Travel requirements are changing rapidly, and the burden of preparation is on the traveler. This summary is of my travel to/from/within the USA and Italy, August 2021.
My airline of choice is Delta and I have found their Destination Map Site very informative. I flew SLC-AMS-FLR.
Upon leaving the USA, my travel companion and I had our Passport, CDC Proof of Vaccine Card, and a Negative Rapid Covid Test which had been performed 72 hours prior to departure. (The Rapid Test was not required for entry to Amsterdam or Florence, but the website information regarding Italy said it “may be required” and so to be safe, we had it done.) We also made copies of each of those documents. Masks were required in the airports and on the flights at all times except for when eating or drinking.
At the gate in SLC, prior to departure we were required to fill out a health attestation that we had no Covid symptoms or had knowingly been exposed to anyone with Covid.
Arrival at the airports in AMS and FLR were usual and no one asked to see any documents other than our passports.
While we were in Italy, on August 6, 2021, the government enacted a requirement of anyone who entered a public space to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test within the last 48 hours. This included hotels, churches, theaters, museums, gyms. sporting events and restaurants. Beginning that day, we were required to show our ID (Passport) and CDC Vaccine documentation every time we went to those places. These served as the Green Card equivalent that members of the EU receive upon full vaccination status. Masks were required in all indoor spaces except when eating or drinking.
Only one time was the proprietor of the restaurant unsure as to whether or not our US documentation was equivalent to a Green Card, and so we chose to eat outside to avoid any hassle. Fines are steep if someone is found to be in violation of this new mandate and this is creating long lines at many places, particularly museums, where each individual is checked.
For now, entry on public transportation and in grocery stores is not dependant upon showing a Green Card.
We made a reservation at a farmacia in Florence to receive a Rapid Covid Test 72 hours before our flight back to the USA. This is currently required of all international travelers entering the USA. We were asked in Amsterdam to fill out an attestation to the fact that we had tested negative to such, but were not asked to show documentation of the test. **Please remember that just because I wasn’t asked, doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
Plainly stated, if you do not have proof of being fully vaccinated or recovered from Covid, a trip to Italy will have you excluded from most activities. Currently, you may order and consume food standing at a bar or outside of a restaurant without showing a Green Card, but you cannot be seated inside.
Most importantly, we were warmly greeted back into Italy! Everywhere we went, business owners were thrilled to be busy again. While we didn’t see many Americans, we were assured they have reservations beginning in September/October. There are a lot of Italians and other Europeans traveling within Italy…people seemed to rejoice in getting out and back to some sort of normalcy.
One of the most important lessons I learned from quarantine time…nothing is for certain. On this return trip to my beloved Tuscany, I soaked in the love of the people I’d so missed there and the cities and towns I adore. I savored it all and felt it was certainly worth going.