Where to go this vacation: experts comment on destinations and risks

What would happen if you test positive for covid-19 on vacation?

0:52

(CNN) -

During the holiday season last year, many people who would normally have flown in for a beach getaway or gravitated toward the twinkling lights of a big city stayed home.

This year, with the widespread vaccination against Covid-19 in many countries, moving around the world has become safer and more accessible for many travelers.

But the constant risk-benefit analysis of the pandemic is still very valid: Can I travel safely?

What destinations should I consider?

Who else can go?

How complicated will it be?

It would be great to have a definitive list of destinations you can go to and another one of places you can't, but we haven't had any luck.

Once again, the "it depends" has an important weight for any plan.

CNN Travel asked industry experts and CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen how to weigh decisions about vacation destinations and choose the places that fit your risk level and tolerance.

Wearing a high-quality mask is the key to safer air travel.

(Credit: Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images)

The number 1 consideration for your vacation

Your vaccination status is the most important factor from the point of view of ease of travel.

"The first thing you can do to make travel easier and less cumbersome is to get vaccinated," says Dave Hershberger, owner of Prestige Travel in Cincinnati, Ohio.

"And I know that not everyone wants to or can't do it for whatever reason, but that will streamline pretty much any trip you're considering right now, and I think it will become more important as time goes on."

• Which countries are adopting health passports to certify vaccination against covid-19 and lift restrictions?

Vaccination is also the most important safety factor, as unvaccinated travelers are more likely to get sick and transmit COVID-19 to others, said Dr. Wen, an emergency physician and professor of Health Policy and Management at the School of Public Health from the Milken Institute of George Washington University.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends delaying travel until fully vaccinated.

advertising

Some countries do not allow unvaccinated visitors to enter.

Canada admits only vaccinated travelers for tourism purposes.

And as of November 8, the United States will only allow vaccinated foreigners to enter the country, with exceptions for children who do not yet qualify.

• Are you worried about traveling with children not vaccinated against covid-19?

  6 questions and answers on how to manage risks

Traveling with unvaccinated children will be a consideration for many families.

"This risk is not so much the journey itself as what is done at the destination. The journey itself can be very safe, especially if younger children are capable of wearing a mask. If they are unable to do so, that it's a major barrier, "said Wen, who is also the author of a new book," Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health. "

If she were traveling alone with her four-year-old son, who is used to wearing his mask in preschool, Wen said she would be very comfortable taking him on a short flight.

However, she would not travel by plane or train with her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter because she cannot consistently keep her mask on.

People should wear a high-quality mask - N95, KN95 or KF94 - whenever they are in close quarters and crowded with people whose vaccination status is unknown, he said.

"Transmission rates are a benchmark," Wen said.

"Another is what precautions are required and followed in the place you want to go, and the third is what you plan to do once you are there. Do you plan to visit many attractions and go to closed bars? That is very different from going to a place where you plan to lie on the beach all day and not interact with anyone else. That is very different. They are very different levels of risk. "

And your own health history, your age and your comfort level, for yourself or your children, are also important considerations.

Destinations like Turks and Caicos are popular with winter travelers hoping to spend a lot of time outdoors.

(Credit: Marnie Hunter / CNN)

What are the travel advisers' tips for less risky travelers?

Protravel International Travel Consultant Ashley Les sends many people to warm-weather destinations, where most of the activity is outdoors.

They consider that Belize, where he currently lives, is a great option because many of the hotels are smaller, boutique resorts with separate dwellings for each group.

"That way you don't share hallways with other people. Your little bungalow is yours alone. There may be 10 or 20, so the maximum on the property is 30 to 40," he says.

Costa Rica, the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and some islands in the Caribbean have many properties with the same type of configuration.

He has booked many stays for them at Hammock Cove in Antigua, an adult-only resort that requires vaccination.

• The list of requirements to travel in times of covid-19: this is what you have to know before you leave

In August 2020, Les made his first big trip during the pandemic to Turks and Caicos.

The flight was nonstop and the islands required testing, giving Les some assurance that his safety and that of the locals was a priority (the islands now require both testing and proof of vaccination from most travelers).

A nonstop flight to a destination that requires testing means that nearly everyone on your flight tested negative for COVID-19.

Travelers won't have that when they fly within the United States, he noted.

"You don't have to get tested to fly to Colorado from Florida or to fly to Boston from New York ... Domestic flights are not safer," Les said.

What travelers do eliminate by staying in their home country is the risk of being stranded in another country if they test positive for COVID-19 before flying home and have to stay in quarantine.

• What happens when tourists test positive for covid-19 while on vacation?

For Americans, being stranded "is certainly a potential danger every time you leave the country at this time, due to the US requirement to present a negative test before returning to the country," Hershberger said.

"If you have two weeks and you can only be away for two weeks, period, it may not be an opportunity that I would take," he said, adding that it is still unlikely if you are vaccinated and are careful while you are away.

Hershberger noted that national parks are a great option, focused on the outdoors, for travelers who are inclined to stay closer to home, and that Hawaii will welcome tourists again after asking visitors to stay away. during a late summer surge.

Hawaii is accepting tourists again after a surge this summer.

And what about Europe this season?

Anywhere the weather causes visitors to stay at home can be dubious for travelers who are uncomfortable or at higher risk of negative consequences if they become infected.

• The United Kingdom will remove the remaining countries from its red list of trips (all are Latin American)

The Christmas season can be a magical time in big cities like Paris, with fancy Christmas decorations and unique shopping, but Paris in winter probably means spending a lot of time indoors.

"You expose yourself to being surrounded by more people in a kind of stagnant inner zone," says Les, who directs clients to warmer destinations.

Last week, COVID-19 cases and deaths globally increased for the first time in two months, driven by continued increases in Europe, according to the World Health Organization.

But Europe is not out of the question for many travelers.

Germany (Leipzig in the 2020 photo) can be magical at Christmas, but the cold means more time indoors.

(Credit: Jens Schlueter / AFP via Getty Images)

"For people who are not as suspicious as others, this is a great time to go to Europe," says Hershberger.

Travelers who are willing to do their research or hire a consultant to help them comply with the rules will find fewer crowds than usual, he said.

At Trailfinders in the UK, Europe is being very popular with customers for the winter holidays.

The Canary Islands, Switzerland, Malta and Iceland are in high demand, according to Nikki Davies, public relations director for Trailfinders.

"In addition, our clients have returned to book getaways to cities such as Paris, Amsterdam, among others."

How important should travel advisories be?

If any of the aforementioned destinations in Europe, the Caribbean, and elsewhere are compared with a map overlaid with the covid-19 broadcast data, things look really bleak.

CDC's color-coded risk map shows that much of the world is at "high" or "very high" risk, based largely on covid-19 incidence rates and the trajectory of new cases, including many of the destinations that travel consultants book heavily in November and December.

• World's Largest Country Moves into CDC's Highest Risk Travel Category

Transmission rates are important to consider, but there are other factors to weigh, Wen said, calling the CDC ratings "a useful tool." The situation is very fluid, with cases increasing in some countries and considerably decreasing in others. Wen urges prospective travelers to look out for precautions at potential destinations.

"For example, there could be a country with high transmission rates but that requires the use of masks indoors, even in public transport, or that requires proof of vaccination or a test to enter restaurants and go to sports venues. It would make it much more secure. So just looking at transmission rates is not enough, "Wen said.

In France, for example, most closed public spaces require a health pass that proves vaccination status or a negative COVID-19 test result.

The green pass requirement in France helps mitigate risk in indoor spaces.

(Credit: Joel Saget / AFP via Getty Images)

So travel planning comes down to: vaccinations, wearing masks, and considering your activities.

If you take other precautions, sitting on the beach in a country that is on the CDC's level 4 “no travel” list could be much safer than going to a crowded restaurant and museum in another in a location with a designation of lower risk.

Although the CDC does not break down the United States in its more detailed travel advisories, it is currently a "very high" risk - or level 4 - on the agency's travel map, as is the United Kingdom, where "travel They are definitely on the agenda again, "according to Trailfinders' Davies.

US softens entry conditions for visitors 0:56

Davies said that with the opening of the US to vaccinated international travelers on November 8, it is once again the top destination for Trailfinders customers.

New York, California and Florida are the most popular destinations.

"In the UK, the message is that the world is open," he said.

Although there are not as many flights, he estimates that weekly bookings have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

But open or not, where or if someone travels these holidays is a personal calculation.

"It doesn't make sense to go on vacation and be stressed out all the time," Hershberger said.

"So go anywhere you can avoid some of that stress, whatever your comfort level."

Holidays