Portugal- covid requirements - simplify please?

[Sxxyfing]

Hi,
I'm travelling with my husband and baby to Portugal (mainland) end of September.

I've been on furlough and then maternity leave since March last year. Have only just started going out again since mask requirement was removed and never had covid or a covid test. Me and husband are double vaccinated. Husband has been WFH for the same amount of time. So we have been pretty much shielded from any of this stuff (luckily!) But also means I'm pretty clueless about what is needed and why?

Can someone please simplify for me the requirements for testing. The government website is an overload of information that's not all relevant and I probably still have baby brain?

What tests do we need?
When do we have to do them?
Where is the best place to get them?
How much do they cost?
What's the situation in Portugal with rules/masks etc? We are all inclusive so prepared to not leave the hotel if its going to be difficult to do so.

If anyone's recently done this trip I'd really appreciate your advice!
Re tests we are in London travelling from Gatwick it that's of any relevance.

Thank you x

@WiseupJanetWeiss

Please can you explain why you bought C19's for before went. And Collinsons for why you were there. Why didn't you just order c19's for before and during?

[quote Oblomov21]@WiseupJanetWeiss

Please can you explain why you bought C19's for before went. And Collinsons for why you were there. Why didn't you just order c19's for before and during? [/quote]
Simply the cost. We could get Collinson for return at a discount with EasyJet. They didn’t seem to do the outward bound ones, so went with C19 who did.

I find this all incredibly confusing too. One question - for the tests on the way out, why pay for a private one? Is it not possible to just order an nhs one for free and use the results of this?

No, the NHS ones aren’t acceptable. You need a certificate. It’s ridiculous, obviously.

The whole thing makes me hopping mad. The government website is so unclear. If I hadn't stumbled on this post I would have assumed my double vaccine nhs certificate was sufficient and that I did not need a test to fly out. I can only imagine the number of people who turn up at the airport and have misunderstood all this.

@WiseUpJanetWeiss I'm just going to copy what you did - thankyou very much for the incredibly helpful post!

Blimey I hope I haven’t led anyone up the garden path.

We’ve just done & registered our outbound LFTs and are awaiting the certificates. Will report back at all stages!

Just got certificate, less than 3 hours after sending the photo of my test strip and passport. So far so good…

They will not let you board the plane if you don't have proof of your negative PCR test and a completed passenger locator form. They also check on arrival in Portugal

@Clymene this is incorrect, an antigen test is perfectly fine to enter Portugal, a PCR is acceptable but more hassle and expense so @Oblomov21 go for the antigen, I used c19 for ours, £29 each for our return to the U.K.

Our holiday to Greece didn't require us to test on the way out to Greece as double jabbed. I think Portugal is in the minority of it requires negative tests from double vaccinated travellers

Gosh it sounds a bit of a nightmare.
I do think it’s a good idea that we still need a test to enter regardless of injection status. Who’s to say you don’t actually have the virus if you’ve had 2 injections and go on spreading it.
Just think the cost of tests should be a lot lower.

@silkience

They will not let you board the plane if you don't have proof of your negative PCR test and a completed passenger locator form. They also check on arrival in Portugal

@Clymene this is incorrect, an antigen test is perfectly fine to enter Portugal, a PCR is acceptable but more hassle and expense so @Oblomov21 go for the antigen, I used c19 for ours, £29 each for our return to the U.K.

Our holiday to Greece didn't require us to test on the way out to Greece as double jabbed. I think Portugal is in the minority of it requires negative tests from double vaccinated travellers

Sorry, they must have changed the rules. It was PCR when I went.

@flipflop256

The whole thing makes me hopping mad. The government website is so unclear. If I hadn't stumbled on this post I would have assumed my double vaccine nhs certificate was sufficient and that I did not need a test to fly out. I can only imagine the number of people who turn up at the airport and have misunderstood all this.

A lot of people were crying when I went because they weren't allowed to board the plane. It was horrible.

So, we’re in Portugal now. Check in at Liverpool was slow, made slower by some poor people who were denied boarding because they assumed that their NHS Covid vaccine certificate was a EU vaccine certificate. When we checked in they asked to see the Covid test certificate and checked (but did not look at) the passenger location form.

In Portugal they just checked our passports.

Thanks for the update @WiseUpJanetWeiss ! Given talk of govt potentially dropping pcr tests on return to uk I'm thinking of only booking mine when I'm about to fly home (in case rules change by then). Just checking it's not something they check as you fly out though? Can't imagine it is but wanted to check with your expert self! Have a great holiday

No, they didn’t ask. I think that’s a sensible plan! Hopefully they will have stopped when you go. It makes no logical sense.