Europe travel restrictions: How to enjoy your trip and avoid the headaches
Vaccinated Americans are slowly returning to international travel, even as new restrictions make planning trickier than before the pandemic.
The number of flights abroad is still about 50% below normal, but the total is much higher than a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
For my husband and me, a long-delayed trip to Italy in October to mark a milestone birthday was worth the effort.
There were breathtaking places to visit, fewer fellow tourists to contend with and a lower risk of contracting COVID-19 traveling to Europe than within our own country.
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But we faced challenges that made our journey a bit bumpier than expected.
Here’s what we did right and wrong so you can have a smoother trip:
Review your flight status often, think twice about booking through third parties
Our first surprise was at the check-in desk at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona. An agent informed us our flight to Italy did not exist.
How could that be? We had received email updates after purchasing tickets months before, including an alert that morning that our domestic leg was on time.
But airlines everywhere have suspended less popular routes during the pandemic, and it turned out a spate of cancellations included the last leg of our British Airways flight to see friends in a rural part of southern Italy.
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We weren't notified due to a "breakdown in communication" between the airline and the flight search engine we booked through, British Airways told me later.
A customer service agent for the search engine, Kayak, told me British Airways had failed to notify other passengers of flight cancellations too.
Regardless of whose fault it was, my husband now understands what I've been saying for years: Booking through online third parties can sometimes cause headaches. It's just as easy and no more expensive to buy tickets directly from the airline after using a search engine to find the best price.
Story continues below.
After hurriedly rebooking a much lengthier route from Sky Harbor to our destination through British Airways, I downloaded the amazing app TripCase, which kept me informed of flight changes with real-time precision for the rest of our journey. I wish I had done that sooner.
If you bought travel insurance, contact your insurer as soon as a travel emergency occurs. Reading our policy after the trip (which I should have done in the beginning), I realized our insurance plan promised 24/7 assistance, which might have helped if we had thought to call.
Check (and double-check) COVID-19 protocols, even for layovers
Travel companies make it your responsibility to figure out the maze of pandemic restrictions that vary from country to country and sometimes week to week.
We researched everything we could, so we knew to have proof of vaccination, a recent negative COVID-19 test and a completed European Union passenger locator form for contact tracing.
However, no one made it clear (until the plane doors were nearly closing) that we needed to fill out a separate United Kingdom passenger locator form just for our Heathrow layover.
We rushed to finish so we would be allowed to board, minutes before the plane doors closed.
Note that the requirements keep changing. For instance, the U.S. has been requiring travelers entering the country to show a negative test taken within 72 hours. Starting Dec. 6, that period was reduced to one day. (Officials will look for tests completed on the date of the flight or the previous day, not strictly 24 hours before the flight.)
Our best sources for protocols were the U.S. State Department's COVID-19 Country Specific Information page at travel.state.gov and the Italian National Tourist Board's COVID-19 Updates: Information for Tourists page at www.italia.it/en.
Don’t wait to decide on your coronavirus testing method
Make plans as soon as possible for how to take rapid tests both before flying to Europe and coming back home.
I purchased rapid tests at Walgreens that I thought we could pack in our luggage, before realizing the brand wasn’t approved for travel. Typically, you'll need the kind that comes with live video instruction from a medical professional. Here's a guide to finding at-home tests that are acceptable.
Because ordering the right type would take too long, we had to drive an hour round-trip the day before our flight and pay $139 per person at one of the few places in the Phoenix area with last-minute appointments available, www.covidtestingtoyou.com.
Later on in the trip, we were lucky to find an extremely convenient airport testing location. But we were unlucky when a paperwork error caused only my husband’s results to be emailed to us.
By the time we realized my results were missing, the testing site had closed and we missed our sunrise flight the next day waiting for the site to reopen.
Next time, we'll wait at the testing center until both results are in our inboxes.
►At-home testing: Here's what travelers should know about at-home COVID-19 tests
Be smart about protecting yourself from infection
Traveling abroad may not be an option for everyone, especially people in high COVID-19 risk categories and those concerned about the emerging omicron variant. At the time, we were lucky to feel at lower risk. But we still wanted to be as careful as we could.
Given that we were packed indoors with crowds for 40 to 50 hours each way, including airport layovers and bus transportation, I was relieved to be wearing a high-quality KN95 mask with several fresh ones to swap out. I had hand sanitizer in my purse.
Booster shots weren’t available for us at the time. Now that they are readily available, getting one at least two weeks before traveling could be a smart idea.
The sad fact is we were safer flying to another country than inside our own.
All passengers to Europe at the time we traveled had to show proof of vaccination or natural immunity within the last six months from overcoming COVID-19, plus a recent negative test. Domestic flights in the U.S. require none of that.
We had to show our vaccination cards at most museums, restaurants and other gathering places. And European Union countries have higher vaccination and mask compliance than the United States, with lower infection and death rates.
Earlier this year, we canceled a visit to friends in Idaho who refused to get vaccinated, while keeping our trip to Italy. It was a tough decision but, ultimately, for us the right choice.
Pack your luggage like you won’t see it again
My husband’s checked bag – including our poles and shoes for hiking the Italian Alps and his suit for the Venice opera – went missing for half the trip, leaving him washing his boxers in the sink, borrowing shirts from friends and going shopping for necessities.
While my husband (who cares less about fashion) was easygoing about it, keeping a few more essentials in our carry-on bags probably would have been prudent.
Getting stuck sleeping on airport chairs on our way home proved the point.
Having an inflatable pillow, extra clothing, light blanket, wax earplugs, snacks and toiletries in my backpack made passing the night easier.
For extra assurance, you might consider throwing a small GPS tracker in your checked bag. That way you know if someone has taken your bag or it's still in the airport, as well as track its journey to you. There are a variety of tracker styles to choose from.
Claim the money you’re entitled to
Make sure to keep all receipts – including ticket purchases, cancellation and delay notices, lost-and-found paperwork and items purchased if your baggage goes missing – in order to claim reimbursements. And don't throw away your checked-luggage stickers.
If you purchased travel insurance, read the policy before flying and then apply for anything you might be entitled to once travel is over.
And look for possible compensation through the airline, booking website, travel agent, or country you traveled to. The European Union has much better traveler protection laws than the U.S.
For instance, passengers in Europe may be entitled to as much as $1,460 for lost baggage and as much as $674 for a delayed flight, depending on the circumstances, under the law EU261. Find out more about the law and take a quiz to see what you might be eligible for at https://europa.eu/youreurope.
While we were not reimbursed for our canceled flight because we got a new booking and the airline claimed the route was changed due to COVID-19 operations, we did receive compensation for delayed luggage and other flight issues (too many to detail here!).
Although it took several hours to scan receipts and fill out claims paperwork, and weeks to receive reimbursement checks, we were pleased with the outcome and found customer service by British Airways and our travel insurer to be friendly and helpful.
Should you stay or should you go?
Some say life is about the journey, not the destination.
Our journey was certainly memorable with all its complications. But our destination, thankfully, was even more noteworthy.
While the hurdles caused by the pandemic and flight industry were larger than expected, it was worth it to dip our toes in the Ionian Sea, marvel at ancient Venetian palaces and sleep on the snowy top of a Dolomites peak, while still being careful about our health.
So, should you stay or should you go?
We're glad we chose go.
Tips for traveling with ease
- Book flights directly through the airline after comparing prices on a search engine.
- Check your flight status often for delays and cancellations. Download the TripCase app to stay informed of real-time changes.
- Purchase travel insurance right after booking your flight. Here's a travel insurance guide to help you choose.
- Contact your travel insurer as soon as a mishap occurs. They may be able to help you find solutions.
- Stay up-to-date on the latest COVID-19 protocols. Start with the U.S. State Department's COVID-19 Country Specific Information page at travel.state.gov.
- Get vaccinated or take a booster at least two weeks before traveling.
- Bring your vaccination card for entry to museums, restaurants and other sites. We kept ours in clear, waterproof cases purchased at a drug store.
- Plan your rapid COVID-19 test well in advance. Schedule an appointment for the day before you travel or order the correct kind of at-home test well in advance.
- Bring several masks, including at least one high-quality KN95 mask for each way.
- Pack in your carry-on an inflatable pillow, extra clothing, earplugs, snacks, toiletries, a shawl or light blanket and medication in case you have to sleep in the airport or your checked luggage is misplaced.
- Consider throwing a small GPS tracker in your checked bag to track its journey if it gets lost.
- Keep all receipts and paperwork in case you need to file a claim later.
- Submit claims everywhere you might be eligible for compensation, including your travel insurer, airline and booking agency. Check the European Union's protections for travelers to see if you qualify.
Contact the reporter Rebekah L. Sanders at rsanders@azcentral.com or follow her on Twitter at @RebekahLSanders.