Travel to Mexico During COVID-19
Mexico is one of the few countries accepting American Travelers during COVID-19
I decided to travel as an American to Mexico during COVID-19. I’m grateful they let me into the county and I would not have blamed them if they didn’t. The surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths was becoming alarming. Since air travel had declined so much, the tickets were extraordinarily cheap. I purchased a $240 RT ticket from LAX in mid June for travel in July. I tested negative days before the trip and off I went not to escape the pandemic, but to take a much needed mental health break. I was desperate to travel again, explore the world, curiously learn from other cultures and just gain international perspective on the current world situation.
There are various direct flights to Mexico from LAX, which minimized time spent on the airplane. The COVID cases in Mexico are about the same as my home state of California. The big difference was that the areas of Jalisco, Nayarit and Quintana Roo were not hotspots of Coronavirus. Like all travelers, I weighed the risk vs reward and felt like the areas I wanted to visit were low risk options.
Requirements for Americans Traveling to Mexico During COVID-19
Mexico is accepting travelers from the USA via air travel. No quarantine is required. A health declaration must be completed before arrival. I completed my health declaration online at LAX before my flight and showed a QR code upon arrival. You will be met with a temp check before passport control. After passport control, another immigration officer asked me basic questions and then I was welcomed into Mexico.
Easy to Social Distance
Both Puerta Vallarta and Quintana Roo are usually filled to the brim with tourists and the area can be overcrowded during the summer months. I found empty beaches, vacant waterfalls and quiet tourist hubs. The few fellow travelers around were Mexicans coming in from the big cities. While the Cancun airport and surroundings in Quintana Roo were a bit busier, it was as if the tourist season had not yet begun.
Beach clubs in Tulum spread out there beds for guests to enjoy the white sand beaches and clear blue waters. In Yelapa and Sayulita, fantastic day trips from Puerto Vallarta, I found peace. Cafe’s and restaurants were very sparsely occupied and the cobbled streets of Sayulita were surprisingly quiet. Booking a boat in Bacalar for the day was met with gratitude from the boat captain. Whether it was the jungle, beach, restaurant, or hotel pool, social distancing was pretty easy due to the lack of crowds and efforts in protocol. If rest, wellness and relaxation is what you are looking for, the you can have plenty of that in as you travel to Mexico during COVID-19. And the food is just as good during this time too!
It’s hard to describe how the combination of the lack of crowds, and Mexican efforts to maintain safety standards, helped to create this once in a lifetime dream travel scenario. The surfer town of Sayulita was starting to become overrun by the wellness travel industry. Now it’s returned to it’s cobblestone charm and sleepy nature. In beautiful locations and tourist centers like Tulum & Puerto Vallarta, my photos don’t have anyone in them, not because I’m trying to hide people, but because there was hardly anyone around. Hotels in Quintan Roo by law were only at 30% capacity.
Travel in Mexico During COVID
I was lucky to fly domestically within Mexico because it showed me the huge contrast to flying a US based airline. The protocols in place for air travel reflected what was happening on the ground. Air travel within Mexico during Coranavirus involved common sense boarding and deplaning process, temp checks, sanitizing carry ons, and hand sanitizer upon boarding. These new rules for traveling during Coronavirus actually made me feel at ease and comfortable with the risk of flying. For more on my flying experience, check out my article on Flying During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Masks were required at all times everywhere I went. The Mexican people wore them everywhere too. Cobrebocas or Masks were not required on the beach as there was hardly anyone around. The basic rules involved temp checks, wearing a mask and hand sanitizer. This was commonplace protocol when entering any building, restaurant, hotel, beach club or anytime remotely inside.
What is Open in Mexico During COVID-19?
Most tourist sites are closed, including the Pyramids and archaeological sites in Quintana Roo. Some cenotes were also closed and swimming is no longer allowed in them. In Puerto Vallarta, most restaurants and bars are completely shut by 10pm and QR codes instead of menus are standard. The same thing goes for downtown Tulum. Hotels in the zona hotelera (hotel zone by the beach), are open a little later and have an underground or speak easy vibe that can become crowded by expats. Normally raucous Playa Del Carmen had some restaurants open until midnight.
With the lack of tourism and significant loss of tourist revenue, everyone in Mexico is suffering. The beach bar guys, bracelet lady on the beach, the paddle board guy, water taxi captain, waiters, uber drivers – all are suffering by the loss of income. I felt good about being there, showing a little bit of support and helping the local economy by purchasing local goods and eating at family run places. No matter what was happening in the rest of the world, the al pastor tacos, fresh ceviche and tequila were still outstanding. Even with the obvious challenges, the warmth and generosity of the Mexican people is still strongly present. I was welcomed and treated graciously everywhere. The Mexican spirit and emotional climate is still one of sincere joy.
Was it Worth It?
Travel to Mexico during COVID-19 was not complicated, just different and atypical. If given the option to do it again, I would do it gladly. I would even extend my trip as Coronavirus cases are still continuing to surge in California. In Mexico, I was free. The freedom to travel during this unprecedented time was liberating, rejuvenating and eye opening. In a way it was a travel milestone for me. It became my first trip in the COVID era. While I had plenty of time to relax and reflect, I realized that travel would never ever be the same again. With that, the challenge of how to explore this new world we live in, is well worth it.
Giana Connors
I am so thrilled to have found your website. We are traveling next week for 6 days to Cancun and have learned a lot from your experience. We are from the LA area too. We did get a taste of pandemic travel when we were went to the UK in March the day after it was announced Europe was being banned. We came back 10 days later with no problems. Looking forward to reading your other stories. Two thumbs up!
Angel
Thank you so much! You are going to have a blast. Don’t forget to follow me on social. I’m leaving for Turkey on Sunday and will be posting articles here. In the meantime you can follow along on social media. Thank you and Happy Travels!