Travel: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

CDC recommends travelers get tested 1-3 days before traveling by plane internationally. See CDC’s Testing and International Air Travel for more information. Also, get tested 3-5 days after international air travel AND stay home for 7 days after travel. Even if you test negative, stay home for the full 7 days. If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected. If you don’t get tested, it’s safest to stay home for 14 days after travel.

Testing does not eliminate all risk, but when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks, social distancing, and handwashing, it can make travel safer by reducing spread on public transportation, in airports, and at destinations.

Travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

Delay travel if you are waiting for test results, test positive, are sick, or if you have been around someone with COVID-19 in the past 14 days. Find out more about When to Delay Travel.

If you travel:

• Stay at least 6 feet/2 meters (about 2 arm lengths) from anyone who is not from your household. It’s important to do this everywhere — both indoors AND outdoors.
• Wear a mask to keep your nose and mouth covered when you are in shared spaces outside of your home, including when using public transportation.
• Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoid contact with anyone who is sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Choose the safest food options: drive-thru, delivery, take-out, and curbside pick-up.
• If traveling by plane internationally, get tested with a viral test 1-3 days before travel.
• Get tested 3-5 days after international air travel AND stay home for 7 days after travel. If you don’t get tested, it’s safest to stay home for 14 days.
• Make sure you are up to date with your routine vaccinations, including measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, and the seasonal flu vaccine.
• Follow state and local recommendations or requirements after you return from travel.

Do not travel if you test positive; immediately isolate yourself, and follow public health recommendations.

CDC recommends that everyone wear a mask over their nose and mouth when in public, including on public transportation and in transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Masks slow the spread of COVID-19 because they help keep people who are infected from spreading respiratory droplets to others when they cough, sneeze, or talk. Medical masks and N-95 respirators are for healthcare workers and other first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

Some people shouldn’t wear masks:

• Children younger than 2 years old
• Anyone who has trouble breathing
• Anyone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without help

See CDC’s website What to Do If You Are Sick.

See CDC’s website Protect Yourself When Using Transportation.

Yes. Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. Before you travel, learn if COVID-19 is spreading in your local area or in any of the places you are going. Traveling to visit family may be especially dangerous if you or your loved ones are more likely to get very ill from COVID-19. People at higher risk for severe illness need to take extra precautions. For more considerations see the webpage Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Yes. Going camping at a time when much of the United States is experiencing community spread of COVID-19 can pose a risk to you if you come in close contact with others or share public facilities (like restrooms or picnic areas) at campsites or along the trails. Exposure may be especially unsafe if you are more likely to get very ill from COVID-19 and are planning to be in remote areas, without easy access to medical care. Also be aware that many local, state, and national public parks have been temporarily closed due to COVID-19. Follow these actions when visiting a park.

CDC does not require that domestic travelers undergo a mandatory federal quarantine but does recommend you take everyday actions and reduce nonessential activities for 14 days after you return from travel to protect others from getting COVID-19:

• Stay at least 6 feet/2 meters (about 2 arm lengths) from anyone who did not travel with you, particularly in crowded areas. It’s important to do this everywhere — both indoors and outdoors.
• Wear a mask to keep your nose and mouth covered when you are in shared spaces outside of your home, including when using public transportation.
• If there are people in the household who did not travel with you, wear a mask and ask everyone in the household to wear masks in shared spaces inside your home for 14 days after travel.
• Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness.
• Watch your health: Look for symptoms of COVID-19, and take your temperature if you feel sick.

Always follow state and local recommendations or requirements related to travel.

Travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. To check travel recommendations for a certain destination, see COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination.

Follow entry requirements or restrictions at your destination which might include testing, quarantine, and providing contact information. Check with your destination’s Office of Foreign Affairs or Ministry of Health or the US Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Country Information pageexternal icon for details about entry requirements and restrictions for arriving travelers. If you test positive on arrival, you might be required to isolate. You might be prevented from returning to the United States as scheduled.

CDC also recommends travelers avoid all cruise ship travel worldwide.

Get tested with a viral test 1–3 days before your flight. Some countries are conducting exit screening for all passengers leaving their destination. Before being permitted to board a departing flight, you may have your temperature taken and be asked questions about your travel history and health.

If you traveled by air-

• Get tested 3-5 days after travel AND stay home for 7 days after travel.
  • Even if you test negative, stay home for the full 7 days.
  • If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected.
• If you don’t get tested, it’s safest to stay home for 14 days after travel.
• Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days, whether you get tested or not.
• Always follow state and local recommendations or requirements related to travel.

Regardless of where you traveled or what you did during your trip, take these everyday actions to protect others from getting COVID-19:

• Stay at least 6 feet/2 meters (about 2 arm lengths) from anyone who did not travel with you, particularly in crowded areas. It’s important to do this everywhere — both indoors and outdoors.
• Wear a mask to keep your nose and mouth covered when you are in shared spaces outside of your home, including when using public transportation.
• If there are people in the household who did not travel with you, wear a mask and ask everyone in the household to wear masks in shared spaces inside your home for 14 days after travel.
• Wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness.
• Watch your health: Look for symptoms of COVID-19, and take your temperature if you feel sick.

See CDC’s After You Travel webpage to learn what precautions you should take.

CDC reviews data reported to the World Health Organization daily to determine a destination’s COVID-19 Travel Health Notice level. 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.

These notices offer travel recommendations based on the level of COVID-19 in a destination. To learn more about COVID-19 travel recommendations for a specific destination, visit COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination.

Recommendations are updated weekly. 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 once a week. To find out more about the COVID-19 Travel Health Notice levels, visit How CDC Determines the Level for COVID-19 Travel Health Notices.

Check with your destination’s Office of Foreign Affairs or Ministry of Health or the US Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Country Information pageexternal icon for details about entry requirements and restrictions for arriving travelers.

CDC does not require international travelers undergo mandatory federal quarantine, but does recommend travels do the following after an international flight-

• Get tested 3-5 days after travel AND stay home for 7 days after travel.
  • Even if you test negative, stay home for the full 7 days.
  • If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected.
• If you don’t get tested, it’s safest to stay home for 14 days after travel.
• Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days, whether you get tested or not.
• Always follow state and local recommendations or requirements related to travel.

CDC does not require international travelers to get a test before traveling to the United States, but does recommend people traveling to the United States by air get tested with a viral test 1–3 days before a flight. For more information see CDC’s Testing and International Air Travel page. Always follow state and local recommendations or requirements related to travel.

Yes. Air travel requires spending time in security lines and airport terminals, which can bring you in close contact with other people and frequently touched surfaces. Most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on flights because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes. However, social distancing is difficult on crowded flights, and you may have to sit near others (within 6 feet), sometimes for hours. This may increase your risk for exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19.

CDC strongly recommends everyone wear a mask on public transportation and at transportation hubs, including on airplanes and in airports.

Under current federal regulations, pilots must report all illnesses and deaths to CDC before arriving to a U.S. destination. According to CDC disease protocols, if a sick traveler is considered a risk to the public’s health, 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.

Yes. CDC recommends that all travelers avoid all cruise ship travel worldwide, including river boats. Recent reports of COVID-19 on cruise ships highlight the risk of infection to cruise ship passengers and crew. Like many other viruses, COVID-19 appears to spread more easily between people in close quarters aboard ships.