ChrisC101

From an article by The Points Guy today:Greece is reopening to some tourists sooner than originally expected. A Greek official said on Wednesday that the country will reopen to fully vaccinated travelers coming from the United States from next week. Additionally, Americans who have received a negative COVID-19 test will be permitted to enter.

“We will gradually lift the restrictions at the beginning of next week ahead of the opening on May 14,” a senior tourism ministry official told Reuters.

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The country will reopen to tourists coming from the European Union and five other countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, Serbia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Travelers must arrive at one of the following airports: Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Chania, Rhodes, Kos, Mykonos, Santorini or Corfu. Additionally, Greece will allow travelers to enter through two land borders.

As of next week, travelers entering from the above countries will not have to quarantine so long as they have proof they are fully vaccinated or have a negative COVID-19 PCR test result carried out 72 hours prior to arrival. However, tourists will be subject to Greece’s ongoing lockdown restrictions.

menachem

I hope you realize the situation in Greece is not that rosy. Hospitals have been overrun and non-covid care has been scaled back.

The government is re-opening despite the situation, not because Greece is ok again, never mind the plans for "covid free islands"

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/cases-2019-ncov-eueea

progol

Sadly, I do agree with menachem that this really isn’t the time to travel to Greece, even if one is fully vaccinated. It is still experiencing high covid rates and undergoing a lockdown. Yes, many sites are reopened but dining establishments and many shops are closed (takeout is available!), and residents are not yet allowed to travel freely themselves. This isn’t how I want to travel. I imagine things improve as the vaccine rollout picks up, but I also fear that over the summer, despite best efforts, there could be an increase in the covid rates as more tourists travel.

I’m sure there are people who will go and it will turn out fine, but I have to say that this doesn’t sit well with me, much as I’d love to go.

The CDC on Greece:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices...navirus-greece

Leely2

Indeed. In fact, I would feel very "let them eat cake" were I to go tour a country experiencing a Covid crisis.

crazyh

That articles was more of a "news" report rather than an official announcement from the Greek government.

Greece/US are in the negotiating stage regarding opening up to each other's citizens.

Yes, Greece is still having issues with the virus and vaccinations while the US is doing far better.

I would think late summer/early Fall would be a better chance to travel to Greece. Hopefully by then Greece will have gotten their virus rates down and more Greek vaccinated.

Until there is an official government announcement from both countries everything now is speculative, but it's at least promising.

Heimdall

Great result? The game isn’t over yet.

MinnBeef

That is very exciting news! I very much want to return to Greece, this time to visit Crete., Thessaloniki and the Meteora. There are those who will wring their hands and insist on wearing their masks in their basements even after they have been vaccinated. Fine, that’s their business. I received my second Pfizer vaccine two days ago and will be fully protected on the 28th. The odds that I can get COVID are literally 1 in 80,000 per the CDC and my odds of getting it AND spreading it in our never ending mask world are even lower. Stop and think about all the good that our tourist $$ do to provide income to countries that depend as heavily on tourism as does Greece or my heritage country, Italy. And how do I know this? Well for one thing, based on all the people in Guatemala who thanked me during my trip last month for coming to their beautiful country and spending money.

So please get a grip on yourselves...99% of people who get COVID survive, 99% of those don’t require hospitalization and as vaccine rollouts in Europe start catching up to those in the US and the UK, those numbers will improve further. It is time for this world to stop just existing and to get back to living. For those who want to join me, let’s go.

Heimdall

As of April 19th Greece is allowing US tourists to enter the country again. Covid protocols are still in place, which include restrictions on travel between prefectures, mask wearing, social distancing, etc. Tourists are under the same rules as Greeks.

At the moment if you arrive in Athens you aren’t allowed to travel to the islands or anywhere else outside the city. I expect that restriction to be lifted before the start of the tourist season.

I have waited for official announcements rather than relying on stories from the news media.
https://gr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

cafegoddess

Just made a reservation.

MinnBeef I have never been to Greece, which island do you recommend? I am thinking Santorini, Crete, Mykonos.

thursdaysd

There is a newer post (yesterday) from TPG about why now is NOT the time to go to Greece:

https://thepointsguy.com/news/greece...stpone-travel/

cafegoddess

Thank you for the link, does not sound good.

rialtogrl

It seems they will start to open up mid May. I would do my own research before relying on anything “the point guy” says.

menachem

I think you have to realize that the Greek population remains very much locked down. More so, to give tourists free roam.

Heimdall

“Now” is not the best time to go to Greece, but next month is a different story. Greece is keeping the Covid measures until May 2nd to prevent an infection spike from people travelling to their home villages over Orthodox Easter, which is next weekend.

https://news.gtp.gr/2021/04/22/all-c...-greek-easter/

There wouldn’t be any point in declaring tourism open from mid May without relaxing some of the restrictions.

rialtogrl

tourists can roam freely? I was getting the impression the current lockdown applies to everyone.

Heimdall

Rialtogirl is correct, the restrictions apply to everyone.

menachem

Tourists can come but mass travel for Greek Easter is out, because Greeks are still locked down.
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/04/2...travel-may-15/

MinnBeef

It’s highly unlikely that anyone here debating on planning a trip to go to Greece is going to go for Greek Easter which is just a week away. People here are smart enough to know that restrictions will likely open up considerably upon the start of the tourist season in mid-May. If restrictions didn’t ease, there would be no reason to have a tourist season. So let’s stop focusing on the next two weeks and spend more time focusing on July onward.

WorldwideGreeks

While it is great that Greece is open to tourism, the threat of the pandemic still looms. It will be helpful for travelers to have been vaccinated before traveling. It is also important not to expect that the country will be the same as it was before the pandemic. That being said, it is nice that we are able to travel there. Just like anywhere else in the world, though, it is important to follow safety protocols if you do travel. However, it is encouraging that the country is open to travelers!