Italy Reopens for International Travel

Si parte ! (We’re Off !)

Italy is reopening to travelers, as is all of the European Union, after a ban that began on March 17, 2020.  One of our clients who loves Italy just wrote : “I have been waiting for this news for 428 endless days !”

Much more than 428 days has elapsed since an Insider’s Italy client traveled on one of our meticulously crafted personal plans.

This blog reviews information, up to date as of this moment, about the logistics of coming to Italy.

As the New York Times reports today, May 19 :

“The European Union [today agreed] to reopen its borders to visitors who have been fully vaccinated with an approved shot, or those coming from a list of countries considered safe from a Covid perspective… putting the rules in place just in time for the summer tourist season…. The new measures could go into effect as early as next week, according to European officials involved in the process. The president of the European Commission had previewed the measures in an interview with The New York Times in April.

The bloc will accept visitors who have received full immunization using one of the shots approved by its own regulator or by the World Health Organization. That covers the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines. This would open the door to Americans, who have been receiving shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

Member states will retain the freedom to tweak these measures if they want to take a more conservative approach, meaning that some European countries could retain demands for negative PCR tests or quarantines for certain visitors.

The bloc will also maintain an emergency-brake option, a legal tool that will allow it to quickly snap back to more restrictive travel conditions if a threatening new variant or other Covid emergency emerges.”

We wait to learn what proof of vaccination will be required; this will come clear in the next week.

Delta and American Airlines have been for some days offering U.S. to Rome and Milan “Covid-tested flights”, where passengers provide one or more negative Covid test results prior to check-in and boarding.  Passengers are again tested upon arrival; thus bypassing otherwise mandatory quarantine requirements.  The additional formalities of the checking-in process in the U.S., including being tested, adds time and an extra step (and some exhaustion) to the process of traveling, but for those who cannot wait to get back to their favorite country, it has been worth the effort.

What will you find if you arrive today in Italy ?  Warmth, enthusiasm, a delight in welcoming you back.

I am vaccinated.  My second Pfizer vaccine is in three weeks.

My vegetable merchants, the proprietors of my favorite Roman restaurants, the manager of my neighborhood grocery, the owner of the wine store, most of my neighbors  — all are vaccinated, at least partially, as are most of our guides, hotel managers, drivers and the many special friends whom we introduce in your Plans.

Everyone I know in Italy is planning some form of a summer holiday involving leaving their home and traveling elsewhere in Italy.

Nevertheless, no one in Italy fails to see that we are still not out of the woods.  Only recently have national restrictions truly eased.  All across the country, bars, beaches, museums and opera houses have opened, but all with protocol and controls.  Restaurants are fully functional, but with outside tables only, and are open until 10 PM.

From the 1st of June they will open inside as well, with required social distance rules, and will operate their indoor space until 6 PM.

Many of my favorite coastal hotels are set to open at the end of this month.

Masks are required at all times in public, indoors and outdoors, except when eating, drinking or exercising.  “Covid-free trains” run daily between Rome and Milan with rapid testing of passengers before boarding, and these will be expanded into extended service in the next months.  There is a national curfew between 11 PM and 5 AM, and as of June 7 will be in effect from  midnight until 5 AM.   The curfew will be entirely eliminated as of June 21st.

Nationally somewhat over 9 million Italians have been fully vaccinated, which represent 15.27% of the population.  Vaccinations have in recent weeks picked up the pace.  The European Commission has set a vaccination target of reaching 70% of adults by summer’s end.  At the vaccination pace of today, Italy will be at 89%, well above the EU national average. (Source : https://www.politico.eu/article/coronavirus-vaccination-live-data-tracker/)

Should you come to Italy now, if you are fully vaccinated ?  I certainly would, while fully observing the regulations in place.  You may have issues of concern.  Please let me know if I might be able to help you address them.

As ever, now and since 1989, Insider’s Italy is at your service.  Let the planning begin !