My husband and I, both U.S. citizens and with U.S. passports, are planning to visit Portugal and Spain for three weeks next spring. We are flying into Lisbon, and upon departing there, renting a car and heading north, visiting several destinations before crossing into Spain in Galicia, and continuing our road trip over several days to San Sebastian. Upon leaving San Sebastian we will return to Lisbon, still by car, passing through (and overnighting) in Salamanca.
It is our first trip abroad since COVID. We are fully vaccinated and have been boosted twice, and will be getting the latest booster prior to our trip. Additionally, in the past when renting a car in Europe, it has been used only within one country, and not exiting/entering from one country to another (see later below for more on this).
We are having a heck of a time trying to confirm the exact COVID procedures we need to follow for entry into Spain by land. Every official site that is administered and/or endorsed by the Spanish government only references what citizens from countries outside the EU or Schengen Area countries need to follow when entering by air and sea. Really nothing about entering by land, and what (very) little there is about land is lacking in any real clarity; super vague at best.
After feeling like we were beating our heads against the wall, we phoned both the Consulate, as there is one in the city where we live, and the Embassy in Washington DC. Both numbers are only automated and direct all callers to their web sites, and then to email if any further questions. We emailed them, as well as SpTH (Spain Travel Health, which the web sites of both the Embassy and Consulate also feature links for information. All three sources gave a very polite and brief response ~ which was to refer us to the same sites we had already been to before contacting them...and that we had told them in our emails that we had first reviewed prior to emailing.
Additionally, through our general research we also saw that there are several designated border crossing points for the two countries, of which one is at Valenca-Tui, our exit/entry route from Portugal to Spain, and another one is at Vilar Formoso-Fuentes de Onoro, our exit/entry point from Spain back to Portugal. Further, we came across some information that seemed to indicate there may be specific days/times to cross, at least at certain locations, though nothing to indicate what they may be for all locations. For the most part, the crossing points have been open/free since the EU was created, but were enacted again, understandably, because of COVID.
In our emailing about the COVID requirements by land, we also asked about the border crossing points we intend to use, asking for any/all information about them, such as any days/times for crossings, etc. Questions related to this were ignored ~ again, only sending us to sites we had already been, and that had nothing about the border crossing points; the information we had seen on the web about the days/times of the crossing points had been on a couple of sites not specifically referenced by the Consulate, Embassy, or SpTH.
So ~ sorry for the lengthy post. Any/all insight, input, etc., that anyone can provide is VERY much appreciated. I have an outstanding reply back to the Embassy, but in lieu of that we feel we've tried every feasible and practical way to proactively verify this information directly from the source, and to no meaningful avail. I've had to stop short of asking them if they even want us to come, or if we should just stay in Portugal and spend our time and money ~ there's plenty to do there, to include a couple of destinations we are interested in but are not going to in order to go to Spain. And of course, we loved our last visit to Spain (pre-pandemic), and which hadn't included the northern region, so would love to visit, to include seeing Aviles, where my family emigrated from many years ago.
THANK YOU!