Testing mandate creates 'a huge logistical challenge': TPG readers react to new CDC policy

We may only be halfway through the first month of 2021, but the headlines have been rolling since Day 1.

This week's big travel news is the CDC's new requirement that all incoming travelers must be COVID-negative in order to enter the United States.

The ruling, announced Tuesday, goes into effect on Jan. 26, and applies to everyone regardless of nationality. Anyone entering the U.S. on Jan. 25 or earlier will be exempt from the testing mandate.

Related:

• Where can I travel right now? A country-by-country guide to reopening
• Traveling soon? Here's where to get a PCR test in the US
• Need a COVID test to enter the US? What to do if you're already abroad

Understandably, the news has caused a significant kerfuffle among expats, digital nomads and travelers alike. A number of concerns have arisen: Where can someone find a test result on short notice? What about travelers who are already overseas but need to return home? Will the results be accurate? What should a traveler do if they receive a positive result before travel? And since testing doesn't come cheap, how will travel costs rise with these new requirements?

TPG reached out to the members of our TPG Lounge Facebook group to get their opinions. With nearly 500 comments as of press time, they had a lot to say.

Getting a test on deadline can be difficult

"I live in Mexico City," said TPG Lounge member Kevin Gilbertson. "We had to call around to get a same-day test where we waited in our car for a few hours to get tested. Other places had a four-day wait."

Gilbertson said he had heard of locals queuing up at test locations as early as 4 a.m. in order to sell their place in line.

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Related: Getting a coronavirus test for travel is getting easier — but it still isn't a guarantee

Megan "Lundy" Lundquist owns a boutique travel company and frequently spends time abroad as a digital nomad. Currently based out of Costa Rica, Lundy has been weighing her options since the news was announced Tuesday.

"I'm trying to confirm appointments to get the test here," she said regarding her current situation. If she can't find a test in time, Lundy will have to accelerate her return to the U.S. in order to meet the exemption requirements for travelers entering before Jan. 26.

TPG Lounge member Jochen Moser agrees. "It makes things more complicated by a lot," he said in the Facebook group. "Getting a test stateside is a lot easier than in Costa Rica."

Cost is a further deterrent for international travel

Many testing sites require that travelers pay for their COVID testing out of pocket — often in the $100 to $125 range, similar to the cost in the U.S. One TPG Lounge member reported that tests in France cost $75 apiece, while tests in Taiwan allegedly range from $200 to $330.

These costs can add up quickly, especially for larger parties such as families.

Ruben Sainz Beltran glumly predicted that pre-travel testing could add up to "$300 to $500" to a typical family vacation's expenses. However, other travelers aren't deterred.

Related: These resort hotels offer on-site COVID testing

"I heard hotels in the hotel zone of Cancun are offering tests for $69," Lindsey Jensen told TPG Lounge members. "That's certainly a draw for those people wanting to travel, making the logistics of finding testing in a foreign country much easier and more convenient."

"Considering I paid an insanely low amount for my all-inclusive in Cancun for June, adding the cost of testing for us still makes it cheaper than going to Florida and feeding two teen boys for a week," Sarah LaDawn said in the TPG Lounge Facebook group. "I'm going to hold tight for a bit before booking flights, just to see how things are going — which was already my plan, since I don't have to make any payments until May."

Many travelers are canceling their trips — again

"I'm probably canceling planned trips to Aruba in February, and Mexico in March," said another TPG Lounge member George Thurlow. "Both trips were planned to be pretty short, and I typically don't stay in large resorts: I had an Airbnb booked for Aruba and a resort and two smaller hotels for Mexico."

The new testing requirements pose "a huge logistical challenge," said TPG Lounge member Gavin Diaz, who had to cancel his honeymoon in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. "Now I'm concerned I won't be able to get a test to return home, as I've rebooked [our trip] for this year."

Some are scrapping Travel altogether

"[I] was planning a Mexico trip since I had the temporary Southwest Companion Pass," said TPG Lounge member Paul Conrad. "But we gave up when we saw this news, paired with the new CDC warnings for Mexico."

The CDC order and resulting uncertainty "is exactly why I have planned to stay in the U.S. for vacations in 2021," said Katie Scarlett Edwards in the TPG Facebook group. "We will see what happens for plans for 2022."

Other travelers are sticking with their plans

"I'm going to St. Kitts in February," Travis Andrew said in the TPG Lounge. "[It] looks like their policy for stays for less than seven nights were to have you tested at the resort, at your cost of $150, before you left anyway."

"I'm in a Facebook group of people who travel to far-flung destinations like central and western Africa, and have continued to do so during COVID," said TPG Lounge reader Maddie Winters.

"If they can find out how to get a COVID test within 72 hours in places like Burkina Faso and Mali, you guys can figure it out from Aruba and Mexico," Winters said. "Destinations aren't dumb. They know where their clientele is coming from right now. They'll set up facilities."

Related: Getting a coronavirus test for travel has gotten easier — but it still isn't a guarantee

TPG Lounge member Christina Nickels Hatfield is "not changing our plans one bit," she told the group. "We leave for Puerto Vallarta [on] Feb. 1, and return March 10. It took me less than two minutes to find several places to get a test. The $125 fee is 100 percent worth it. Onward and upward."

Bottom line

International travel won't be impossible after Jan. 26. — just more complicated in logistics and potential risk. Travelers would do well to identify testing locations and timelines, make back-up plans in the event of a worst-case scenario and budget a little bit extra to cover testing fees.