Hello,
We are hoping/planning to travel to France via Helsinki the end of August. (we have our tickets and are fully vaccinated) At this point we have a 2 night layover in Helsinki, and then plan to spend 5 nights in Provence before traveling to Northern Spain. At the end of that I will be flying from Spain to Ireland to stay for another 10 days, before flying home to the States. Can anyone share their knowledge of how this might work, and what kinds of extra testing might be required at each place. I looked up the US Embassy in Finland as well as France's and it is a little confusing. It even sounds like our entry into Finland could be denied and we are not guaranteed entry until our arrival. This is pretty unnerving. I realize that everything can change in another month but trying to brace myself and prepare in anyway that I can to make all of the travel connections go smoothly. Thank you in advance for any replies.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
At present, Americans aren’t allowed into Finland.
Things can change over the next month, but with infection rates rising in many places, I fear that the changes aren’t going to make your life any easier.
Posted by
OP
Bandon Oregon
71 posts
Thanks for your reply. That is not what I am reading on the US Embassy Finland site. It states that they are open as long as your have your vaccine card. And I do realized that things could get worse and things could shut down again. Thankfully we have all refundable fares and reservations, but I sure hope that it doesn't come to that. Does anyone have any experience that they could share with flying into Finland, France and Spain this last week since things opened up. Also wondering about traveling into Ireland from the other EU countries?
Posted by
OP
Bandon Oregon
71 posts
https://app.finentry.fi/
I completed the questionaire on this site and it states that we are good to go and will not be required to Covid test or Quarantine, so I am confused as to what the real answer is.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
According to the fi.usembassy.gov site, it says Americans can’t enter unless it’s essential travel.
Posted by
London, UK
312 posts
You need to check the Finnish border guard website, raja.fi, and look for restriction category 2, which covers US citizens. This states they are (currently) only letting in people with a pressing need to enter - family matters, healthcare providers, commercial needs etc. Specifically, it does not include tourists. It looks as if the border guards agree that you have a pressing need to be there, they will let you in, but you may be refused entry.
Posted by
OP
Bandon Oregon
71 posts
Thank you all for your replies. After much research and conflicting information, we have decided to change our itinerary and skip the Finland stopover altogether and fly directly to Nice. Now we will have more days in France, which is just fine with all of us. Finland will have to wait for another time... Thank you all for your replies and help, appreciated!