Travel: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Travel is any trip that involves leaving your community. Transportation within your community for errands and work transit is not considered travel.

Yes, you can travel once you have ended isolation. However, you should wear a high-quality mask or respirator the entire time you are around others indoors until it’s safe for you to remove your mask around others. Do not travel on public transportation such as airplanes, buses, and trains if you will not be able to wear a high-quality mask or respirator when around others indoors for the full duration of your trip. Find out when you can travel and steps to take to protect others during you trip.

If you had COVID-19 in the past 90 days, see specific testing recommendations before you travel.

Follow other travel recommendations and requirements for domestic and international travel.

If you test positive during your trip, do not travel and follow recommendations for isolation. Remember, requirements and recommendations in other countries may differ from the United States.

You can travel back home once you have ended isolation but only if you are able to wear a high-quality mask or respirator when around others indoors for the full duration of your trip.

If not, do not travel until it’s safe for you to remove your mask around others.

Your travel companions should follow CDC travel guidance for people who have been exposed. If you are in another country, also follow local guidance.

Maintaining distance between yourself and others is often difficult on public transportation. People may not be able to avoid crowding on airplanes, trains, or buses.

Protect yourself from COVID-19 by staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines and by wearing a high-quality mask on public transportation. Everyone aged 2 years or older, regardless of vaccination status, should wear a high-quality mask or respirator in indoor areas of public transportation (such as airplanes, trains, buses, ferries) and transportation hubs (such as airports, stations, and seaports), especially in locations that are crowded or poorly ventilated such as airport  jetways.

All travelers should take steps to protect themselves and others.

CDC does not reimburse or help travelers get reimbursements for travel expenses as a result of canceled or delayed travel because of vaccination requirements for air passengers flying to the United States or other issues related to COVID-19. While some companies may base their policies on CDC’s travel recommendations or requirements, each company establishes its own refund policies.

In some cases, trip cancellation insurance can protect your financial investment in a trip if you need to change your itinerary in the event of an international outbreak. Visit CDC’s Travelers’ Health website if you’d like to learn more about travel insurance, including trip cancellation insurance.

CDC reviews data reported to the World Health Organization daily to determine a destination’s COVID-19 Travel Health Notice level and makes appropriate level changes on a routine basis. There are a few factors that CDC considers when determining the level of a destination. To find out more about the COVID-19 Travel Health Notice levels, visit How CDC Determines the Level for COVID-19 Travel Health Notices.

Air passengers are required to provide the following contact information, to the extent that it exists, within 72 hours before their flight’s departure: full name (as it appears on their passport), address while in the United States, primary contact phone number, secondary or emergency contact phone number, and email address.

Passengers must also:

• Acknowledge that the obligation to provide complete and accurate information is a U.S. government requirement and that failure to provide complete and accurate information may result in criminal penalties.
• Confirm the information they provided is complete and accurate.

Under current federal regulations, pilots must report all illnesses and deaths to CDC before arriving to a U.S. destination. According to CDC protocols, if a sick traveler has a contagious disease that is a risk to others on board the airplane, CDC works with local and state health departments and international public health agencies to contact exposed passengers and crew.

Be sure to give the airline your current contact information when booking your ticket so you can be notified if you are exposed to a sick traveler on a flight.

For more information, see the CDC webpage Protecting Travelers’ Health from Airport to Community: Investigating Contagious Diseases on Flights.

For information about COVID-19 requirements for land travel, visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Fact Sheet: Guidance for Travelers to Enter the U.S. at Land Ports of Entry and Ferry Terminals.

Yes. The chance of getting COVID-19 on cruise ships is high because the virus spreads easily between people in close quarters on board ships. For this reason, CDC recommends the following groups of people avoid traveling on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide:

• People who are not up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.
• People with an increased risk of severe illness, regardless of vaccination status, including
  • Older adults and adults of any age with serious chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, chronic lung disease, and diabetes.
  • Children with underlying medical conditions.