This is not a boring vacation, but it is a somewhat boring travel experience. As I previously discussed in Vacationing Durring Covid, this is the start of our much needed vacation. We had some moral confusion on if we should even be traveling, but in the end, we decided to travel.
We haven’t done much Caribbean traveling(though Bermuda really isn’t the Caribbean). Just a cruise to the Bahamas that I didn’t enjoy and swore to never cruise again. But with COVID, and a very strong desire to get away from the US for a little bit, we planned a very last minute vacation.
3 days before our trip we went for our COVID testing. Once we received the results I applied for travel authorization for Bermuda. This was relatively easy but does cost $75. This covers the cost of testing again on arrival and throughout our stay. You can read about the full travel requirements here: https://www.gotobermuda.com/bta/press-release/bermuda-tourism-authority-update
In This Trip
1 :CLT-ATL-BDA Delta 717 First Class and Delta A319 Economy. International vacationing in the time of COVID.
1.1: Delta 717 First Class
1.2: ATL Airport
1.3: Delta A319 Economy
1.4: Final Thoughts
2: Grotto Bay Beach Resort Review. Hamilton Parish, Bermuda
3 :Bermuda Vacation Activities. International vacationing in the time of COVID.
4 :Bermuda Public Transport. How it works and how to use it
5 : BDA-ATL-CLT Delta A319 and 717 Economy Review. Pre-clearance arrival into the US during COVID.
Welcome to an early morning at CLT airport. We live just over an hour from CLT and sometimes there are good enough deals on flights to make the drive. After a quick passport check we walked through security.
Down the very long hallway to the Delta gates in the A terminal.
Empty airport this morning. Not really surprising, it’s the weekend during COVID.
Time to board our 717 down to Atlanta.
Delta 717 First Class
Beautiful morning. Dirty window glass…
During boarding a snagged a very last minute upgrade. Little bit of a surprise, we are on Basic Economy tickets, but as I’ve seen in the past, upgrades do still happen. They even upgraded Valerie who was on a separate reservation.
Anyway, these 717s are very comfortable in first class. Tons of room, power in each seat, though no in seat entertainment.
Empty flight this morning.
Delta 737-800 sitting on this lovely morning.
Snack bags were distributed during boarding. All of my favorite things.
Nice day to go for a ride.
Watch me fly.
This is a short flight. Under 45 minutes.
Still got some great views.
And into Atlanta.
Fantastic weather to go on a trip.
ATL Airport
We soon landed and made our way to the F terminal. It’s a fun to reminisce on the places I’ve departed to from here. London, Paris, Seoul, not these days. Seems like lots of flights to Mexico and other various nearby vacation destinations, makes sense, that’s what we are doing too.
Turns out an A319 is small, and you end up with lots of empty seats when it leaves from nextdoor to an A380 capable gate. Not that I’m complaining.
A beautiful Korean 787 arrived while we were waiting.
Then our lovely A319 arrived from Cleveland town.
They also called a few of us up to the desk to check our travel authorization documents. We boarded very quickly too, the A319 isn’t very large and with blocking of all middle seats, things move quickly.
Delta A319 Economy
Nice clean plane. These A319s are nearly 20 years old, but you wouldn’t know it. The interiors are nearly new.
These days, with the middle seats blocked, every seat is great. More than enough room.
Power in every row, both AC and USB.
Plenty of room for baggage with the middle seats open.
Once on board I watched the last few laps of an amazing Italian GP. While there is live TV available on these planes, it stops working near the coast. So no coverage for most of this flight.
Off the gate and on the way. Still stunning outside.
Climbing away from ATL.
Another snack bag was handed out. This is when I realized I forgot to bring our sandwiches from home. I pre-made two for us to bring along, I forgot them. Serious bummer, I was really looking forward to that.
Very quite flight today. Pretty cabin though.
Continues to be fantastic weather as we cross over the coast.
This isn’t a long flight, about 2.5 hours total. Very easy trip from nearly the entire east coast.
Starting to descend into Bermuda. Look at that water.
Our first glimpses of the island.
You should absolutely sit on the right side of the plane on arrival.
They are constructing a new airport terminal, not open yet. What an absolutely beautiful place to arrive.
Welcome to Bermuda. Even though our GoogleFi phones thought we had landed in Jamaica, I can assure you, it’s Bermuda.
Lots of private jets here. There’s some serious money on the island.
I do love departing an airplane via stairs. Who wouldn’t in weather like this.
Into the terminal and off to immigration, customs, COVID testing, and duty free.
Final Thoughts
Bermuda is so close to the East Coast of the US and Canada. This Delta flight was very pleasant and short. As with all of my COVID flights, I’ve felt very safe, the plane was clean, and everyone was very friendly.