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Planning a trip? Check out these tips first

Here's everything you'll need to know before you go.

TAMPA, Fla —  Carla Marconi and her fiance' should be husband and wife by now.   

They were supposed to get married last weekend in Cozumel.  

"We planned the whole thing, I had this dream of walking down the stairwell and up another stairwell," Marconi said.

Marconi said when she found out you have to take a COVID-19 test before you leave Mexico to come home, she realized that could lead to problems. 

"A lot of our friends were like, 'I can't afford being stuck in Mexico for two weeks,' so that's when we started reconsidering moving it local."

With millions of Americans getting vaccinated, more and more people are traveling.  A new survey by AAA shows that nearly half of Floridians are comfortable taking a trip, and more than 60 percent plan to do just that.

Some travelers have gone anyway and regretted it after getting stuck for weeks following a positive test. 

CEO of Elite Travel Tammy Levent says that's why people should use an experienced travel agent. 

"The first thing we do is we have a resource we go to to check and see what the rules and the laws are because every country is different," Levent said. 

Her biggest tip: Get travel insurance.  

"Travel insurance is going to cover you if something was to happen from the day that you need to be in quarantine if you get sick if you need to come back in evac. All that is included in your travel insurance. It's peace of mind especially now with the way the world is."

If you're booking your own trip, really read the fine print. Most airlines and hotels aren't as generous as they were this time last year when it comes to changes and cancellations.

 "We're seeing like 80 percent of what's out there now is saying non-refundable," Levent said.

Levent also says to check any vouchers you got from airlines or hotels if you had to cancel a trip last year. You may have to reschedule those within a certain time frame or lose the value. Also, you will only get the value of your voucher, and prices may have changed to get where you want to go. 

   

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