Where Exactly Can Americans Travel Right Now?

The short answer: not a lot of countries

arch cabo san lucas
The Arch of Cabo San Lucas
Victoria Bragg/Unsplash

For many people, summer travel is an annual tradition. That could mean camping in a local national park, or it might mean boarding a plane and heading to the other side of the world. For obvious reasons, things are a little different this year. And that’s understandable, too. Traveling during a global pandemic — unless you absolutely have to — is not the most prudent of decisions.

Even if you aren’t planning to fly anywhere this summer, one question looms over the subject of travel as a whole. Specifically, it’s this: where can American citizens actually travel right now? The number of reports of closed borders and mandatory quarantines can be overwhelming at times, and keeping it all straight can be difficult. Thankfully, this week, CNN released a very helpful graphic illustrating where Americans citizens can and can’t travel internationally as of now.

If, for some bizarre reason, you are bound and determined to travel internationally this summer and wish to go somewhere you can enter with no restrictions — again, this is not recommended — you have all of nine options. Among them are Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Turkey — along with several countries in the Balkans.

If you’re willing to put up with periods of self-isolation, the number of countries open to you increases somewhat. The periods of isolation differ wildly from country to country, however: Ukraine requires 24 hours of self-isolation, while the United Kingdom requires 14 days of it. Other countries, including Egypt, Jamaica and Croatia, require you to show proof that you’ve tested negatively for COVID-19 within a certain period of time.

Visiting new places and revisiting old favorites is generally a fine way to spend your time. But as this CNN report shows, this is a good time to pause your travel plans for a little while longer. In theory, you could shift to domestic travel — but you’ll encounter restrictions when traveling within the US as well. And remember: wear a mask.

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