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Green Passports/Vaccine Passports

This is normally the timeline I've seen on this board:

12:00 PM--Country X announces the need for a green passport/vaccine passport/QR code

12:05 PM--The posts here begin--"What about us who are traveling there?"

Please remember, when a country decides to put restrictions on movement due to Covid, they are first thinking about their own people. They are not worrying right away about American tourists.Or Canadian tourists. Or Chinese tourists. They will get to it one way or the other. You need to be patient.

I guessed that the opening would not be without issues and decided to wait to travel until the fall. I hoped, and still hope, that everything will be worked out by then. But what I don't do is assume that what country X is insisting on today will be the same in October or later. I have a feeling rules will change many times before then.

I am just as eager as anyone to get back to international travel but I also didn't want to have to go through all the canceling hassles I had last year.

YMMV

By the way, when I read that some countries were opening up to tourists without asking for proof of vaccination nor a covid test, I got the feeling this was a recipe for disaster. While they might say those vaccinated don't have to wear masks, many unvaccinated will go without masks as well. And with this Delta variant, the spreading is widespread. We only have to look at our own country (USA).

Posted by
6113 posts

I agree with everything that you have said.

Against my better judgement, we have rearranged our caravanning holiday to France for the end of next month (it was going to be June 2020, then September 2020, then June 2021). So far this week, there have been I think it is 4 changes in policy from either the U.K. or French side relating to quarantine, vaccinations or testing, most of it not for the better. It’s meant to be a simple trip as we are driving, so only the Eurotunnel to worry about, no flights, car hire, accommodation or airport parking to rearrange.

Tomorrow is freedom or freedumb day as some have labelled it in England (not the rest of the U.K.) when restrictions are abolished, so further restrictions between the U.K. and Europe are likely if cases rocket as predicted. Just in case, I wouldn’t book any ticket to Europe from America that transited the U.K.

Posted by
16415 posts

Just in case, I wouldn’t book any ticket to Europe from America that transited the U.K.

My flights this fall call are JFK-LHR-JFK but they are on points and easily canceled. I may book a secondary flight on points that bypasses the UK. On va voir.

But.....I really believe we are just going to have to learn to live with Covid for years to come.

Posted by
9023 posts

Frank II

. . . we are just going to have to learn to live with Covid for years to come . . .

That's exactly what the public health community has been saying for a while now, seeing as how we are unable or unwilling to get to herd immunity. All hoping that worse variants won't come along.

People here have been jumping to the conclusion that every time a European country mentions opening for international travel, that "international" means US tourists. When it usually means cross-border traffic between EU members, who are dependent on that for normal daily business. US vacationers are just not everyone's top priority. And its a shame we have to expect other countries to accommodate and fix our documentation failure.

Posted by
10293 posts

Yes, we're going to have to learn to live with Covid, and the fact that the UK has left the EU and is outside whatever EU member states agree.