Intro Vermont Travel during the Pandemic

Last year, after surviving 133 days of staying home, and Covid-19 cases going down in New England, we felt comfortable enough to travel to Vermont. In this article, I share our experiences and how Vermont deals with COVID-19. We spent two nights in Burlington and noticed many good practices.

This post has been updated with 2021 information. Even although it feels like we are still living in 2020 with the pandemic roaring around us.

Disclosure: This post might contain affiliate links. If you buy through one of these links, it will not cost you anything extra, but we might get a small commission. Thank you for supporting us. To learn more, please read our full affiliate disclaimer page.

Travel to Vermont during Covid-19

Admittedly, I felt kind of weird to go to a new state and actually stay in a hotel, but research and preparations helped me feel safe to travel.

• Preparations: is traveling to Vermont even possible for us at this time?
• Highway travel and rest stops.
• How our hotel handled the pandemic
• Eating out in Burlington VT

How we prepared

Before we made any reservations, we studied the Vermont and New Hampshire Covid19 web sites about inter-state travel and studied the New York Times pandemic trackers. Mostly, we wanted to know if we would be able to travel without having to quarantine. Also, to find out how many active cases there were in Burlington.

Because of being from a county with a low rate of active cases (and using our personal vehicle), we can currently visit Vermont without quarantining. Our county had only 82 active cases per million, which is even better than Burlington (556 active cases per million). In addition we found out that masks were required in Vermont when social distancing isn’t possible.

Update 2021: Currently Vermont does not have any state travel restrictions. There are federal rules that apply in Vermont, like testing for international travel and masks being required on public transportation, including school buses.

CDC recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated because travel increases your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19.

Next, hotel research. Are hotels open, what kind of safety precautions are they taking? Because we have many Hilton Honor points to stay for free, we checked the Hilton website for availability. Location wise, the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Burlington was our first choice.

After studying the Hilton Corona virus precautions, and because of having a long history of staying in Hilton hotels and trusting their brand, we decided to go for it!

Highway travel in Vermont

Living on the NH / VT border, we often drive in Vermont. It has been interesting to see high way signs evolve during the pandemic. From “Out of state: Isolate 14 days” to the current “Covid-19 – Wash Your Hands – Keep Distance” and “Masks Up – Phones Down”.

Needing one restroom stop enabled us to check out their rest areas. They did well with one way traffic indoors, limiting the number of people and requiring masks. It felt like they were taking all the reasonable precautions.

Our Hotel Experience

The day before our stay, the hotel called us to go over expectations like wearing masks in any public areas and normal services being different or not available. For example, no unlimited lobby coffee / tea and no breakfast buffet. Fortunately there was a Keurig machine in our room.

When we arrived, we noticed clear signs about social distancing, wearing masks and elevator etiquette (max 2 people or one family per elevator or preferably use the stairs). They asked us to fill out a Certificate of Compliance, a Vermont requirement back then.

2021 Update: A certificate of compliance is not needed anymore.

They asked our contact information and statement that we were from a “safe” area. In addition we had to confirm that we did not have any Covid19 symptoms or had been in contact with any active Covid-19 cases recently.

Because of the pandemic, the normal hot Hilton Garden Inn breakfast was not available. We had the choice between a “brown bag breakfast” or 750 Hilton Honor points. We chose the points, so no idea what would be in the bag. From earlier travel experiences, most likely a yogurt, a granola bar, a bottle of water and a random bagged pastry.

Our room looked clean, TV remote was in a special baggie, and it felt just like normal. First night we had a room overlooking a wall, but our unplanned second night, we got an upgrade to a expansive lake view. We felt safe and comfortable in our hotel.

Dining out in Vermont

Although we did spend a lot of time birding to socially distance, we also visited some local restaurants. We love Church Street, and there were plenty of outdoor dining opportunities. Even though there were many people strolling, everyone was socially distancing and most people were wearing masks.

Interestingly enough, every single restaurant asked us for name and phone number, for contact tracing purposes. When we eat out in New Hampshire, nobody has asked us. I thought it was great that Vermont is taking a proactive approach to contact tracing.

Restaurants we Recommend

Pascolo Ristorante

Our first dining was at Pascola Ristorante, an excellent Italian restaurant. Though they offer indoor dining, we were more comfortable being outdoors. Their website states

We have a strict ‘No Mask, No Service’ policy. Masks must be worn at all times when not seated. We are happy to provide you with a disposable mask if needed. Please respect our staff by maintaining 6-foot social distancing at all times. Reservations do not guarantee outdoor seating. Thanks…..and hang in there.”

Pascolo Ristorante

And indeed, there was social distancing and all the servers wore masks. Also any of the customers moving around were wearing masks. We felt perfectly ok dining there and watching the Church Street people walk by.

The Spot on the dock: Great Sunset

Around sunset, we went to a restaurant right on the lake, Spot on the Dock. Instead of using paper menus, they directed us to their web site for the menu. Another way to limit exposure to the corona virus.

Officially we had to make on line reservations, and it seemed totally full. But when we called and asked, they said to just show up, it didn’t seem to be too busy that night. So we lucked out and got an awesome table and good food too!

I enjoyed their Livin’ the Dream salad, beets with local goat cheese and spiced nuts over a bed of arugula dressed in a citrus vinaigrette. We totally recommend this restaurant because of the great view and responsible social distancing policy.

Splash at the Boat House

After spending all day birding on Sunday, we decided to tag on another night at the Hilton. We could again stay for “free” (actually 40k Hilton Honors points.) One good thing about the pandemic is that we have so many points that are sitting there, patiently waiting for us to travel again.

Staying an extra night, enabled us to enjoy another water-front restaurant Splash at the Boat House. Located close to our hotel, we went there for lunch and just loved the location and the food. Since we had to drive home, we couldn’t try their drinks, but plan on it next time we visit!

Conclusion: travel to Vermont during Covid-19.

If you take the right precautions, it is possible to safely travel to Vermont. Precautions include

• Make sure Vermont allows visitors from your area; (check at VT cross-state travel map) (expired recently, instead:
• 2021 Update: On June 14, 2021, Governor Scott removed all State COVID-19 restrictions and the State of Emergency expired on June 15, 2021. For more information, current considerations, and operational recommendations, please visit Vermont.gov/Vermont-Forward.
• Drive your own vehicle;
• Do not have any symptoms;
• No contact with Covid-19 cases over the last 14 days;
• Socially distance and wash your hands, just like anywhere else;
• 2021 Update: Be fully vaccinated to protect yourself and others.

Have you been traveling during this Covid-19 era? What were your experiences? And we are always open to suggestions for good food in Burlngton!

Stay safe, my friends, and wash your hands.

Pin Travel to Vermont during Covid-19