Labor Day holiday is the universal end of the summer and we were all cooped up inside and social distancing since March. Over the past 7 months, some states and countries resumed normal operations and opened borders. Others did not or had to roll back the phases; i.e.: Miami, St. Thomas and Hawaii. Labor Day was my last-ditch attempt to have a vacation even if that meant taking risks and traveling somewhere with COVID-19 restrictions. For my quick trip, it was between Miami, Puerto Rico and Aruba – Florida was struggling with alarming Covid-19 rates and flights from Washington D.C. to Aruba were over $700, so Puerto Rico it is!
Puerto Rico is a great travel destination, it offers a variety of tourist attractions, cultural sights and a booming nightlife. You can visit one of the many beaches, Old San Juan, the rainforest, or hit up a bar/restaurant boardwalk strip and much more. I opted for a lowkey beach vacation! Flights were less than 4 hours and under $200, sign me up.
First, let us discuss the current COVID-19 atmosphere of the island just in case you are planning your next weekend gateway sooner rather later:
| Total cases 35,507 +129 | Recovered – | Deaths 500 |
Puerto Rican Travel Advisory – guidelines during my visit.
Puerto Rico is encouraging only essential travel at this time and has postponed its official inbound tourism reopening in order to safeguard visitors and residents.
Puerto Rico is enforcing local measures developed by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), alongside U.S. Travel Association (USTA) guidelines, such as social distancing, mandatory face coverings in public areas, and a variety of mandates for businesses – including, but not limited to, reduced capacities and high standards of cleanliness in accordance with CDC and EPA guidelines.
COVID- 19 Restrictions
- Travelers are required to fill out a Travel Declaration Form through the Puerto Rico Health Department’s online portal. Visit: www.travelsafe.pr.gov or www.viajaseguro.pr.gov. Kiosks at the airport are also available for travelers to fill out the form upon arrival, as it is a requirement to exit the airport.
- You must get a COVID-19 test (nasal or throat swab) no more than 72 hours prior visiting the Island and show proof of a negative result, or you will have to quarantine.
- Everyone is required to wear face masks or face coverings when in public, and are subject to a fine, if not.
- Beaches are only open to those doing solo sports or exercise training from 5:00 a.m.– 7:00 p.m., and closed on Sundays. Non-essential businesses, including theaters, casinos, bars, clubs, attractions, and gyms remain closed.
- Alcohol sales are banned after 7:00 p.m. and on Sundays.
- On Sundays, the Island will be placed in a 24-hour lockdown. All businesses, with the exception of pharmacies, supermarkets, and gas stations, will be closed on Sundays and restaurants will only be offering services via pickup, delivery, or drive-through.
- A curfew on the Island is in effect through September 11 from 10:00 p.m – 5:00 a.m., except for emergencies.
Although the restrictions sound like a lot, it wasn’t too bad in all actuality and if it keeps us safer and still traveling, I am willing to comply. There were only three tricky rules that had us questioning our trip: rapid Covid-19 test, Sunday lockdown and closed beaches?!
We had to make sure to get a COVID-19 test before departure – depending on your locality this can be extremely hard or easy to obtain. In the Northern VA it is somewhat easy, I am not sure about DC or MD. For example, however, Atlanta it’s a piece of cake to get a rapid Covid-19 test.
The second hardest restriction, for me anyways, was no liquor after 7pm and all day on Sunday. I think Sunday was the first day I had a 24-hour-no-alcohol-cleanse since coronavirus quarantine started. I am sure my liver was thankful, the other option would be to buy your booze and snacks for the whole day before 7pm Saturday, problem solved.
Lastly, closed beaches – why go on an island vacation then? Great question and this might be the most important restriction but *NOTE* this mostly applies to public beaches. The public beaches are only open to solo exercise activities; swimming, running walking count. Sunbathing, lounging and drinking are NOT allowed. The police are patrolling and making sure everyone is compiling so don’t even try it. However, we stayed at a beautiful private beachfront resort and there were no police patrolling at the beach, we were pretty much left alone.
Other Need to Know: Restaurants are still open but social distancing enforced for indoor dining. Overall, we didn’t experience that many closures. It really just felt as if we went to Puerto Rico during a slow, slow, slow, season. We even went to Luquillo beach strip; full of eateries, bars and souvenirs shops, the tourists were out in small numbers, but everything was still open. I ate a great local food, drank a jumbo mojito and purchased a hammock!
Safe travels, have fun!
More information:
- To learn about the amazing hotel we stayed at, visit my hotel review of Hyatt Regency Grand Reserve PR.
- Check out my blog post on all the things to do in Puerto Rico.
- “Eat with me”: PR Review of Puerto Rican food and restaurants.
