Europe Reopening for Summer Travel: France, Spain, Portugal, COVID Certificates, and More

Sneak Peek: 

Kristin:    00:00:00    Who will need this green certificate? Well, in a word, everyone.

Introduction: Welcome to Badass Digital Nomads, where we're pushing the boundaries of remote work and travel, all while staying grounded with a little bit of old school philosophy, self-development, and business advice from our guests. 

Kristin Wilson, Host: Hi everyone. Kristin from Traveling with Kristin here and welcome to episode 112 of Badass Digital Nomads podcast. This was a very exciting week because so many European countries announced that they were finally reopening their borders for international tourism, France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal among them. So if you're listening to this far into the future, we're talking about the week of June 7th, 2021. So I'm recording this the same week and the reason that so many countries reopened at the same time is because the European Commission finally agreed on the details for the rollout of their EU Digital COVID certificate, which is basically a standardized vaccine passport. They've been talking about this for months now, I've done a couple videos about it, but just about the announcements.  

Kristin:    00:01:20    So I have a separate video coming out specifically about the Green Covid certificate in the next week or so. But this Health Passport, vaccine, passport, covid passport, whatever you wanna call it, is going to go into effect on July 1st, although at least seven to nine countries are already using it like Greece, but all the countries in the European Union should be using it by sometime in July. And so I have videos coming out about all of the specific countries reopening plus the COVID certificate. But in this podcast, I just wanted to give you an overview of the basics of what you'll need to get into European countries this summer. So if you're going to be traveling for summer travel somewhere in Europe, then take some notes. And if you're going to be traveling at all this year, then make sure to check out Safety Wing's Travel Medical Insurance.  

Kristin:    00:02:21    We've linked to that in the show notes as well as their Remote Health product, which is a long-term health insurance plan for people who are living outside of their home countries. And you've heard me talk about this before, the podcast is not sponsored by Safety Wing, although I am an affiliate, but I'm such a fan of their product that I actually interviewed Safety Wing's founder Sondre Rasch on the podcast last week and it's gonna be coming out in the next few weeks. So I'm really excited to share that episode with you. But even though Safety Wing doesn't sponsor the podcast, I wanted to tell you about it because first, it's the only insurance company that I'm aware of that was founded by former Digital Nomads who really understand the needs of both short and long-term world travelers and their coverage and their plans and the different options really reflects that compared to some like corporate executives and headquarters of a really old insurance company.  

Kristin:    00:03:23    And second, it's super affordable. The rates only start at $40 per four weeks, which is less than the cost of adding a generic insurance option to your plane ticket, like if you book a weekend flight to Vegas, for example. And then third, they process their claims really fast. I learned from Sandre when I interviewed him the other day, that you can get your medical expenses pre-approved before you even go to the doctor or the hospital. And even if you don't, they can be paid out in a matter of days, which is a huge improvement over the weeks and sometimes months that I have been in the claims process personally with other international insurance providers. And then fourth, I just really like that the company has this vision for helping real people in the present and the future. They're not just selling medical insurance and health insurance, but they are creating this safety net structure for location independent people.  

Kristin:    00:04:20    And that's gonna include pension plans and virtual doctor visits and all sorts of things. And so they're basically creating something that never existed before and I have a lot of respect for that. So it's not just very valuable, affordable, and practical to use their Nomad Insurance and their Remote Health Insurance versus some of the bigger, older, more corporate companies. But they're also a fully remote company that's run by really cool people and they're creating solutions for other like-minded people. And that is our jam on this podcast. Anyway, check them out. My link is in the show notes so you can help support the podcast and get a good deal on your travel or health insurance at the same time. And just to note on today's podcast, specifically being this kind of Europe news update, I really love doing travel news updates on the podcast and on my YouTube channel.  

Kristin:    00:05:14    And so I hope that you guys like them too. Some of you know that I used to have a weekly show and a second weekly podcast called Digital Nomad News. So this was on a podcast and on a separate YouTube channel, but I discontinued that in the past year or so due to some time and budget constraints. But I really love this format and I hope that um, one day I can relaunch it as a standalone project or maybe even become a travel contributor on the mainstream news. That's like one of my long-term long shot goals, although I haven't really pursued it yet. So if you're listening to this and you have any connections with like CNN or I don't know any of the big news networks, then hit me up because my dream is to be on CNN Travel, let it be known anyway, let me know in the YouTube video comments or on badassdigitalnomads.com if you like.  

Kristin:    00:06:10    Uh, these types of travel updates, um, or really any type of content, whether it's an interview or a cost of living guide or a best places thing. You know, your comments and feedback have a direct impact on the types of videos and podcasts that I produce every week. So I really love hearing from you. And anyway, let's get into the info on Europe reopening, shall we? So first a word on this EU COVID certificate. So what I assumed was that it would be a European app or document that you could use anywhere in Europe. But what I found while researching this was that each country will have their own COVID certificate and these will officially launch on July 1st. So depending on your country of destination, that's where you'll need to go to get the certificate from that country. So these covid certificates have already rolled out in a few countries, as I mentioned, like Greece being one of them.  

Kristin:    00:07:14    I think Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria, there's a few others. But sometime between July 1st and August 1st, you should be able to get them for pretty much any country in the EU. And in most cases, this is going to be an app for your smartphone. But you can also get it in paper analog form. Who will need this green certificate? Well, in a word, everyone, pretty much everyone except kids who are too young to get vaccinated or too young to get tested. But word on the street is that kids can travel with vaccinated parents. So what information will go into this green certificate? It's just going to say if you have been vaccinated within at least 14 or 15 days ago with one of the approved vaccines by the EU, so that's Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnston Johnson or Moderna and slash or if you have passed a PCR test or a rapid antigen test in the past 48 to 72 hours.  

Kristin:    00:08:19    However, there's gonna be a lot of variation between each country. So if you're going to the EU, you wanna start with the requirements for the country that you're going to. And then once you're in Europe, you should be able to go to other countries, especially within the Schengen zone. It just depends on where your starting country is. Like for example, Spain is allegedly allowing two types of the Chinese vaccine, but that's not going to work for most other countries. And then depending on which country you go to, some of them will require you to have the vaccine and a negative test result and some won't. And then this will also depend on which country you're from because Europe has this list with green countries, orange countries, and red countries. So if you're from a green country, in most cases you'll only need proof of vaccine, whereas, or countries will need a negative test result plus the vaccine and people from red countries can't travel to the EU for non-essential reasons.  

Kristin:    00:09:28    So if you're not on the green list or the red list, your country is probably on the orange list where you require both the test and the vaccine. But then some countries are more lenient than others. So that's why I can't go through every single country on this podcast because the countries are changing their requirements all the time and then all EU member states are different. And then there's different European countries that are not in the EU or that are not in the Schengen. And so it just gets really like quite tedious to listen to, I would think. So my main takeaway here is that you want to go to a source for the country that your plane is landing in. And it's also important to note that non-vaccinated travelers probably aren't going to be able to go to a lot of these countries, like especially Spain and France.  

Kristin:    00:10:24    And I think Portugal are going to require the vaccine, but then there's other countries that might not require it. I think Malta's one I, I don't think that Greece requires the vaccine. I think they just require the negative test result. And there's gonna be a lot of countries probably in Eastern Europe that will let you in with just a negative test result. So you're just, you'll just need to check with each one. And then if you're traveling with kids, also make sure to check what the requirements are for the ages because in some countries they have a two year cutoff, seven year cutoff, 11 year cutoff as to whether or not the kid can travel with vaccinated parents or if they need to get a test too. So, um, just make sure to check with your individual country. And then also for like these rules on paper are one thing, but I've also been receiving a lot of text messages and private messages and tips from people.  

Kristin:    00:11:22    So a lot of anecdotal and unverified reports that they were able to travel to the EU with proof of vaccine. So with the COVID certificate for that country. And the authorities at the airport did not ask or check for negative PCR tests. But this is kind of risky to show up without it because there is a chance that they could ask for it. So I think it's better to have it anyway. But some people have said, and I also read about this on The Points Guy website, that some of the first Americans to travel to Spain, when Spain reopened on June 7th, they were not asked for their negative test results. So I've also heard some similar stories when it comes to enforcing the curfews that are on paper in different countries and enforcing the mask, wearing that it seems stricter than it is, but there's still a really high risk of getting a fine.  

Kristin:    00:12:18    And sometimes some of the fines I saw were 435 euro and really high numbers. So I think it's always better to follow the rules, you know, what we see on paper and online and on these official websites might be a little bit different than what you experience individually once you get to that country. And then there's also some countries that can still travel for tourism but will require, or some countries citizens rather that can travel to the EU but might require a quarantine. And different countries are getting on and off this list at different times. So it's hard to say exactly which ones that will be. And then my understanding is that there's still a 10 day quarantine for travel from abroad to the UK. But that might change soon after this podcast is published because President Biden is meeting with Boris Johnson and other European leaders this week.  

Kristin:    00:13:14    So presumably they will be talking about lessening or dropping these restrictions on travel between the US and Europe. So we'll see what happens there. So regardless of which country you're planning on traveling to, the requirements will probably include getting your EU Green Covid certificate app or paper with your vaccination status and or test results and or proof of immunity. So if you have had covid and recovered in the last six months, I think it's valid for six months. In some cases I saw in nine months, then that could potentially take the place of the vaccine. So you'll need some combination of those depending on where you're going and which country you're from. And then you'll also usually need to fill out an arrival form online of some kind. And some countries I even saw, I can't remember which one, but one airline had on their website that you need to bring a pen 'cause you would need to fill out a paper form on the plane.  

Kristin:    00:14:16    So definitely make sure to check with your airline too. And then also before booking travel, make sure to check if your country is on a red list. So France is banning tourism from 16 countries, including India, Brazil, South Africa, and Costa Rica. However, you could still theoretically travel to the EU through another less strict European country and then pass to another one once you've been there for at least 14 days, the quarantine period. So this is all developing and unfolding as we speak and this is kind of unprecedented situation. So disclaimer on that and make sure to do your own research. And this situation is very fluid and it's changing all the time. This is just some of the, um, the information I've gathered through research and from other people who have been traveling to Europe this year and in recent months. And then as far as once you get there, what's open, that's another topic where the details are changing really quickly and every country has different reopening dates.  

Kristin:    00:15:20    Um, so you'll wanna check with each country. But the general consensus is that things are opening up really quickly. So some things might be fully open by July 1st, might be at 50%, but you should see almost all tourism sites open, including concerts and sporting events by the end of August of 2021. And some people were asking on my recent France reopening video about if the Eiffel Tower is open and that will be reopening on July 16th. And some other people were asking about when borders were reopening. And a lot of the borders within Europe have been reopening starting since May. And I also read that cruises are allowed again and basically everything's opening up quickly and travel bookings are also happening very quickly. Some operators reported 600 to 1300% increases in bookings literally overnight. People were saying that the flight prices they checked doubled overnight, tripled overnight.  

Kristin:    00:16:24    Personally going to probably wait until the fall to go to Europe because my friends who are there right now say it's really hot and crowded and that people are just really excited to get out and go places and go to the beach and things. So there's this big travel boom happening right now and I'm not sure that I am prepared mentally <laugh> or emotionally to jump into the fray with a massive travel boom in Europe, like an overnight boom during the peak of the hottest time of the year. So I don't know, I'm, I'm probably gonna wait a few months before I head over there, but if you are antsy to get there, then I think people will be very happy to see you. Tourism operators will be really happy to see you. Hotels, everyone's like ready and waiting with open arms, definitely go if it's, if you're feeling ready.  

Kristin:    00:17:11    Masks are still required in public places in a lot of countries too, but there are fines as I mentioned, but I've had very inconsistent reports on the enforcement of that rule. But definitely follow the rules anyway. I know that this has been a little bit general and a little bit vague 'cause I don't wanna bore you with details of like 35 countries in one podcast. So to get more information on any country that you're going to, you can check out my YouTube channel Traveling with Kristin to see if I've made a specific video on travel there and I'm trying to make them as fast as possible as these countries are kind of opening up the same time. But for the most up-to-date information, I also recommend checking with your airline that you're traveling with. Or if you're on an international carrier that's kind of like, yeah, check with someone else, then check with the local airline of that country, whether it's Air Malta or Air France or Tap Portugal because I've found that the local airlines of the different countries have more specific information on their websites about what you need to get in.  

Kristin:    00:18:18    You can also check embassy and consulate websites and the social media pages of that country that you're going to. So follow the Spanish embassy on Twitter, for example, if you're going to Spain, you can also check the tourism board websites of the country you're going to. But for example, in the case of Spain, their tourism website wasn't updated yet, but other countries like Malta and Cyprus and Montenegro were. And then you can also check some of the travel maps like IATA, I-A-T-A,  and SafetyWing's borderless website. And some sites like visit portugal.com recommended to contact border services of their country before coming. So that's a lot of different sources, but you're gonna wanna check a couple and just cross reference to make sure that you're covered. And then if you're flying back to the US depending on which country you're flying back to, you might need a negative PCR test within 72 hours of leaving that country.  

Kristin:    00:19:20    Expect most countries in Europe to reopen to international tourism by either July 1st or August 1st. For example, Ireland is expected to reopen on July 19th according to the Guardian. So lots of places are going to be opening in the next month. And we also have a lot of exciting guests coming up in the next few months on Badass Digital Nomads. Uh, lots to cover of course in the travel news space, but we also have an interview with a lawyer from Malta on the new Malta Digital Nomad Visa. We have interviews with Kevin Martin on his Van life and moving to Thailand from 30 and A Wake up YouTube channel. An interview with Erika, a two-part interview actually. She's one of my YouTube subscribers who successfully renounced her US citizenship. So we're getting into detail on that. We also have Steph Smith, very popular blogger and digital nomad who works for trends in the Hustle.  

Kristin:    00:20:23    She's really big on Twitter. She spoke at Nomad Summit. She has an amazing blog and lots of insights into the traveling lifestyle. We have some expat reality TV stars coming on the show. And we have a gay travel couple, Brent and Michael from Seattle and the website, Brent and Michael Are Going Places. Very, very cool guys. Both writers actually I think screenwriters, maybe even published authors who I met in Bulgaria a couple years ago. And they're currently based in Turkey having them on. And we also have, uh, one of the founders of Remote Year coming on and lots more travel guides and insider information in digital nomad news for you and lots more as usual. So make sure if you're not subscribed to my email list yet, you head over to travelingwithKristin.com/subscribe to get my weekly newsletter that goes out at 9:00 AM Eastern every Friday.  

Kristin:    00:21:20    And you can be one of the first people to hear about new books, guides, travel tips, programs, courses, things coming out, sometimes stories, travel stories about people or myself, and just it's something different every week. Um, and lots of information to just help you travel the world. And also, if you're listening to this, I would love to ask you to please leave a review for the podcast. I know it takes effort. <laugh>, I actually just left a review for the Daily Stoic podcast yesterday because I've been listening to it for a long time. I think I've actually left two reviews for them over the past years. Thousands of people download Badass Digital Nomads every week, but we're a little behind, uh, in the reviews category. So I would love to get, um, more of your individual reviews and support to help, uh, spread awareness about the show so other fellow travelers can find it. So thank you so much for tuning in this week. I hope this information was helpful For all of you who are planning some summer travel to Europe, stay safe, leave a review and get your travel planning brain into gear. Get excited, get that wanderlust kicking, and uh, see you again next week.