Educated Guesses - UNvaccinated US Resident travel in Europe in late June 2022

I would bet a million dollars that France will not be accepting unvaccinated people for tourism purposes in June.

No ability to read tea leaves of course, but I would be rather shocked if unvaccinated travellers were to be allowed in the EU this spring.

Maybe they will eventually lift the vaccination requirement for travellers, but that, if it happens, seems to be a long way in the future, not in 6 months.

Call Steves' office for refund details. The probability of even getting on a US airplane unvaccinated in June is pretty low. Maybe June 2023. This is that disconnection that I cannot comprehend.

I think you might be able to apply the deposit to a future tour; do call the office and ask.

None of us seems to have a crystal ball that functions properly, but I'd bet against your DH being able to go to Europe anytime soon.

I have one relative and two friends who cannot be vaccinated, for medical reasons. This causes them a lot of problems. My sis-in-law lost her job at a nursing home, even though she volunteered to take a daily Covid test.

Kerry, I think you knew the answer to this question prior to asking but just held out some hope anyway. I can't think of any scenario in the near future where that unvaccinated status won't be a deterrent to travel in Europe. It is even a deterrent to travel in parts of the United States.

I would feel comfortable putting the deposit down for the RS Tour.

If I had $800 handy, I would gladly take the bet that NO major country is going to allow unvaxxed tourists in the very, very near future.

I said major because somebody is bound to see this as a great $$$ opportunity, but would you really want to go to that country?

Her unvaccinated husband is not considering the RS tour.

Isn’t it ironic that same day you ask about a trip with your UNvaccinated husband, France announces a new variant has been identified. So my uneducated guess is that no unvaccinated persons will be allowed in almost anywhere. https://m.dw.com/en/new-corona-variant-identified-in-france/a-60329823

Italy is currently requiring booster within 6 mo of trip, so I can't imagine they will be letting someone unvaccinated into Italy 6 1/2 months from now.

Elsewhere on this forum, I read that Italy is currently requiring a booster within 6 mo of trip, so I can't imagine they will be letting someone unvaccinated into Italy 6 1/2 months from now.

The hoped-for independent trip with your husband involves both France and Italy. I say, as others have, there is zero chance either one will allow unvaccinated tourists into the country by June 2022, or much later. So he will not be able to go.

One reason, among many, is that it is the unvaccinated who are ending up in hospitals, and no country wants to risk having tourists take up hospital beds that they might need for their own citizens.

So—-assuming the RS tour cancellation policy is otherwise acceptable—-go ahead and make that deposit. There may be other reasons you need to cancel at some point, but it won’t be because you have decided to take that France-Italy trip with your husband instead.

Kerry, I mean this kindly: if your husband cannot get vaccinated because he is immune-compromised in some way or has a medical exemption, he probably should not be risking travel and its potential exposure anyway. Much safer for him to stay close to home. You go on the tour with your daughter, and have fun.

I don't expect Unvaccinated people to be allowed to travel in Europe this year. Perhaps not next year either. Or maybe ever again.

Go with the Rick Steves tour! I'd book it now if you can get it. Most of them are sold out.

If your husband can't, or won't, get vaccinated go ahead and book the RS trip with your daughter.

My DD just returned from a trip to Spain and German today so based on her report, your unvaccinated husband will not be able to acquire the much necessary digital QR code needed to enter restaurants, museums, bars and hotels in Europe. As others have mentioned, it is highly unlikely that your husband will be able to fly to Europe by June 20222. Europe is much more strict about needing the vaccine for certain activities compared to the U.S.

I SO appreciate all of your replies! It does make my decision easier. I have just put a deposit on one of the few available tours, Best of Spain for 14 Days departing on May 21st! We are also on the waitlist for GAS and BOE 14 & 21 days for similar timeframes. I just heard Peter Greenburg's recent travel report and he says airline miles are soon to be extremely devalued and it's wise to book award flights ASAP. So, I'm going to try to book today. So, given the opportunity to get on one of the waitlisted tours, we'll only switch if we can economically switch the airfare at that later date. Has anyone taken this Spain trip and how did you like it. OH, one last question, might we really be in a situation/hotel without air conditioning in Spain???

We really enjoyed our Best of Spain tour, ranking it among our top 5. We are returning to Spain in fall of ‘22 and spending more time in Barcelona which we wish we did originally. We extended our trip in Sevilla and did a day trip to Cordoba. Visiting the Mezquita was one of the highlights of our trip and RS should really consider including it in the tour. He does not so do it! It’s easy! When it comes to immersion, be prepared to become a Spaniard when it comes to eating times, and don’t say you can’t! On our own we often had dinner at 10 or 11 and Spain really comes alive at that time of night. Our tour mates were snoozing. Can’t recall heat in the hotel rooms being an issue, I think they all had AC. And brush up on your Spanish, English is not nearly as wide spoken as in other Western European countries. Have a great tour!

we really be in a situation/hotel without air conditioning in Spain

Outside of Northern Spain (Galicia/Basque/Asturias) that is not really a problem nowadays, in the past 10 years all the hotels I've been at had AC.

Carlos...I'm delighted to hear that!

Thanks Alan! Glad you give a thumbs up to the Best of Spain Tour! I have been to Spain and know of what you speak! We spent a couple of weeks in Andalusia in 2011 (in a home exchange) and it was tough getting used to the late dinner hour! However, by the second week, we were comfortable dining at 9/10pm and not getting home until well after midnight! We were in an un-airconditioned casa in a town called La Celada and learned how to survive like true spaniards. We closed the heavy wood shutters by day, and took a siesta during the hottest hours of the day. We opened the shutters to the cool night air. We did benefit from an unground swimming pool! Barcelona, Rhonda, Arcos, and Sevilla will all be new to me and I haven't been to Madrid since 1992. However, Granada is one of my favorite cities. I adore the Alhambra and the Albaycin; I could visit Granada over and over again. This will be the third time! Can't wait!

From what I can tell, places that unvaccinated American tourists can visit are Greece, Portugal, Croatia, Albania, Hungary and Serbia, but within those countries there are some heavy restrictions in some cases, not in others.

I have a friend who traveled to France this past fall with e her unvaccinated sister.

About halfway through the trip she told her sister "you are on your own" She was tired of being told "no you can't come in here because your sister's health pass is expired" and waiting on the sister to go get yet ANOTHER covid test. Plus some local places just wouldn't really let her in even with the pass saying she had a negative test. So she toured everywhere she wanted and her sister "toured" what she could get into between standing in lines for testing (They were in rural France, I understand that there was never a problem getting a test, but if you needed one on Sunday for example in a small town the ONE open Pharmacy could have a long line )

SO this is a long way of saying even if your UNvaccinated husband is let in someplace, don't expect him to be able to do everything!