NOT Including Disney, Where Have You Vacationed This Summer?

[ronandannette]

I'm looking for experiences on cruises, AI resorts or any other type of land vacation, other than WDW or DLR (lots of reviews for those on here). I'm just wondering what the specific conditions are like at this stage of the pandemic and what your specific experiences were. I don't so much need details on the air travel but I would be interested in knowing what the entry requirements of your destinations were, if you travelled internationally.

We would really like a vacation but are so unclear on what's actually doable, and what's worth even trying to do, given the possible constraints. TIA

 

[bennifer]

We took a trip to Sedona/Grand Canyon/Petrified Forest last month. Even though all 3 of us are vaccinated we wanted to be outside most of the time. We hiked, drove, hiked, did all of the scenic lookouts, etc. When we stopped into any stores or went to restaurants we wore our masks if they had a sign or if all of the employees were wearing one. All National Parks require a mask at all indoor locations and in crowded outdoor areas. We were lucky with our dates, I think a lot of schools had already started and we didn't have any big crowds. I only saw one couple openly defying it. One had a completely mesh mask and the other just wore a smirk while leaving a restaurant in the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon. The day we were driving to the airport to come home there we noticed big signs in front of some businesses stating that masks were required by state mandate. Since we were leaving I didn't bother to look it up and see what the actual mandate was.

 

[MillauFr]

We went to Las Vegas. Had a great time.

 

[JaxDad]

We went to NYC and the Finger Lakes in July. We were outdoors most of the time and wore masks indoors when required.

 

[TippyThomas]

I've gone to state and federal parks in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and West Virginia. I am heading out west this fall/winter.

 

[ronandannette]

We went to Las Vegas. Had a great time.

Was it pretty much business as usual? Hotel pools open, attractions open, shows on, day trips and excursions available? We had a few days in Vancouver last week and found that a lot of the the touristy stuff didn't re-open for 2021 due to restrictions and gravely reduced crowds (no cruise ships in port this year which alone accounts for 900,000 fewer).

 

[snappy]

Spent a whole lot of time, 4 weeks with another one coming up at a beach community development on the west side of Panama City beach. Beautiful sugar white sand, chairs and umbrellas waiting for you, 3 pools in community. It seemed like an oasis during the pandemic. Luckily we knew where to go since we found this development back in 2017 and stayed there again in 2018 for a milestone wedding anniversary. We can drive there easily in 5-6 hours, and it is a place that was a safe place while social distancing.

 

[daisy2013]

St Lucia- pcr negative covid test within five days of entry. Clearance from the st Lucian govt. if vaccinated you were given a wristband that would allow you to leave your resort at will. If not vaccinated you could only stay at designated resorts and take designated excursions.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Nowhere. We have 2 vacations coming up next month though. Outer Banks mid October and WDW October 31-November 6th.

 

[brockash]

I'm looking for experiences on cruises, AI resorts or any other type of land vacation, other than WDW or DLR (lots of reviews for those on here). I'm just wondering what the specific conditions are like at this stage of the pandemic and what your specific experiences were. I don't so much need details on the air travel but I would be interested in knowing what the entry requirements of your destinations were, if you travelled internationally.

We would really like a vacation but are so unclear on what's actually doable, and what's worth even trying to do, given the possible constraints. TIA

We went to outerbanks...we do usually every other year. For the most part things were as normal except the short staff...long waits if you wanted to eat somewhere and some things were closed. This was end of June though when lots were unmasked and before the remasking started coming back with the delta.

 

[JLemaire7]

Seattle, WA
Park City, UT
Bend, OR

Seattle- We went in May for Memorial Day weekend. This was right when things were starting to get back to “normal” in the PNW. We found that our hotel (Pan Pacific) and many restaurants were very short staffed. You also had to book times in advance for attractions such as the Space Needle and Seattle Art Museum. That wasn’t the worst thing and not sure what it’s like now. Airports were packed. We wore masks all of the time.

Park City-This was a fantastic trip in early/mid-July. We didn’t have to wear masks (fully vaxxed) and our resort (St.Regis) was fully staffed and service was wonderful. Lots of outdoor activities and that is why we chose to go here because we knew we could be outside. Airports were packed.

Bend, OR- This was also a fantastic trip in August but resort we stayed at (Pronghorn) was very short staffed and Covid had just stared to get bad again in Oregon so we were very careful. The hotel was very honest about their staffing issues and the limitations that came with that and we appreciated that.

We are hoping for Hawaii or Cabo next year and at this point we want to go bad enough that we’re willing to do what we need to do to get there. It’s anyone’s guess when things are going to get better with Covid and staffing issues and just really wanting a tropical beach vacation.

 

[Southernmiss]

I'd say many areas of the US are open, especially in the South.

I've been in many places in the south this summer. Really, the only issue is staffing at restaurants. And availability of hotels

I have felt comfortable with my own sensibilities of masking and social distancing as needed.

College and pro football games have happened all over the country this weekend to full crowds.

Pick a place and look for hotels. That's been the issue. Popular vacation locations have been packed.

 

[lorimay]

A week in NYC. So hot, never going in July again and I am from South Florida.

 

[AgentMama]

Was it pretty much business as usual? Hotel pools open, attractions open, shows on, day trips and excursions available? We had a few days in Vancouver last week and found that a lot of the the touristy stuff didn't re-open for 2021 due to restrictions and gravely reduced crowds (no cruise ships in port this year which alone accounts for 900,000 fewer).

Vegas is back to business as normal, they had dropped the mask mandate, but reinstated it indoors in the last month or so. But restaurants and shows are open again.

 

[becauseimnew]

Glacier National Park & Universal Studios

 

[antmaril]

Traverse City, Michigan and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Didn’t travel too far from home this summer. Hoping to go to Las Vegas in March, 2022.

 

[Kittyblue]

We went to Vegas a couple times, both before the mask mandate came back. It was pretty much business as usual, maybe a little less weeknight entertainment and not many discounts available on shows, but still had a fantastic time.

I also went to Kansas City and St. Louis with my oldest. She has a friend in Kansas City and I wanted to visit the Gateway Arch. Everything we wanted to do was open, but we had to wear a mask everywhere.

 

[disneychrista]

Not sure I'd call it a vacation but I took a weekend trip to Humboldt County to visit the breweries up there in June. Not soon after COVID went crazy again, so no more trips for me for awhile. Every place I went was super crowded. Some more crowded than I had ever seem them. It was very obvious that people are/were done with COVID and COVID restrictions.

 

[lucas]

Not one place. We live in South Florida (Boca Raton) and have not traveled at all.

 

[Colleen27]

Everything is changing so fast that it is hard to offer anything helpful. We were in WDW in January, when there were lots of measures in place that are long gone now. We were in Alaska in June/July, where there were almost no mitigation policies in effect, but from what I understand from a friend in Anchorage many places have reinstated masks and distancing/capacity limits due to the current surge in cases. That was a lovely place for pandemic travel because so much of what we were up to was not especially crowded and just about everything was outdoors. We were in Seattle in July and things were mostly getting back to normal, other than timed entry at some of the museums we went to and of course mask rules in some places. That wasn't as well suited to the present moment, however, because more of what we did was indoors and it was pretty hot in masks (we were there just after the record-setting heat and it was still unusually warm).

As far as the rest of the year goes, I'm thinking we're going to head to San Francisco next month for a few days. Most things there are open but requiring both masks and proof of vaccination, which is no problem for us since even my youngest is fully vaccinated but obviously adds a layer of "something to carry" to the trip that I'll have to plan for since I don't usually carry a purse. And I'm hoping our holiday trip to NYC still happens, but who knows what kind of rules might be in place there (or not) by then. I'm at a point right now where I feel like last-minute planning is preferable to trying to do anything too far in advance because of the potential for changing guidelines to throw a wrench in the works, and it is making me pretty gun-shy on getting tickets for the shows we'd like to go to in New York.