DISCLAIMER: Max and I are not medical professionals and cannot provide any medical advice of any kind. This video showcases our own personal experience flying during the pandemic and it is important to remember to follow all CDC guidelines and guidelines of the destination you are traveling to.

Max and I took our first trip during COVID-19 in July 2020. We had booked a two week trip before COVID started to the Dominican Republic. About a month before our trip we realized the smartest decision would be to extend an additional two weeks to allow time for self-isolation. The Dominican government hadn’t yet put out any advisories for quarantine and was set to open on July 2nd, 2 days before our scheduled arrival. Up until the night of our flight, we honestly didn’t think it was going to happen!

We were anxious, nervous, scared, excited and curious to see what traveling during this time would be like. Our Delta Airlines flights had been changed so many times due to airplane and time changes and somehow we ended up getting upgraded to first class on the overnight leg of our flight, so we had no idea what to expect.

SFO International airport was completely deserted! We flew through ATL international airport so we departed from terminal 2 of SFO. The agents weren’t the friendliest or most helpful, but we did get checked in efficiently and were pleasantly surprised with the precautions the agents took.

The boarding process is where everything fell apart – gate lice flocked to be the first on board, despite the new back-to-front boarding procedures. Folks, always remember, the plane is going to your final destination regardless whether you board first…or last!

The overnight flight was smooth, but cold, and 99% of people followed the mask rule through the duration of the flight. Atlanta was a bit more “lax” and we were super disappointed by the flight attendants on the flight from Atlanta to Punta Cana who told us the girls with their mask under their chin were “fine”.

Once we got to Punta Cana, we were free! Everyone was masked up, from small children to elderly. On our 5 1/2 hour car ride (we rented a car for the month to minimize contact with others), we saw that 90% of people were following the law and wearing masks, even in the rural little towns along the way. It really was incredible to see after coming from the states where masks are apparently a political statement these days.

Overall, the journey was smooth and we felt the airline did a pretty good job of following the guidelines set out for them.