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Multi-Country Travel in Europe (by both car and plane) COVID testing requirements HELP!!

Posted by on

Does anyone have helpful information about the ins and outs of driving and flying in between European countries?

We are planning on flying to Germany (this is fine - we will test before leaving US)

Then we drive to Poland (from what I have read, as long as we have our CDC vaccine cards that is all we need)

Then we drive via Slovakia into Austria. (Will we need a COVID test? Can we bring our own? Does it have to be observed? We are only in Austria for one night)

Then we take a train to Hungary. (Will we need a COVID test to enter Hungary from Austria or are the CDC vaccine cards enough?)

Last, we fly to Portugal from Budapest, Hungary. (From what I have read, it sounds like we will need to provide a COVID test. Does anyone know if we can bring our own? Or maybe we should just buy them there? Do they need to be observed?)

I have emailed the embassies and am waiting to hear back again but it's really hard to find detailed info on what is required for a US citizen who is already in a foreign country and then is traveling to another foreign country. I've only gotten very vague answers from the embassies!

And one other question is that the CDC says some countries won't let you bring a COVID test from home. Yet, I can't find any info on that. I know that for air travel back to the US from Portugal, we will need a telehealth OBSERVED test. I was planning on bringing tests from Qured or iHealth. Anyone have advice on whether or not to bring your own?

Thank you for any help and advice! I am really hoping things improve and change before our trip but I am no longer as hopeful as I was when I first started planning the trip over a year ago!

Posted by
1078 posts

Below is the information for Portugal. No home tests. Needs to be NAAT or Laboratorial Rapid Antigen Test.
The US is not one of the countries on the reciprocal list, so requires a covid test.

https://www.visitportugal.com/en/content/covid-19-measures-implemented-portugal

Mandatory to present:

  • A valid vaccination EU Digital COVID Certificate (with a complete vaccination schedule or with a complete vaccination schedule and a vaccine booster)

  • Or a valid test or recovery EU Digital COVID Certificate,

  • Or a valid vaccination certificate (with a complete vaccination schedule or a vaccine booster) or recovery certificate issued by a third country, under reciprocal conditions

  • Or a negative RT-PCR Test (or similar NAAT test) - 72h before boarding, or

  • Or a negative Laboratorial Rapid Antigen Test - 24h before boarding (according to the European Commission list)

Accepted vaccination certificates issued by third countries under reciprocal conditions: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Benin, Cabo Verde, El Salvador, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Israel, Iceland, Jordan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Panama, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Togo, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man), Uruguay, The Vatican (https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/safe-covid-19-vaccines-europeans/eu-digital-covid-certificate_en),

Posted by
4697 posts

Currently, you don't need to test to enter Germany, just have your CDC card. Austria requires a booster if original vax is more than six months. There's a lot of sourced info posted here under the specific countries. You don't say when you're traveling, but of course mandates can change at any time.
Good luck!

Posted by
43 posts

Thank you. We travel in June. I will try searching by country but most info doesn't discuss DRIVING from country to country. Flying is often a different story. I can't seem to find anything, for example about how / when I would be checked for COVID when driving from Germany to Poland, or from Poland to Slovakia, Slovakia to Austria... And what about train travel from Austria to Hungary? Why can't I locate information on COVID requirements for the trains? It's almost always exclusively about flying. Any advice?

Posted by
570 posts

In most cases it doesn't matter how you are arriving, by train, plane car regardless, at least from my research. I wouldn't worry about Poland and Hungary as both have lifted all covid related travel restrictions.

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