Have Vaccine...CAN Travel (Europe Edition) Part 1
Sam and I ALWAYS travel on our anniversary.
Not only do we travel, but the trip is always a destination we are looking to strike from our bucket list. The last few years of travel were awesome. The Mediterranean, the British Isles, and Norway were some of our most recent trips before Covid brought a full stop to the world of travel. After our Baltic cruise was canceled last year, on our anniversary, we found ourselves sitting in the kitchen with a pizza and a bottle of wine (a nod back to our first few anniversaries). Although that was nostalgic, it still kind of sucked!
Sam and I vowed that wouldn't happen again. This year, when our Malta cruise was also canceled due to an itinerary change, Sam was determined to dust off the bucket list. With a few calls to our favorite suppliers, we were booked for Portugal.
People said we were nuts. We were told that there was no way that Europe would stay open. That everything was going to close back down with COVID counts going up again. But Sam and I had a “not so secret” weapon. Something better than a passport…a vaccine card and a willingness to take multiple Covid tests for an entire week!
On the day of our departure, we arrived at the health clinic about an hour before every other patient. We knew from calling around that with the current COVID surge, testing was first come first served with tests usually running out by midday. We wanted our test results first, fast, and wanted to ensure we were in the rooms ahead of all the COVID patients who would inevitably roll in.
We got the required PCR NAAT test that would carry us for at least 3 days of our vacation, ensuring that we could dine inside restaurants in Portugal and enter both the UK (on our layover) and Portugal. The sweet nurse (who recognized us for giving us our vaccines) gave us 2 different forms of travel letters. She was determined to make sure our tests were LEGIT and showed our negative results clearly!
With the golden ticket of that negative test in hand, we arrived at the Atlanta airport late in the evening. It was a ghost town compared to the crush of travel we experienced this summer. In fact, there were only 3 other families at the check-in counter. It was beyond eerie.
It was a surprisingly long wait to check-in. We overheard the reasons. One of the families in front of us was being denied travel that day and needed to be rebooked.
“I’m sorry ma’am. You are required to have a Covid Test to enter the UK. And to have a travel authorization.”
“But I am not traveling to the UK, I’m headed to Spain. I am fully vaccinated.”
“Current travel protocols require that you have the proper documentation for your layover stop as well.”
“I didn’t know that. I only read the entry requirements for Spain.”
Sadly, we would hear this same conversation several times during our travels. People who consider themselves savvy and are used to booking their own travel, don’t realize how critical these protocols are. A fact that we as travel agency owners know all too well. Remember, we have been helping clients jump through protocol hoops and with authorizations for over a year now. We know that a single slipup can mean that you cannot enter the country or will miss your flight scrambling for the proper documents.
A quick drink in the lounge, our friends (who were joining us on this trip) and ourselves were onboard and headed to London! The flight was about half empty, with many of the guests choosing to sit in the front sections. Having the foresight to move our flights at check-in, we had the rear of the plane to ourselves. For the first time EVER, we were able to each take an entire row to ourselves. Who needs first class when you have your own row!
After taking melatonin, piling a MOUNTAIN of travel pillows and blankets, I was out. I never even heard the dinner cart come by and missed my complimentary glass of wine. In fact, my eyes didn’t open until the smell of coffee wafted through the plane about 7 hours later. With a steaming cup of coffee in hand and a weird but strangely tasty biscuit, I cleared the sand out of my eyes and looked out the window. My timing couldn’t have been more perfect, as I am looking outside, what do I see below me…but …Windsor Castle. If you have ever seen European Vacation, I could hear the music queue in my head as I fastened my seatbelt, and got ready for landing with our vaccination cards, Covid tests, and UK Safe Travels authorizations ready for inspection.
Stay tuned for Part 2…our time in Portugal!
A blog by Kristy Mosolino, Owner Wishes Travel
