TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands What will returning to USVI from BVI during the pandemic look like?

Hello,

I have a charter booked for beginning of November which I will most likely pull the plug on this week. There is so much volatility, uncertainty, and questionability in carrying out any international travel these days. In all honesty, it feels wrong to press on at this point.

However, I am curious about something: Our flights would be in and out of STT. What might returning to St. Thomas from Tortola look like to catch a flight? Might a negative COVID test be required? Quarantine? How closely are USVI and BVI government working together to support each other?

I really hope things stabilize within the next year, but I do realize that's wishful thinking.

Prior to the latest lockdown, the USVI was requiring evidence of a negative test only if you were arriving from one of the "high impact" areas. Right now, I would expect the BVI is not considered a "high impact" area but that could change if their recently detected cases turn into a major outbreak. The USVI was also screening with a questionnaire and they had announced they were doing temperature checks on arriving passengers.

I haven't seen any evidence of coordination between the USVI and BVI. It would be nice to see some coordination of policies and procedures throughout the Caribbean - it would certainly make things easier for people who want to island hop or are connecting through to their destination.

Here's a snippet from: https://usviupdate.com/2020/07/u-s-virgin-islands-launches-online-portal-to-prescreen-all-travelers/

"Upon visiting the portal, all travelers will be greeted with a welcome that guides them through a series of screens, including General Information, Terms and Conditions, Traveler Information, and the COVID-19 Traveler Screening Tool. After travelers from highly impacted areas upload their COVID-19 test results, the information submitted will be processed in 24-48 hours and a certification code issued immediately upon completion.

For most travelers, the portal screening and certification will eventually replace the existing manual procedure, which requires the physical completion and review of the COVID-19 Traveler Screening Tool at the Territory’s ports of entry. Once the passenger arrives, the Virgin Islands Port Authority, in conjunction with the Department of Health and the Virgin Islands National Guard, will process the traveler using the validation generated from the portal in addition to performing temperature checks with a thermal scanner."

I would seriously doubt the sea ports will be open in November. If you want to come, you'll most likely have to fly into Beef Island. In the press conference Tuesday night, the Premier alluded to the idea that originally they were going to allow leisure travel starting November 1 but the new BVI clusters were forcing them to reconsider. Even when the BVI does reopen, I suspect the first month at least will be only Beef Island because it's already setup with screening areas.

How will Canada treat your return? If you've traveled thru the USVI, will you be required to quarantine upon arrival home?

I agree with Jason. Every reference I have seen from the BVI indicates entry will initially be restricted to Beef Island.

Grrrreat....our flights that have been shifted three times already are in/out of St. Thomas.

Quality problems, I know.

At this point, I really wish all the charter companies were able to refund everyone’s monies. I have one charter fully funded and another with a balance due 9/20/20 - both for November and neither likely to happen.

If required, VI Airlink has been flying that route so you still have options. Just won't be on a ferry.

Thought of them, Jason - that is good to know, thanks. It will likely depend on cost but I think they were who I flew to Anegada to hook up with Catatonic a couple of Cat Fights ago....

It's currently running about $250 roundtrip.

As of today, Canada requires a mandatory 14 day quarantine for travelers returning to Canada from anywhere outside Canada.

....Not going to spend another cent until I know whether or not it will even happen...I imagine there are quite a few people with November/December bookings so this will be interesting to watch....