Julio Rivera
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Francés, Camino Inglés, Camino Portugués, Camino Primitivo, Camino del Norte, Camino Aragonés
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Hello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
Plan and book if you wish but be prepared to cancel or change your plans. Read the details of changing your flights, and make sure that you have good travel insurance coverage.Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
Ask people, or use Google. People in hotels and albergues, as well as the Spanish population in general, are very familiar with Covid.where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested?
Any restrictions will restrict pilgrim movement and convenience. Look at what has happened over the past 2 years, and see how unpredictable and variable the effects have been.Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected?
As others have said, wait patiently. If you want to make any reservations, make sure they can be cancelled. I am hoping to go to Spain in the spring, but will not make any fixed plans until perhaps 6 weeks before travelling.Any advice on what to do?
Antigen results can be same day ( it was for me in Santiago in early November). Also relatively cheap $40. As for Omicron… early results indicate a more virulent but less deadly variant, which is a normal result for viruses as they mutate. Not sure if that is good news really. I imagine travel will be bumpy for the foreseeable future.First, a PCR test is not required. The US requires an antigen test or PCR test.
Second, the time frame isn't 24 hours. It's any time starting the day before your flight. For example, if you have a flight at 3pm on Friday you can get your test at any time starting on Thursday.
All the information is on the CDC site.
As far as how Omicron or any future variant will affect the Camino - get out your crystal ball.
did the same in October...easy peasyWhen I returned from Spain in early October I took a Covid test at the Madrid airport (Antigen). Made an appointment before I left the US. It was quick, easy, and affordable. Results back in about 20 minutes. Folks who didn’t have an appointment didn’t fare so well . They also do quick PCR.
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Covid Travel Anxiety (CTA) has become a thing. It's a thing that isn't going to magically go away any time soon. My advice is to book your flights and make your plans, secure in the knowledge that the right thing to do will not be obvious until a week or two before you leave. Watch the cancellation/change fees, which the travel industry is mostly treating with a very light hand at the moment. They do this because EVERYONE is reluctant to book travel. Many pilgrims had their Spring 2021 plans dashed by Covid, and many had a great Camino in the fall of 2021. What's on tap for Spring 2022? Who knows......but if you wait until everything is clear, you will likely have a very long wait.Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
For us living in Europe, we have lots of options, even if we wait. I normally book my (one-way) flight from Norway to Barcelona/Madrid just a week ahead from decision to go. I fly Norwegian, so the ticket will be 80-120 Euros, normally. I use booking.com to reserve a night in my starting place, and then I'm off. Easy.What's on tap for Spring 2022? Who knows......but if you wait until everything is clear, you will likely have a very long wait.
Buen Camino
Yukon,...That was this last September and this morning on the second day out of Lisbon (no longer in Dawson City, Yukon where it was -37) in some industrial zone with lots of pavement and narrow shoulders, I started out grinning in the morning sun at all those trucks and cars, thinking how fortunate I was to be walking by the quiet water an hour later, stopping for the some of the finest espresso on earth, devouring yet another pastel denata (Portuguese custard tart), and remembering how uncertain I was about the whole trip given the given the current milieu on this planet. A year ago I was in a similarity place. The good folks on this site were instrumental in sending me out cross-country skiing for the winter instead. It wasn’t the time. But today……
Hi Julio , If I would take a decision, I would postpone because would not like to live every day wondering if !!! Good day !Hello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
Search for a testing site online and make sure it’s for a pcr test. They generally get the result back within 24 hours but check that too so you have it before boarding your flight. It is a little tricky but doable. Good luck!Hello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
Although they’ve changed the test window from three days to one, I’m pretty sure the antigen test (which yields an immediate response) is adequate. That’s good because the PCR test result comes back in 24-36 hours, which taken with the one-day rule creates an insoluble problem.Hello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
It will all have changed by April!!! Be patient but keep planning. Enjoy the VDLP - I need to come and finish the last bit but not sure when.Hello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
From what I understand it’s an Antigen text not PCR. All major cities have testing sites. Was just in Madrid and any hotel can tell you where to go. We got it done at a lab in the city called LifeLength. Also it is one day not 24 hours which helps with timing.Hello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
It's antigen or PCR. However, given the shortened time frame, it would probably be difficult to get the results of a PCR test in time.From what I understand it’s an Antigen text not PCR.
This is the exact reason my daughter and I finally decided to cancel our plans to walk in May 2022, just too much still going on and too many unknowns including reading this past year about less places to find a place to sleep and the social distancing. It took us a lot to make this decision as our original Camino was cancelled due to the shutdowns in 2020 and the nightmare of trying to get all our flights refunded. For many they will still go next year with no fear but for us this was a painful decision but one we felt was right for us as it’s just not the Camino experience we want of not knowing how things will be with all these variants!Hello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
We got ours in November this year at a very efficient and friendly clinic in Madrid. We just Googled and called around $45.Hello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
Join the queue, I cancelled March2020, March 2021 and it looks like March 2022 will be the same. Be of good cheer and wait patiently. It will happen sometime. In the meantime enjoy life in some other ways. ULTREIA.Hello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
Hello Yukon, Whitehorse here! I walked CaminoFrances Nov 2021 SJPDP to Burgos before I had to come back to Canada for a funeral. Can’t wait to be back smiling and walking. I had some delays due to Covid testing and airline fees due to not having a changeable ticket. So it’s good advice to make sure air tickets are changeable. Buen Camino!Taking a chance on a journey as you have certainly leaves a person feeling excited, if not anxious. as you sit in front of your computer screen booking a trip two or three months ahead of time. And this site has, indeed, been a source of inspiration as the clock ticks closer. Undoubtedly, the element of the unknown looms. But wow, the rush is worth it, envisioning yet another day with that grin eclipsing your face as you take the day’s first steps on “the way”. That moment in time when the sun is rising, yesterday’s pains have subsided, your legs are fresh and there’s God in the trees, or something like that.
That was this last September and this morning on the second day out of Lisbon (no longer in Dawson City, Yukon where it was -37) in some industrial zone with lots of pavement and narrow shoulders, I started out grinning in the morning sun at all those trucks and cars, thinking how fortunate I was to be walking by the quiet water an hour later, stopping for the some of the finest espresso on earth, devouring yet another pastel denata (Portuguese custard tart), and remembering how uncertain I was about the whole trip given the given the current milieu on this planet. A year ago I was in a similarity place. The good folks on this site were instrumental in sending me out cross-country skiing for the winter instead. It wasn’t the time. But today……
I've done the opposite. I will leave for Europe in the spring (April) and will visit 4 different countries: France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and then back to France before departing for home (57 days). I have flights to get there and back home and 3 inter-European flights. I have made most bookings. Working on the last 5 to 6 days. All reservations are cancellable if it's known that I must cancel within one to two weeks beforehand, some requiring just 2 or 3 days notice beforehand. I have family living abroad and it's known to me that there are many test sites. One only has to worry about doing it in the city where one has a departure flight to the US. Usually these are large cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, etc. Even if one has connecting flights from smaller cities such as Santiago de Compostela, Porto, etc.-- all of those cities have testing sites with plenty of folks in the tourist industry to refer you to proper places. I want to do my own trip (and let me explain that this is my 4th attempt to try to do this-- I've had to cancel three times before, all due to changes in our Covid environment). I will say to relax a bit and don't stress out too much about it. If this venture is simply too much to deal with, then perhaps it is the totally wrong time to try to do it. I don't have a crystal ball and neither does anyone else, but there are those who are guessing that perhaps foreign travel will remain in this mode for the next 5 to even 10 years! So that's worth some consideration also. All part of the new reality! We can be frustrated by it because we are used to having travel be easy. But we all have to find ways to cope-- I venture to say that substantial numbers will opt out of making this type of journey. It's all fine! We have to live within the confines of our own psyche and we all operate a little differently. We have to do what's best for ourselves and those immediately around us and the answer might be different from someone else's views.You have asked a lot of unanswerable questions.
Ask people, or use Google. People in hotels and albergues, as well as the Spanish population in general, are very familiar with Covid.
Any restrictions will restrict pilgrim movement and convenience. Look at what has happened over the past 2 years, and see how unpredictable and variable the effects have been.
As others have said, wait patiently. If you want to make any reservations, make sure they can be cancelled. I am hoping to go to Spain in the spring, but will not make any fixed plans until perhaps 6 weeks before traveling.
So we just did 93 days during both the Delta decrease and the Omicron increase - it CAN be done, it just depends on how flexible and resourceful you are. We had a fabulous trip and knew that the added testing hassle and costs were just part of the price of this particular trip.I've done the opposite. I will leave for Europe in the spring (April) and will visit 4 different countries: France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and then back to France before departing for home (57 days). I have flights to get there and back home and 3 inter-European flights. I have made most bookings. Working on the last 5 to 6 days. All reservations are cancellable if it's known that I must cancel within one to two weeks beforehand, some requiring just 2 or 3 days notice beforehand. I have family living abroad and it's known to me that there are many test sites. One only has to worry about doing it in the city where one has a departure flight to the US. Usually these are large cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, etc. Even if one has connecting flights from smaller cities such as Santiago de Compostela, Porto, etc.-- all of those cities have testing sites with plenty of folks in the tourist industry to refer you to proper places. I want to do my own trip (and let me explain that this is my 4th attempt to try to do this-- I've had to cancel three times before, all due to changes in our Covid environment). I will say to relax a bit and don't stress out too much about it. If this venture is simply too much to deal with, then perhaps it is the totally wrong time to try to do it. I don't have a crystal ball and neither does anyone else, but there are those who are guessing that perhaps foreign travel will remain in this mode for the next 5 to even 10 years! So that's worth some consideration also. All part of the new reality! We can be frustrated by it because we are used to having travel be easy. But we all have to find ways to cope-- I venture to say that substantial numbers will opt out of making this type of journey. It's all fine! We have to live within the confines of our own psyche and we all operate a little differently. We have to do what's best for ourselves and those immediately around us and the answer might be different from someone else's views.
Thanks Vacajoe and JimSo we just did 93 days during both the Delta decrease and the Omicron increase - it CAN be done, it just depends on how flexible and resourceful you are. We had a fabulous trip and knew that the added testing hassle and costs were just part of the price of this particular trip.
Delay your travelHello
I am a pilgrim in the United States. It was announced last week that all travelers (including Americans themselves) traveling back to the United States, must show a negative PCR test taken within 24 hours of flight. That complicates things more: I am planning to do the Via de la Plata in April 2022, where in Spain do I get a PCR test? How do I find out if my city/town or wherever I am, there is place to get tested? Spain has not implemented restrictions, but if they do, how is the camino going to be affected? If the Omicrom is more virulent, I am afraid they will start shutting down infrastructure and it will be even harder to do. Any advice on what to do? I am having second thoughts about booking a flight and planning for this upcoming year, maybe I should postpone it for 2023. . .?
How long?Delay your travel
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