Since the end of January 2021, the CDC has mandated that all travelers flying to the United States provide proof of a negative COVID-19 antigen test within three days of travel. The antigen, or “rapid” test, often yields results in 30 minutes or less (as opposed to the PCR test, which is more expensive and takes longer to yield results; a PCR test is not currently required by the CDC for U.S. entry). The official CDC language is as follows:

• All air passengers coming to the United States, including U.S. citizens and fully vaccinated people, are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 3 days before travel or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months before they board a flight to the United States.

As a result, most beach resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico now offer complimentary on-site testing to fulfill this requirement – but not all do, and the costs can vary widely. As of April 9, 2021, about 58% of Caribbean and Mexico resorts offer complimentary on-site antigen testing, 19% offer on-site antigen testing for a fee, and 23% don’t offer any on-site testing.

The purpose of Tripfind’s new “On-Site COVID-19 Testing” attribute, added this week under the temporary “Health & Safety” attribute category in our Advanced Search, is to allow our users to filter for resorts that offer on-site testing, and add it to their list of vacation priorities along with other beach resort attributes. Like the other attributes, each resort in our database has received a score for “On-Site COVID-19 Testing,” on a scale from A++ to F.

Our grading rubric for “On-Site COVID Testing” is as follows:

A++: Testing is on-site, free, and unlimited.

A+ to A: Testing is on-site and free, but with limits (up to a certain number of guests, etc.).

A- to B+: Testing is on-site, but not free.

B to B-: Testing is not available on-site, but the hotel can facilitate it with local providers.

C+ to C-: Testing is available nearby.

F: The hotel does not provide any information about testing.

In the event of a positive test, many resorts are allowing guests to extend their stay until recovery at no additional charge (usually up to 14 days) or at a discounted rate. If the resort has a favorable extended stay policy, we factor it into the “On-Site COVID-19 Testing” score as well.

We’ve provided detail regarding each resort’s testing and extended stay policies in our Resort Profile write-up on each resort’s Resort Details page (see the second paragraph of the Resort Profile for each resort).

As the pandemic continues, Tripfind resolves to keep travelers’ health and safety top-of-mind. We hope this new feature helps our users find resorts that best facilitate hassle-free, safe vacations.

Search Resorts with On-Site COVID-19 Testing