Traveling to Greece

Good News! Greece Loosens Up Rules for Entering Greece, Great for Families

3 years ago
3 Comments
by Charlie
a stone structure with pillars with Parthenon in the background
Written by Charlie

If you are traveling to Greece this summer, here is some good news about the restrictions for entering the country. They have loosened a bit and it is very good for families with younger children.

Greece was one of the first European countries to open up to American tourists but there were restrictions for entering the country. Now that more of the population has been vaccinated and health protocols in the country are yielding lower infection numbers, Greece is loosening up some of the rules for entering the country.

Greece Looses Up Entry Restrictions

Prior to last week, people entering Greece had to have one of the following to enter:

  • Proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid-19 (which meant also allowing for at least 2 weeks following the final shot)
  • A negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of entering Greece
  • Proof of recovering from Covid-19 which meant a positive test taken between 2 months and 9 months prior to entering

These rules also applied to children over the age of 5. This meant that families traveling to Greece with young children still needed negative PCR tests for their children over the age of 5 and these tests can be expensive to get (since you need the test to be taken 72 hours before entering Greece and the airline will not let you board your first flight of the itinerary without the negative result).

Now, Greece will accept negative antigen (rapid) test taken 48 hours before entering Greece. Also, these requirements will only apply to people over the age of 12.

Rapid antigen tests are easier/cheaper to obtain so that is a big change plus now children 12 and younger will no longer need to be tested – another great step for families!

For more about traveling to Greece, check out these other posts as well as this post that details what you need to know about the Greek Passenger Locator Form (PLF) that is required for entry into the country.

Also, when you do need to head back to the US, this post can help you find a place to get your required covid test.

For more information from Greece, check this site.

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About the author

Charlie

Charlie has been an avid traveler and runner for many years. He has run in marathons around the world for less than it would cost to travel to the next town - all as a result of collecting and using miles and points. Over the years, he has flown hundreds of thousands of miles and collected millions of miles and points.
Now he uses this experience and knowledge to help others through Running with Miles.

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3 Comments

  • Too little, too late. Many of us have always taken our annual holiday when schools let out in early June. Also does nothing to address very real concern that family may have to remain in Greece if child tests positive prior to return to US (which requires mandatory testing for all inbound passengers). And no progress yet on quarantined passage for transit passengers at popular hubs like FRA, ZRH, LHR etc.

    Greece is certainly ahead of the pack but not quite there for family travel this summer.

  • Some good news

    Hopefully will do away with test requirement if fully vaccinated soon. I think Italy just implemented this?

  • Very good news indeed! We will traveling to Greece and neighboring Albanian starting July 4th with kids under 10 yrs old. We, both adults, are already vaccinated so will just need a antigen test for a return back to USA from Albania.