Has anyone recently been to/currently in/planning to go to Greece?

[Medstudent12]

I'm double vaccinated. Partner has only had one jab.

Hoping to go in July. Happy to do the quarantine when I get back to the UK and pay for the tests.

My main worries are Angela Merkel succeeding in getting us banned from the EU due to delta or being asked to isolate after a positive case on the plane!

So nerve wracking but I am desperate to go! The rates seem much lower than here and would be outside all of the time and only really socialising with my partner. Don't see how it's any more dangerous than staying here. We both have already had covid late 2020 too.

Easy Jet have just cancelled our flights to Halkidiki, 28th July, can move to 31st or pay BA £1,600 more to fly on 28th!

Guessing our inbound ones could easily be cancelled too in the next week or so.

Also now ridiculously worrying that the random testing on arrival may flag one of us as positive (3 adults, 3 teens)or we end up as a close contact of a positive case from the flight and spend two weeks in quarantine in Greece. We're travelling with my Mum who's in her 80s which would be a nightmare.

Have no problem quarantining from flight home but can't face the thought of it on our holiday - I know chances are tiny.

I think we may cancel ☹️

Furious. Seems a con to me. Late July flights cancelled!
Can wait and try to buy them again (when they've gone up massively and we can't afford them). All seems designed to take our money to keep the airlines afloat.

@WhiteChocTwix hi sorry to jump on this thread but you said that your whole plane was tested, can I ask if all the children (the ones under 12 who are exempt from entry tests) were tested too? My son is terrified to be tested so I want to prepare him in case he is!

@user1471527091 and @LazenbyLane so sorry to hear that, will you rebook?

Why are they cancelling these fights? Do they know something we don’t eek. Like will we be banned from travel (I’m paranoid can you tell hahahah).

Hopefully risk of quarantine from
Plane is low. I’m desperate to sit nowhere near a child as they won’t be tested! Wish it was an option to sit in an adult section haha. Nothing against kids just wary of High rates in schools haha.

i am flying to amber canary island on 8 july, we booked package with TUI , and have bought the amber test package for £50 each .
me and dp and dsd ( teenager) all double jabbed , so i am fine with what we need to do.
But my problem is the test to release on day 5.....we need to do this so dsd can go to an event .
BUT they are £144 each, and our day 5 is 21 st july. There seems suggestions that canaries will go green on 15 th July, and we wont need to test and release. The clinic were i can get the test to release with results on the day wont refund me if we dont need them.

Has anyone left test and release appts until they got back ?
I also cannot find out what happens if you are in or travelling back from an amber country as it turns green ? If you have started the 10 day quarentine do you have to finish it or can you end it when the country goes green ?

I thought this holiday would be easy as we can go, isolate, do tests and it would all be fine...but it is now seeming quite complicated

Has anyone got any ideas ?

oh and my commiserations to people with flights cancelled.
I had a villa and flight package cancelled in december...asked to roll it over to new date this october...and was told had to pay the difference in flight price, and it was £1000 each person extra....i just laughed.
There are 6 of us and i am not paying £6000 to fly to tenerife for a week .the original flights had been £135 each

@Medstudent12 not enough bums on seats is the reason we've been given. I assume until Greece is on green list or removed from amber quarantine demand is too low, as soon as that changes it will be a different story and then flights will go up too...

It seems an over reaction to cancel based on tiny risk of becoming close contact, of all the "risks" travelling I thought we'd covered all bases until I read about Greek quarantine rules the other day and suddenly thought "what if...!"

For various reasons it's a special holiday for us and probably not one we could re book for next year which I know is making me over think!

Has anyone left test and release appts until they got back ?

Depending on where you are in the country if you can find a local clinic you should be able to get an appointment to go there for a test if you book 2-3 days before. DH had to go abroad in April and booked a place with 2 days notice. You should also be able to find a postal test if you have 5 days notice.

I also cannot find out what happens if you are in or travelling back from an amber country as it turns green ?
The rule will only apply if you travel back after the announcement. Eg if you arrive back 20th July and they announce on 21st July it is now green then you still have to isolate. Only those arriving back after 21st can skip quarantine.

This website gives a list of all approved testing companies and allows you to compare pricing easily. It also has an option to search for walk in clinic if you put in your pocstcode:

www.covid19-testing.org/travel-testing

@roses2

Thank you.
Where did you find the rules/guidance about having to continue quarentine of the country goes green after or on day you travel back.
I have searched and couldn't find anything

Tui just cancelled holiday to canaries, also all holidays to Cyprus too.
I re booked for crete.. I think they are confident it will go green. And clearly not enough demand for the canaries.
According to tui tjis morning our original flight to gran canary was only 10% full... So just us then!!!!

@WhiteChocTwix as you are our most expert member in terms of Greece, I was wondering if you know if the NHS app is sufficient as proof of vaccination? I've not booked a test as am double jabbed but wary of proof and want to double double check! I hope you are still loving greece. I see that Justin Bieber currently in the Greek islands!

@Theredjellybean I assume then just not enough bums on seats?

I hope it does go green! That would be amazing. But if not I'm happy to quarantine. When are you going?

Does anyone know if BA have been cancelling flights? We have flights to Crete booked for mid July, and are now worried they'll be cancelled.

Can you just be double vaccinated or do you have to be double vaccinated and wait two weeks after?

My DH gets his second jab a few days before we fly to Greece at the end of July.

You have to wait 2 weeks unfortunately. He will need a negative test as back up.

I’m so confused now We are booked for August (islands). DH and I are both double-jabbed but DS and DD won’t be (too young). We’ve not heard anything about flights being cancelled 🤷‍♀️. We’re flying with BA. I guess the worry is that Greece might decide they don’t want us?? I’m so desperate to go.

It's very stressful. If you are going in August, you should be OK as the islands may be put on the next green list, plus double vaccinated people probably won't have to quarantine. It's still uncertainty, but may be clearer by then. I have looked into BA cancellations and they tend to be mid week, where I assume there is less demand. Good luck with the decision.

Any updates from anyone? We have cancelled the family holiday to Crete, because of too many complications, but DH and I still have flights and undecided whether to go alone.
I am convinced Crete will go green and we will regret not going.

@greywell
medstudent12 flew out yesterday to greece..she reported long queues at airport but once through that all seamless and no hassle
showed covid vacc pass and greek plf codes on her phone and is now on a sunlounger !
Whitetwix is there and flying back tomorrow i think and says its lovely and greek very keen to see tourists
I fly on thursday ...sorted all the paperwork, tests etc, was a bit of extra time / hassle but no more than the usual booking carpark/dogs into kennels, etc

Have a great time!

Is it the 15th we will know more about the updated green/Amber lists?

Also when we land back in the UK DH will be 14 days after his second jab, anyone know if that means he can avoid quarantine?

Yes it is 15th, but comes into force the following Wednesday- 21st.

Supposed to be going to Kos on 25th with Jet2 who at the moment are cancelling anything Amber.

DS's Easyjet flights to Chania were cancelled a couple of weeks ago and his return flights cancelled last week. They are only flying to Chania on a Friday now. It's strange as BA flights for the same dates are really expensive, so I assume there are still people using them. They are for mid July, and were really cheap when he booked a few months ago. The cynic in me thinks flights will be reinstated but at a much higher price if Crete turns green.

@Keepgoing88 sorry only just seen your message as been busy travelling, home, unpacking, day 2 test etc. Unfortunately I'm not sure about that as we ended up near the back of the queue for testing and it's just me and DH. Also there weren't alot of kids on our flight, iirc, as we flew into Mykonos.

@Medstudent12 hope you've arrived by now and having a wonderful time!