, we finally made it to a Customs Officer. He did not ask a single question; he simply glanced at our passports, placed a big pink sticker on them and told us we could go. After picking up our suitcases, which were piled 3 high on the overflowing conveyer belt, we tried to exit customs, but thanks to those pink stickers, we were diverted into yet another line. Apparently, we had been “randomly selected for PCR testing”… and we weren’t alone. From the few seconds that we were at that intersection, it appeared as though about half of travellers were being diverted for testing. The technician performing my swab confirmed that it was an extremely busy day with thousands of people being tested. Now, I don’t mind being tested, 2 days after already testing negative, as long as I’m not paying for it (directly). That said, I sure would like to understand what they are trying to accomplish. Hopefully, they are compiling data to prove that PCR tests for returning citizens are not required, however I’m not holding my breath…
In conclusion, our experience showed us that our risk to covid-19 exposure may have been only slightly higher than our everyday life at home. This was a result of eating out every day and spending a little time out with locals enjoying what the islands have to offer. Without the incompetence we experienced at the hands of the GTAA and CBSA in Toronto, which was hopefully just an aberration and others won’t encounter, for us, travelling to the Caribbean amidst covid-19 is relatively low risk and well worth it!
Oh, we’ve received our latest ‘negative’ PCR test results, have been home now for a week and we are still A-OK.
Final thoughts… We enjoy getting out during the day and exploring – hiking in the rainforest and snorkeling in warm clear waters, etc… However, we cannot speak to indulging in nightlife and spending time socializing with strangers.
For other blogs from our trip to St. Kitts and Nevis that are way more fun and exciting than this serious trip report, check out the St. Kitts & Nevis section of our Excursions page, and follow us on facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
