Best 5 Tips on How to Travel to the US from Europe

Welcome back friends, I recently came home to the US from Greece flying through London Heathrow Airport and wanted to give y’all insight on the protocols. If you are looking to gain some knowledge on How to Travel to the US from Europe keep scrolling

After our weeklong trip to Athens and Santorini we felt a little blind to what we needed to get back into the states. We have heard rumors about having to take tests with us to show the flight, in our case American Airlines, but there were no clear directions on how to do so. Since i do well with Chaos I didn’t mind the uncertainty, but I know how others may feel nervous to travel without knowing how to get back. In this article I will identify the top 5 tips to help you safely enter back into the US without any headaches.

As of now, June 2nd 2022, the US does not require people to be vaccinated in order to enter the US. This means everyone who gets on a flight to the US needs to have a negative covid test. We spoke with other US travelers and discussed how they planned to get back home. these are the top 5 tips on how to travel to the US from Europe that will help ease your mind and get back safely.

1. Download Verifly

American airlines gave us vague instructions on how to get back into the US, but they did give us an app called VeriFly to help us go through the proper steps and procedures to get on our flight. That being said, you can only enter VeriFly info a few days before your flight. The app won’t let you look at steps ahead of time, I still am not sure for the reasoning since it did give me some anxiety.

The first step is to take a photo, and fill out personal details, it asks if you are vaccinated but doesn’t ask for the particulars. This is because you still need a covid test 24 hours before your flight leaves. So, at about 5:15pm we set off to find a pharmacy to get our tests, since the next day our flight left about 5pm to the US.

If you choose to take a test that is not time stamped for any reason, it will identify it as 8:00am the day you took it. We brought tests from the US, but since they didn’t have a time stamp, we decided to go to the pharmacy. This is my top “how to travel to the US from Europe” tip I can offer.

Once we got our negative tests, we were given a PDF with a QR code from the EU. This allowed us to go further in the steps of VeriFly and wait for verification. These tests were about 10 euros each and only took us maybe 15 minutes. If you do not have service, make sure you can get Wi-Fi at your hotel close by. The government site to download the pdf needs strong Wi-Fi so a McDonalds, or Starbucks may not be the best option.

The steps after are self-explanatory. They ask for proof (the PDF) and that you are providing correct information. Choose to do the QR code option if available. The manual option takes a few hours to go through, while the QR option will take seconds. The first one I entered in manually, and although it went through, Wehn I scrolled down to do my partners test via QR code it was instant verification.

Because we needed to verify our negative test status, we had to go to the airport two hours early to check in. We were not able to check in online. but when I showed the VeriFly app it was easy to get our tickets.

My top how to travel to the US from Europe tip is to download the VeriFly app.

2. Ask your local pharmacy

When I say “local” I mean ask the pharmacy of the country you are staying in. For Greece we had to put our information into their local governments site, and get a PLF number, which we used to get our tests. tests cost about 10 Euros each.

Your local pharmacy helps people get back into the US daily, so If you are worried about the procedure check in with them at the beginning of your trip. They will give you all the info you need. just remember that you have to wait until 24 hours of the flight that is leaving the US. For example we went from Athens to London, so we had to calculate the time change and get tests done 24 hours before the flight to the US from London.

You will only have to show verification of negative results once. So don’t be alarmed if you aren’t asked for it right before the flight.

Your local pharmacy is there to help you with all your questions on how to travel to the US from Europe.

3. Talk to other travelers

We learned there is more than one way to get tests done before you Travel to the US from Europe. We spoke with some travelers from Texas that ordered test before they left the US. then got the test proctored online before they came back in.

Other travelers told us about how they planned on going to the pharmacy before they left. Some travelers explained how previously traveling from London to Greece and back there was a need for negative tests but that was recently lifted.

This is an on-going issue for travelers that changes regularly so don’t be afraid to talk to travelers while you are abroad to learn what they plan to do.

You also get the benefit from other travelers to learn the easiest places to travel to from the US to Europe. You’ll find that they know how to travel to the US from Europe and vice versa so you can start to plan another trip as you are talking with them.

4. Give yourself plenty of time to get through customs

Avoid 45-minute layovers at all costs. The customs line in London Heathrow airport took us about 2 hours to get through. Here are my theories on why:

People are excited to get back to travel, which means there will be longer lines of people eager to get to their next destination. These people could be going to see family they haven’t seen in years, so don’t be alarmed when the lines are full of kids and new travelers,

People haven’t traveled in two years, so technically we are all new here. that means more people forget to put their liquids in a bag or take of their belt and shoes. All of these little mistakes take a lot of time. it’s important to be patient with new travelers since you may be missing a crucial rule yourself. As a seasoned traveler I was humbled to find that processes i knew and loved made things take longer when forgotten.

When you are wondering how to travel to the US from Europe remember this is new to everyone. Don’t get frustrated with the lines or the person who forgot about their half drunken water bottle. After a year back in the swing of things these lines will die down and people will be back in the swing of going through customs and security with ease. We saw this back in 2021 when people started to travel then.

5. Be kind and help others

After a year in what felt like travel solitary, remember to be kind to your fellow travelers. Don’t push ahead or try to skip the lines. Spark up conversation with those around you. You will be near them for the next hour or so no need to cause more stress by pushing them forward or sighing when they are trying to get all of their things together.

When you are traveling back to the US you will find plenty of people speak English, so ask them where they are from, and their reasons for traveling, everyone has a story they want to share and although we have been told not to talk to strangers for the past year it can really change the mood when you are kind to your fellow travelers by being a mindful traveler.

You might also learn how to get through the lines faster by talking to those who have been through it before. What to get out, if you need to take your shoes off, how the line moves, and how long it typically takes.

If you do find yourself in a rush to get through customs to make your next flight look for a security guard to help you. Avoid just pushing through the line. We are all there for the same reason, and we are all annoyed to be in the line.

How to Travel to the US from Europe

VeriFly was the easiest way for us to travel back to the US it also helped us determine what countries needed Negative tests. Flying from Greece to London the test wasn’t needed, Even flying into Greece there was no restrictions. So, I highly suggest downloading the app if you plan to go to multiple countries.

Be kind to your fellow travelers as we have all been out of the travel game for some time, and be patient with families who decided to fly at this time.

Feel free to comment questions or tips below!