jerry90210

Hi. I'm American and have traveled to Mexico quite a bit the last few years. So the last time I went back to the US, I need to get a negative antigen test while in Mexico before I could fly back to the US. Of course when I leave the US and enter Mexico, they do not require any covid test or anything like that.


I am not vaccinated. Now I want to travel to Europe sometime in the near future. Most likely it would be slovakia, czech republic or spain. From what I read online, I do not need to be vaccinated if i want to travel to slovakia or czech republic? I check online and that is what it says... but there is a two week period where you need to be quarantined? So does that mean you need to be in the US for at least two weeks before you travel to slovakia or czech republic?


When checking spain, it seems you have to be vaccinated if you want to go to spain right? The same applies to Canada? Thanks.

largeeyes

If you're not vaccinated, you're not flying to Europe.

airoli

...nor to Canada, unless you are a citizen there.

NewbieRunner

As far as I can see:

Slovakia
Check under “Unvaccinated person” at
https://korona.gov.sk/en/travelling-to-slovak-republic/
“All unvaccinated people entering Slovakia must undergo self-isolation.”

Czech Republic
Third-country nationals not on the list of countries with a low risk of COVID-19 are prohibited from entering. (USA is not on the list.)
https://covid.gov.cz/en/measures/tra...s-marked-risky

Quarantine or self-isolation takes place after you enter a country you are visiting and not before.

NWIFlyer

As has been said, I’m afraid you’ve misinterpreted the admission/quarantine rules. If you’re subject to quarantine then countries are going to want to be able to keep tabs on you and verify you’re doing what you should be - or refuse you admission if they don’t feel either they can do that or don’t trust an individual to comply. I imagine, even if someone is prepared to go through the quarantine, they could expect some extended questioning on entry given it’d be a pretty unusual circumstance and immigration officers the world over don’t like those.

The direction of travel (sic) is pretty clear, particularly as the distribution of spare doses improves across those countries struggling to secure supply - vaccination will be a pre-requisite, perhaps - but decreasingly so - supplemented by testing pre and/or post-arrival. No doubt there will have to be exceptions for those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons, but that’s an incredibly small percentage of people.

People will, in relatively short time, be faced with the choice of either being vaccinated or seeing their available world shrink an awful lot. Anyone in the same position as the OP would probably be best starting to think about their options now.

jerry90210

Okay well the reason I am not vaccinated is because I don't really trust it. Thing though is most people i know did have the vaccine. So i am one of the very few people that did not take it.


The other issue is i do not have health insurance... so if there are some bad side effects, that would be big concern for me etc.


But those countries i listed, especially slovakia, that mean i could go there but need to quarantine? How does one even do that? Let say i plan to go to slovakia for two weeks. I mean im not allowed to go outside when i arrive for the first ten days? How would that even be enforced? I mean that wouldn't make sense because no one is traveling to another country to stay in a hotel for ten days if their trip is two weeks. Or is there something im misintrepreting?

lhrsfo

Got it in one. You should not leave your hotel room for the period of isolation. That’s what isolation means. How strictly it is enforced will vary, as will the consequences of breaking the law. Whether it’s a large fine or deportation is not something which any sane person would want to test.

In short, if you are not vaccinated, nobody wants you.

NWIFlyer

To answer the question on how it could be enforced - I don’t know the position in every country in the world, but there’s a significant number where you’d have to pre-pay for government accommodation, you’d be escorted there, and you’d be guarded by security for the period of your isolation. That could be anything from 10 days to 21, and if you tested positive during that isolation you’d be there longer.

In the specific case of Slovakia, courtesy of the link provided by newbierunner above, it’s 14 days with early release possible at 5 days with a negative PCR test. It appears you could do this in a hotel or similar, but if you approached the immigration officer with the same story you’ve outlined here then I’m not particularly convinced they’d even admit you in the first place.

Even if isolation isn’t supervised, there will be so few people doing it - given the high levels of vaccination amongst typical international travellers - you would be bound to be watched more closely than the general populous the whole time, and in my experience that’s even more likely to happen in a country formally behind the Iron Curtain.

Honestly, whereever an unvaccinated person is in the world, they’d be better sticking to domestic travel because the net will only draw tighter for the next year (and indeed if you’re in Canada you’d better be prepared to drive long distances, because you won’t even get on a train or plane shortly!).

DrinkSlinger

But a serious COVID infection isn’t a big concern? 🤔

Your reasoning for not getting vaccinated is the equivalent of not wearing a helmet when playing hockey because the chin strap may irritate your skin and you don’t really trust the helmet, completely ignoring the much larger impact if your fall and hit your unprotected head on the ice.

NewbieRunner

Quarantine (self-isolation) rules are there primarily for people returning to their own country from a high-risk area or visiting family or travelling for business. Why should a tourist spend more than half (or at least one-third) of their time in another country stuck in a hotel room? Of course it doesn’t make sense to go there as an unvaccinated tourist.

jerry90210

Okay so just to confirm, if I go to slovakia, and I am planning to go unvaccinated, I might as well make my trip at least three weeks then since the first two weeks of my stay will be have to be in the hotel and i have to be isolated there? So that mean after I arrive at the slovakian airport, i take a cab to the hotel. I have to stay there for a full two weeks? What am i suppose to eat then? Eat at whatever they serve at that hotel for ten days? What if its those small hotels that just offers a hotel room and thats it? So basically i have to find a nice hotel in slovakia then which has food inside the hotel?


Only then after two weeks, I could then enjoy the last week there. Is that correct?


If so, then obviously I wouldn't go there without being vaccinated then. But are there people that go to other countries unvaccinated and literally self isolate for two weeks before they leave the hotel? Say their trip was a month so basically they get to be outside for two weeks? Because i can't imagine very few people if any do this?

TomMM

I say go for it dude! You get sick you become their problem which eventually becomes your problem.

Antonio8069

Stay home - or - even better, get vaccinated like the rest of us.

NWIFlyer

It appears you still haven’t understood the helpful advice other members have taken the trouble to write.

So, let’s recap.

Yes, if admitted you would need to self-isolate.

Yes, this needs to be at a hotel or other suitable accommodation. Self-isolation doesn’t just mean not leaving the hotel, it likely involves not being allowed to leave your room. You also therefore need a hotel that’s prepared to accept you on this basis. Consequently you’d be far better off with an AirBnB where at least you could move around the house.

Yes, you are reliant on whatever food the hotel can provide, or buying in a delivered takeaway. This would have to be eaten in your room, so you might well have to pay room service rates.

You can pay to take a PCR test after 5 days which would release you from self-isolation (which in reality means day 7 before you get the result), but the cost of that is very likely to be more than just getting vaccinated in the first place, which would open up so many more possibilities for you. If you want to travel, it’s really a no-brainer.

Finally, no, normal travellers just don’t do this sort of thing because it’s not worth it. As others have said, if you’re not vaccinated basically you’re not welcome. Some countries may ban you all together, others - like Slovakia - just make it so unattractive that no-one in their right mind would consider undertaking it unless they absolutely had to.

Nayef

I’ll add that not having health insurance isn’t a barrier because the vaccine is free in many places including the US. And having health insurance that covers covid for the destination you’re heading to won’t cost a ton generally. Plus, you’d incur a lot of costs if you get sick in those countries in all likelihood. Also the fact that you might get sick and spread it.

And there’s no reason not to trust the vaccine. There are no long-term negative effects and even people who do get harmed by it do get harmed experience nasty symptoms rather quickly. In addition, just statistically speaking, you’re almost guaranteed you’re going to be fine. Driving a car is much more likely to kill or maim you than the vaccine.