Travelling to Europe Summer 2021 - Tips, Advice, Experiences

I know many people were, like us, thrilled when EU countries started announcing that vaccinated US travelers would be allowed in for tourism this summer. When Spain said they would open on June 7, we booked tickets for a long weekend over the July 4th holiday, SWUs locked in. Even knowing things could change, we super excited!!

I’ve been looking into all the requirements that are still in place, and how to make sure things go as smoothly as possible with PCR testing before leaving the US and before returning, as well as with submitting proof of vaccination etc. It looks as if none of the highly anticipated Travel Pass type apps are really functional yet, unfortunately.

So, as opposed to the threads which discussed whether to go or not, I thought I’d start a thread for others actually going through this process, or who have already gone through it, to share tips, information, experiences or issues. Right now I know the following:

– PCR test required within 72 hours of departing flight time, to be checked by the airline. AA says proof on your phone will work, as will vaccine cards. In Philly, it seems like CVS might be our best bet for free, fast test results. They are saying 1-2 days turnaround. Same will be required for returning, and I’m still looking at where in Spain I’ll be able to get us tests.

Hoping we Berserkers can help each other out as we trickle back into the travelling life we love so much!

I’m planning a trip to Italy in July so I’m very interested in any updates as well. What’s AA saying about vaccine cards? Everything I’m reading says that vaccines are pretty much meaningless, at least as far as getting on a plane goes.

I just had some friends fly to Croatia. Everything went fine, but then they were scheduled to fly onto Greece. Turkish air canceled the flight and offered no rebooking. They had to pay another $2200 to continue on.

We are looking into Spain, but now I am wondering if we are still a bit early. Not everything is open and with stories like the above, I want to know my rights for cancellations.

As above, AA says vaccine cards are the accepted proof. I don’t know whether that means they will for sure check them or not (they are supposed to), but if you are vaccinated, just have your card available.

We just booked a trip to Dubrovnik, Croatia in early September knowing that (1) we can always cancel the flights (new non-stop route ) with Delta for credits and (2) booked an Airbnb which can be canceled the night before with no fees. No risk there , unless getting back to US something changes . Wife and I are vaccinated but looks like we will need PCR test to go and rapid to return . Still a few months away so who knows what will be the requirement then. I’m hoping for rapid tests (or even being vaccinated ) being sufficient in the future if you are vaccinated .

One thing to think about - it’s not that rare for vaccinated folks to get asymptomatic Covid-19. They wouldn’t even know they got it absent the test.

So for the couple of weeks prior to the trip, you might limit your crowd exposure unless the community infection rate is very low. The risk is not so much the sickness as the trip cancellation due to the failed test.

Thanks for the note that for return to the US, antigen rapid tests are acceptable. I just confirmed that on the CDC website.

Our flights are also changeable and Air BnB can be canceled. We’ve been in touch with friends in the area we’re visiting and most restaurants and bars seem to be open, with limited capacity. That may change between now and then, of course, for the better or worse. But if things close, we’ll cook more with our friends and go out less. No big deal.

You can also just buy Covid tests from a drugstore.

Good point , thanks . We are bringing our daughter(s) to college around 10 days before so I get to be the Covid nag once again.

Hope it works out for both of us. Going in warm/mild weather so can be outdoors, which certainly is beneficial

Yes but you can test yourself at home in the weeks before to avoid a surprise positive test.

Wouldn’t that still be a surprise, just not last minute? A test two weeks before might cut it down, but between false positives and the remaining exposure period prior to the test, plus having to take the second test, I wouldn’t bother.

It’s like $25 for two tests.

Anyways probably not necessary but still not a bad idea.

I thought the cheaper tests were higher in false positives.

When the community infection rate is low enough, the probablilty of a positive result being a false positive is bigger than 50%.

Even with a false positivity rate of 0.5% for PCR, the probablility of a positive test being false rather than true is 40% when the community infection rate is 1%.

(see here for illustration: False Positives in PCR Tests for COVID-19 – ICD10monitor)

Yes, unfortunately very few places have that low an infection rate. Still 3% here, and I’m sure it’s much higher elsewhere.

We thought about tickets once things opened, but decided against it after hearing feedback from people on the ground in Italy. A number of factors went into the decision, but fingers crossed for a big family trip to Italy in 2022.

Not Europe, but coming back from Mexico a couple weeks ago was a breeze. The hotel provided antigen tests with near-immediate results. We uploaded those results to the United website, and United verified before we ever set foot in the airport. We also filled out all the Mexican forms online. And once home, it was the fastest immigration experience I’ve ever had.

I wish we could do Europe this year, but we will settle for an epic trip in 2022. Telluride for the month of July will be a good consolation prize.

I believe the pcr test has to be 72 hours from the time of arrival at destination. Not departure.
Have a trip to Portugal scheduled in Sept.

Good to know, thanks.