Traveling During a Pandemic

The jettsetter in me just couldn’t put off an international trip any longer this year. I was originally going to travel to Napa Valley and San Francisco but after delaying the trip for the third time I rushed to see what was open in Mexico and found the Esperanza Resort in Los Cabos. Let me preface this by saying that I love to travel and yes the pandemic put a stop to my travels this season and while Mexico is rarely first on my list it was the closest international destination that allowed for US travelers (Canada is still of limits for US travelers). I also had never traveled to Cabo, so it was a good option to discover a new destination.

Since the pandemic I’ve also grown very conscious about social distancing, washing my hands and wearing my masks in public so natuarlly I picked a property that practiced all of these measures. In fact Esperanza resort took my temperture everytime I came back to the property. Masks were required by employees and guests in the public spaces; shoes were sanitized upon arrival in dining areas and hand sanitizer offered upon arriving at the restaurant and after signing for the check. I also chose a room where I would have my own pool and not have to use the main pool. The private pool did not dissapoint. I thought I’d use it maybe twice the entire stay but I ended up staying there the entire time and ordering room service if I needed something to eat or drink.

While planning this trip I also took into consideration the length of time on the flight. This was going to be one of my longest flights this year so I wanted to make sure there were some social distancing measures in place. After recently flying on an American Airlines flight where there was no social distancing going on I looked at Jetblue and Delta because they were still blocking the middle seats. I ended up going with Delta because I had credits from my cancelled India flights. In years past when I had credits with airlines I usually called in and had them calculate the cost for the new flights and almost always the credits weren’t worth it due to the fuzzy math games the airlines played. This time I was surprised to learn that my credits were in fact worth what I paid for them, in this case about $700. I was actually able to transfer my flight credits to the new flight and still have money left over, which was very surprising. Additionally, airlines now have easier online methods to redeem your e-credits once you’re ready to purchase. The only hiccup was that Delta still charged my credit card for the flight even though the e-credit covered my costs. I called in and was told that it was just a temporary hold; it eventually fell off my card but was confusing at first.

i will say that these are the cleanest flights I have ever seen. First the airline boards from the back to the front; after boarding first-class, loyalty members, wheelchairs, families with young children and military personnel of course. Upon boarding, you are given a Purell towelette, which I saw lots of people use to wipe down their seats. I didn’t do that only because Delta says they clean and sanitize everything before boarding. Believe it or not Delta Clean - Delta’s commitment to sanitization is not just lip service. Check out their video here. They also served snacks and water in a sealed bag, which also came with a Purell gel. Honestly, I haven’t seen Purell in the stores for months and thought that they no longer existed but I saw more Purell products on these flights than I have in six months. Another reason to love Delta is that they gave the most comprehensive information on the documents needed to enter Mexico or anywhere else for that matter. I used the link they provided for Mexico which allowed me to fill out the Covid immigration form ahead of time, saved the barcode and printed it out. It was obvious lots of travelers did not read their emails and did not do this, so before they could go through customs they had to go back to the table and fill these forms out ( there was no social distancing happening at those crammed tables). I was able to hand my form in, take the required picture, go on into customs and clear my bags. Thankfully I printed two forms as you will need it again once leaving Mexico.

Lastly once in country COVID measures and socially distancing happened everywhere. I had decided to go with private transportation rather than my shared transportation and found that they sanitized your hands before hopping into the vehicle. There was ample space between us and the driver and they offered us water or beer as a welcome drink. Our tours were also the same as on our camel tour your shoes and hands were sanitized before entering the property with pens and tour equipment sanitized before and after use.

It still is possible to travel this year and have fun with a lot of precautions. I did and I had a blast in Cabo, it’s definitely on my list for next year.

Ask us how we can create your dream trip before 2020 ends.

And as always keep traveling,

KJ

You’ll find Purell everywhere on these flights