UK & Europe Travel In 2021 – COVID Pandemic Restrictions

Travel during the COVID pandemic is a bit of a challenge, as is travelling with a dog too. Choosing the right travel destination and getting the timing right has been like a game of chess. Anticipating countries’ next restrictions and monitoring statistics has become part of travel life for now.

Following on from an epic 2020, 2021 has been an exceptional year so far for us, including a 2 month Interrail trip across Europe.

Local Travel in the West Midlands of England

The first Part of 2021 was mid pandemic and under restrictions in the UK. Thus we didn’t get to leave the West Midlands much. However, we did many day trips with the dog, including exploring the beautiful counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

Travelling UK to Romania During The Pandemic 2021

My first flight and trip out of the UK during the pandemic was an eventful trip. However, the jaunt away from the UK was well worth the extra inconveniences.

I was invited to Romania for a series of business meetings for a future project. I had religiously checked the FCO web page about travel restrictions and entry requirements to avoid any inconveniences in preparation. The FCO website clearly stated the UK was on the Romania Green List and that no vaccination or PCR test result. They required travellers to fill in a locator form that was publicised on the Blue Air website. However, the FCO page warned things could change quickly.

The journey from Birmingham to BHX or Birmingham airport is pretty simple. There are trains every 10 minutes, approximately costing £2.20 for a single. The journey is quick that takes 8-10 minutes typically.

The normal way to get into the airport from the train station is via the sky train, a monorail service straight to the main building. However, nothing is simple during COVID and a bus service replaced this. I was looking at the signs on what to do and a friendly guy shouted across and informed me to go to the end bus stop. Once figuring which was the last stop by spotting the massive sign through steamed up glasses, the game was on.

Normal COVID rules apply at the airport too, so masks on sanitiser used and heading in to deal with the luggage. The queue for checking in was not that long despite social distancing and proceeded quickly. After being checked in, you had to carry luggage round the back to the excessive luggage counter as the conveyor belts were not in operation.

Next stop was through security ect, this run smoothly with all the usual checks and putting liquids in clear bags. After that, the airport was a ghost town, nothing was open. I was expecting my funds to be drained with over priced drinks and food. However, the saving grace was a vending machine was open to buy water.

As usual, it appeared the Blue Air separated groups travelling together to make their extra money, even during a pandemic. There was the usual seat, swapping negotiations going on as people got on the plane.

I had a window seat and my beer bucket list book going on, so settled down to watch takeoff and endure the cramped conditions with my oversized body. I hate flying, but the pragmatism in me makes me just sit and suck it up.

During the flight, the vibe become rather social, mostly in Romanian with a sense of panic. The lovely person next to me explained that suddenly the UK had been put on the Romania RED LIST. Nobody could confirm as no internet on the plane. They made announcements about the passenger locator forms on the tannoy of the plane. Every one was unsure, and the atmosphere was full of nervous people.

Before passport control, there were desks with many people with white coats checking the passenger locator forms. We didn’t need to fill one in, as stated on the Blue Air Website; we needed two. Everyone appeared to be getting a quarantine stamp on their forms, one for the passenger, one for them. One my turn, they asked if I had a PCR result. The answer was no, as they hadn’t publicised this beforehand. I got the dreaded Quarantine stamp put on my locator form too, boy was I deflated.

Next stop was immigration, while my mind was racing on what to do, how to extend the trip to counteract the 2 weeks in quarantine. As I was a business traveller and had an invitation from a company in Romania, I showed my passport and invite to passport control. They asked how long I was staying; I replied, not sure as just got an unexpected quarantine stamp.

They scrutinised the paperwork and sent me back to the COVID Gate. This was because they had given me the wrong stamp, as they hadn’t asked for the purpose of my visit. Business travel is on their exemption list. They subsequently changed my form from quarantine to exempt to my relief. I was grateful that the Romanian border official was on the ball.

End of The COVID Travel Ban – Fly to Romana

At the end of may we bit the bullet and caught a plane to Romania for a holiday and to catch up with my future in-laws. This was a bit of a mission navigating the new rules of travel, including the three tests to come back to Birmingham.

The trip was great, a beach break in Constanta, followed by some time in the Danube Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We rounded the trip off in the mountains of Transylvania, including visiting a few Romanian castles.

Travel to the UK from an Amber List Country June 2021 & Quarantine

I was lucky enough to travel in June 2021, however I had to navigate the government’s restrictions as I was travelling back from an amber list country. Amber list countries required various hoops to jump through to be allowed back without incurring fines. I was travelling from Romania to BHX in Birmingham.

Hoops To Jump Through

• Negative PCR Test, taken between 24 and 72 hours before arriving back.
• Fill In the passenger locator form
• Book day 2 and 10 tests and add details to the passenger locator form.
• Book Day 5 release test if required.
• Do your quarantine

Getting a PCR Test in Romania

After some research about private PCR test centres in Brasov, I opted for a company called Synevo. They offered a 24-hour turnaround with results and were handy. You can book online via their website. They also have test centres in various countries. The price for the test was 235lei, which translates to just over £40.

I booked an appointment at Synevo in Brasov to meet the governments timescales and to give a bit of leeway if the results were late. On arrival, there were lots of forms to fill in and disclaimers to sign. The staff spoke English and the forms to sign were available in a variety of languages, too.

The test is pretty straightforward, just sit in a dentist like chair and they explained the procedure. Then time for the PCR throat test, which made me gag, then onto the nose, which was much better than I expected.

Next was the waiting game to see if i could come home. Luckily, the results were back negative well within the 24 hours. Otherwise, it would have been to find a hotel with room service for a fortnight and leave the dog for another 2 weeks in the kennels. Thankfully, I was negative and swerved my wallet being emptied.

I printed out the results, for my convenience and put safe with the passport.

Passenger Locator Form

The Passenger locator form is a requirement to enter the UK and is available to fill in on the government website. You must fill this in before departing.

Information required on the passenger locator form includes;

• Your passport details or the travel document you’ll use when you arrive at the UK border.
• Your travel details, including times and dates.
• The address where you will stay in the UK for the quarantine.
• Booking reference numbers for any COVID-19 tests you must take after arriving in the UK. This is day 2 and day 8, plus the optional day 5 to release.

You create an account to save these online and can show electronic versions or paper on entry to the UK. I oped to print this out again to save lots of searching the phone.

Day 2 and 8 COVID PCR Tests and the optional Day 5 to release.

Testing was mandatory on day 2 and 8, thus these tests needed to be booked before departing from Romania. I opted for a random cheap test centre on the list of Government “approved” PCR test providers.

I opted for the tests from RT Diagnostics, without checking reviews first. They charged £79 for both tests. Everything started well with them. The test references arrived in a timely manner. The tests also were at home when i arrived. They had instructions to follow, which were pretty simple.

Two of the highlights of the test were being allowed to go out to post them, a very welcome break from inside.

This is when the issues started. I hadn’t received day two results by day 6. One further research there is a Facebook group for unhappy customers awaiting theor too. The worrying part of this was you cannot leave quarantine until day 10 and you receive the results for the day 8 test. The poor service from day two certainly stressed me out. They are nigh on possible to reach.

I finally received my day 2 result after chasing via Facebook, something advised to do on the group. They reassured me that had some teething problems and the day 8 test would be back in a timely manner.

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To their word, the day 8 test results come through on day 10, to my relief. I was going stir crazy inside a tiny apartment and missing the dog. The dog was running up a £21 per day bill.

BHX – Birmingham Airport

Every locator form and passport seemed to be needed to be checked manually at the border. Luckily it was at night, thus rather quiet. It took about 15 mins to get through the queue. The border officials were nice and seemed impressed with the printouts. However, I do not know what it is like at busier times.

10 Days COVID Quarantine

Quarantine of any sort is not much fun, luckily I didn’t need to take the 10 days off work. However, I usually do 20000 steps per day, and recreating that in a 10 step long apartment is nigh on impossible.

A power cut had destroyed my frozen food that I had purchased beforehand so was at the mercy of delivery companies. Deliveroo and Just eat did the trick to keep me fed. Sadly, I had a few phone arguments with riders about delivering to my door.

Thankfully, day 10 come after watching lots of TVs, junk food and cabin fever. Next stop was to pick up the dog and a day out to Henley in Arden for some outdoor fun and draught beer.

Summer of 2021 UK Travel & Holidays

The next three months were great fun, with many day trips and breaks away. Oxford was a great day trip because it’s such a beautiful place and a great dog walk. We spent plenty of time in my home county of Gloucestershire visiting family. I also enjoyed the counties countryside, including a trip to Symonds Yat Viewpoint.

Then was the highlight of the year, eloping to Gretna Green to get married. An excellent place to get married if you don’t like big gatherings and want a quiet wedding. We followed this with a “mini-moon” with a stay in Carlisle, then on to the fun seaside resort of Blackpool.

Next was packing up our stuff and downsizing, ready to go long-term backpacking.

Travel By Train Across Europe

Interrailing across Europe is fantastic and something we enjoy doing with the dog. Travelling in 2021 is different with lots of rules to navigate, including green passes and the new pet travel rules.

We spent three weeks in France visiting Dieppe, Rouen and the Alsace region. This was lovely, especially the food and scenery. We left France to cross Germany to the Czech Republic with a beer break for a few days in Munich, a lovely place.

Prague is a lovely city and spent a few weeks enjoying all it offers, then headed to Cesky Krumlov, a beautiful place in the country’s south. Cesky Krumlov was very special, a very chilled out place in the autumn with beautiful things everywhere.

We then spent a week in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. This was a really impressive city with lots of nice architecture and fun bars. The highlight of our visit was to spend the day at one of the famous thermal baths.

A night train into Romania was next up with a stop in Sighisoara citadel which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then onwards to Cluj-Napoca, then to Brasov to stay for the winter. We have enjoyed walking in the area and some enjoyable day trips from Brasov.