Our Best Advice On Travel to Italy in 2021
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During this pandemic, we have done a bit of traveling within Italy, where and when regulations permitted. We’ve done our best to do so responsibly - not just legally, but also with safe and respectful consideration of our fellow residents.
Fortunately, our "Little Roads" style of off-the-beaten-path exploration happens to fit nicely with the shifting regulations in pandemic-era travel - we were “social-distancing” before it was a (mandated) thing!
In this article we will outline some of the changing rules here in Italy, and how they will affect tourism and travel for Little Roads-style travelers in particular. We leave the “big city” regulations - those involving train/bus travel, large tourist sites, amusement parks or shopping malls, and so on - to the writers and websites that extensively cover those things. (One of our favorites: RomeWise.com)
Getting to Italy
Travelers from the UK, EU, and Israel can come to Italy without undergoing a quarantine. Tourism travel from the US is now permitted, and travelers can enter without a quarantine if they arrive on "Covid-tested" or "Covid-free" flights - that is, flights that enforce certain requirements and protocols ahead of time. Coming in on other flights, travelers are required to undergo a 10-day quarantine upon arrival. (Note: This is real isolation, staying in your room for 10 days in a government-approved hotel and all meals delivered with contactless delivery.) Covid-testing before and after the flight, and the number, type, and location of the tests, vary depending on the airline.
Driving, Regional Color Codes and Travel Between Regions
Our itineraries have always been based on driving - we find that traveling by car offers the most schedule flexibility, as well as the ability to get out from the tourist hot-spots to visit more remote towns and points of interest. These days, this also frees us from wondering how well the subway is ventilated, or who has been in it previously.
Since the pandemic outbreak, each region of Italy has been assigned a color status that determines the restrictions based on Covid statistics. Although we hope for the best and for continuing improvement, these regulations can change if Covid numbers become worse.
Red is the most restrictive (e.g., the whole country was Red during the lockdowns of Spring 2020), followed by orange, yellow, and white (no restrictions other than masks, hand sanitization, and basic social distancing protocols). Movement between regions is allowed if they are all designated “yellow” or “white”. Most of Italy is “yellow” now. This is a good reason to plan trips that stay within a relatively small area, eliminating the necessity to cross regional borders at all. For years, this is something that we have encouraged our travelers to do anyway - pick a couple of spots to stay for at least several days, and then explore and immerse yourself in the area. Not only does that enable travelers to gain a deeper experience of a place, but it eliminates the worry about the legality of crossing too many borders if restrictions are imposed again. Of course, as we said before, we are hopeful for continued improvement on this point, and we hope this advice will become a matter of preference rather than a cautionary measure.
Curfew
Here in Italy we have been under a curfew since March 2020. That is about to change: by June 7, the curfew is only from midnight-5am; on June 21, the curfew is removed entirely.
So it will soon be possible to have those long, leisurely dinners we have all been dreaming about. We specialize in finding excellent places to stay that serve dinner (or fantastic restaurants that also have rooms available) - this is knowledge that served us well during pandemic curfews. Although the extension and eventual removal of the curfew means we don't have to take distance into consideration when choosing where to eat dinner (in order to finish eating and get back to your lodging without breaking curfew), we still love the notion of lodging in or within a few steps of our dinner location.
Dining
From June 1, it will be possible to eat indoors, for both lunch and dinner. It will also be possible to have a coffee or drink inside a bar.
An important note about dining: While the vaccination campaign is accelerating, the vaccine is still not available to everyone here in Italy, and our rates of vaccination are significantly lower than in the US and some other countries. If you manage to get to Italy this summer, it is likely that many of the servers or service staff at restaurants and hotels may not have had a chance to be vaccinated yet.
Another very important point about dining is that reservations are definitely a must during this period. (Note: if you are a Little Roads Europe itinerary client, we make — and cancel if necessary — any meal reservations for you, as a part of our service.)
We advise all our clients and readers to make reservations at all times, just to avoid disappointment. Some of the small town places we love only have a few tables, so booking one is imperative, if you truly desire to eat there. It has not been unusual for us to go to a particularly small or remote restaurant and discover we were the only diners for lunch that day - they opened up only because they had our reservation! Alternatively, we often call ahead to make a reservation for a particular table - asking for the corner table on the balcony with the best view, for example, or on the patio “lontano possible” - as far away as possible. But during these times, a reservation is often required by the restaurant, so plan on it - even for small mom-and-pop places.
And never, Never be a No-Show. That applies *all* the time in small towns — they may have opened just for you! But especially in this particular time, restaurants have really taken a financial beating during the lockdowns, and they need to fill all the tables they can to try to make a comeback. So be sure not to be a no-show, or a last-minute canceller. (If you are traveling as one of our clients, you have access to us via phone and text the entire duration of your trip, so if you do need to cancel, just text us and we’ll handle it for you.)
Universal Mask Mandate
As of this writing, we are still under a universal mask mandate, indoors and out. That means masks on, all the time, in every circumstance, unless you are eating or drinking, or exercising (like jogging, biking, or swimming). Masks are required in all indoor spaces, and there is no special category for vaccinated people. Vaccinated or not, the mandate applies the same to everyone. In restaurants, other than when seated at your table, you should have a mask on. We think it’s a matter of courtesy, though not required, to have the mask handy at the table, and put it on when your server approaches; and it is still mandatory to mask up when going to the WC or paying your tab at the bar, as well as when entering or exiting the restaurant. Keep in mind that many of the servers will not have had a chance to get vaccinated yet; it's polite and respectful to do this, and it is visibly appreciated by service personnel.
Tourist attractions
Museums and other tourist sites remain open with restricted hours - this varies almost daily and by the location, so it's tricky to schedule and keep track. Outdoor locations, of course, tend to be easier to visit, assuming favorable weather. In nearly all cases, advance ticket purchases or reservations are required and tied to specific time slots; this could mean buying tickets online, or it could mean calling up the sole curator of a little-known site and asking for an appointment to visit.
Sources of Information
If you’re confused about the rules because you’re seeing conflicting info, that is normal. The info is changing almost daily and there are been a ton of very confusing articles published, even in reputable sources like the NYTimes, that implied that travel was free and open when it was not.
We read a lot of different sources for our news, but at the end of the day, the Italian government source is the only one that matters. Check CNN, the NYTimes, the BBC, Corriere della Sera, personal blogs, Delta Airlines, Rick Steves or whoever else you like, but before you make any solid travel plans, confirm it all with the official government websites. The officials at the border are not going to care what CNN said! They will be referring to government edicts only. You can find what you need here.
Enforcement
All rules and restrictions are not suggestions or advisements - State and local police are watchful and they will enforce the rules with fines and/or other penalties. Be smart and (more importantly) be considerate.
These rules have been in an almost constant state of change for months, and they may well change again as we move forward. What we have outlined above is based on our best information available, including announcements from the Italian government that came out just today. There is a strong interest in opening up more freely in coming months leading up to the summertime, so we hope to see more concrete information forthcoming.
If you’re not ready to travel yet, but you want to be inspired, our award-winning guidebooks are written in a narrative style, so you can pour yourself a glass of wine and transport yourself to Italy for the afternoon. And when you are ready, we hope you consider Little Roads to help you plan your small-town trip to Italy or Ireland - whenever that becomes possible!
Safe travels, everyone!
Socially distanced travel is easy!