Greece is one of the earliest countries that opened to US travellers. It’s made it incredibly stress free and easy for anyone who has been vacinated to arrive.
With just your proof of vaccination, you will be allowed into the country. However, be aware that upon arrival you will more than likely be tested and you will need to carry your vaccination proff if you plan on island hopping. You’ll also need to fill out a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) at least a day before arrival as you’ll receive a QR code required for entry.
Entry into Greece
Entry into the country is simple. All you need to do is provide proof of your vaccination and you’ll be OK to go. If you aren’t vaccinated, you’ll need to provide proof of a negative Covid test. Depending on which country you’re departing, you may have to be patient with the check in agent as they will probably think you’re required to have a Covid test.
Speaking of Covid tests, you’ll be allowed to take a PCR test (the brain tickler) and that is valid up to 72 hours before arrival or a rapid antigen test up to 48 hours before arrival. That should mean that monitored at home tests like Abbott should be allowed.
Passenger Locator Form (PLF)
Before arrival, you’ll need to fill out the Passenger Locator Form (PLF) at travel.gov.gr. You’ll want to do this at least 1 day prior to arrival because you’ll be sent a QR code. Before you can even make it immigraiton, you’l be asked to show your PLF form and your QR code. I don’t know what happens to people who were able to board their flight without filling this out but I was asked to show it at least twice before I could get my passport stamped so make sure you fill it out.
Immigration
I don’t know if this was done at random or if it were something that was dictated by the flight origins, but it seemed like they were testing everyone upon arrival. I didn’t quite understand because they didn’t even look at my vaccination form or even ask me about it. Basically, as you entered the immigration hall, you were split up into 2 lines. 1 line wasn’t tested and the other was. However, it looked to me like 80% or more of the people arriving were sent to the testing line. It didn’t seem to matter if you were a Schengen passport holder or even if you were a Greek citizen. It just seemed like everyone was being sent to the testing lane.
This obivously made for a very slow process. I will say there were about 20 testing stations set up and the testing did go quickly. But when you have that many passengers arriving, any slow down in the process is going to cause traffic. I’d say the entire line took about 30 to 45 mins. This is also where they scanned your QR Code from your PLF form. This also didn’t seem to be an isolated incident on the day I arrived because I heard other passengers say the same thing and they arrived on different days.
Island Hopping
I wasn’t prepared for this but if you plan on flying to one of the islands, be prepared to show your vaccination form or a negative Covid test before departure. Again, I had my vaccinaiton form so it wasn’t a big deal but it did catch me off guard. I would’ve never thought I would need to have a Covid test for a domestic flight so if I weren’t vaccinated, it would have caused a problem. From my understanding, flights TO the islands are checked for covid tests but not flights FROM the islands (so you won’t have to worry about being tested for your flight back).
Final Thoughts
Travel to Greece during this time was relatively pain free. You will have to deal with a semi panicked check in desk when you depart but that’s because the rules are constantly changing. Just remember to make sure you’ve filled out your PLF form so that you won’t run into any issues on arrival. Also, make sure you’ve been tested and just have patience as you make your way through immigation.