The government has announced that English residents will be able to holiday in amber and green list countries from 19 July, without the need for quarantine if they are inoculated against Covid.
However, travellers whether vaccinated or not, will still need to pay for Covid tests when returning from destinations on either list. New snapshot research from Which? has found that the current cost of testing is likely to be too expensive for most people, especially families.
An unvaccinated traveller on a return trip to Spain currently requires four tests totalling an estimated £233 per person. For a family of four that’s £932 – see prices below.
Under the new rules, vaccinated travellers to green and amber list destinations will need to pay for a lateral flow test before departing their destination for home and a PCR test on or before day two of their return to the UK. Children aged five and over will also need to take a test.
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How much do private Covid-19 tests for travel cost?
Prices for tests vary a great deal. We have previously found that some labs are far cheaper than others.
This time, our snapshot research found the average cost of a PCR test in the UK is £85.
Below is our estimated costs of how much private tests to travel to and from France, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal currently cost, depending on if you are fully vaccinated or not:
I’m fully vaccinated: How much does a Covid-19 test for return travel to Spain?
It’s £94 for the two tests required. Travellers with proof of two COVID-19 vaccinations completed at least 14 days before travel are not required to take a test to fly to mainland Spain, which means you’ll only have to test on return to the UK.
£39 Rapid Antigen to return home
£55 PCR on day two after arrival
I’m not vaccinated: how much does a Covid-19 test cost for return travel to Spain?
It’s £223 for the four tests required. Unvaccinated travellers need to show proof of a negative PCR, TMA, LAMP or NEAR test from within 48 hours prior to arrival in Spain. Rapid Antigen tests are not currently accepted, so the PCR test is your most readily available.
£85 PCR test before departure
£39 Rapid Antigen to return home
£99 PCR on days two and eight after arrival
I’m fully vaccinated: How much does a Covid-19 test cost for return travel to Greece?
It’s £94 for the two tests required. Travellers with proof of two COVID-19 vaccinations completed at least 14 days before travel are not required to take a test to fly to Greece, which means you’ll only have to test on return to the UK.
£39 Rapid Antigen to return home
£55 PCR on day two after arrival
I’m not vaccinated: how much does a Covid-19 test cost for return travel to Greece?
It’s £177 for the four tests required. Unvaccinated arrivals from the UK must provide either proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure, or a negative Rapid Antigen test taken within 48 hours of departure.
£39 Rapid Antigen before departure
£39 Rapid Antigen to return home
£99 PCR on days two and eight after arrival
NB. Greece will also accept proof of recovery from COVID-19 for entry. The NHS does not provide such records, but evidence of a positive COVID-19 PCR test result taken between 30 to 180 days of your travel dates can be used, in which case you can follow the guidance for vaccinated travellers.
I’m fully vaccinated: how much does a Covid-19 test cost for return travel to France?
It’s £133 for the three tests required. The UK is currently on France’s amber list, which means you can only travel to France if you’re fully vaccinated. You’ll still need to show evidence of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure, or a negative antigen test taken within 48 hours of departure.
£39 Rapid Antigen before departure
£39 Rapid Antigen to return home
£55 PCR on day two after arrival
I’m not vaccinated: how much does a Covid-19 test cost for return travel to France?
The UK is currently on France’s amber list, and you cannot visit France if you have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
I’m fully vaccinated: How much does a Covid-19 test for return travel to Italy?
It’s £133 for the three tests required. Regardless of your vaccination status, you must present a negative COVID-19 Rapid Antigen or PCR test taken no more than 48 hours before travel.
£39 Rapid Antigen before departure
£39 Rapid Antigen to return home
£55 PCR on day two after arrival
I’m not vaccinated: how much does a Covid-19 test cost for return travel to Italy?
It’s £177 for the four tests required.
£39 Rapid Antigen before departure
£39 Rapid Antigen to return home
£99 PCR on days two and eight after arrival
I’m fully vaccinated: How much does a Covid-19 test for return travel to Portugal?
It’s £133 for the three tests required. Regardless of vaccination status, travellers must have proof of a negative test to travel to or through mainland Portugal. This can be a PCR or NAAT test taken within 72 hours of travel, or a Rapid Antigen test taken within 48 hours of travel. NB. The Azores and Madeira will accept proof of vaccination instead of a test.
£39 Rapid Antigen before departure
£39 Rapid Antigen to return home
£55 PCR on day two after arrival
I’m not vaccinated: how much does a Covid-19 test cost for return travel to Portugal?
It’s £177 for the four tests required.
£39 Rapid Antigen before departure
£39 Rapid Antigen to return home
£99 PCR on days two and eight after arrival
Notes:
Our UK prices are based on an easily accessible cheap option, but not the cheapest.
All of our above stated test prices are based on the costs of a high street retailer such as Boots, or a reputable online provider, such as Qured, or Testing For All.
The PCR test example we’ve used is £85, which is the cost of an in-store, fit-to-fly test at Boots, but PCR tests can be found cheaper if you use a high-street home test (around £65) or if you use the drive-through or walk-in services at Gatwick Airport (around £60). Test costs vary however, and we found reputable fit-to-fly PCR tests from around £60 right up to £399.
Rapid Antigen (ie. Lateral Flow) tests can be found online, costing from £7.50 and up to silly money, but our Rapid Antigen test to fly out and to return home is based on Qured’s prices, whose website explicitly states that their RA tests can be used for inbound and outbound travel. In some countries Rapid Antigen tests before the trip home are cheaper, but it’s difficult to estimate this because of how difficult it might be to find them and how easy it is to arrange them in a foreign language, etc.
Our day two test (£55), and days two and eight test (£99) prices are based on packages provided by Testing For All, which includes PCR testing by post. Prices for this service vary dramatically but Testing For All is a not-for-profit organisation offering affordable, reliable testing.Discounted test packages are available as bundle deals from some holiday companies and airlines, such as British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, and TUI.
Which? calls on the Global Travel Taskforce
Which? has called on the Global Travel Taskforce to make sure private testing for travel is affordable. Current costs make travel too expensive for most people.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/07/how-much-does-a-covid-19-test-cost-to-travel-to-france-greece-spain-italy-and-the-us/