Nick Ewen, with the Points Guy, was live on the AccuWeather Network on July 22 to discuss how you can stay safe while traveling to hurricane-prone areas during hurricane season.

Traveling to the Caribbean during hurricane season can present risks due to potential storms, but there are strategies to help travelers stay safe and protect their investments. Experts recommend maintaining flexibility in travel plans, as cruises and resorts may need to alter itineraries or evacuate guests for safety reasons. Purchasing travel insurance before a storm is named is advised, and travelers should review what is covered by their insurance policies. 

Before booking, travelers are encouraged to ask resorts about their hurricane preparedness and evacuation procedures, especially in locations with limited flight options. Alternative beach destinations outside the main hurricane zone, such as parts of California or the southern Caribbean islands like Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire, may offer lower risk, though no destination is completely immune. Planning ahead and ensuring adequate coverage are key to a safe and enjoyable trip.

Caribbean travel during hurricane season

Welcome back to AccuWeather Early, thanks so much for being with us on this Tuesday morning. You just got back from vacation. I go to vacation next week, neither of us were in the Caribbean, but we want to help you plan for a Caribbean getaway. It feels like I'm giving one away. I wish I could do that. I know. Want to sign up? Yes. During hurricane season, that can come with a risk, but if you're still tempted by the white sand, blue waters, and sunshine, there are ways to plan smart. It's a great place to be. So for tips on staying flexible and safe, here is Nick Ewan, Senior Editorial Director at The Points Guide. Nick, thanks so much for making time for us today. We always appreciate your travel insight. Yeah, thanks for having me. All right, what should travelers consider if they are planning a vacation to the Caribbean during hurricane season? Well, I think the first thing is you've got to be flexible. You have to understand that your trip may not go as planned. You may run into some potential storms. And this holds true regardless of whether you're doing an all-inclusive resort or maybe a cruise. Oftentimes, cruises will do their best to accommodate the original itinerary, but may detour, skip ports, come back early if there is a real risk to safety. So you've just got to go into it with an open mind. There are some really great deals that can be had, but you've just got to be ready to pivot and, in some cases, with very little notice. So how can travelers protect their plans and their money? How can you make an investment in this kind of thing if a potential storm could develop in the tropics? Well, the first thing's first is you need to make sure that you are purchasing travel insurance or investigating whatever travel insurance you have on your credit card that you use to purchase the vacation. You cannot get travel insurance after a storm has been named, so it has to happen before that happens in order to be covered. And then just really make sure that you know exactly what is and is not covered. If you need to cancel your trip before it even starts, once you're there, if you need to rebook to try to come back early because of evacuation orders, most important thing is if you are facing a threat for a storm, that you do follow all local evacuation instructions. Make sure that you are being smart and safe and not really trying to prolong your vacation if it is going to put you and your fellow travelers at risk. All right. Before you go, what should you be asking your resort about their hurricane safety procedures in a severe weather event? Yeah, I think that's a great question. And ideally doing this ahead of time, potentially even before booking, just so you know exactly what their plans are, when the resort was constructed, how significant their preparation plans are. Obviously, all of these luxury resorts are going to have some plans, some policy, and it's up to you to essentially evaluate, do you think that they are prepared enough? Another thing to keep in mind is if you are at a destination that has limited flights, it's maybe a little bit more risky than, say, Puerto Rico where you have San Juan or Punta Cana where you have tons of flights to get back to the U.S. If you're on a really deserted island, it's just going to be a little bit harder to get back. So again, just going in, planning, and preparing as best you can. Are there alternate vacation destinations that might be lower risk? What would you recommend if you really want to avoid the worst of hurricane season? I think there are a lot of great beach destinations outside of the Caribbean, outside of my home state of Florida. Some great beaches in California, some great up the Atlantic coast. But really, we've seen hurricanes impact, of course, last year in North Carolina, some really significant impacts. So if you're really looking for that warm beach getaway without having to travel halfway around the world to a place like French Polynesia or Fiji, there are some great locations on the West Coast. In Mexico, again, though, you still are going to be running the risk there. So if you're really set on that beach vacation, you really just want to plan ahead and make sure that you have enough coverage to keep you whole in case your plans go awry. Nick, you had senior director at, senior editorial director at The Point Sky. Thank you for joining us on AccuAir. The early start, I got so, the Fiji, I was like, take me there now. It sounds good. I just can't even think beyond Fiji now. A lot of times for hurricanes, we also think about, you know, being more than 10 degrees north latitude. If you get down to Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, you're not too far from kind of a safe zone almost on the south side. Also consideration, although nobody's totally immune down there. No. All right. We'll let Nick go. Thank you so much for being with us.

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