With the vacations underway and the number of infections declining, more and more countries are choosing to ease restrictions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Tourists who plan to travel should keep up-to-date on the restrictions in place and the rules for entry into destination countries.
How do the restrictions look?
One of the main restrictions for travelers is the need for quarantine upon arrival. The decision on a mandatory 10-day quarantine is still upheld by many countries. In the case of travel from the Schengen zone, the quarantine is imposed either on those who test positive for coronavirus or on those who fail to show the test. In the latter case, a test will be available 48 hours after crossing the border – a negative result allows the quarantine to be lifted.
As a reminder, the Schengen zone is made up of 22 countries belonging to the European Union and 4 outside it: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, as well as Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
For travelers from countries outside the Schengen Area and the European Economic Area, the quarantine waiver test is not possible until seven days after arrival.
Importantly, those who have taken the full COVID-19 vaccination and children under the age of 12 are completely exempt from quarantine.
Vacation without quarantine upon arrival
As the need for a 10-day quarantine would involve spending the entire vacation in confinement for a standard 7- or 14-day vacation, tourists looking for deals at travel agencies are choosing countries that have lifted the post-arrival quarantine.
Currently, among the popular tourist destinations are: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Montenegro, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Spain with the Canary Islands, Kenya, Costa Rica, Macedonia, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Portugal with Madeira, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy, Cape Verde, Zanzibar with Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates.
Vacations with and without tests
Nevertheless, some of the above-mentioned countries still require the presentation of a negative test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, such as Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Maldives, Malta, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey, Spain in the Canary Islands area, Cape Verde and Italy. Some of them accept antigen tests, but the result must be described in English and include the date of collection, the type of testing method, the name and ID number of the testee and, of course, the information that it is negative.
Here, however, it should be noted that an increasing number of countries are exempting vaccinated persons – some require that at least 14 days have elapsed since the last dose – as well as the recovered. These countries include Croatia, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Tunisia, Italy, Portugal in the Madeira area and Bulgaria, among others.
Travel with a covid passport
It is also worth mentioning the so-called covid passport, or EU COVID Certificate. This is a new solution to facilitate travel in countries belonging to the European Union. This electronic document certifies that a person is a recovered patient, has been vaccinated or has a negative coronavirus test, if one was necessary.
Importantly, the certificate can be taken even by those who have not had a full vaccination, but it is important to remember that some countries require a minimum of 14 days after one dose for single-dose vaccines or a second dose for two-dose preparations to be able to cross the border without quarantine.
The certificate can be shown while crossing the borders of European Union countries, for example, on your phone. The document is free of charge and, by design, is mainly available digitally.
WARNING.
The rules related to the coronavirus pandemic change very often.
Remember to always find the current guidelines for travelers.
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