Inspiring Adventure

With hopes set high in late 2020 that we would get to have a summer holiday in 2021 we booked two weeks to Lake Como, Italy. Fast forward to a week before departure and international travel seemed as uncertain as ever since the pandemic started and Italy had a five day quarantine requirement for all visitors travelling from certain countries, including the UK. This meant that we decided to cancel our holiday, which was thankfully fully refundable (flights with BA and accommodation through Airbnb with flexible cancellation policies).

Having spent the last 18 months working from home the prospect of a true staycation (day trips from home) was far from appealing. Stress levels were high and we needed a break and a change of scenery, like almost everyone in the UK.

We scoured the websites for a UK holiday but we seemed to have very much missed the boat. Limited availability and high prices sent us back to the Green and Amber lists within Europe. It was a minefield of rules, paperwork and testing requirements. However, we found the TUI website which has a very useful table detailing which countries we could visit and what their entry requirements were.

Greece seemed to be a good option as it was an Amber country.

Entry forms and paperwork

Passenger locator form for entry to Greece

A lead passenger needs to complete one form for the whole family. The details must match those on individual passports. You also need to complete your travel details, accommodation address (if staying at multiple places the first place you stay is sufficient), and those required to be fully vaccinated will need to include their vaccination details (date/type of vaccine).

Once you have submitted the form you will receive a confirmation email with QR code. I suggest taking a screen print of this in case Internet connection is poor on arrival.

Proof of vaccination status

Greece currently requires a negative PCR test to enter, unless you are fully vaccinated 14 days before the flight. In which case you have to prove your vaccination status via the NHS app. Again, it is worth taking a screen shot or printing your Covid passport from the NHS app in case of issues with Internet connection.

Passenger locator form for return to the UK

The UK requires each adult to submit a passenger locator form 48 hours before flying back to the UK. This form contains information such as flight details, vaccination status, and most importantly test details (see section below for details).

This form is quite complicated so we would recommend completing it on a laptop before departure as far as you can. Note that because your return flight date is not within 48 hours you will need to insert a ‘dummy’ date and save the form. You can then make the final adjustments on your phone prior to your return flight.

Covid testing requirements

Currently Greece requires no testing before arrival for fully vaccinated people. You have to show your Covid passport via the NHS app at security on arrival as proof of your vaccination status.

Greece can impose random Covid testing on arrival but we didn’t see any evidence of this taking place.

To return to the UK we have to do a lateral flow test (adults only) two days before leaving Greece and a PCR test (all four of us) within 48 hours of arriving into the UK.

TUI have preferred suppliers to order the lateral flow and PCR tests from. Based on where you are travelling they can advise which test ‘bundles’ you will require. We ordered ours from Chonomics at £20 each for one lateral flow and one PCR test. They posted the lateral flow tests to us a few days before departure so that we could pack them in our luggage. We will receive the PCR tests on arrival home.

At the airport

We flew from Bournemouth Airport which is small and only had one flight out at a time which kept numbers to a minimum. On arrival in departures TUI reps checked that we had our proof of vaccination, lateral flow tests to do before our return flight and the completed passenger locator form required for entry to Greece.

All passengers are required to wear masks within the airport terminal including children over the age of six.

Security and passport control was very straightforward and there was no real difference to pre-covid times other than sanitzing hands and wearing masks.

Airside we had lunch in the pub. We were allocated a table and encouraged to use the app to order our meals. All wait staff wore masks.

At the gate there was plenty of space as ours was the only flight departing at this time. The next flight was due to have passengers pass through security 20 minutes after we had boarded the plane.

On board the plane

It is a conditon of carriage that all passengers, including children over six years old wear a mask for the duration of the flight (other than when eating or drinking). There were regular reminders of this rule during the flight. The rest of the experience was very similar to pre-covid travel. Cabin crew served refreshments and offered duty free to passengers. When they were not in the cabin serving passengers they remained in the staff areas so that social distancing could be maintained as much as possible.

* the above details are based on our experience at the time time of writing. Please be sure to check on the relevant Government and travel website for current information as they are very fluid.