How to Get to Italy 2021
Why Italy?
I finally made it to Italy in October of 2021! How did I get there? Here’s my story…..
I had booked a trip to Chile and Argentina in April of 2020 with G Adventures, a Canadian small group adventure travel company. I’ve travelled with G Adventures many times and highly recommend their trips. I had booked flights through Air Canada (which is my only choice for international travel from Regina). Then covid came.
Just a few weeks before I was to leave, G Adventures and Air Canada informed me that the trip was off. Both companies gave me credits. This made sense to me, since if travel companies had had to provide refunds to all customers, they would have been bankrupted. Months later, airlines received a bailout from the Canadian government so provided refunds on request, and I got my refund.
In January of 2021, to get people thinking about travelling again, G Adventures offered a deal of up to 30% off the price of a trip if you booked that month, with the provision that you could cancel and rebook up to 3 times. Well, why not? Surely the covid threat would be over by then and the world would be back to normal.
I had been trying to keep up with what was going on with covid around the world generally, and it wasn’t looking good in South America, so I booked a trip I had also been thinking about, in Italy.
This turned out to be a good strategy. South America was still reeling with covid cases and Chile and Argentina were just starting to open up to travellers. However, Italy has been accepting Canadians under certain conditions (more on that later!) since some time in June. And flights go directly to Rome from Montreal, with no transit in between which could have caused different rules to apply. For example, anyone transiting through the UK would have to quarantine for 5 days upon arrival in Italy at one point.
I waited until two months before my impending departure on September 30, and booked the flight with my now refunded Air Canada funds. Surprisingly, the cost of flights ($1200 – $1300 base fare) was not out of line with what I would have expected pre-covid. I upgraded my flights slightly so that I could be credited for any change to them (at a cost of $150 round trip). I was confident at this point that the trip would be happening!
The G Adventures trip was leaving from Rome on October 3, but I wanted to arrive a couple of days early, so booked the starting hotel through the hotel site Agoda for an extra two nights. Just two days after I booked my flights, the hotel emailed saying they would not be opening at all in 2021 due to covid! G Adventures eventually confirmed that a new hotel had been found, so I booked the pre-trip nights with the new hotel.
Vaccinations
Now I needed to make sure I would be able to enter Italy with all the new covid standards. First of all, am I fully vaccinated?
Of course. I was sure I would need to be vaccinated to travel, but would have been vaccinated regardless for “the greater good” – I think. The vaccine for both shots was called AstraZeneca.
But, am I vaccinated with what it takes to get me in to Italy? That’s another question. A while ago I signed up for the website ehealthsask.ca, MySaskHealthRecord. There I could see that I had been vaccinated twice with AstraZeneca/Covishield. AstraZeneca is the name of the pharmaceutical company that developed the vaccine, while Covishield is the product name of the same drug produced in India by the Serum Institute of India. (And the vaccine is called Vaxzevria in the UK just to make it more confusing).
By checking various websites including the Italian Embassy, I found that Italy accepts the Canadian standard vaccines, (Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca) but the Covishield made product is NOT accepted as a valid vaccine for entry to the country.
So, do I have the Covishield made product? I went back to MySaskHealthRecord again in August, and now both shots are listed as AstraZeneca only. The lot numbers of the shots are listed, but when a google search for the lot numbers wasn’t giving me all the answers, I contacted AstraZeneca Canada through their website asking for assistance. They replied the same day with the information that the vaccines I had received were produced in the US and in Italy. So, I should be good to go! Note – the latest info on the Italian Embassy website shows that they now accept Covishield.
I read a tip that you should check that you are allowed in any country you transit through, in case something goes sideways and you want to enter that country, say for an overnight hotel stay while you wait. Great idea! I don’t transit in any other country on the way there, but on the way home I fly through Munich in Germany. Germany has vaccine entry requirements the same as Italy’s, so I’m looking golden.
Covid Tests
Second requirement – to enter Italy, I’m also required to show a negative covid test done within the last 72 hours. There are different tests. One is the rapid antigen test with results back in 20 minutes. Another is the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or molecular test that takes at least a day, but is more accurate. Both are done by swabbing your nose or throat. Italy accepts either one of these tests for entry, but to return to Canada the PCR test is required. (Italy would instead accept proof of recovery from covid within the last six months instead of vaccination, as many countries do).
Forms
Third requirement – I have sent electronically and have a paper copy of the European Union Passenger Locator form that is required by Italy. This form says I have been vaccinated and tested within 72 hours of entering Italy. I also have the ArriveCan app downloaded, which will help with return to Canada (I have to be tested before getting on the plane to return). I have always tried to use my mobile phone as little as possible when I’m away, but it is now an essential travel tool!
I had made an appointment a few days before my trip for a $100 rapid test, with Haztech at the airport, for the day before my flight. I got the negative result back in an email 15 minutes later! If I had needed a PCR test with results guaranteed in 24 hours, it would have cost $250.
Finally the big day came. The airport was surprisingly busy, since we were still in the “fourth wave” (and worst rates ever) of covid. And travel is still officially “not recommended” – this was dropped from all government information shortly after I returned.
What I needed to get out of Canada
The Air Canada agent at check-in asked for my passport of course, plus
- My negative rapid antigen test result
- check the goverment website of the country you are flying to – Italy accepts this less expensive test
- make an appointment for a test well in advance, online
- My EU Passenger Locator form
- this can be filled out well in advance and submitted online
- My vaccine certificate but said she didn’t need to see it (this was before the new requirement in Canada that you must be vaccinated to fly)
- also check the government website of the country you are travelling to, to make sure your vaccinations are accepted
At security check-in only my boarding pass was asked for.
I flew to Montreal on an almost full plane, then after a short stop I was off to Rome. Air Canada staff on this flight were mask nazis – Pull up that mask! Change your mask every 4 hours! Don’t take off your mask to eat until everyone in your row has their meal! I tried to sleep with my nose out a little but was afraid of being reprimanded. This all seems a little extra considering everyone on the plane tested negative within the last couple of days. Aside from that, I’m thinking covid caused a good reset for Air Canada. Their flight attendants had been increasingly nasty, and now they are nice. Maybe the ones nearing retirement who seemed to resent passengers decided to just not come back to work?? I’m reminded of someone satirizing an Air Canada slogan – “we’re not happy until you’re not happy”.
Arriving in Rome with not much sleep, I made sure I had all my documents in order again. I was disappointed when the customs agent just glanced at me and stamped my passport. No documents asked for!
Returning to Canada
Since we’re talking about documents and tests under covid rules, let’s skip ahead to what I needed to return to Canada.
I needed a negative test result – NOT a rapid test which would be much easier, but a PCR test. PCR test is the most common but there are other types, detailed in the government of Canada website, but most importantly rapid antigen test are NOT acceptable. (well of course not, they are much cheaper and you get results almost immediately).
Check any updates on this website – https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/flying-canada-checklist/covid-19-testing-travellers-coming-into-canada
This is the trickiest part, you need to find a test no more than 72 hours before your flight that leaves for Canada, and ensure that your test would be received before you need to check-in for your first flight. In my case my route was Venice to Munich to Toronto to Regina, so the 72 hours was timed from the Munich to Toronto flight, since that was the one leaving for Canada.
The PCR test can be very expensive – I paid 112 Euros, or about $170, for mine. They can be found for free though, not in my case but it can definitely be done in the US. (Check Walgreens, CVS pharmacies).
And I needed the ArriveCan app – I downloaded before I left Canada, but you can’t fill in your info until within 72 hours of your flight back to Canada. I had to fill in dates and types of my vaccinations, and attest to receiving a negative test within 72 hours of my flight back to Canada. I filled this in before actually receiving my test results, but what the heck, if I tested positive I wasn’t going anywhere for a while!
What I needed to return to Canada
So, the Air Dolomiti agent at check-in asked for my passport as usual, plus
- My negative PCR test results
- make an appointment if you can, well in advance
- My ArriveCan app that showed I had submitted info
- you can fill this in as soon as 72 hours before your flight
- My vaccination certificate
- I used a printed record from my Saskatchewan health records
and just glanced at all of them. Vaccinations weren’t required to fly anyway….
I needed to show all of some of these documents several more times on the way home. It seems Canada is much less relaxed about these requirements than Italy is.
On the way home in Toronto airport for a couple of hours, I had a hard time finding a place to sit. Every second seat in the waiting area was marked as an off limits spot due to covid. Then, when boarding, we needed to mind the marks on the floor to keep ourselves six feet apart. We were then crowded on to a totally full flight where we were smushed together for three hours! Things that make you go hmmmmm.
Everything covid related is changing rapidly, so check government websites – Canada’s, and the country you are travelling to – before making plans. Print or take screen shots of all your forms and info, in case you can’t connect to wifi. Check again closer to your departure date, and you will be good to go!