As the school year is coming to an end, students are finally able to plan their summer vacation. Although most will be staying in Florida, more families will start leaving the state, or even the country, for their vacation as COVID-19 is slowly dying down.
Families living outside of the United States have not gotten many visits since the pandemic began because citizens were restricted to leave the country. There were not as many resources at the beginning of 2020, so visits were canceled and everyone stayed inside.
“I am traveling to Hungary to visit my family members and friends,” sophomore Misha Varsanyi said. “For most of the time, we will stay in the capital, Budapest.”
Flying out of the country can have varying requirements depending on the location. Some locations are different now because of the COVID-19 outbreak, but agencies are making sure tourists have the safest vacations possible with hand sanitizer and disinfectants.
“The restrictions are [COVID-19] testing before travel and when you go to leave the destination to return to the U.S.,” Gulfshore Travel owner Lisa Neves said.
Even though some may believe that now isn’t the best time to go out of the state, there are still options to make sure trips are safe.
“It is definitely not the best time to travel, obviously because of the pandemic, but I think if we wear a mask, keep social distance and do everything to minimize our chances of catching [COVID-19], it is still a pretty good time to travel,” Varsanyi said.
Countries outside of the United States have added changes to a quick errand run by cutting back on the amount of individuals in a store.
“[People in Bolivia] have to stay quarantined,” freshman Silvana Tellez said. “They can only go shopping based on the number of their ID cards. For example, ID cards ending in one or two can go to the grocery store on Mondays and so on. Also, when going into stores, they completely spray you with antibacterial [disinfectants].”
The COVID-19 vaccine has helped many people with traveling because most places require a proof of vaccination, and it can give travelers a better feeling when vacationing.
“The availability of the vaccine has helped many people feel more confident in making travel plans and getting back out there,” Preferred Travel of Naples owner Kristina Gear said.
Traveling in 2021 is definitely different, and everyone has varying opinions whether now is the prime time to leave Florida.
“I believe that [if] those who are ready to explore the world again are vaccinated, [then] this is a perfect time to travel,” Neves said. “The world has learned to be cleaner and implemented healthy precautions to help with disease spread.”
