Europe travel will soon be possible as many countries start to reopen borders after months of lockdowns. Starting with a ripple today in some then working up to a tidal wave across the continent by mid-June. This is good and bad news for non-European travelers, hoping to pencil in trips in Europe’s salvaged summer holiday season. Here are some things to consider, which will impact on travel horizons in Europe over coming weeks: European Countries Are Reopening Borders: To Each Other, Not To You Europe’s internal land borders are reopening gradually for Europeans, not you. Not at least if you are a foreign passport holder. This means you can not start confidently planning a visit for tomorrow, let alone next week or next month. The EU external borders are shut until June 15 and possibly longer. This rules out tourism to some 30 countries, even after their land and sea border controls start tumbling for European travelers. Under EU Guidelines Each Country Is Now Free To Reopen Borders When It Chooses Europe is a jigsaw puzzle of internal borders–which shot back up in response to the COVID-crisis. Many countries will now put the pieces back together to steadily restore travel freedom across the continent, at their own pace, and in their own way. This could be good news for foreigners, allowing travel to some countries ahead of others. But not before the EU travel ban ends–by June 15 at the earliest. Not All Countries Were Created Equal When It Comes To COVID Each country and region will have its own rules, and they will not be blanket ones allowing all foreign tourists to return at the same time. Let alone giving the nod to Europeans or compatriots to start visiting in summer. In some parts of Germany for example, travel is again possible from today, but starting cautiously at a state level. Greece is ready to welcome overseas tourists from July 1. But it’s seeking to let visitors from countries with similar COVID-19 risk profiles to enter first. Possibly holidaymakers from Israel and Cyprus via safe travel “corona corridors”. Holidays In Europe’s Travel Bubbles The forming of these so-called travel bubbles between clusters of countries may well work in favour of non-Europeans, though not yet. Germany-Austria-France-Switzerland are bringing down their border controls, at the outset, only to neighbors. European citizens and residents of those countries alone will be able to travel freely among them in early summer. The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania too are reopening borders to one another, creating a coronavirus travel bubble. Talks between Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Nordic countries, Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the Netherlands may soon lead to another such bubble. In time, the bubbles may grow bigger, and include more people including foreign arrivals. For now they are still only about internal borders reopening, not the EU’s external border. Can I Dodge Quarantine On Arrival? Travelers to the U.K., can theoretically submit to the mandatory 14-day isolation period then stay on. But those countries are not welcoming tourists yet. Ireland, an EU but not Schengen member, is ruling out even British visitors before July. Only Europeans will initially be able to dodge quarantine in the usually passport-free Schengen zone, with the travel bubbles that are forming. Others from abroad can not get in with the bloc’s border restrictions still firmly in place. By July or August, all this could change. Travel bans and quarantines may vanish in some countries, though with strict health protocols. Travel Bans May Mean You Can’t Leave Home For Months Anyway Besides, travel advisories worldwide rule out most overseas trips right now. Curbs on international travel, both ingoing and outgoing, still apply from the U.S. to China and New Zealand. The Australian travel ban stops tourists entering and most Australians from leaving. The government says it’s in no hurry to lift the border closure to tourism. Many countries plan on preventing their citizens from traveling overseas for months. This may end up being your greatest obstacle to European summer travel, more than the current stops on entry to Europe. Europe’s Travel Horizons Are Changing Rapidly This is a positive thing. What seems impossible today may not be so tomorrow, or next week. Until recently, many including Germany’s tourism minister were predicting Europeans would holiday at home this summer, rather than say in France, Italy or Greece. Now Germany is a frontrunner in restoring “free travel in Europe again” by mid-June. The most significant date to watch out for meantime is June 15, when the EU may lift its 3-month long travel ban. If that happens, international travelers should get a green light to many places in Europe. Not all. It will depend on quarantine and other national rules that are swept in, to protect countries, as travelers return. Source
