Want to book a whole tropical resort for the price of a single room?
And yes, for – a normal price -– not a crazy price like $10,000 a night.
During November and December of 2020, Rebecca and I were able to book two resorts in Belize and Costa Rica. In the first one, there was another couple, although we only ever saw them at breakfast. In the second, we were the only guests at a resort in Costa Rica’s beautiful Osa Peninsula – one of the most biodiverse places on earth.
I think many of us hate crowds when we go on vacation. Having a resort to ourselves was a true luxury, but also allowed us to contribute to the local economy of countries that are highly dependent on tourism.
The trick is quite simple – we traveled to places as soon as COVID restrictions were lifted. As travel was stopped for many months, tourists started coming very slowly. This gave us a window of opportunity to snatch hotels and “have the place to ourselves”.
First, I’ll admit this is not for everyone. We are both pretty healthy, have no kids, and are able to isolate after returning. We also tested ourselves to make sure we had no surprises when we returned.
Right now, there are at least 75 countries you cannot travel to from the United States. However, as the world gets vaccinated, more of these places will start opening up. That’s your window of opportunity.
My company Airheart recently launched the Travel Bans Explorer. It allows you to stay up-to-date on any changes to travel restrictions and policies.
You can also pin your favorite route (e.g. travel restrictions from the United States to Costa Rica) and you’ll get notified once things change.
I think this strategy can be used often – not just during a global pandemic. You just have to look for windows of times and places when people don’t travel.
Happy hunting !
