Traveling During a Pandemic: Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a gorgeous country with friendly people. It's also one of the few countries that currently allows tourists without requiring a COVID-19 test or quarantine. The weather was warm and beautiful, making Costa Rica a wonderful place to relax by the pool and enjoy excursions.
Q. What were your travel dates and where did you stay?
A. I was in Costa Rica the first week of January 2021 and I stayed at the all-inclusive RIU Palace Costa Rica.
Q. What were your favorite parts about the trip? Did you do any excursions?
A. My favorite parts were the excursions. I went on a volcano tour, a boat trip, a rainforest hike, relaxed in the hot springs, and took an ATV tour.
Q. Do you have any advice for someone wanting to visit Costa Rica?
A. Definitely do it! I really enjoyed my time there.
If safety is a concern, all my tour guides and the resort staff wore masks. Also, much of the resort was semi-outside. You can eat outside at the main buffet restaurant and the stairs to the rooms have large windows open to the outside.
Q. Is there anything you’d do differently if you went back? Or if you did go back, what are 1 or 2 additional things you might like to do?
A. Many of the tour companies do a full-day tour to Nicaragua. Unfortunately when I went the borders were closed to tourists, but if I go back to Costa Rica that is one thing I'd like to do.
I flew into Liberia and only saw part of Costa Rica. Another thing I'd like to do is visit San Jose and some of the attractions on the other side of the country.
Q. How was traveling during COVID? What was different about the flights and resort?
A. Traveling during COVID was good. I flew Delta Air Lines and they're still blocking middle seats. The plane was boarded from back to front instead of by zones. They offered a pre-packaged snack pack and a small bottle of water on each flight.
I think several things at the resort were different because of COVID. They weren't offering any room service. They have 3 specialty restaurants, in addition to the buffet restaurant and the poolside restaurant, but only 1 specialty restaurant was open each evening. I think the dining hours were shortened as well.
Costa Rica is a beautiful country that offers the perfect blend of relaxation and exciting excursions. If you have a destination in mind, email us or give us a call. We're staying up to date on the latest travel news to make sure you have a fun and safe vacation.
