COVID-19 Travel to Italy
We have changed countries 5 times in the first month of our family’s trip around the world. Traveling throughout the European Union countries has been easy: no COVID-19 tests for kids. However, Italy created new rules starting in the fall of 2021. COVID-19 travel to Italy now requires COVID-19 testing for anyone that is not vaccinated, including our 7 and 9-year-old kids.
Getting a COVID-19 Test Abroad
There are multiple ways to get tested. All seem to be much easier and cheaper than in the USA. For example, Italy currently accepts rapid antigen tests: they cost 5,20 euros to buy OTC from the pharmacy in France. There have been accessible pop-up clinics readily available throughout our travels. They accept walk-in testing, and Google has consistently provided a stream of accurate information about testing sites. Bottom line: don’t let a need for testing abroad stop you from travel!
Travel from France to Italy
We booked a train from Cagnes-sur-mer to La Spezia using our new favorite transportation app, Trainline. Read about secrets to cheaper train tickets in this area here. The train required 2 transfers: in Ventimiglia and Genova. Both transfers were very easy. Because our tickets were purchased in advance, we directly boarded each of our trains to find an open seat. During the 3 legs of our journey, we were never asked to show our tickets, passports, or COVID-19 documentation. Make sure you are aware of and follow the rules for inter-country travel, it is still your responsibility to do things properly.
Arriving in Italy
We booked our trains before our lodging and ended up staying in Monterosso, not La Spezia. Fortunately, the train was already scheduled to stop in Monterosso, so we simply hopped off. The trains on Trenitalia for our route were not as nice as we had experienced in other parts of Europe, but it was an easy and cheap way to arrive directly at our destination! We did have to show our “green pass” one time on a local train in Italy later in the week. The agent readily accepted a cell phone picture of our CDC vaccination cards.
Monterosso ended up being the perfect home base for exploring the Cinque Terre. Read about our top activities to do with kids, why you should stay in Monterosso, and our little-known secrets to save money in Cinque Terre. We also detail exactly how much a week in Cinque Terre costs for a family of four here.
*This post is a description of our experience with travel to Italy during COVID-19. It is not prescriptive. Always consult the latest travel notices before planning and booking your trip. We use the official EU site for our ongoing travel planning.
Italy was one of our first stops during a year-long trip around the world! To see all our travel adventures, head over to our Instagram page.
If you have questions or tips for COVID-19 travel to Italy, let us know!
