Travel: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

If you had COVID-19 in the past 3 months, follow all requirements and recommendations for fully vaccinated travelers except:

• You can show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 instead of a negative test result before boarding an international flight to the United States.
• You do NOT need to tested 3-5 days after travel to the United States unless you have symptoms of COVID-19.

We know that people can continue to test positive for up to 3 months after they had COVID-19 and not be infectious to others.

Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth is required on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and while indoors at U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Travelers are not required to wear a mask in outdoor areas of a conveyance (like on open deck areas of a ferry or the uncovered top deck of a bus). CDC recommends that travelers who are not fully vaccinated continue to wear a mask and maintain physical distance when traveling.

Maintaining physical distance to prevent COVID-19 is often difficult on public transportation conveyances. People may not be able to distance themselves by the recommended minimum of 6 feet from other people seated nearby or those standing in or passing through the aisles on airplanes, trains, or buses.

Where physical distancing is difficult or impossible, it is essential that drivers, operators, and other transportation staff follow additional preventive measures, such as increasing ventilation and cleaning high-touch surfaces, and travelers should still take steps to protect themselves and others.

Transportation staff and eligible passengers can protect themselves by getting fully vaccinated. While getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the top prevention strategy, those who are not fully vaccinated should follow guidance for unvaccinated people.

Wearing a mask over your nose and mouth is required on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and while indoors at U.S. transportation hubs, such as airports and stations, even for those people who have been fully vaccinated.

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

Yes. CDC recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated, because travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. If you are not fully vaccinated and must travel, follow CDC’s Domestic Travel or International Travel recommendations for unvaccinated people.

CDC does not require travelers to undergo a mandatory federal quarantine. However, CDC recommends that unvaccinated travelers self-quarantine after travel for 7 days with a negative test and for 10 days if they don’t get tested.

Check CDC’s Domestic Travel pages for the latest recommendations for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.

Follow all state and local recommendations or requirements.

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 U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Country Informationexternal icon for details about entry requirements and restrictions for arriving travelers.

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.

CDC does not require travelers to undergo a mandatory federal quarantine. However, CDC recommends that unvaccinated travelers self-quarantine after travel for 7 days with a negative test and for 10 days if they don’t get tested.

Check CDC’s International Travel pages for the latest recommendations for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.

Follow all state and local recommendations or requirements.

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.

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.

At this time, CDC still recommends people who are not fully vaccinated avoid any travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide, because the risk of COVID-19 on cruise ships is high. It is especially important that people who are not fully vaccinated and who are more likely to get severely ill avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises. Cruise passengers who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are at increased risk, since the virus spreads person-to-person, and outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported on cruise ships because of their congregate (group) settings where COVID-19 spreads easily.