Recent trip to Cancun + my take on traveling there right now
For those of you who haven't felt bombarded by my beach pics, my mother and I traveled to Cancun last Saturday and stayed at the Westin Cancun for 4 nights. The weather was nice and warm which allowed us to take some time to bask in the sunlight and forget our worries at home. I thought it would be a good idea to talk about how this travel experience was in case any of you are planning to travel anytime soon!
We flew out of PHL airport on Saturday morning and the airport was mostly empty which was nice. No long lines at security or to check bags, and most people were complying with the mask regulation. We were able to grab some food at La Columbe and ate at an empty gate, which made me feel safe enough to remove my mask while I ate and drank.
The plane had maybe 50 people at most on board, but they did kind of crowd us together in certain spots so that the weight was distributed evenly enough for a safe flight. My mom and I had aisle seats across from each other, and she was the only one in her row and I had a fellow flyer in my window seat who slept and never took off her mask.
Due to the stress of everything, my mom and I ordered drinks so I did take my mask off a few times quickly to drink. Most people slept the whole time so overall it was a pretty stress-free flight. Deplaning was also easy, but baggage claim was pretty packed as usual for any large airport. However, the process didn’t take long and we stood at least 6 ft away from everyone until the carousel started.
We hired a car service to and from the airport through our hotel which was really helpful since you get hounded after baggage claim from taxi services etc. we found someone from The One and he immediately called for a driver. We sat in the back of a 7 person van, while the driver sat in the front separated by a sheet of heavy plastic and he wore his mask appropriately.
Upon arrival to the hotel, we had to do a temp screening, sanitize our hands, and fill out a health assessment which again, made us feel pretty safe.
The hotel was as clean as expected, and we were told no housekeeping would occur during our stay to limit the amount of times housekeeping had to go into rooms, so we basically just requested new towels in the middle of the stay and that’s all we really needed during a 4 night stay.
Eating at the hotel- only two places were open while we were there, a sports bar and a steakhouse. We ate at the sports bar every morning for breakfast and got lunch at the pool almost every day. We also ate at the steakhouse one night. All good experiences; everyone wore masks, sanitized our hands before we ordered, utensils were in bags or paper holders, pens to sign at the end were in paper holders, all in all I felt very safe eating at the hotel
We did not wear masks while out at the pool or beach, but we were able to stay 6 feet away from other guests for pretty much the entire time
Dining outside of the resort- we decided to dine out two times during our short stay which I’m so glad we did because both experiences were awesome. The first place we went to was called Navios, it was a 5 minute walk from the hotel and recommended to us by our concierge as "a place that locals go for good food". Little did we know we were about to be enchanted by this little restaurant. The place was entirely outside with a small portion covered by a roof. We were asked to wash our hands at an outdoor sink before approaching the host stand and then we were seated on a dock next to the water, more than 10 feet away from any other guests. Aside from continuously worrying that the wind would blow our phones or other belongings into the water, the night was amazing. Very good fancy cocktails, seafood was to die for (we got tuna tartare, seafood ceviche, and pasta with mushrooms). The staff all had masks and face shields and our silverware came out in sealed plastic. The second place we went to required a taxi, which the hotel called for us and felt pretty much like any other taxi (not ideal, but also not terribly uncomfortable). This place was called Porfirios- another very nice place with great food and a great atmosphere. We sat under a roof but it was technically outside and there were fans above so the air was constantly circulating. Most staff wore masks but a bunch didn't (not anyone that came to our table thankfully), so not the best situation but it still felt pretty safe. There ended up being a gender reveal party in the next "room" which was crowded with guests but they were all maybe 15-20 feet from us and outside as well so again still felt pretty safe. We got guacamole, enchiladas, stuffed chicken, and we finished off the night with churros served in our very own mini churro cart! It was such a fun time, and we were able to easily get a cab from the restaurant back to the hotel. All in all, a pretty good experience!
Departure- flying home was definitely the most anxiety-ridden experience during this trip. We had our car service take us to the airport, security was a little more crowded but not crazy, but our flight was 100% booked which was a little stressful. We had a layover in Ft. Lauderdale so I didn't take my mask off at all during that flight. I saw quite a few people not wearing their masks correctly which concerned me, but I have read that flights are pretty safe because of the air circulation so we weren't that concerned.
Touching down in Ft. Lauderdale really began the decline in this travel experience. We had to go through customs once we got off the plane, then get our bags, check them again, then go through security again before heading to our gate. First, once we got off the plane, we stood in a giant line waiting to go down the escalator to immigration. Basically our entire flight was stuck in a small line for maybe 30 min. Once we got downstairs, it was like waiting in line for a ride at Disney World- no one was 6 feet apart, tons of people were not wearing their masks or had them down under their nose, and we were crowded in that line for upwards of 45 minutes. We finally got past that and then showed our passports to the officers, and that line wasn't nearly as bad (maybe 10 min, less people so a little more breathing room). Checking the bags took a few minutes once we got them and security was very quick, but the airport was super crowded and tons of people weren't wearing masks. Another extremely full flight from FLL to PHL, although my mom's seat was broken so they moved her to the aisle seat in front of me (I sat in the window seat and shared the row with a gentleman who sat in the aisle). I slept and kept my mask on the whole flight. Deplaning took a while and it was crowded waiting for our bag, but by then we were so tired (we landed around 11:30) that we just got our bag and found our car and headed home to bed.
Takeaways- Cancun itself is a pretty decent travel destination during a pandemic- they completely shut down for over 6 months so I think the case load is pretty low and they are taking a lot of measures to keep it that way. Traveling on a plane is probably the most risky part (especially the time at the airport). If I were to do it again, I would have tried to get a direct flight from CUN to PHL so I could have spent a lot less time in airports. I also would have tried my best to not check a bag so I can breeze out of the airports once deplaning.
I hope this was a little helpful for you if you were considering traveling by plane somewhere!
Nicole 💜
Links to outfits worn on the trip:
White leather + leopard sneakers
Aerie green high waisted bikini bottoms
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