Proof of negative covid test at hotel check in

Honestly I think it depends on the hotel and who is in charge. Some hoteliers ask for the test results, some don't. You have to be flexible enough to go either way. Frankly it's not a big deal to get a do-it-yourself test at a pharmacy for about euro 10, take the test and submit results to the hotel/Airbnb host. Our last experience was in Coimbra. We did the test, submitted the results along with the pharmacy receipt to her through the booking.com app and we were good. Since we only stayed 2 nights and were within 72 hours of the test, our hotel in Porto accepted those results and didn't ask for another test. It seems that their biggest concern is being able to prove to the authorities, if asked, that they checked. But, we were at a tiny guest house near Alcobaca last week, and nothing was ever asked, so we didn't offer. My guess would be that there's a lot less checking in the countryside than in bigger cities probably don't get around to asking people offering rooms in the back of beyond if they can produce proof that their guests are negative. Even so, masks and hand sanitizer were the rule. It's been our experience that the Portuguese are much more serious about public health issues here than in the US. Everyone wears a mask and they are paying attention. Tonight in the grocery store my husband was asked, very nicely, to put his back up over his nose. It was too big and kept sliding down. We bought him a new one.) Everyone uses hand sanitizer entering and leaving stores, museums, etc. Social distancing varies a bit -- I've had to wait in line 6 feet apart to get into a pharmacy, museum, restaurant and grocery store with limited capacities and waltzed right in to other establishments. I think the key is flexibility. Be prepared to do a test at your hotel, go to the pharmacy to buy a self-administered test, or just go with the flow and don't ask, don't tell. I spent a lot of time worrying about this earlier in the trip than I do now.

Wanderlust58 this is super helpful. I did not think that my test results would be good for 48 or even 72hrs. So It is less discouraging then.
Fingers cross that we can go!

@Wonderlust58 That is a super helpful post. Thanks. This 10 euro self test you speak of, do they require online connection to some persons/service to register and obtain the result?

Biggest worry I have is w/ frequent testing there is a chance for false positive. And one of those, and in theory authorities can be called and at your cost you are quarantined for 14 days, and nothing but ruination - all hotels for rest of trip lost, rental car extensions needed and new return ticket at likely steep prices. So not needing frequent testing is the key...

My concern is the same as that of Traveler. We have a 3 week driving trip around Portugal scheduled for October. Fully vaccinated but do worry about a fluke positive COVID test given the various hotels and numerous tests that seem to be required. A conundrum!

For the self-administered test, the reason we had to submit it online was that the B&B owner didn't actually live in the property, or in town for that matter. Serious lesson learned there, but that's a topic for another post. In all of our cases, no registration or report to the authorities was required. However we did have to take a pharmacy-administered test last night in preparation for our return home, because that one does require it to be registered with the government. They also give you a certificate to show upon entry to the US. In Porto, the cost was 25 euro per person and we had to have an appointment in advance to do it.

I get your concern about a false positive. Each time, we felt like it was taking the final exam for a course we hadn't taken. If you're a compulsive planner, I suppose you'd want to plan and structure a trip for the horrible need of having to quarantine, but that's a personal choice. For us, maximizing our time in each city, which we always do anyway, and thereby reducing the number of tests required worked. Our only plan B was to bring enough medication to last an extra two weeks. Luckily we are carrying that back home.

Portugal is easing their requirements next week, raising the max capacity for group events but still requiring masks and urging social distancing. Their nationwide vaccination rate is now 70 per cent.

By October, I’m thinking these tests will be a thing of the past. We are now over 70% fully vaccinated and increasing those numbers every day. The prediction is that we will hit 85% fully vaccinated by then. There is very minimal resistance to the vaccines here with 99% of those of us over 65. A very different scenario than in the states.

We are in Portugal right now. Never had to do a rapid test. Only had to show CDC vaccine card. We stayed in 3 airbnbs and one bed and breakfast. Things have relaxed a lot. No more curfew. People can eat inside and they are talking about getting rid of the mask mandate. They have achieved 70% fully vaccinated population. I think you should be fine in October...

stephanie's got another good anecdote here about the varying requirements depending on where you are and who's in charge. No one wanted to see our CDC card, save one restaurant. You never know.

We're in Portugal now, too. Our BnB (not AirbBnB) host did a virtual check-in when we told her we'd be getting in past 4:30 pm. We had our cards and some self tests with us, but needed neither.