COVID-19 has made international travel very difficult due to varying rules when it comes to who is allowed to enter a country.

Each country has different requirements regarding testing prior to or when you arrive. There are also different sets of rules for those who are vaccinated.

New rules for entry into Croatia make it a very appealing country to consider for our month-long (hopefully!) summer trip.

Lonely Planet reports that “Croatia has announced that foreign travelers can bypass its COVID-19 testing and quarantine requirements, once they have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to departure.”

This is great news as more and more of us are getting vaccinated. Kim and I are both fully vaccinated so entry into Croatia should be pretty simple but the same can’t be said for our kids.

If you’re not vaccinated you can still enter the country but it will require some planning and potential quarantine.

Here are some of the other rules/ requirements:

• Show proof of a negative PCR or antigen results from a COVID-19 test administered no more than 48 hours prior to arrival. Those entering based on an antigen test must repeat it within 10 days (if staying that long).
• If you tested positive with in the past 180 days, you’ll also be exempt from testing and self-isolation but you will need to show a “certificate of recovery issued by a physician“.
• If you arrive without the two items above, you can get a PCR test or rapid antigen test upon arrival. You’ll be responsible to pay for the test and will also need to stay in self-isolation until you receive the negative results.

We keep hearing about countries relaxing restrictions for vaccinated people but what about the kids? In Croatia children 7 years of age and younger accompanied by a parent or guardian do not have to follow the testing requirements.

This means that our 4.5 year-old Theo would not need to get tested which is awesome for us as he hates having that q-tip stuck up his nose! So only our 9 year old Lucas will be required to get tested before leaving for the trip. Lucky for us, he’s been way better at tolerating the nasal swab than his little brother.

One other thing to keep in mind is that if you’re visiting Croatia for vacation, you’ll need to show your confirmation for your accommodations and fill out an online form prior to traveling. This isn’t really such a big deal, but we do like to book our accommodations as we go sometimes.

Final Thoughts:

Croatia has long been on our list of countries to visit. We almost went there in the summer of 2019! It’s also one of the four countries left for me to visit in Europe. ‘

Find out more from Lonely Planet here.