When and How Can Americans Travel to Greece this Summer?

New rules announced by Greece last weekend will allow Americans to travel to Greece as early as June 15 with coronavirus testing and quarantine — or July 1 without mandatory testing.

Arriving between June 15-June 30

If arriving between June 15-June 30, the vast majority of American citizens will go through mandatory coronavirus testing at the airport when they arrive. Since only the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki will be accepting international arrivals, they will be tested there.

Whether a mandatory test will take place depends on the airport of departure. As of Tuesday, June 2, all travelers coming from the airports in the following states will be tested:

The above list, which is frequently updated, is compiled by the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and includes airports located in areas that are considered a high risk of transmission of the Covid-19 virus. You can view the list by clicking here.

For travelers whose departure airport in the US is not included in the above list there could be random testing.

Following the test, you will need to stay the night at a designated hotel while the results are handled.

If you are negative for COVID-19, you will need to self-quarantine for 7 days. However, Greek authorities describe this self-quarantine as “relaxed” and it could even take place at the final destination.

Greece’s Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said: “If the test turns out negative, these visitors will then be obliged to observe a 7-day self-quarantine in their accommodation and destination of choice.”

If the test is positive, there will be a supervised quarantine for 14 days. As Theoharis explains, “If their sample is positive, they will remain in a 14-day quarantine and their health will be monitored by the local health authorities.”

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas told the local press that Greece will pay for the accommodations of tourists who test positive for COVID-19 during their visit, at hotels fully paid for by the Greek state.

“We have done it in the past and we will continue to do so,” he said, adding that Greece has been paying for the accommodation of those in quarantine in the country ever since the borders were closed.

July 1 and Onward

After July 1, there will only be random testing going forward.

Additionally, international flights will be allowed to fly to any Greek island airport. This means one could fly from a home airport in the United States to Frankfurt and then Santorini, or fly to London and then Mykonos, for example.

Greece has left future rulings in this area open-ended, with Petsas adding that “Additional restrictions regarding certain countries will be announced at a later date.”