There Are Still a Few Countries That Will Allow U.S. Tourists to Visit

With travel bans deterring most forms of tourism to other parts of the globe from the United States due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the country (and world), there are still a few select places that Americans are able to venture to despite these limitations.

Because the United States is the world's leader in COVID cases and deaths right now, there are very few countries that allow citizens of the US to enter their borders, and if they do most still have restrictions set in place for them such as mandatory 14 day quarantine periods upon entry. CNN Travel cites that among these countries, the only places that allow US citizens to enter without any restrictions are Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Tunisia, Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania, the Maldives, and Turkey. 

In terms of tropical vacation destinations, some of those countries have also opened their borders to Americans but with specific regulations for health and safety purposes. NY Times points out that countries such as the Barbados and Bahamas are requiring US travelers to have tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours prior to arriving, and must self-quarantine for a minimum of 14-days. For US travelers going to Aruba, they must upload a negative COVID test prior to boarding the plane. Visitors must also purchase Aruba Visitors Insurance to cover up to $75,000 in expenses if they test positive during their stay. Other countries like Bermuda are also open for US tourists with similar test requirements.

The bottom line, however, is this: you should just stay home. A mandated quarantine isn't much of a way to spend your "vacation," and you might legitimately be putting the health and wellbeing of others at risk by flying to another, less affected country in the first place. We're all waiting for things to go back to "normal," but it might be best to wait a bit longer. 

Oh, and the CDC has advised against all non-essential travel. So there's that too. The United States has surpassed the grim mark of 150,000 deaths from the disease and over 4.5 million people in the country have tested positive so far. Yeah, so just stay home if you can and wear a mask when you go out.