My wife, son and I took a short trip to St. Martin last Thursday and returned home on Tuesday night. I posted several questions here leading up to the trip, and got a lot of great feedback that helped us decide to actually travel once the time came. We certainly considered not going, but I'm glad we did. I'll give a very short overview of our day-to-day activities (there's not much), and then discuss a few things that I had questions about before we left.

We spent five nights in Orient Bay at a really great AirBnB close to the restaurants and beach. We pretty much did the same thing every day -- spent half the day at Happy Bay, the other half at the beach in Orient, and then ate dinner at one of the restaurants in Orient Village. The limited variety wasn't really something we planned in advance, but we enjoyed it so much the first day we just kept doing it. Overall, it was exactly what I wanted in the vacation.

On to the answers to the questions I had before leaving ...

Would we be able get tested and get results in time?

This wasn't a problem. We are lucky to have free PCR testing nearby, and the results come back quickly. We got tested Monday morning and had the results by Tuesday morning. This was within a timeframe that allowed us to not only fill out the EHAS forms, but we also were able to avoid a second test to stay on the French side. We submitted the EHAS forms for all of us after receiving the results and were approved by the end of the day. A test wasn't required for my son since he's under 10, but we did still have to fill out a form for him. That was approved immediately upon submission.

What would the airport and flight be like?

We flew out of Charlotte on Thursday morning and it was much more crowded than I thought. The check-in line for international departures took about 30-40 minutes, and we were surrounded by people the entire time. It made me very uneasy and concerned since there was zero distancing, but most people did wear masks. Some better than others, though. This initial experience at the airport is the biggest reason I may not travel again until things get better.

The flight itself wasn't bad. I'd say there were about 35 people on board, which would have been much nicer had we not been strategically seated for weight distribution. There were several open areas on the plane, but we weren't allowed to sit there, including in our original assigned seats. We ended up with two people sharing the row across the aisle, one of whom didn't want to wear his mask unless a flight attendant came by, and no one in front or directly behind us. Based on the line I saw boarding a flight to Mexico, it could have been much worse, but I kept a pretty close eye on how crowded the flight would be only to have it not really matter as much as I'd thought due to the eventual seating arrangements.

Would there be social distancing at SXM?

As others have mentioned, we did have to take a short bus ride to the terminal. This took about a minute, but the bus was crowded. Fortunately, we were the first off and didn't have to wait in line at all to get through the airport. We landed about 1:50 and were out front with our checked bags by 2:05. It was very fast, which was a relief after the experience in Charlotte. With that said, not everyone working at the airport was wearing a mask, but we had limited contact so it didn't matter all that much.

What would it be like shopping?

My plan going into this trip was to use Petite Casino in Orient for daily trips. In the past, we always would buy way too much food the first day and waste a lot of it. I ended up going back several times during our stay, but I wouldn't recommend it if you are concerned about social distancing and masks. There may be better places to go, or you could at least just go once and that's it. Some employees wore masks, but they were pulled down more than worn appropriately. The same goes for the customers. Some didn't wear them, some did, and some put them on when they saw I was wearing mine. There was a lot less compliance to mask wearing than what we have in the U.S. grocery stores near us.

What about the restaurants?

I had the same experience in the restaurants. All employees seemed to have a mask, but they weren't really worn consistently. They were pulled up when taking an order or bringing food, though. I don't really think I saw a single customer wearing a mask. Despite all of this, we never really felt uncomfortable since we were eating outdoors and it wasn't too crowded. We ate most nights between 6:30-8. Things started to get more crowded at about 8 or so, but it wasn't hard to get a table separated from other customers earlier in the night. There was also good air flow it seemed. On Friday night it started to rain and we had to move to a covered area and ended up seated closer than we would have liked to another couple. They were smoking, but we never smelled any smoke, which made me think there was pretty good ventilation.

Would there be social distancing on the beach?

I wasn't overly concerned about this before leaving, and it turned out that it wasn't an issue at all. There weren't enough people to feel like the beach was overcrowded, and we had our own chairs. At Happy Bay, there was hardly anyone around, and at Orient we just set up in an open area with no other chairs. I don't think it would even be a problem if you were using the beach chairs at a bar. They seemed to be spread out enough, too.

What would happen if you got sick on the island?

The EHAS emails from the Dutch side give instructions on who to call, but I never figured out what would happen on the French side. I tried multiple times to determine what the process would be if we got sick and were quarantined. I never got an answer. We fortunately didn't have to find out, but I'm still curious where someone staying in a hotel or AirBnB would go to quarantine. I guess staying put would be an option, but I can see why that might be problematic for a few reasons.

We ended up purchasing a travel insurance policy that was supposed to cover additional lodging costs if we ended up having to delay our return due to illness, so I think we would have been OK. However, it would be nice to know for sure where tourists would stay if they got sick and couldn't leave. Not having this information made me nervous at times.

How about getting back home?

Check in at SXM was much easier than in CLT. The line was short, and we only got held up briefly due to a baggage issue with the person in front of us. Security wasn't an issue either, and we just walked right out to the plane at our gate. There wasn't any waiting to do that. There were even fewer people on the plane back to Charlotte, so we had even more space than flying over. After landing, customs and immigration was also pretty easy without any crowds or waiting.

Would I do it again?

Probably not. There are two reasons. The first was how crowded the airport was in CLT. If I could somehow avoid that experience, I'd probably travel again. There were just too many people in a very small area to feel comfortable, and it wasn't a great way to begin a trip.

My second reason is that I started to feel a little under the weather on the fourth day. I woke up not feeling great and then noticed I had a 99.5 temperature about mid-morning. I think it was just from getting a little sunburned the day before, but I couldn't help but worry some. This is when not knowing what was going to happen to me and my family became an issue. Had I known exactly where I'd go if I actually was sick, it maybe would have made the morning easier. But I didn't know, and I had to at least briefly consider that I might be getting sick and possibly picked something up in the airport or flight. Then what? There was just a lot to process and consider, and it wasn't something I'd like to do again -- especially on a vacation. After a few hours, I started feeling better and was able to relax. Everyone is still healthy now that we're home, too.

As I mentioned, we had a nice time and I'm glad we went forward with the trip, but I'd be reluctant to fly again under these circumstances. Despite making every effort to do it safely, there were still times when I couldn't control what was happening. I guess that will always be the case on trips, but just checking in for a flight shouldn't really be something that creates anxiety. This wouldn't keep me from recommending other people go, though. We've just had our trip, and I can wait a few more months for things to get better before traveling again.