Visit to Bermuda?

[Lady Lucy]

Since we're unable to cruise to Bermuda this year, we were thinking about flying there this fall.  There seems to be a great deal of testing required.  Has anyone tried to fly there or heard anything about how difficult that would be?  Thank you.

[njhorseman]

16 minutes ago, Lady Lucy said:

Since we're unable to cruise to Bermuda this year, we were thinking about flying there this fall.  There seems to be a great deal of testing required.  Has anyone tried to fly there or heard anything about how difficult that would be?  Thank you.

I've thought about flying there, but haven't as of yet. 

 

Here are the procedures.In summary the major requirements are you have to fill out a travel authorization form and pay a $75 per person fee, have a pre-departure negative COVID-19 test, be tested again upon arrival at the airport then be tested again on day 4, day 8 and day 14 of your visit, and have health insurance that will cover you in Bermuda including coverage for COVID-19.

Details:  https://www.gotobermuda.com/bta/press-release/bermuda-tourism-authority-update

[Lady Lucy]

Thank you so much.  It looks like Bermuda should be the safest place on the planet with all of their requirements, which I really appreciate.  Our biggest concern at this point is getting the pre-departure test back in 7 days!

Thanks again

[jollyjones]

Indeed, I do believe that the pre-departure test is the biggest problem. If you can get that worked out, I have heard from friends that the Bermuda end of things goes very smoothly.

Do visit! Once you are here and through all the testing, the island is very safe and most things are open.

[Lady Lucy]

Thank you so much for your encouragement.  We're planning on going as of now.  I'm going to contact our resort to see if they'll let us re-schedule at the last minute if our tests don't come back in time.  We'll see!!

 

[princeton123211]

On 9/5/2020 at 10:18 AM, Lady Lucy said:

Our biggest concern at this point is getting the pre-departure test back in 7 days!

In our area in Philly you can get them back in 2 days if you have your primary physician order the test. We had ours done at Pennsylvania Hospital and it was back the next day. Obviously not all parts of the country are as quick but I imagine if you Dr ordered it you could have it back within 7 days. 

 

The biggest thing to keep in mind, if it's a shorter getaway to the island, is that there is a requirement that once you are tested on arrival, you proceed direct to your hotel to quarantine in your hotel room until they call you with the results. The information on the Consulate's website warns that this can take up to 24 hours. 

 

We arrived around 11am and the results were back about 5:30-- much quicker than expected (although we had a pretty empty flight). Didn't ruin our day since we had a bunch of time planned there, but would have been something to consider if it were a long weekend and the whole first afternoon, or potentially first day, was lost. We heard from others that the turnaround times are never the full 24 hours but they do reserve the right to take that long if they want to. 

 

 

[Lady Lucy]

Thank you so much for your information.  I'll look into going through our doctor for the test. 

I've been hoping to hear from someone who's been there during this COVID time.  We're planning to stay for 10 days (hopefully), so we can give up the time spent in quarantine that first day. 

Did you find the testing done once in Bermuda to be difficult?

We're staying at one resort for 5 days, and then move to a different one for our last 5 days.  Do you think that will create a problem?

Thank you again for your help!

[princeton123211]

23 hours ago, Lady Lucy said:

I've been hoping to hear from someone who's been there during this COVID time.  We're planning to stay for 10 days (hopefully), so we can give up the time spent in quarantine that first day. 

They do what they can to make you comfortable like offering unlimited free in room movies and obviously room service is available, and really your only option. You get a very stern talking to about not leaving your room, even to get ice or fresh air (your balcony is fine). We were told that most of the time its about a 5-6 hour turn around but we did speak with people who had to wait until late the next morning to be released from quarantine. 

 

23 hours ago, Lady Lucy said:

Did you find the testing done once in Bermuda to be difficult?

No, but it's very regimented. You are told where and when you are to show up for your appointment-- you don't have the flexibility to schedule yourself on the days you are required to be tested so keep that in mind when planning activities. There is a testing site just for visitors at the post office in Hamilton. We heard stories of over an hour wait at times but that was not our experience. We saw tents in supermarket parking lots-- wasn't sure if they were active testing sites or not. 

 

There was a rumor that some hotels were going to be getting their own on site testing for guests but that wasn't the case yet when we were there. Will make things a lot more convenient if it's true. 

 

23 hours ago, Lady Lucy said:

We're staying at one resort for 5 days, and then move to a different one for our last 5 days.  Do you think that will create a problem?

We did something similar-- we stayed at the Hamilton Princess for the first few days and then moved over to the Rosewood for the last 5 days. It doesn't create a problem if you let them know when you arrive-- you can list two hotels on the contact tracing information they take. 

[Lady Lucy]

Thank you so much for being so kind to take the time to answer my questions.  I really appreciate it!  You've been so helpful.

[princeton123211]

No worries at all-- happy to help. As a bookend I would say that, now that we got our Bermuda fix for a bit, I would most likely not go back until things clear up a bit more with Covid and the restrictions come down. While it was in no way onerous with the added testing requirement etc, it just wasn't as relaxing as I wanted it to be. 

[Lady Lucy]

I know what you mean.  We were supposed to go last April and spent a month worrying about whether we should go or not go and going back and forth about it, but then they closed the airport so our decision was made for us!  We re-scheduled everything(which wasn't as easy as I had hoped) for September 28, thinking that surely this mess would be over by then.  I think we'll feel the same way as you about relaxing.   I'm already missing the pre-trip excitement...again with the "should we or shouldn't we" going on.  We're planning to have our Covid tests done on Monday and then just go from there.  We are looking forward to Bermuda not being as crowded as usual...At least, I hope that's the case...And then there are hurricanes coming???!!!

Again, thank you so much for all of your help and support.  

[Charles4515]

No worries at all-- happy to help. As a bookend I would say that, now that we got our Bermuda fix for a bit, I would most likely not go back until things clear up a bit more with Covid and the restrictions come down. While it was in no way onerous with the added testing requirement etc, it just wasn't as relaxing as I wanted it to be. 

 

Thanks for your report. The above is what I wanted know. I will wait for better times.

 

 

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