TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Determining Covid test options before arrival

We are going out of our minds trying to figure out which Covid test to take prior to our trip. Day 5 is on a Saturday, which would get us our results on time but leaves no room for flight delays. We are having a hard time finding a Sunday testing facility for travel tests. We are also cutting it close on getting our results back. All local rapid Antigen tests are not on the approved UK list. Has anyone experienced flight delays that result in the expiration of the 5 day test before arrival? If so, what happened? We have really tight layovers.

Don't worry about the UK list. Any CLIA certified lab will work for rapid antigen (provided you are vaccinated). Most people are using the CVS tests.

Lots of people recently are saying the home proctored tests from eMed.com have been accepted. I just took one of those tests last week and it does come back with a CLIA stamp on the receipt so I expect it does work. Takes about 20 minutes to complete.

Thanks Jason. Unfortunately we can’t get those here at CVS or Walgreens but we have a local pharmacy that will do them. This approach will help me sleep at night!

Friends of ours had Rapid Antigen Results accepted that were not tests on the approved list.

I don't know what it is like for testing turnaround time in the UK, but we got in trouble getting a PCR Test at a Walgreens on a Friday in the States for travel on Tuesday. We didn't get results until midday Tuesday which created some last minute headaches on Monday evening and with the portal...

Just a heads up that getting PCR tested on Friday/Saturday/Sunday in the States does sometimes seem to lead to delays in results

Virgin Gorda Resident--we had exactly the same situation in June. Got tested at a Walgreens on the weekend and results did not come back timely, so we had to go pay through the nose for a test in order to get approval to travel to St. Maarten. They told us that our tests weren't even mailed away until Monday evening, and thus weren't received in time for us to use them. Around here in Florida right now, you cannot find ANY appointments at Walgreens for testing.

Which may be one reason Tuesday flights seem to be cheaper. We got cheap seats on Southwest in early December. We'll probably get tested Friday. We've found a good place nearby that charges $50 for PCR. Hoping the Covid surge doesn't delay results.

The BVI is also "improving" their portal, so we'll see how that goes. There are complaints about the fees, but if past is prelude, they'll drop them only for Belongers. The portal is so flawed.

Looks like the Rapid Antigen test is the way to go, particularly for weekend tests like we will have.

I'd highly recommend a Rapid Antigen Test. Especially on a Friday. No waiting around nervously for the results, the BVI accepts them, and at least in Michigan there were a plethora of places that were offering free ones

[quote=I'd highly recommend a Rapid Antigen Test. Especially on a Friday. No waiting around nervously for the results, the BVI accepts them, and at least in Michigan there were a plethora of places that were offering free ones[/quote]
Keep in mind, the BVI only accepts them for fully vaccinated travelers. This rule applies to everyone 5 years of age and over.