The Tour Guy

Taking care of everything so you can be on vacation

Home > Reopening Guidelines & Availability

Reopening Guidelines & Availability

Europe Reopening Guidelines & Availability

Wondering when you’ll be able to travel to cities like Rome, Paris, Barcelona, and the Amalfi Coast without tons of restrictions? Also, how safe that will be?

We update this article as soon as new information comes out so you can make informed decisions!

Last updated: May, 4th 2021

Latest Reopening News & Availability

Here is the latest news on what is open, who it is open to, and what to expect. You can also read our city-by-city guide on what to expect in each EU city.

May 5th, 2021 – Clarification of Reopening Guidelines “No Quarantine in Italy”

Prime Minister Mario Draghi has clarified that there will be no incoming quarantine for visitors to Italy who test negatively for Covid-19 or who have been vaccinated. This includes EU countries, the United States, and Isreal.

This will begin on the second half of May which appears to be May 15th and forward. The rest of Europe appears to be waiting for the second half of June to launch their “Green Pass” to travel freely around Europe, but Italy will launch their own national pass for travelers ready to go to Italy as of May 15th

Source: RSI News Switzerland.

May 4th, 2021 – Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi Announced Intention to Open Italy to International Travel by Mid May

On May 4th 2021 Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi made statements to the press announcing the beginning stages of a plan to open Italy’s borders by mid-May. This means that Italy would be open and allow for incoming visitors who are fully vaccinated or test negative to a covid test to enter Italy proir to the rest of the European Union.

This is a smart move for the PM as it allows travelers to have a concrete timeline for the third most popular European destination for international arrivals. The European Union announced plans to roll out the new “Green Certificate”, which will be a sort of vaccine visa, by mid June. Italy, on the other hand, will start using their domestic Green Cert in the mean time to jump start the travel economy.

What does this mean for you? If you are vaccinated, you can plan a trip to Italy starting as early as late May without fear of not getting into Italy or not getting out. The sooner you go, the better your travel deals will be! We’d recommend any time after June 1st so you can fully enjoy Italy’s food and museum culture.

April, 25th 2021 – Europe to Reopen to Vaccinated American Visitors

The European Commission announced on Sunday, April 25, in an interview with the New York Times, that, “Fully vaccinated U.S. travelers should soon be able to travel to Europe.” Every European Union member state/country will allow entry, “unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines that are approved by European Medical Agency (E.M.A.)” The quote was direct from Ursula von der Leyen to the NY Times who is president of the European Commission.

What vaccines are approved by E.M.A.? Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and J&J are approved and also happen to be the three most widely distributed vaccines according to the CDC.

What does this mean for Americans planning trips to Europe? You will be allowed to freely move around the European Union with proof of vaccination so long as you are an American resident fully vaccinated with one of the approved vaccines.

When will this go into effect? Greece and Iceland have already opened borders to Americans to the fully vaccinated or those who can present negative test results. It is expected that some sort of standardized process will be created for authenticating that you are in fact fully vaccinated. This will either be presenting your vaccine card which you received or, more likely, some sort of online application that you’d be required to fill out prior to travel. Sound like a lot of work? It shouldn’t be tough. Europeans have to pay a few bucks for an Esta Visa before coming to the states so this would be a quick, easy, and similar process. I recommend taking a photo of your vaccine card for safekeeping.

Will I have to quarantine? As of right now that is unknown, but reading between the lines it seems unlikely that a quarantine will be part of the plan. The idea is to give the EU an economic boost by making a trip to Europe easy, not difficult. We will update this article as things unfold.

April, 19th 2021 – Greece Opens Borders to International Travelers on May 15th

Greece announced a phased reopening plan for international travelers including Americans. The idea is that fully vaccinated persons or persons who can show proof of a recent negative covid test can travel to Greece without quarantine. According to Afar.com, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will lift the current travel ban as of May 15th. Restaurants will have outdoor service (or more) as of May 3rd.

What countries are allowed to enter? As off April 19th, Greece will be allowing entry to travelers from EU states, New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda, Singapore, the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Serbia, and the UAE.

Things Will Get Better. Book with Confidence. Support Each Other.

Eventually, things will get better and people will see the world again. Will that look different than before? Maybe for a bit, but eventually we’ll be going to Italy and kissing people on both cheeks. Going to Spain to hug each other and laugh over tapas without masks. We’ll see the Eiffel Tower again with other travelers and share that memory and learn more about new cultures.

This will be our future and we, The Tour Guy & The Roman Guy, will be here when it does. Know that you can book a tour on our website and change the dates as many times as you need to and we’ll be here.

2020 was a sad year that took a lot of joy from a lot of people. It stole our “togetherness” and made it more difficult for us to form new positive memories with friends and families. As a global community, we are resilient and we will go back to be a strong community. Again, we’ll be here when that does and we have been building out content to make it easier for you to plan your next trip.

See our blog to see what we’ve been working on.

The Tour Guy Health & Safety Guidelines

Our number 1 priority is for our customers to feel 100% safe during their experience with us. This is why we have implemented the following safety guidelines on all our experiences moving forward:

  • The Tour Guy group sizes have been reduced to allow maximum comfort and social distancing for our customers
  • Our tours guides will have in their possession hand sanitizer for all customers throughout the tour
  • Masks will be mandatory for all The Tour Guy tour guides on all of our tours 
  • Clients will be asked to wear masks based on local government regulations
  • All of The Tour Guy tour guides will enforce social distancing throughout the tour according to local government regulations
  • If a guest is visibly ill, with heavy sweating or coughing, they will be asked to leave the tour for both the guide and the customer’s safety
  • If any transportation is required on a tour, then customers will be required to wear a mask inside the car.
  • The tour guide will let our customers know if and when they are able to take off their masks at a specific venue
  • All The Tour Guy tour guides are self-monitoring temperatures daily and trained in group social distancing practices

Which Tours are Running?

To see which tours are currently operating across Europe visit this page: Tours Open and Running Now.

*If you are cancelling your tour or experience with us, please fill out this form.

Resources for Reliable Data

Yes, it is difficult to make recommendations on travel when we (The Tour Guy) very much want people to travel again. Our goal on this page is to use reliable data & resources in an effort to leave our opinions and motivations out of the conversation. The situation with covid is obviously a serious one and as much as we want our business to get back on track, we don’t want to put anyone at risk.

Here are are the resources we use in writing the above article.

Please contact us for more information and the updates on our upcoming tours.