By: Staff Writer
December 18, 2020
A lot of people have been searching for that getaway from the city in the major, developed countries and from the shutdowns in their cities. They want to escape, so here is a rundown of all of the COVID-19 protocols for entry for visitors for some parts of the Caribbean and Central America:
Most of the Caribbean and Central American tourist spots are open or are opening before the end of the year including borders and resorts, here is a run-down of every country’s entry protocols for prospective tourists. Please check with the local authorities for any continuing updates.
Anguilla: Open to all travellers
For Anguilla’s entry approval the only accepted COVID-19 Test is a RT-PCR (polymerase chain reaction) from a naso-pharyngeal swab.
Prospective visitors on pre-arrival must:
Are required to provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test conducted within 3-5 days prior to arrival date. In addition, Insurance which covers COVID-19 medical costs and full hospitalization, doctors’ visits, prescriptions and air ambulance.
Complete online passenger information and health screening questionnaire.
All visitors are required to provide proof of insurance which covers COVID-19 medical costs and full hospitalization, doctors’ visits, prescriptions and air ambulance. More information on Anguilla entry requirements and application
Antigua and Barbuda: Open to all travellers
All arriving passengers by air must have a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR (real time polymerase chain reaction) test for SARS-CoV-2 using a nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab taken within seven (7) days of their flight. (This includes transiting passengers). Children below the age of 12 years, entering Antigua, DO NOT REQUIRE a COVID -19 RT-PCR test. Passengers arriving by sea are subject to quarantine according to guidelines issued by Port Health. All travellers are also subject to assessment by Port Health Authorities for signs and symptoms through a series of checks and the completion of a health declaration form on arrival.
All arriving passengers will be monitored for COVID-19 for periods of up to 14 days government guidelines. Visitors may be required to undergo further testing for COVID-19 on arrival or at the hotel or place of lodging as determined by the Health Authorities. More information on Antigua entry requirements
Aruba: Partially open
Aruba is open to select countries, and they are: Bonaire & Curacao – open since June 15, 2020; Canada – open since July 1, 2020; Europe – open since July 1, 2020; All Caribbean countries (excluding the Dominican Republic and Haiti) – open since July 1, 2020; United States of America – open since July 10, 2020; Dominican Republic and Haiti – open since December 1, 2020; South America – (excluding Venezuela** and Peru**) – open since December 1, 2020; and Central America – open since December 1, 2020.
Application for Aruba’s embarkation/Disembarkation (ED) card requires providing basic traveller information, submitting a personal health assessment, uploading a negative molecular COVID-19 test result as well as purchasing Aruba Visitor’s Insurance.
You have two options to take the molecular COVID-19 test, as one can either take it prior to arrival or only take a test upon arrival in Aruba with no other tests being taken prior to arrival to Aruba. The price for taking the test in Aruba is $75 and prospective visitors are asked to take the test prior to Aruba to avoid this charge.
Wearing a mask is also mandatory in certain government spaces in Aruba as all inbound visitors ages 15 and older must wear a mask in the airport in Aruba, during any taxi ride or public transportation from the airport to their accommodation, and until they enter their room at their booked place of stay, in addition to all visitors must wear a mask while on public transportation. More information on Aruba entry requirements.
The Bahamas: Open to all travellers
You need to have a negative RT-PCR COVID-19 test prior to arrival in The Bahamas taken no more than five days upon arrival. After testing negative, visitors must also apply for a Travel Health Visa at the appointed government website. The average wait time for a health visa is 48 hours and the cost is dependent on the length of stay in the country.
Visitors must also wear a mask upon entry into the airport and customs terminal and must comply with the health screening officials. Persons staying longer than 5 days must take a rapid COVID-19 antigen test. If persons are travelling throughout the island chain, they must fill out a health questionnaire upon each island they visit. More information Bahamas entry requirements.
Barbados: Open to all travellers based on risk ranking
You need a negative RT-PCR test within three days prior to arrival in Barbados, this is for everyone. However, the matter becomes more detailed depending on our risk profile as persons coming from a high risk country can face several different screening protocols than someone from a very low risk country. Visitors will also need a second test upon arrival in Barbados no more than five days after your last test was taken in your country of origin. Barbados also removed the quarantine in place and visitors are now free to venture the island at their leisure. However, there will be “restricted movement” for visitors in process of awaiting the results of their second RT-PCR test and you will not be allowed to leave the “pre-approved” property that you will be staying at as well as have limited access to the facilities on the property.
Visitors also need to be mindful of the health protocols on the island like social distancing and wearing a mask in public places.
It’s also better to say which countries are low risk countries, such as St Vincent and the Grenadines, China, Greenland and Egypt, as opposed to the 66 countries designated as “high risk” including the United States and Great Britain first and foremost.
There is also no travel health visa for Barbados, just the immigration card required upon entry in almost every country in the world. More information on Barbados entry requirements, including risk ranking by country.
Bermuda: Open to all travellers
Travellers to Bermuda must follow the requirements set-out by law. Both visitors and residents must apply for a Bermuda COVID-19 Travel Authorisation 1 to 3 days before departure and cannot travel to Bermuda without an approved Travel Authorisation. Submission of a Travel Authorisation within 24 hours of your travel date will not be approved. Travellers must also have proof of a negative RT-PCR test no more than five days before arrival in Bermuda.
To obtain approval for a Travel Authorisation, visitors must provide proof of valid negative COVID-19 PCR test taken no more than 5 days* before arrival.
Travellers must also wear a wristband as effective December 8, 2020 all residents and visitors to Bermuda are required to wear a Traveller Wristband for the first 14 days of their stay. The Wristbands will remind travellers to be careful of their movements and follow the “First 14 Days” guidance in order to minimize COVID spread. Removal of the wristband is not permitted and can result in a fine of $500 and home quarantine with an electronic monitoring bracelet. Persons who do not wish to wear the Traveller Wristband will quarantine at their accommodation for 14 days. More information on Bermuda entry requirements.
Bonaire: Open to all travellers
All tourists traveling to Bonaire are recommended to take care of their travel insurance, including COVID-19 coverage.
All tourists, with the age of 13 years and older, traveling to Bonaire are required to take a PCR-test maximum 72 hours before traveling, for the health of the travellers and the population of Bonaire, and only travel to Bonaire with a negative result.
All tourists traveling to Bonaire will need to complete and sign a health declaration, this can be downloaded on their government health website.
Tourists and guests should be made aware of local public health measures and specific measures that have been put in place in an establishment. More information on Bonaire entry and travel requirements.
Note: If you are suspected of COVID-19 while in Bonaire the establishment where you last stayed will activate an action plan and you will be required to adhere to additional personal restrictions like wearing a mask at all times and staying at least 5 feet away from individuals. The department of public health will come involved and begin contact tracing.
British Virgin Islands: Open to all travellers
Visitors must register to travel on the BVI Gateway App. Obtain a Certified RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 negative test result 5 days before arrival and submit it on the App. Sampling must be nasopharyngeal and in the case of children 5 to 9 years old oropharyngeal. Children under age 5 will only be tested if medically indicated.
Visitors must complete and submit the Public Health Declaration form 48 hours before arrival to the Territory and each traveller including children must have completed an application to obtain a travel certificate for presentation to airline authorities. They must receive a Travel Certificate which is valid for five days.
This travel authorisation can be used to make travel arrangements and keep a printed or electronic copy of the authorisation and your negative PCR results with you along with your ticket and passport to check-in and board your flight. Visitors must also present the Travel Certificate and a copy of the negative RT-PCR test to airline/vessel agent during the check-in process. Please note that you will not be able to board without your travel authorisation and PCR test results.
Along with being transported to an approved property, visitors must also be quarantined at that approved location for 4 complete days. Travellers will test on Day 4 and await results before release. If there is a positive result, the traveller will be isolated and care provided as needed for a minimum of 10 days; if negative, the traveller will be allowed free movement within the Territory. Each traveller must complete an application to obtain a travel certificate for presentation to airline and/or ferry authorities. Full details on BVI protocols here.
Cayman Islands: Open to all travellers
However, Cayman Island inbound travel seems not to cater to short-term visitors, but rather for persons looking to relocate to study or on work permit or some other extended stay scheme. Persons who enter the Caymans must undergo a 14 day quarantine and take an RT-PCR test. See more details here.
Even more startling is that travellers may not leave the Cayman Islands until the mandatory period in quarantine has been completed. If there are exceptional circumstances that require departure on an outbound flight, or by sea, prior to the end of the quarantine period, Travel Cayman must obtain the approval of the Medical Officer of Health.
Cuba: Open to all travellers
Surprising, as cut off as Cuba was, it is opening up slowly. Even the pandemic has not slowed down the government’ intention to open the country slowly to anybody that wished to travel. Truth is, Cuba was open to travel from every other country in the world except for the United States, so it really isn’t an opening unless you are an American and find this information shocking that Cuba has tourists.
In any event, you need to fill out no particular forms to visit Cuba except travellers will be required to complete a health declaration before arriving in Cuba. This may be handed out by the airlines but doesn’t hurt to have it ahead of time.
Tourists arriving into Cuba will be tested for COVID-19 at the airport. After the test is taken, the traveller will quarantine at their hotel for approximately 24 hours for test results. If the test is negative, the traveller can enjoy their vacation. There is no fee for the COVID-19 tests.
Quarantine periods vary depending on how and where you are visiting Cuba. For example, travellers will only have to quarantine for 12-24 hours while they await the results of their test on arrival at the airport if they are staying at a Hotel, resort or private house and/or Bed and Breakfast. Tourists staying with locals will have to quarantine up to one week. See more details on Cuba COVID-19 protocols here. This is not a government site, as information from the central government in Cuba is hard to come by. So visitors are still asked to verify this before they make plans to vacation in Cuba.
Curacao: Open to all travellers based on risk ranking except cruise passengers
Curacao has a number of countries on medium and low risk entry guidance, and if your country is not listed on their ministry of tourism’s website it means that your country is considered high risk.
Regardless if you are traveling from a low risk or medium risk country these general requirements will apply. Please see the risk area sections for additional requirements. You have not travelled to another country where there is a high-risk of COVID-19 infections or have been in contact with a person who tested positively for COVID-19 within 14 days prior to arrival. If this is the case, you will be placed in mandatory quarantine.
You must carry a printed document of proof of the mandatory steps at all times during your travel. You must be adequately insured for medical care and any additional costs if you are quarantined or become ill during your stay. No cruise passengers are currently admitted. If you do not meet the above conditions, you may be quarantined on arrival. This is entirely at your own expense.
As you can imagine it is a lot of work compiling this. We will try to get them all in. It probably will take two entries, but we will do it for our readers. It is important you know!
Dominica: Open to all travellers based on risk ranking
Similar to Barbados and Curacao, Dominica has a risk ranking of low risk countries to high risk countries and those countries in between. Regardless of where your country falls on the risk ranking, you have to 1. Submit a health questionnaire online at least 24 hours prior to arrival in Dominica; 2. Upload a negative PCR test result where samples were obtained within 24-72 hours prior to arrival; and 3. Travellers must present the following to airlines prior to boarding and upon disembarkation in Dominica: a negative PCR test result where samples were obtained within 24-72 hours prior to arrival and a Notification of health clearance to travel.
Travellers from high risk countries will have to undergo additional screening measures, inclusive of having to pay for additional RT-PCR testing and a first night quarantine fee of $400.
This is where we stop trying to run through every Caribbean country and just skip to the last three where we feel tourists may want to travel to primarily. More on Dominica travel requirements here.
The Dominican Republic: Open to all travellers
Travelers no longer need to provide a negative PCR or COVID-19 test upon arrival. Instead, airports and other ports of entry will administer a quick, aleatory breath test to between 3% and 10% of passengers, and all those who present symptoms, upon arrival. All passengers will also need to perform a temperature check. Passengers who present symptoms or whose test results are positive will be isolated and attended at authorized locations. Prior to departure, travelers should confirm with their airline provider and airport of origin regarding any testing or other related requirements for inbound flights to the Dominican Republic, or necessary requirements needed upon arrival in their country of origin.
As part of the immigration and customs forms provided by the airline or by Dominican authorities, passengers will be required to fill out and submit a Traveler’s Health Affidavit until December 31, 2020. Through this form, passengers declare they have not felt any COVID-19 related symptoms in the last 72 hours and provide contact details for the next 30 days. As of January 1, 2021, the use of digital forms (E-Ticket) will be mandatory.
All international tourists arriving on commercial flights and staying at a hotel will be granted during the check-in process a temporary, free health coverage plan that provides coverage for emergencies in the event of an infection or exposure to COVID-19 while in-country. The coverage includes medical attention by specialists, medical transfers, transfer of a relative, penalty for airfare changes, lodging for prolonged stays and more. This insurance will be provided at no cost to visitors arriving on or before December 31, 2020 and will be 100% paid for by the Dominican government. In order to obtain coverage of the health plan the tourist must enter the country exclusively by air and only applies for guests staying at a hotel. More information on DR entry requirements here. (It’s almost too good to be true)
Jamaica: Open to all travellers
All residents of the United States of America (USA), Brazil, Dominican Republic, Mexico or Panama who are 12 years of age or over, are required to present a negative COVID-19 PCR or Antigen test result to check in for a flight. NOTE: Residents of all other countries are NOT REQUIRED to present a test result.
Tests must be done by a medical laboratory that has a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) registration or ISO 15189 certification.
The date of the sample collection must be less than 10 days from the travel date to Jamaica. Example: For a travel date of October 20, the earliest the test sample may be collected is October 11. Use the Test Date Calculator.
Samples collected using home test kits (ex. Pixel by LabCorp), along with antibody tests will not be accepted.
Jamaica has also implemented a “Resilient Corridors” programme. Something we wrote about before.
You can also go to the visitJamaica website for more information and testing protocols.
Puerto Rico: Open to all travellers
For entry into Puerto Rico you must complete a Travel Declaration, in addition you must arrive with proof of a negative COVID-19 molecular-based test. You must also, unfortunately, self-quarantine at your expense for either 14 days or the duration of your trip whichever is shorter. See travel requirements here. Needless to say I don’t think very many people will be beating down the doors to get to Puerto Rico just to quarantine for 14 days or their entire trip.
Trinidad and Tobago: Partially open to foreign travellers.
TT is considered a high risk destination in the region. The UK and US warns against travel to TT. Airports remain closed to international commercial flights, unless flights are permitted by the Minister.
Additionally, information on entry into TT is convoluted, to say the best about it. The best starting resource on the internet is at the CARICOM’s website, where is gives you just a brief statement on persons coming in from low risk and high risk countries. See here.
Other than from CARICOM, the next government agency is the TT ministry of health and their guidelines, which are hard to read. The health ministry has up the latest government act for the COVID-19 protocols, most of which detail mandatory social distancing and mask wearing.
Belize: Open to all travellers
For Belize the travel requirements are pretty straight forward, you download their Belize Health app and Tourists must have already booked into one of Belize’s “Gold Standard” hotels. Probably the equivalent to the other pre-approved properties they have in Barbados or operating like the travel bubble we see in many other jurisdictions.
Travellers also must have taken a RT-PCR test 72 hours prior to arrival into Belize. If you don’t have a PCR test you will have to take one at the Belize airport at $50 (US), if you test positive you will be forced to have a mandatory 14 day quarantine at your expense. More details here.
Costa Rica: Open to all travellers
There is no RT-PCR test requirement for tourists entering into Costa Rica. However, tourists visiting Costa Rica are asked to abide by the sanitary protocols implemented for carrying out all tourist activities in the country.
You must also complete the digital form called HEALTH PASS found online and purchase mandatory health insurance.
For maritime entry, passengers and crew of yachts and sailboats must meet the same sanitary entry requirements that the country requires of those who enter by air.
In addition to the aforementioned requirements, tourists coming from yachts or sailboats must also hand over to the immigration authorities the document “International Ship Sailing and Dock” in authorized marinas. More details on Costa Rican entry requirements here.
There are several other countries out there, obviously, but this covers the main ones and a few others in a simple sweep.
There has been a lot of discussion had about the Abott test, which is a version of a rapid-antigen test that so far only The Bahamas and Jamaica uses from what we have researched. The efficacy of the rapid antigen tests have come under scrutiny however, with claims that they are not thorough enough and quite obviously because they are what they are, “rapid” tests and because they are inexpensive to administer which indicates that they are cheaply made. In any event, any regime offering an antigen test would be best served to conduct the RT-PCR test as well, which is expensive but more accurate than the $5 rapid antigen tests floating around. More about the Abott test here from the company itself.
