covid tests

Hi. U need a test the DAY before your flight (doesn't need to be 12 or 24 hours before - anytime the day before is fine).
Testing sites open early - your hotel (or a TripAdvisor Dublin forum search) will tell you the closest location.

can you get to the test center on Monday early in morning or late in evening or are you really on a train for 12 hours? if you have no chance of getting to a testing site, please buy the supervised test. its made by Abbott and is called the BinaxNow Covid19 Ag CARD home test kit (NOT the "self test"). you can search for it on google, the 6-pack is sold by eMed store ($150) and a 2-pack ($70) is sold officially by the Optum store. then download the Navica app or use your laptop - you will need internet connection. they will supervise the test - you will be able to do it from anywhere and the result will be almost immediate. then, you can show that report (on your phone or email) to the airline - which will need its upload or show during checkin.

You need an antigen test taken one day- not 24 hours- before return to the US. You can use the Abbott E-med proctored self-test using your cell phone, but you need good wifi. That test takes about 15 min each, with online results in about 5 minutes. You don't say what airport you're flying out of, but most major airports have testing stations. Many major cities have testing centers, but you most likely will need an appt. in advance. Just do some more online research.
Good luck!.

I have similar concerns about Covid testing. It appears that the instructions in this PDF https://i.gocollette.com/files/pdfs/cibt/abbott-user-guide---condensed-092121.pdf meet the requirements for Covid testing prior to return flight to US. My last full day in Ireland is in Inishmore, returning to US next day late afternoon. That schedule is a little tight to squeeze in a Covid test at the airport.

Scott, many of us have used that test without difficulty. You need a good internet connection and it takes about 20 minutes from the time you sign in and get the proctor to getting your test results in an email.

How are airlines accepting the email test results? Can one just show them the email on the phone at the check-in desk? Or are they demanding it in particular ways -- printed, uploaded to the airline website?

This company provides testing at Dublin Airport. A rapid antigen test costs 35 euros and provides results in an hour. You have to book this ahead of time, presumably for Tuesday morning. That seems like the easiest way to meet the US testing requirement. You'll want to be at the airport in plenty of time before your flight, especially if you're flying to the US. US immigration and customs clearance happens at Dublin Airport, which will take time. The good news is that your US arrival will be like a domestic flight.

I've an early morning flight out of Dublin to the LHR where I connect to fly home. After reading this post, I think my best bet is to get one the day before somewhere in the city or figure out the app. Anybody disagree with that analysis?

PAm

We flew out of Dublin last September and got our test done at the airport. It's easy to schedule online and you get results in an hour. You could easily do it the morning you fly out, just arrive at the airport extra early.

Here is my only concern about testing at the airport right before you fly out. If (and we all hope this never happens) you end up with a positive test, you have left yourself very little room to make appropriate arrangements. I would rather be at my hotel the day before with 24 hours to contact airlines, makes arrangements, etc. than be standing in the airport 2 hours before my flight and discover that I will not be making that trip today.

If you feel like doing the official test at the airport is the best option for you, then consider just doing an over the counter covid test for your own information the day before to confirm all is well.

Carol makes a good suggestion. An unmonitored self-test the day before flying would minimize the chance of a last-minute surprise. I generally stay in airport hotels the night before morning flights, so I could get an airport-based test the afternoon or evening before.

I explored the DUB testing website (in my earlier post) and found that they offer tests on almost a 24-hour basis. I could have scheduled a test for tomorrow, so it doesn't seem necessary to plan far ahead. I don't know where the OP will spend the night before flying, but here's a link to a test site in central Dublin if that's any help. Google can help you find more, wherever you'll be then.

I've heard a lot of good ideas - thank you! I kind of like doing a simple self test the night before and then scheduling a test at the airport; we're flying out of Dublin. We are on a Railtours Ireland the day before and are actually on that train from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., so a late self test the night before, and an early test on the airport sounds like it might be the easiest. I'm traveling with a grandma, so she's a little intimidated by the whole internet thing. We still might buy some Binax now kits in case we run into trouble. Always good to be ready for anything when you travel. Thanks - LL

I am a little late to this, but I have a recent international experience that I don't want anyone to have to go through. My daughter and I were in Rome in January. I did all my research ahead of time and purchased the Binax now kits approved for reentry. It was an absolute nightmare. After 5 hours, and about 10 attempts at having our results verified and myself in tears, we gave up. We ended up doing it at the airport right before our departure. I wasted $150 on those tests and no one, NO ONE, from the company was helpful at all. Do not rely on one of those kits! Book your testing ahead of time. We leave for Ireland in two weeks and I am going to set my testing up now. I wish I had done that for Italy!

Julie

@mom2Kea
I am so sorry to hear about your negative experience . Do you mind sharing what your issue was? Had you downloaded the NAVICA app before leaving for your trip? Was the internet connection an issue? Did you have trouble with the device you were using? What made this testing experience not work when you needed it to?

I ask because most of us have not had these issues using the test, but knowing what the problem was could help us avoid that issue in the future.

I'm commenting here in part so I can find all this useful information--wife and I are hoping/planning on Ireland this September--but I also have questions about Covid testing at Dublin Airport. Since it has two terminals (I think), and since the test has to be reserved in advance (how far in advance?), unless I can find out what terminal we'll depart from for the USA before I reserve slots for testing, we might wind up being tested in a terminal other than the one we leave from. So, second question, how difficult or time-consuming is it to move from one terminal to the other? Thank you

Joel -- Here's the DUB website, which should have most of the answers you're looking for. I haven't been there but I've been researching for my upcoming trip. It looks like the two terminals are close together, and it looks like there's no need to reserve a time very far in advance. To test this, start a dummy booking for tomorrow, or a week later, for one of the sites, and see how many time slots are open. You can keep tabs on this as you travel, and book your time as soon as you see the slots filling up. As for which terminal you'll be flying from, assume that it's the terminal you arrived at, if you're using the same airline.

Dick, thank you. I have found the DUB website, but of course did not think of any of your practical suggestions. Now I'm inspired to get a sense of the distance between the terminals by using Google maps or satellite view.

Edit: Using "directions" on Google Maps just now, it is apparently only a 5-minute walk between terminals.

This is a very late comment to this thread, but it will still be relevant for anyone planning to travel this summer.
We just returned from the Netherlands. During the course of our trip, we picked up COVID. Were not sick and thought we just had a slight cold. Tested after some days using the free home tests the government sent out just to be sure we had only a cold but the tests came out positive. We had passed days since we'd first had symptoms, so the clock was ticking. HOWEVER, the US will not under any circumstances accept any results for those home tests, so when it was time to fly home, they forced us to start a 10 day delay on our ability to fly out. They don't count the day of the test or the day of the flight; it's 10 full days between the 2.
My strong advice if this inconsistent policy remains in place: Test almost daily with a home test whether you feel fine or not. If positive, test with a Binax Now monitored test immediately so the clock starts ticking and you're passing your required days while you'd planned to be gone anyway. Travel with a backup flight on hold to fly into Canada or Mexico and and then bus across the border to drive into the US. Apparently the US is only concerned about COVID coming in via international flights, not by car, bus, train, walking, or boat.

Thank you everybody for giving good advice. It saves a lot of anxiety if a person has a plan. We are going to take a bunch of self test with us, and start testing half way through the trip so we don't have that 10 day surprise. Then we've got appointments to test at the airport the morning of, so hopefully everything goes well. Thanks again!