London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 14, 2026

Europe reopens: Spain, France, Denmark and Greece welcome tourists

Europe reopens: Spain, France, Denmark and Greece welcome tourists

Spain, France and Denmark welcome international tourists, while cruising is back - but it's not plain sailing

If you're struggling to know your PCRs from your CDCs from your PPEs, you're not alone.

Luckily CNN Travel is here to help you unravel the rat's nest that is the constantly changing world of global travel restrictions.

Come to these round-ups each week to learn about the countries relaxing entry rules, the attractions reopening the doors and the places that have shuttered because of Covid-19 outbreaks.

Explainers explained


Our travel elves have been working around the clock to put together explainers on all the latest twists and turns in travel guidance.

In Europe or hoping to travel there? The EU Digital Covid Certificate -- known informally as a "Covid vaccine passport" -- will be issued by July 1. CNN Travel gives you the lowdown here on who's eligible, how to get one, and which countries have started using it.

In the United States? The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new travel advice for more than 120 countries. Thirty-three destinations -- including Iceland, Israel and Singapore -- have moved into the lowest risk category. Find out more here.

Cruise news
On board Celebrity Millennium, part of the Celebrity Cruises group.


Celebrity Millennium -- the first major cruise ship allowing American passengers since the pandemic began -- set off last weekend from Sint Maarten. Its first port of call was Barbados, which is now welcoming fully vaccinated travelers.

However, it wasn't all plain sailing. Two guests had to be put in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 in required end-of-cruise testing. And in in the Mediterranean this week, two passengers also tested positive for Covid on the MSC Seaside cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean International has announced that six of its ships will sail from major US ports in Florida and Texas beginning in July and -- further ahead -- a cruise themed around '90s sitcom "Friends" will make its debut next year.

It'll depart from Florida in May 2022 with a select 500 guests on board a 2,800-passenger ship. However, the most on-brand sitcom-meets-cruise adventure is still "Golden Fan at Seas," a celebration of "The Golden Girls," which is also set to return next year.

Luxury barging specialist European Waterways plans to resume barge cruises this June. It serves nine countries, including France, Germany, Holland and Italy.

Meanwhile, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises will resume operations on June 20 with a range of itineraries in Italy, Portugal and France.

The latest from Europe
Tourists walk toward the Erechtheion on the Acropolis hill in Athens on June 4.


The EU has a white list of countries from which nonessential travel into the bloc is approved: Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Japan and Australia.

While the European Union is trying to create more universal requirements for tourism, conditions of entry differ from country to country.

Spain opened to vaccinated travelers from outside the EU on June 7 while France opened in international travelers on June 9 (the same day as it resumed indoor dining and the national curfew moved to 11 p.m.)

Those on France's "green list" -- vaccinated travelers from the European Union, Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand and Singapore -- can enter restriction-free. Nonvaccinated travelers will need to do a Covid test.

Vaccinated travelers from the "orange list" -- which includes the US and the UK -- will need to do a test, while the unvaccinated will be allowed in only for essential purposes. United Airlines will resume nonstop flights from Washington Dulles Airport to Paris Charles De Gaulle on July 1.

Denmark has also opened to fully vaccinated travelers from the UK and the US and its neighbor Norway is letting the fully vaccinated skip quarantine.

All foreign tourists can now visit Greece without the need for quarantine on arrival, provided they have a negative PCR test. The government plans to declare 80 islands -- including most of the country's top tourism destinations -- Covid-safe by the end of June.

The island of Cyprus is open to vaccinated travelers from 65 countries, including the US and the UK.

Ireland, which has had one of Europe's strictest lockdowns, will reopen to the EU, UK and US on July 19. Non-EU unvaccinated travelers will have to arrive with a negative test, then self-quarantine until they take a second post-arrival test


Slovenia has also reopened to tourism with its own traffic light system and testing requirements, which you can read about here.

The Netherlands is welcoming tourists from "safe countries with a low Covid-19 risk," while Iceland, a member state of the European Economic Area, opened its borders to vaccinated travelers back in April.

Croatia is also welcoming vaccinated travelers, as well as those who present a negative PCR test or proof that they've recovered from Covid-19 within the past 180 days, and no less than 11 days before they arrive.

The UK's transport minister, Grant Shapps, announced via Twitter on June 9 that a US-UK taskforce had been set up to facilitate the reopening of transatlantic travel, but there is no news yet of resumption of flights.

The Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea, is reportedly on course to fully reopen its borders with the UK on June 28, having been closed to almost all non-residents since March 2020.

Having recently been knocked off the UK's green list, Portugal is hoping to build up some tourist numbers by welcoming vaccinated US travelers, but no date has been confirmed yet.

The Americas
The Macy's July 4 Fireworks -- pictured here in 2020 -- will be open to in-person viewing this year.


California is poised for its grand reopening of business on June 15, with masks becoming optional in many public settings -- although restrictions vary between the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Be sure to check ahead before traveling, as there will be plenty of caveats.

New York City will be following suit on July 1 and, to kick the month off on style, Macy's July 4 Fireworks will return to being an in-person event.

Canada, which has only been open to essential travel since the pandemic began last year, has given a cautious nod to possibly allowing fully vaccinated citizens to return home as early as July.

The Caribbean island of St. Bart's is now welcoming fully vaccinated travelers from the US while UK and EU residents just need to do a pre-departure Covid test. St. Lucia has also eased on-island protocols for vaccinated travelers -- including being able to book rental cars and dine at more local restaurants.

Middle East, Africa and Asia


Morocco will reopen to international travelers on June 15 and Algeria is also starting to reopen air travel. In the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi will end mandatory quarantine for international travelers on July 1. That's the same day Phuket will be reopening over in Thailand.

Covid escape plan of the week


The UK's green list of countries its citizens are allowed to travel to is "select," to say the least -- there are only 11 destinations and some are so remote they only recently acquired an airport.

However, there is some good news for fans of sheep-strewn archipelagos. Atlantic Airways is starting direct flights from Edinburgh to the Faroe Islands on July 1 -- although at £308 ($406) per person return, it's not cheap for a short hop.

The islands feature in the hotly anticipated and long delayed James Bond movie "No Time to Die," coming later this year, and a new Sightseeing Tour visits the key locations. Keep your eyes closed to avoid spoilers.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Condemns Houthi Actions and Warns of Red Sea Threat to Global Trade
UK and Solomon Islands Open Wildlife Photography Exhibition in Honiara
UK Small Businesses Face Continued Cash Flow and Tax Pressures
Greatham Marsh Restoration Restores Tidal Wetland in Hartlepool After More Than 200 Years
UK Health Regulator Urges University Students to Check Meningitis and Measles Vaccination Status
Mining Remediation Authority Completes Major Ground Stabilization Works in Scottish Community
UK Food Crime Investigators Seize 33 Tonnes of Illegal Food in Multi-Agency Operation
Technical Qualification Uptake Hits Record High as Advanced Mathematics Results Improve
UK Summer Temperatures on Course to Challenge Long-Standing Records, Met Office Says
UK Farmers Bring Forward Cereal Harvests as Drought Threatens Yields
Wildfires Surge Across England and Wales as Fire Chiefs Report Record July
UK Nurses Warn of Heat Risks as Hospital Staff Struggle With Extreme Temperatures
Southern Water Seeks Drought Order for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Amid Water Shortages
UK Heatwave Pushes West London Temperature to 38.1 Degrees as Health Alerts Continue
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Despite Global Uncertainty
China’s Kimi Launches AI-Focused Credit Card With Agricultural Bank of China and American Express
UK Residents Gather to Watch Rare Partial Solar Eclipse
Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice Faces Criticism Over Legal Threat Against Guardian Journalist
Michael Forsyth Elected Speaker of the House of Lords
Cambridge Researchers Launch £20 Million Human Organoid Drug Testing Programme
Heathrow Loses European Passenger Traffic Lead to Istanbul Airport
Households Near New UK Electricity Pylons to Receive £250 Annual Energy Bill Discount
UK Government Estimates Zero-Hours Contract Ban Could Cost Employers Up to £3 Billion a Year
Robert Jenrick Leaves Conservatives for Reform UK in Major Parliamentary Defection
UK Police Chiefs Urge Government to Block Early Release of Andrew Harper Killers
UK Government Holds Emergency Cobra Meeting as Drought and Heatwave Raise Wildfire Risks
Former Labour Adviser Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China Held Privileged Access as Top Party Donor
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Donald Trump Warns FIFA Against Ousting Gianni Infantino Amid Revolt by Global Football Leaders
Jeff Bezos Joins Investor Group Closing In on $6 Billion Liverpool FC Stake
Police Conduct Cross-Border Raids Against Northern England Drug Network
Nicola Sturgeon Protested at Edinburgh Festival Fringe Event
Major UK Retail Chain Enters Administration With One Hundred Fifty-Four Stores Set to Close
Heathrow Renews Call for Runway Expansion After Losing Europe’s Busiest Airport Ranking
Government Condemns One Million Pound Thames Water Executive Bonus Amid Drought
NHS England Says More Than One Hundred Thousand Hepatitis C Patients Have Been Cured
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Calls for End to West Bank Settler Violence
UK Prepares for Deepest Partial Solar Eclipse Since Nineteen Ninety-Nine
UK Heatwave Triggers Amber Health Alerts as Economic Losses Reach Four Point Four Billion Pounds
UK Offers Electricity Bill Discounts to Communities Hosting New Power Infrastructure
Bank of England Expected to Hold Interest Rates at Three Point Seven Five Percent
UK Government Moves to Ban Subscription Traps and Misleading Retail Discounts
Andy Burnham Gives Councils New Powers to Block Betting and Vape Shops
UK Councils to Receive Sweeping Planning Powers to Ban New Vape and Betting Shops
Nicola Sturgeon Says She Has No Contact With Estranged Husband After SNP Embezzlement Case
Police Arrest Two Men After Aberdeenshire Defense Technology Office Break-In
Greater Manchester Councils Gain Powers to Restrict New Vape and Betting Shops
Coroner Finds Treasury Workplace Failures Contributed to Personal Assistant’s Suicide
English and Welsh Courts Ban Meta Smart Glasses Over Recording and Privacy Risks
Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Double UK Inflation and Trigger Recession, Forecasters Warn
×