Greece Updates Rules for Ferry Travel from the Mainland to the Islands

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Negative self-test results for Covid-19, as of Monday, July 5, will no longer be accepted as a document for adults to board a ferry to travel to the Greek islands from the mainland, the Greek authorities announced on Thursday.

Speaking during a Covid-19 media briefing, Greek Civil Protection Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias announced updated rules for travel to the Greek islands from the mainland. All rules will be in force from Monday, July 5.

Traveling to an island

Adults in Greece (residents and foreign visitors) will be allowed to travel from the mainland to the Greek islands by ferry only if they have one of the following:

– a vaccination certificate or a recovery certificate
– a negative PCR test performed less than three days (72 hours)
– a negative rapid antigen test taken 48 hours prior to travel.

According to the Shipping Ministry, travelers may alternatively present, in digital or printed form, an EU Digital COVID Certificate or an equivalent digital certificate from a non-EU country, as proof that a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19 or received a negative test result (48-hour rapid test or 72-hour PCR) or recovered from the coronavirus.

Young people, minors

– Young people aged 12 (with date of birth before June 30, 2009) to 17 may present any test, including self-tests (taken at least 24 hours before travel), to embark on a ferry.
– Minors up to 12 years old (with date of birth after July 1, 2009) can travel on a ferry without presenting a test.

Returning to the mainland

Passengers returning to the mainland (e.g. back to Athens) from an island are recommended to conduct a self-test (the recommendation is for all passengers over the age of 12).

Negative self-test results must be filled out on the self-test declaration form on the self-testing.gov.gr platform found here (in English and Greek).

Exempt from the above rules are:

– people traveling on ferry routes from the mainland to the islands of Evia, Lefkada and Salamina. More specifically, according to the Shipping Ministry, passengers traveling on the ferry routes Perama-Paloukia (Salamina), Perama Megaridos-Faneromeni (Salamina), Rio-Antirrio; on the ferry connections from the mainland to Evia; and on the ferry lines Poros-Galata (Trizinia), Pounta-Elafonisos (Lakonia), Tripiti-Ammouliani (Halkidiki) should present a negative self-test (taken 24 hours prior to travel) before boarding.
– people who travel between different island regional units for work purposes on a daily basis and already take a negative Covid-19 self-test every week (the test result must be presented when boarding).
– people who travel between islands that are in very close distance to one another or on ferries that connect the mainland with nearby islands. Those traveling daily for work purposes will present a weekly negative Covid-19 self-test result. Individual travelers, traveling for what ever reason, must present a negative self-test (taken 24 hours prior to travel) before boarding a ferry.

Pre–boarding Health Form

It is reminded that all ferry passengers must fill out a health declaration questionnaire before traveling from the mainland to the Greek islands.

The online pre–boarding questionnaire can be found here in both Greek and English and can be submitted online.

It is noted that the questionnaire on the ministry’s site that can be downloaded and printed is still accepted by port authorities. (Is is available in Greek here and in English here.)

Passengers returning to the mainland (e.g. back to Athens) from an island will again have to fill out the pre–boarding questionnaire. Passengers traveling between islands (e.g. Mykonos to Santorini) are not required to fill out the questionnaire.

The pre-boarding health declaration questionnaire is also available via ferry operators.

Air travel: Flying domestic to the islands

The aforementioned rules for travel from the Greek mainland to the islands will also be in force for people traveling on domestic flights from Monday, July 5. The announcement of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) can be found here.

Greece’s rules for travel from the mainland to the islands are part of the Greek government’s efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country.