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Plan B: Where to travel in August?

I am planning a trip to Paris for 3 weeks in August with my family, and France just announced that anyone wishing to visit a museum, monument, cafe, theater etc will need to show the “EU Green Pass”. We are all fully vaccinated but France has not said whether they will accept the American CDC card or not. We hope France will provide some additional details in the next week or so but in the meantime I would like to start thinking about Plan B. I have not been following restrictions for other European countries that closely. What would be a good alternative country to visit if France does not accept our CDC cards? We are happy to take Covid tests, show our CDC cards when needed, wear masks, etc. but not quarantine. Also I am well aware restrictions are rapidly changing and what is true today may not be true tomorrow so no need to state that in your response! Thanks for any ideas!

Posted by
16133 posts

At this point I would say that any place you go carries a risk of further restrictions if the Delta variant continues to take hold. Similar measures are being considered by the Italian government, as an incentive for people to vaccinate (right now there is an estimated 25-30% of people that still refuse to vaccinate), however there is strong resistance by the business community to impose further restrictions during the peak tourist season, therefore going to Italy is reasonably safe. I recommend southern Italy and in particular not big cities. Southern Italy has fewer cases of Covid, and rural areas/small towns offer better chance for social distancing. The only drawback is the fact that you will probably need a rental car, and at the moment all over the world rental cars are in short supply (rental car companies sold their fleet during the pandemic), therefore prices are exorbitant everywhere.

Posted by
28247 posts

August would not be my choice of time to go to southern Italy. I made the mistake of spending much of July 2015 in Sicily and Puglia, and it was scorching. (Those are fascinating areas, so I still enjoyed myself.) I'd suggest some time in the Dolomites, where you can get around reasonably well with public transportation. However, it's quite possible others have already locked down most of the lodgings in that area, because August is an excellent time to be there.

Posted by
5107 posts

Croatia has been one of the most accessible countries throughout, they might be a safe bet.

Posted by
159 posts

Thank you for the suggestions! If we are not able to visit France I will explore further. We have been to Italy, but never Germany or Croatia.

Posted by
20484 posts

The past 3 weeks I have visited Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro and Ukraine. No issues so far. And life close to nirmal in each. Tomorrow I see how difficult Greece is to enter.