Countries that are open to vaccinated travelers……

Seychelles

Seychelles, the small Indian Ocean nation made up of more than 100 islands off the east coast of Africa, is now open to all travelers, vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. (One exception: visitors from South Africa are still barred from entry due to the variant.) Sylvestre Radegonde, Seychelles’ tourism minister, says the country is reopening because it has successfully implemented an aggressive vaccination campaign among residents.

The country has no quarantine requirements for visitors, but is requiring a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before arrival. Seychelles also requires visitors to have travel health insurance that would cover the cost of COVID-19 care and isolation if necessary.

Iceland

Fully vaccinated and previously infected travelers from all countries can once again visit Iceland. Travelers who can show proof of vaccination or previous infection are not required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result before boarding a flight or ship to Iceland, but they are required to take a test when they arrive in the country. Once that test result comes back negative, these visitors are free to travel around Iceland.

Unvaccinated and not previously infected travelers must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result from within 72 hours of departure to Iceland, take a test upon arrival, quarantine for five to six days, then take another test that produces a negative result before they can travel freely around the country. Visitors from certain high-risk countries must stay in specific government-run facilities for their five- to six-day quarantine after arriving.

Belize

Belize’s borders are now wide open. Travelers to this Caribbean nation, located on the eastern coast of Central America, must bring their official COVID vaccine card showing that they’ve been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks, or show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 96 hours of arrival (48 hours for a rapid test). Visitors can also take a COVID-19 test after arriving at the airport for $50.

Georgia

Georgia is now open to fully vaccinated citizens of many countries, including the U.S., so long as they are arriving by air (the country is still barring entry via land or sea). Travelers must fly directly to Georgia from an approved country. Unvaccinated travelers must have a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of arrival, and are required to take a follow-up test on their third day in the country. Georgia requires a 12-day quarantine period for all visitors who have traveled through the U.K. within two weeks of arrival.

Ecuador

Fully vaccinated travelers can now visit Ecuador. The country is also open to unvaccinated travelers with a negative COVID-19 test taken up to three days before arrival, as well as travelers previously diagnosed with COVID-19 (so long as a month has passed since they first developed symptoms). Travelers are not required to quarantine after arriving in Ecuador.

To visit the Galápagos Islands, all international travelers must present a negative COVID-19 test taken within 96 hours before arrival. This can be the same test used to enter Ecuador, if it falls within the 96-hour window. If not, travelers must take a second test on mainland Ecuador, then wait for results before traveling on to the Galápagos Islands.

Guatemala

With a few exceptions, Guatemala is open to travelers who became fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to arrival. The Central American country is also open to visitors with a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival, as well as those who have recovered from the virus within the last three months. The U.S. Embassy warns that anyone who has visited the U.K. or South Africa two weeks before arriving in Guatemala may be refused entry or may be required to quarantine.

Croatia

Croatia is now open to fully vaccinated travelers, as well as previously infected travelers and those who can show a negative COVID-19 test result from within 48 hours of arrival. Visitors are also permitted to enter Croatia if they take a COVID-19 test immediately upon arrival, then isolate until a negative result comes back; travelers who cannot get a test upon arrival must self-isolate for 10 days.

Travelers coming from an approved list of low-risk countries can enter Croatia without any requirements or restrictions, as long as they do not have symptoms and have not been in close contact with an infected person.

All tourists must also show proof that they have paid for their accommodations in advance.

Montenegro

Fully vaccinated travelers from certain countries, including the U.S., are now welcome in Montenegro. In addition to travelers with proof that they’ve been fully vaccinated for at least seven days, the country is also open to visitors with a negative COVID-19 test that’s less than 72 hours old. The country’s borders are open, without restriction, to travelers from low-risk countries (visit the government’s site for details).

Greece

Greece plans to welcome fully vaccinated tourists and other foreign visitors with coronavirus antibodies or negative test results just in time for summer travel.

The country hopes to officially roll out its welcome mat on May 14, Reuters reported. That’s just a few days before May 17, the earliest date at which the U.K. said it may allow residents to resume international travel.

Israel

Israel will open its borders to fully vaccinated travelers starting May 23, according to the Israel Ministry of Tourism. At first, select tour groups will be allowed to visit. In July, the country expects to open to individual travelers.

All visitors to Israel will be required to undergo a COVID-19 PCR test before boarding a flight as well as undergo an antibody test “to prove their vaccination upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport.”

BY SARAH KUTA – April 9, 2021 – Conde Nast Traveler

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Can We Take a Family Vacation If Our Kids Haven’t Received the COVID-19 Vaccine Yet?

Kathleen Porter Kristiansen, an American living in London, likes to practice “flying” in the living room with her sons, 3 and 5, before a trip. She pulls out the ride-on suitcases that they use to zip around airports, grabs iPads and snacks, and tells them to imagine they’re cruising at 30,000 feet. This year, however, the game has shifted, and now involves wearing a mask for as long as they want to pretend being on the airplane. The boys have gotten good at masking up for hours on end, but Kristiansen, who runs the website Triple Passport, still worries. She hopes to take her family to a wedding in Mammoth, California, this July, but the prospect of getting there—particularly the connecting flights in the U.S. where passengers can be squeezed together—is keeping her up at night. “I just picture us crammed into a flight within the United States and honestly I’m scared,” she says. “What if my three-year-old won’t wear his mask?” She and her husband will be vaccinated against COVID-19, but it will still be many months before there is a pediatric vaccine available for her boys. Traveling around the U.S., she knows, presents a different risk of exposure for her children than it does for vaccinated adults. Kristiansen is not alone in her concerns. One in three American adults has now received at least one jab of the COVID-19 vaccine. But for those adults who have children, there’s a conundrum: Is it safe to travel around the U.S. before the kids can be vaccinated, too? Much of the answer, says Jessica Malaty Rivera, an infectious disease epidemiologist and science communication lead at the Covid Tracking Project, depends on the destination. “There’s a huge equity factor when it comes to travel,” she says. “What does access to vaccines look like in the destination you want to visit?” The good news, according to Rivera, is that not only are children not considered high-risk for infection from COVID, they are not considered high-risk for transmitting the virus, either. But before traveling this summer, everyone—both families with kids and fully vaccinated individuals—needs to consider how well-vaccinated the public is in the place they want to go. “You make a lot of assumptions about healthcare infrastructure and people’s health when you get on a plane,” she says. “But if you’re going from one community where most people are vaccinated, to another community where most people are vaccinated, you can do that relatively safely.” There’s one easy shift parents can make to dial down the risk, says Dr. Ilan Shapiro, a Los Angeles-based pediatrician. The “bubble” or “pod,” which helped many families ride out the darkest months of the pandemic, should stay in effect when you hit the road as well.