Greece is lifting quarantine restrictions for arrivals from European Union member states and several other countries including the United States and the UK.
The move effectively opens the country’s borders to travelers from the United States for the first time in more than a year.
Under the new rules, arrivals from the EU, UK, United States, Israel, Serbia and the UAE who have been vaccinated or have a negative PCR test up to 72 hours prior to arrival can enter and will be able to avoid a seven-day quarantine currently imposed on visitors.
In addition to Athens and the east coast city of Thessaloniki, direct international flights are now allowed in some of Greece’s most popular vacation destinations in Crete, Rhodes, Kos, Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu.
Moreover, the country has been planning to open to tourists as of May. In this context, the Greek government is processing a plan for isles scattered across the Aegean archipelago to become the first “Covid-free” areas of Greece as vaccination efforts intensify in tourist destinations.
In one of the biggest operational challenges of modern times, authorities have vowed at least 69 islands will be fully vaccinated by the end of April.
