CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Are you starting to get cabin fever after 10 months of the pandemic?
If so, you might be thinking of planning a summer vacation.
And if you've been stuck home for months, you might be itching to travel again this summer.
Travel agents say despite the pandemic, many people are already making plans.
Travel agent Lesley Sawhook saw her business crater last year with COVID-19 lockdowns.
But this new year, clients desperate for a vacation are ringing her cell phone every day at her office in the Cincinnati area.
"Some of our clients have already had COVID, and they have antibodies, so they feel safe traveling,” she said. “Some have underlying health conditions and they are not safe to travel."
So if you feel safe booking this summer, Sawbrook says many tropical destinations will welcome you.
"Barbados, Jamaica, Aruba, some of the islands in Hawaii or Mexico, they are all accepting travel right now,” she said.
You may need a COVID test to fly home, but she says some resorts have a great option.
"Heaven forbid you do test positive, a lot of them will put you up for free for the quarantine period, which is good to know,” she said. “But there are some that are not."
Where not to go?
Canada is still closed to Americans and Europe remains a no-go.
"If you are planning to go to Europe, this summer is probably not your summer, so let’s move everything to 2022,” she said.
If you are probably playing it by ear, and figure you will see how bad COVID is, and then maybe plan a road trip, Sawhook has a caution particularly if you are thinking of visiting a theme park.
"A lot of people plan last-minute trips, and what they don't realize right now is that they are operating at limited capacity,” she said.
So if you are thinking of visiting Disney World or Universal, Sawbrook says to reserve your tickets and dates so you are not locked out.
And remember, Disneyland still is closed.
Finally, if you are itching to cruise, she suggests waiting.
"In order to start sailing, they have to do test sails,” she says. “And they haven't even started doing that yet."
If you are on the fence, Sawbrook suggests you go ahead and book a trip. But make sure you'll be allowed to cancel in the event something doesn't feel right or you test positive for the coronavirus.
That way, you don’t waste your money.
