lindalogan

Hi
Please do not put me down.We have been blessed with one child...yes he is still our child who just turned 20. He does lose things and it will be his first time overseas. And his first time traveling without us.

He is going on a summer college trip to Greece (for journalism class).
From May 19th to June 19th 2022

The students are 100% on their own until they arrive at the hotel. And on their own returning home. During the stay they are pretty much studying and checking out sites with other students.

Athens international airport Staying at hotel Parthenon

1. Any suggestions on getting from the airport to the hotel. Cab, Uber not there, but I read he can use Uber app to order a cab? Is it safe to take a cab on his own?

2. STEP program? Does anyone recommend signing up with STEP?

3. Losing Passport, this is one of my biggest fears.
A) how big a pain if he loses it?
B) any suggestions on where he should keep it?

4. Covid. I have read all I can, and can't find a straight answer. He has taken both shots, the second shot was taken at the end of August 2021. No booster.
a) Leaving the USA to Greece, what will he need for covid?
b) Leaving Greece what will he need for covid?

5. Anyone have any experience with a young person going on their own?Safety, etc?
Any help is great. I have not slept at all since he was accepted to go.
Any suggestions, tips etc. I am so worried, sorry for being such a baby.
Thank you very much

SJOGuy

This jumps out at me, glaringly so:

His age makes him eligible for one booster shot. Do it. Now. They're called "boosters" for a reason. If it's been eight months since his second shot in the original series, get him boosted before this big trip. Do it. Now.

lindalogan

I appreciate your reply, but from what i read, to return home to the USA, that a negative test is required , regardless of vaccine status, so why take the booster if it doesn't matter to return home, my questions are not about health or politics, Just want my kid back home...

guv1976

Although boosters seem to be better at protecting against serious illness/hospitalization than against outright infection, they do offer some protection against outright infection. So if a negative COVID test is needed to enter Greece or fly home from there, a booster would seem to offer the best chance of subsequently testing negative.

bitterproffit

1). He can take a cab or he can take a train. His hotel is really close to a couple of train stations.

My suggestion is that he use his problem solving skills, get on Google Maps and figure out how to get from the airport to his hotel. And show you. He is going to have to navigate around Athens for a month.

2) STEP program surely won't hurt. Not going to help him if he can't find his way from the airport to his hotel. But I fully understand why you would want him to register as being in Greece.

3). He should be responsible and not lose his passport. He should take a picture of the passport page with his phone, so if he does lose it, at least he has his passport number and can work with the US embassy on getting it replaced. Its how he will be able to get home. He can text a pic to you too, just in case he loses his phone too. He should know how to contact the US Embassy. He can figure out how to enroll in STEP.

4) Covid: If you don't feel he needs a booster, don't get a booster. You already know that, for now, he needs to pass a Covid test to get back to the US. That might change. I am sure everyone in his program will have to do the same. As for specific requirements for Greece, I am sure his airline has information on documentation that they will want you to upload. Have him download his airline app and figure out what he needs.

5) You know your kid and whether he has the problem solving skills to navigate a trip overseas at 20. He's not a teenager, he's an adult. I know that doesn't make it easier, but with cell phones, he has all the tools at his disposal to successfully navigate his way to Greece and all the exciting day trips he will take from there. I know that is cold comfort, and you are going to worry, but you should be making him use his skills to answer these questions.

Google info on train service. Rome 2 Rio will give him information on cab vs bus vs train options. He can research how to buy a train ticket, bus pass, subway pass, etc. How to take a cab, pay a driver, know where the hotel is. All these things are available on his phone.

Good luck. I know its not easy. But he has an exciting opportunity and it will be a very growing experience for him. To feel better, maybe have him explain his answers to these questions.

SJOGuy

My response has nothing to do with politics. A booster will help protect him against symptoms that could hospitalize him a long way from home, and it will reduce his chances of coming down with COVID to begin with. That'll increase the likelihood of testing negative.

With all the things you're concerned about, here's something very simple you can do to help alleviate one of those concerns. I stand by what I said. Get him boosted and do it now.

david55

Does your kid know you are freaking out over this trip? It really doesn't bode well for your confidence in him to explore the world.

I went to Greece for year when I was 19.... and all was well....very well in fact.....I studied, met new friends, and fell in love with a new country that changed my life even to this day 45 years later.....

I know it is not easy...but you cannot control what you cannot control...and travel always is a little out of control.

Let him have his adventure.

Palal

If you're having a heart attack, call emergency services, don't post on Flyertalk.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
He can take the subway or an express bus. Easy to figure out using Google Maps. I'm sure he can figure it out.

Passport - leave the passport somewhere safe at the hotel. Carry a copy on you.



He's a 20-year-old adult. You are either underestimating his abilities or you have raised him in a very sheltered way. In either way, nothing you can do now. Let him figure it out on his own.

I've been travelling by myself since my late teens/early 20s. You learn as you go along.

UKtravelbear

If he’s 20 he should be looking into all of this info for himself - especially if he’s studying journalism which is a career that heavily involves doing your own research.

time to cut the apron strings.

You can raise some of these issues with him as pointers as to what he needs to look at but don’t do the work for him.


But you’ve not even mentioned insurance for his trip especially health insurance and for things like lost baggage and delayed flights, Don’t assume US policies automatically cover him when he’s abroad.

nk15

Greece suspended the vaccine/testing requirement for visitors starting today, which included a booster shot. However, he should probably get it for his own better protection.

He can get an Uber-taxi with the app from the airport, it will be safer, as the taxi drivers will probably try to scam him for an extra 10-15 euro. He should try to use public transport or use Uber- taxis through the app for his stay, as some local taxi drivers will try to overcharge him when they realize he is not local.

He should get travel health insurance and a booster, as the Greek hospitals are not that good and easily overwhelmed by Covid.

These being said, odds are extremely high that he will be completely fine.

southlondonphil

Entry to Greece requires that the last vaccine shot (of a 1 or 2-shot dose) was less than 270 days or 9 months prior to arrival. Your son needs to get boosted otherwise he's likely not going to be on that flight to Greece

That's 'real world' practicalities, not politics.



https://travel.gov.gr/#/

lhrsfo

The thing that strikes me as odd about this thread is that the real dangers aren’t mentioned but imaginary ones are.

I should imagine the OP is from the USA since it’s one of the few places where adults are treated as children. And, if I am right, the child won’t know how to drink because the parents won’t have taught that and the usual lessons at university won’t have been learnt.

The child needs to understand the dangers involved in being drunk, especially when it comes to drugs and/or sex. That’s where most teenagers go wrong, not navigating using whatever the best App in Athens is.

erichris

Please don't take medical advice from people here or any other online forum. Greece has dropped its Covid testing/vaccination requirements yesterday, May 1. Please check the requirements of countries regarding flight connections. For example, if connecting in Frankfurt, even connecting passengers must meet the current German vaccine/testing restrictions.

magXY

These rules are supposedly valid until 1 May 2022.
User nk15 earlier mentioned the vaccine requirements have been dropped but I cannot find an official reference for that.
This site might be helpful for the OP
https://greecehealthfirst.gr/?lang=en

magXY

If this can make you feel any better, you should know that Greece is an extremely popular tourist destination and they're very much used to dealing with tourists and foreigners.
From my point of view it's as easy as it can get for an American in continental Europe.