Where to go without covid test/quarantine worries?

[CecilieRose]

I'd love to get away for a week during the annual leave I need to use up but am tearing my hair out trying to find somewhere nice in Europe to go that doesn't require PCR testing or quarantine if someone else tests positive on the plane there. I just don't want the stress of it hanging over me the entire time. I'm triple vaccinated (recent booster), wear my mask indoors at all times and am extremely cautious.

I had settled on going to Spain but then I was told that they make you have (and pay for) a PCR test at a clinic if someone on your plane was positive, so I'm no longer keen. Greece I believe does random PCR tests on arriving passengers at the airport, so also out. Italy requires a pre-departure test and also has strict quarantine rules for contacts so also out.

Is there anywhere I can feasibly go for a few days' break without worrying the entire time that I'll be pinged?

[Palavah]

[quote CecilieRose]@Palavah it's on GOV.UK and their own website. They have the right to test any incoming passenger, regardless of vaccination status. Would that not put you off? The plus side is they'll pay for the hotel quarantine so no worries about being left out of pocket, but the idea of being at the mercy of strangers like that makes me VERY uncomfortable!

Their vaccination rates are also incredibly low, which is a bit offputting. Otherwise I think it would be a great time of year to go and explore Athens, while it's not too hot.[/quote]
They have the right to, but I haven't heard of anyone actually being tested.

The pre-departure PCR tests were pretty cursory when we stayed there - if you were being cynical you might have thought that the doctor was deliberately only waving the swab round the inside of your cheek rather than doing your tonsils properly.
In the whole season noone in our hotel had tested positive.

[Toottooot]

Turkey - no test to enter.

[TizerorFizz]

@dabbydeedoo
Nothing us impossible! All travel has risks. But if you wait and wait, when will you go?

[dabbydeedoo]

[quote TizerorFizz]@dabbydeedoo
Nothing us impossible! All travel has risks. But if you wait and wait, when will you go?[/quote]
I guess it depends how much you wanted to go. I personally feel like the risk of getting stuck in some awful hotel room for 10 days would drive me loopy, and I don't think I'd want to be anywhere where I had to take that risk. I think if you go to a country that doesn't make you test based on contacts, at least you can be fairly sure you can get home again without a problem. Covid wise anyway.

[minipie]

Cyprus has no tests on entry

cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/uploads/protocols/845a321a52.pdf here it says that contact tracing from an airplane journey only applies to members of the same family

[dabbydeedoo]

I was looking at Cyprus for my annual leave at the end of the month but the weather looks terrible at the minute! Malta too.

[shinynewapple21]

@Aposterhasnoname

I’d stick to Spain. Really, what are the chances of someone testing positive on the flight. No one’s going to test voluntarily on holiday, so it would only happen if they were very ill.

Exactly what I was thinking .

Paperwork is a bit of a hassle - but IMO worth it.

As poster above says unless they were so ill they were hospitalised I would doubt anyone would voluntarily do a Covid test on holiday .

[shinynewapple21]

Ok read your response to the poster I was quoting - ignore me then!

[Hairbrush123]

Sorry to break it to you OP but there will always be a risk travelling during a pandemic. Most countries have some sort of protocol so it’ll be very hard to find somewhere that is completely normal!

I think Mexico is one of the very few countries with no covid requirements

[dabbydeedoo]

@Hairbrush123

Sorry to break it to you OP but there will always be a risk travelling during a pandemic. Most countries have some sort of protocol so it’ll be very hard to find somewhere that is completely normal!

I think Mexico is one of the very few countries with no covid requirements

Plenty of places don't do automatic PCR testing after contact with a positive case, though. There's always the chance of needing to cut your holiday short because of a sudden lockdown (e.g. Austria) or of restrictions meaning your holiday is a bit rubbish, but being stuck in a quarantine hotel is pretty much the very worst case scenario.