Our stress-free COVID-19 Concierge Service helps you obtain the required travel authorization.
With all the restrictions and safety measures currently in place, it may feel as if traveling anywhere right now is at best unwise. Nevertheless, you can do it, and quite comfortably, as long as you follow the rules and the regulations. And as long as you take into account your own personal comfort level and health conditions before you board a plane and start crossing borders.
Your comfort and satisfaction are very important to us at Coconut Cottage. We set high safety standards for your trip to Montego Bay and your stay with us. We are happy to facilitate your travel authorization to Jamaica, and we have implemented a strict protocol to keep you and all our guests safe while you are here.
Before You Travel
Jamaica requires that all U.S. residents 12 years of age or older obtain a negative COVID-19 PCR lab test within 10 days of traveling. Home tests and antibody tests are not accepted. Before you travel, you also need to obtain clearance to travel from the Jamaican government and present proof of your negative test results. It’s best to start the process as soon as you know when you’re traveling in order to avoid delays and last-minute stress.
Current Restrictions in Montego Bay
When it reopened its borders to international travelers in June 2020, Jamaica introduced protocols for tourism industries. Each hotel must give at least one employee the job of being the Covid-19 Safety Point Person — someone who conducts spot checks. Among other measures, hotels must also take the temperatures of everyone on staff before each shift, maintain hands-free sanitizer dispensers or hand-washing stations at the entrance, and frequently sanitize various surfaces and elevators.
Restaurants have reduced capacity and suspended self-service buffets. Public beaches are patrolled to ensure that umbrellas and chairs are placed at least six feet apart (this rule also applies to pools) and that gatherings don’t exceed 10 people.
Most of Jamaica’s coast is currently open to tourists, including Montego Bay, Negril, and Ocho Rios. The area has been dubbed a Resilient Corridor. If you want to go anywhere outside the Corridor (like Kingston), you will be asked to quarantine for 14 days.
Airport Safety
Crowded flights definitely put a damper on social distancing. But the way air is filtered and circulated on an airplane makes it harder for viruses to spread onboard.
In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Transportation Security Administration have all played a role in helping airlines and airports reduce the risk of exposure and spread. Among their guidelines:
- All passengers and crews must wear face coverings.
- Passengers and others must wear masks inside airports, even during screening, unless a passenger is asked to briefly remove his mask for purposes of identification.
- Airports must regularly clean and disinfect surfaces.
- TSA officers must put on a fresh pair of gloves after every pat-down.
- Boarding passes are no longer handed to TSA employees; instead, passengers must hold up their boarding passes so that they can be scanned.
- Twelve-ounce bottles of sanitizer are now allowed on board.
- Personal items like keys, wallets, and cellphones must be placed in carry-on luggage rather than in standard bins.
When You Land
When you arrive at the airport, you’ll receive a temperature check and a quick health screening, during which you’ll be asked if you have any symptoms of COVID-19, have been exposed to anyone who has COVID-19, and so on. You’ll then be advised on the COVID-19 protocol in Jamaica, and you will be asked to present your approved entry-authorization form. You will also be asked to download an app from the Ministry of Health so that you can get COVID-19 updates in the area where you will be staying and can make reports through the app (this reporting is mandatory).
Coconut Cottage COVID-19 Concierge Service
We want to help you check a few tasks off your travel list, including the most important one — securing the timely COVID-19 testing required to enter Jamaica. We offer our guests a concierge service that costs $130 per person to help you take care of the mandatory travel authorization process on a tested, stress-free timeline. For guests returning to the U.S., we also offer a complimentary covid test prior to your departure to complete that country’s travel requirements.
Starting the day you book your room, we will collect the information needed to arrange your COVID-19 test and authorize your travel. Then we’ll courier to you an oral self-swab COVID-19 test kit from a state-of-the-art, CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited lab in New Jersey. After you complete a self-guided swab test and return the kit using the prepaid FedEx Express envelope that we have provided, the lab will send your test results to our concierge. You will also receive your results by email.
We will handle all the paperwork and communication that Jamaica’s Ministry of Health requires in order to ensure that you are authorized to travel. The final step is receiving approval from the Ministry of Health in Jamaica. After that, you’re good to go. And we’ll be happy to have you!
Coconut Cottage also provides a complimentary 12-passenger van and personal driver that is available 24/7 and includes transfers to and from Montego Bay Airport. A private air-conditioned vehicle with a driver will be waiting for you on arrival (for week-long and five-day stays). The drive to Coconut Cottage Villa is about 20 minutes and is a wonderful first introduction to the island.
Yes, traveling in 2021 will be different from traveling in 2019. But Montego Bay is worth it. We’re doing everything we can to make your stay with us magical and stress-free. Get the details about our COVID-19 concierge service and the enhanced safety protocols here.
Ready to book your stay? Make a reservation or contact us with any questions or concerns about what we’re doing to ensure the safety and health of our staff and guests.