JACLYN’S MEXICO TRAVEL RECAP – Travelling During The Pandemic

I just got back from a week long trip to Mexico and OH MY GOODNESS I want to go back!! The weather was amazing, the people were so nice and the food was AMAZING! I do have to say though with all the current travel restrictions, passports & tests it did make the whole travel part of it a little more stressful, so let me break it down for you and give you some tips!

Firs thing I will say is arrive at the airport EARLY!!!!! It was like I had completely forgotten how to travel, thinking I just get to the airport and walk onto the plane… NO NO!

Lineups are longer now because vaccination passports and tests need to be shown so whatever time you usually show up, show up an hour earlier!

We got to the airport about an hour and 15 minutes before our flight (BAD IDEA) and when we arrived the line up was LONG and the cut off time to get your bags on your flight was 45 minutes so we were cutting it close. Not to mention we hadn’t checked in yet because (and here’s another lesson) I wrote the shortened version of my boyfriends name when booking the flight, and it needs to match both your vaccine passport and regular passport exactly..

Melissa Villasenor Oops GIF by Saturday Night Live

We were that embarrassing couple that got called up because we were SO LATE. We got a little lecture about checking in early and putting the right names in but we made it through (because we checked in late though we were sitting separate and both got middle seats.. Once again OOPS, but lesson learnt). At this point we needed to have proof of both vaccinations (we showed the paper cards we both have) and to go to Mexico you DON’T need to show any covid tests so we were ready to roll!

We had time to quickly grab some water and Subway and get onto the plane. Now remember you have to wear a mask from the moment you walk into the airport till the moment you leave the airport at your final destination. Our flight was 4 hours and 30 minutes so we had our masks on for about 8 hours straight, of course you can take them off to eat and drink but I have to say on the plane everyone was quite respectful about it and thankfully no one got taped to a chair!! I also downloaded a bunch of shows on Netflix and watched on my phone, WestJet doesn’t have screens but they do have an app you can download beforehand with movies and shows.

We had the best time in the sun (photos below) and I have to say I was little surprised with how strict they were in Mexico with masks! Everywhere you go you need one, even when entering an outdoor beach restaurant! So if you are travelling make sure you bring a bunch of masks!! We felt completely safe and comfortable in regards to the pandemic.

We came home Feb 28th which meant it was the first day that rules entering Canada changed from needing a PCR test to only needing an antigen test (SO much cheaper yay!). Of course we were excited but also super nervous because you never know if on the first day everyones on the same page. BUT we went for it. So the day before our flight we paid $35 Canadian per person to get an antigen test. We got our results in 30 minutes and were all negative! We checked in the day before as well and this is a MUST!!!!! ARE YOU LISTENING?! Fill out your ARRIVE CAN app the day before your flight!! Get it out of the way and do it while you have wifi!! There were so many people at the airport who did not have theirs and it added an extra 30 minutes to get it all filled out, and added lots of extra stress.

So we filled out our Arrive Can App, checked in and saved all of our documents to the same place in our phones. Here’s everything we needed:

– Passport

– Arrive Can filled out for each traveller (you get a QR code once it is)

– Proof of BOTH vaccinations

– Negative Antigen Test Results

We got to the airport 2 hours before our flight this time and it still wasn’t enough time, now to be fair I’m going to have to blame this one on WestJet.. Every other airline had about 5 people in their line.. We had well over 100, and waited in line for over an hour to get our baggage tags.. Once again us and about 7 other couples got called to the front so we wouldn’t miss our flight. So get there early!! We flew out of Cabo and there were so many amazing restaurants (that we didn’t get to enjoy) on the other side of security that if you go early you could definitely grab a beer and some good food.

Because of the massive line up for West Jet we had to run right to the gate which meant no water but thankfully I bought a Burrito before the airport so we were good to go!!! The flight home was great, once again no one was taped to a seat, no mask-less chants, BUT I did get randomly selected to do a COVID test upon arrival in Vancouver after going through customs. Thankfully there was no line up. It took about 10 minutes, I had to zig zag through the airport, give them my info and then got a mouth and nose swab (not the cue tip hitting my brain thankfully). If you are fully vaccinated you do not need to quarantine upon arrival. You get your results in 24 hours and if they are positive then you quarantine but I got mine and once again, negative!!

All in all the travel experience went very smoothly, and I am so excited for my next trip.. But will definitely have my documents better prepared next time and will show up earlier to the airport!!

**Just remember as well most places require tests to travel to them.. Make sure to do your research on the country you are travelling too and what they require!**