Italy September 2022?

You can read several current trip reports--people are going now! So, I would feel totally comfortable planning for next fall, and while I am not comfortable traveling right now, I do anticipate traveling next year.
I would be more thorough about travel insurance than in the before times, but otherwise, no worries.

I would not travel internationally this year but will next year in the fall.

You need to enroll in: https://step.state.gov/. You’ll then be notified by email on all updates so you can stay informed on the current situation.

We travelled to Venice, the Dolomites and the Piemonte area of Italy last month. I actually felt safer over there than in Oregon. We took precautions, masking in crowds, and going into shops etc.

My husband and I are a couple in our 60’s/70’s, and ard in the middle of a 5-week trip right now. Bologna, then southern Tuscany, over to Umbria, then Cinque Terre right now, and finishing in Rome. This is a great time up be in Italy, and it can’t help but get better from now on. Lots of Germans and Americans in the Cinque Terre, and vacationing Italians everywhere, as well as locals. They’re more vaccinated than the USA, and while they’re supposed to check for vaccination before allowing diners inside, that’s not always happening, but it’s happening most of the time. Museums are checking for vaccination, and many are also doing a temperature check, using an automated machine. One grocery store has done that, too. Shops require masks, even to get gelato or use the restroom. They’re taking Coronavirus precautions seriously-again, more than at home in the USA. Masks outside have been hit and miss (but it’s outside, among largely vaccinated nationalities. Masks on trains, in churches, and elsewhere indoors, compulsory. Now’s a good time to be in Italy, and 11 months from now, even moreso. Wish things were taken as seriously at home - the world would be in a better place. We’ll save some gelato for you - book your trip!

Yes, you can start planning. I am one of those that went September of this year, it is a personal decision, what you are comfortable with. However, you should consider that Vaccination totals continue to rise, the number recovered continues to rise, and unfortunately some do not recover. All this leads to lower case rates, and less likelihood of spikes occurring, even variants popping up seem not to drastically affect the vaccinated.

I think however, you can still expect use of masks and may have to test periodically for the purpose of travel, but plan on.

We are planning a trip to Italy in September 2022 for hiking in the Dolomites, and have already booked flights (reusing miles, fully refundable) and a guided hiking tour. I feel relatively confident that we will be able to go.

I am less certain about the trip we have planned for Italy in March, 2022, but again, it is all refundable should we need to cancel.

We are in our 60s and are going in 2 weeks! I think we'll have an even better handle on Covid by September of 2022, although nothing is certain these days.

Thanks for all the encouragement. I would just like to pretty much pick up our plans where we left off. We had bought flights and had all our accommodations booked, but we got every penny back. I will be more careful about trip insurance but if we can get things booked now I won't have to worry about things being full when I do book. May wait a bit to book flights.

Glad they're careful and we are too. I'm fine wearing masks in crowded place. I hope at some time things will get more normal. Are they accepting our white vaccination card that has the CDC logo on it for proof of vaccination? I guess I'm not going to worry about what the requirements might be next September as they will probably change. We have a trip planned for the US Virgin Islands for March and even went last year with negative test results. Really looking forward to the trip to Italy.

Thanks for your help. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions as the planning continues ...

So far, yes, Italy accepts the CDC card with no questions asked. Early on, some restaurants might have chosen not to honor them, mainly because they were initially told everyone would need a QR code, and not details on all the exceptions to the plan.

Other things I noticed when there...after a bit, just showing your passport was enough, they knew virtually all Americans coming over were vaccinated. Don't laminate your card, we are already seeing boosters will be recommended. Some places will ask for a name and phone or email, presumably for contact tracing.

I saw one poor lady (from the US) in a restaurant in Sicily, she left her CDC card at the hotel, went back, returned to the restaurant with a pile of laminated cards. She had two laminated cards that looked like QR codes from the dPLF, she was convinced that was what they should scan, they tried to tell her "vaccination", so she pulled out CDC cards (yes, multiple), three of them, said she was vaccinated 3 times...not sure if she meant with 3 different vaccine regimens, or on two dose regimen and a booster, but had laminated 3 different cards. The lady at reception just gave up explaining and told her to have a seat, the lady from the US sat with her party and then started to complain about how the Italians are so disorganized and rude about everything. Oh well, that table of four were entertainment, in a cringe-y way, for the whole restaurant, that was just the start. Point being, all you need is your passport and CDC card, I suspect the same, or something similar will be needed when you go.

My husband and I (late 60s, early 70s) just returned from a 5-week trip to Croatia and Italy. We, too, had canceled several trips during 2020, so I was itching to travel.

I had been extremely anxious over traveling but was surprised and pleased with how comfortable I felt once we were actually there. In general, masks are worn in inside settings, and people would take masks off when outside. The weather was warm enough much of the time to eat outside, and we were able to use our CDC card without any problems when asked for the Green pass.

And of course, crowds are down, though certainly tourists are increasingly traveling so the numbers are back up in many places. In fact, in a few places in Croatia, we were told that they were having their best year ever!

With our recent experience traveling in Europe, I wouldn’t hesitate to travel in 2022!

Thanks for your replies and observations while visiting. I think if we just use a little common sense it will be fine. I'm happy to wear a mask indoors. We prefer to eat outside so I'm hoping we will have nice enough weather next September/October to do most of our eating al fresco. I've had my booster and it's on my CDC card so I'm glad I didn't laminate it after the first two vaccinations. Hopefully the worst is behind us with COVID and things will only improve from here on out.

Like many other people who have already replied, I also traveled to Italy in September 2021. I felt more comfortable in Italy than I do in the US. I was in Switzerland first and was able to get a Swiss QR code which I used in Italy but I saw plenty of people using CDC cards to get into museums, restaurants, etc. One thing to mention is that almost everyone was wearing surgical or M95 masks - it was rare to see fabric masks. Disposable masks were easy to buy in pharmacies, etc.