The two most loved destinations in Mexico in 2022 0:38
(CNN) --
With one of the world's least restrictive travel policies regarding Covid-19, Mexico has been open to international travelers during the pandemic.
What you find when you get there seems to depend a lot on where you travel to and when you travel.
Two recent trips to the country, one to sunny Tulum and the other to the big city of Guadalajara, revealed opposing attitudes and approaches to covid-19.
More by chance than by choice, the two trips were very different.
In one of them I flew directly from the United States on a US airline, while in the other I crossed the border on foot and traveled within the country on a Mexican airline.
These differences caused the covid protocols for returning to the United States to vary greatly as well.
Tulum: a carefree beach vacation
With much of the rest of the world closed to non-essential travel or plagued by health restrictions, south of the border emerged early in the pandemic as a viable international destination for many Americans.
Cancun also became one of the main destinations worldwide during the pandemic.
Cancun and Tulum were some of the most sought after places by American travelers.
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The archaeological ruins of Tulum are a great attraction for tourists.
So is the entire surrounding coastal area.
Credit: Joe Yogerst
But I wasn't prepared for exactly how much interest in the destinations had grown until we went on a family vacation to Tulum in December.
We opted to try the Cross-Border Express (CBX) for the first time.
It is a check-in
terminal
in San Diego, on the US side, with a pedestrian bridge that crosses the border to Tijuana International Airport.
Know the airports that cross international borders
It took us two hours to cross the cross-border bridge, a closed and narrow space with no distancing, along with hundreds of other people who took the 18 night flights that left Tijuana after midnight.
Those tortuous two hours on the CBX bridge were the only time I really worried about covid-19 during our vacation.
Among the advantages of using the CBX were the much cheaper flights from Tijuana (we're talking about half the cost of flights from the United States) and direct, non-stop flights, rather than the hassle and unpredictability of airports in Connection.
We had to fill out an online health form for the Mexican government before going through immigration on the Tijuana side of the bridge, but no one asked to see our vaccination cards at any point during the entire 10-day trip.
And we were not required to have any negative covid test to enter Mexico.
With its yoga studios, vegan restaurants, and full moon beach parties, Tulum is said to have a
hippie
chic vibe.
But, almost immediately, it became clear that many visitors were in total denial when it came to the pandemic.
Liefs vegan restaurant is one of the many open-air restaurants in Tulum.
Credit: Joe Yogerst
Even as shops, bars and restaurants asked customers to wear masks and keep their distance, most of the tourists I witnessed blatantly ignored the pleas, even as the omicron variant of the new coronavirus began to gain traction.
What saved us was the fact that much of Tulum is outdoors, with world-class attractions like gorgeous beaches, cenotes, biking and hiking trails, bars, restaurants, and Mayan ruins.
They will build a wall around the archaeological zone of Tulum 1:24
Back to the United States
It was not until the day we traveled home from Tulum that covid reared its head again.
Anyone flying directly to the United States must be tested for COVID-19 within one day of travel, regardless of vaccination status.
Otherwise, you will not be able to board your flight.
Those who test positive will be required to self-quarantine in Mexico, normally paid out of pocket.
Some resorts have included free or reduced-price quarantines in their offers.
Re-entry testing requirements have spawned a cottage industry of COVID-testing trailers and vans along Cobá Avenue, the main thoroughfare between the beaches and downtown Tulum.
If you contracted covid-19 during the holidays, this is what you should know
I asked a visitor from New York what the street tests consisted of.
She told me that it was "quick and easy", that it cost US$35 and that it would take about an hour to get the result.
Those of us who flew domestic flights back to Tijuana didn't need a covid test, but that doesn't mean we were spared.
On our flight from Cancun to Tijuana, many of the English-speaking passengers simply refused to wear masks, despite reminders from flight attendants.
Although precautions against covid are not strictly followed in the surroundings of Tulum, many of the main attractions, such as the Choo-Ha cenote, are outdoors.
Credit: Joe Yogerst
The epilogue to this story is the fact that covid started to pick up in Cancun and Tulum around Christmas, the day we flew home.
Cabo San Lucas, another popular Mexican beach destination, saw a similar increase.
Mexico has a four-tier traffic light system that shows the level of risk in each state.
In early January, the state of Quintana Roo, where Tulum is located, moved back from the lowest risk level, green, to yellow, as Covid-19 cases spiked after the holidays.
On January 24, it went up another notch to orange.
Baja California Sur, where Cabo San Lucas is located, was listed as orange on January 24.
Red is the highest risk level.
Guadalajara: a stay in a strict city against covid
The precautions for the covid-19 in Guadalajara, a metropolis about 190 kilometers from Puerto Vallarta, in the state of Jalisco, on the Pacific coast, could not be more different than those of Tulum, in the Caribbean.
I traveled to Guadalajara on a research trip to write a month before my vacation in Quintana Roo, just before the discovery of the omicron variant was announced.
Workers make traditional Mexican candies at Nuestro Dulces in Tlaquepaque, just outside Guadalajara.
Credit: Joe Yogerst
Being the second largest city in Mexico (with 5 million inhabitants), you would imagine that covid has been a big problem.
But until recently, the charts showed consistently low infection and hospitalization rates.
Like much of Mexico, Jalisco has seen a sharp increase in cases in January, although the rate of cases per 100,000 residents in the state is still about a third of that of Quintana Roo.
Jalisco went from green to yellow on January 24 in the country's traffic light system.
Before I flew, I asked a colleague in the local tourism industry how the city had managed to avoid the worst of Covid.
He detailed three main reasons:
The governor of the state of Jalisco took the pandemic seriously from day one and immediately implemented mask mandates and other measures.
Jalisco has what many consider to be the best health system in Mexico.
The pandemic was not politicized in the state, which means that residents of all persuasions followed the rules and recommendations to contain covid-19.
Strict rules in the city
The serious measures against covid were evident from the moment I left my hotel that first morning.
Everyone wore masks, both inside and outside.
Entrance to all shops, restaurants, churches and museums, as well as the pedestrian entrance to the historic city center, required a mask, use of hand sanitizer and digital temperature control.
Instead of closing, the city's main attractions adapted new rules and procedures.
For example, the Cabañas Cultural Institute, which preserves more than a hundred priceless murals by José Clemente Orozco, was transformed into a one-way route, with doctors ensuring that visitors kept a minimum distance from 2 meters.
At Casa Luna de Tlaquepaque it is possible to enjoy lunch.
More precautions are taken in the state of Jalisco than in other parts of Mexico.
Credit: Joe Yogerst
In Guadalajara, the covid regulations were much stricter than anywhere else I have traveled in the United States since the pandemic began, including the states of Washington, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.
And since January 14, the state of Jalisco requires vaccination, or a negative result in the covid test, for closed spaces, such as bars and casinos.
I had to get tested for covid-19 before I flew home via Houston, but it was a doddle.
An entire floor of the large parking lot of the Guadalajara International Airport had been transformed into a test center.
I paid the $25 fee with a credit card, had a nasal swab done, and 20 minutes later I had my negative result, both on paper and by email.
As with most foreign travel these days, you have to be prepared to self-quarantine if you test positive before flying back home.
Bottom line:
If you really feel the need to travel abroad, Mexico remains one of the easiest places to get around, as long as you're prepared to manage your potential exposure to the virus.
Covid-19GuadalajaraTulum
