Holiday, Spain

Spain Holiday News Update

After a busy summer with Spain’s tourism market being mainly local, or visitors who have driven to Spain, things are changing quickly with new regulations in both the UK and Spain.  The British Embassy have provided up to date information about the new simplified requirements which come into effect next month.  The main difference being the testing requirements will be reduced for eligible fully vaccinated travellers, who will no longer need to take a PCR when travelling to England from Monday 4 October 4am.  Information on accepted vaccines can be found here.  The final vaccine dose must have been administered at least 14 days before departure and within one year.  You can find the details of the requirements for passengers from the U.K. from the British Government’s website here.

New Requirements from UK to Spain

From the end of October, eligible fully vaccinated passengers and those with an approved vaccine from a select group of non-red countries will also be able to replace their day 2 test with a cheaper lateral flow test.  Thus reduces the cost of tests on arrival into England. The British government wants to introduce this by the end of October, aiming to have it in place for when people return from half-term breaks.

In turn, the Spanish government requests all arrivals to Spain from the UK (under the third country category) to present on arrival a pre-travel declaration form and either a negative COVID-19 test, or proof of full vaccination from the approved list (Moderna, Pfizer, Janssen or AstraZeneca)

If you are travelling to Spain from another country, you can see the test requirements and paperwork needed

Travellers should also be aware there are special requirements if you are travelling from mainland Spain to the Balearic or Canary Islands, or you are staying in tourist accommodation in the Canary Islands. 

Travelling by Road

As many have done over the summer, you may have decided to travelling to Spain overland (by road or rail) from France or Portugal.  The regulations for Overland travel and transit are available from the British Government.

All travellers should follow the advice of the local authorities on how best to protect themselves and others.  The Coronavirus section provides further information.

Planning ahead

In all instances, the UK and Spanish Governments promote planning ahead in case you present symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 during your stay in Spain, more information available in Be prepared for your plans to change and Testing positive for COVID-19 while in Spain.

Quarantine and testing on return to the UK continues to apply, see Returning to the UK.

Hope all this helps you to plan and enjoy your trip to Spain.

Information as at 27 September 2021