What happens if you successfully navigate the long airport queues, get to your holiday location, then catch Covid? Can you continue with your holiday, do you have to self-isolate and can you come home on your original flight?
The short answer is that every country has its own rules. With Covid-19 cases still high in Europe, rules on travel and healthcare are constantly changing, so it’s best to check the Government’s travel advice pages for the latest requirements.
Before you travel, however, it's important to have travel insurance in place. It’s best to start a travel insurance policy on the day you book – that way you may be covered if there is a healthcare issue before or during your trip.
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Travel insurance policies differ in their cover for coronavirus. It’s best to read the policy details to see what is and what is not covered.
You'll need travel insurance in addition to having either an EHIC or GHIC card. An EHIC card, and its replacement the GHIC card, both entitle you as a British citizen to access state healthcare in Europe at a reduced cost or sometimes for free.
If you have an EHIC card already, it is valid until the expiry date. If you don't have one, or if your EHIC card has expired, you can apply for a GHIC card here.
Below, we set out the rules for many of the popular destinations for summer holidays. The rules may change at short notice, so check the Government’s travel pages regularly.
The website also explains for each country whether proof of vaccination status or negative tests are required at the border to enter the country. Again, these rules may change at short notice.
If you do get Covid-19 on holiday, wherever you are, you may need extra money if it causes a prolonged stay. So bear that in mind, along with having to change other arrangements, such as work and pet care.
Spain
If you have symptoms or test positive for Covid-19 during your stay in Spain, you are not required to self-isolate but you should inform direct contacts and take the following extra precautionary measures for 10 days from diagnosis or from when symptoms began:
- wear a mask
- reduce social interactions and avoid crowded spaces and large events
- avoid contact with people at high risk (including older people, people with health conditions and pregnant women)
France
If you test positive for Covid-19 in France and you’re fully vaccinated (including a booster) or if you’ve had Covid-19 in the past four months, you must self-isolate for seven days from the day on which you first develop symptoms, or seven days from the date of the positive test result. Self-isolation can be reduced to five days if you take a negative PCR or antigen test (supervised, not self-administered) on day five and you have not displayed any symptoms over the previous 48 hours. These isolation rules also apply to children under the age of 12, regardless of their vaccination status.
If you’re unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and you haven’t had Covid-19 in the past four months, you must self-isolate for 10 days from the day on which you first develop symptoms, or 10 days from the date of the positive test result. Self-isolation can be reduced to seven days if you take a negative PCR or antigen test (supervised, not self-administered) on day seven and you have not displayed any symptoms over the previous 48 hours.
You will have to extend your stay until the end of your isolation period. This could be in your current accommodation. The French authorities do not provide or pay for quarantine accommodation.
Portugal
If you test positive for Covid-19 in Portugal, you will have to self-isolate. If you’re in mainland Portugal, you’ll have to self-isolate at your own expense for at least seven days. If you’re in Madeira, Porto Santo or the Azores, you’ll have to self-isolate at your own expense for at least five days.
Italy
If you are tested and the result is positive, you must immediately self-isolate in your accommodation and call the regional hotline. You may be able to remain in your existing accommodation for self-isolation, or be required to transfer into a state hospital or other government-provided accommodation.
You may be required to fund accommodation. Depending on local arrangements, travellers in groups may be spread across different accommodation locations.
If within the last 120 days you have either (a) completed a full course of vaccination OR (b) received a booster, you must self-isolate for seven days. Otherwise, you must self-isolate for 10 days.
Greece
If you test positive for Covid-19 while in Greece, you must self-isolate for five days from the date of the positive test result. You may leave self-isolation after five days if you have not had a fever in the past 24 hours, otherwise you should continue to self-isolate.
Importantly, there is an exception for tourists leaving Greece to return home . You may leave self-isolation before the end of the five-day isolation period in order to travel back to your country of origin, provided you wear a high-protection mask and do not have a fever.
Turkey
If you test positive, you will need to stay where you are for seven days. If you do not have a place to stay, government authorities will direct you to a designated hotel. Your details will be taken so the authorities can monitor your isolation.
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