Where Can You Travel Unvaccinated? Top 15 Countries Welcoming Back Visitors

If you’re unvaxed and looking to start travelling again, I’ve got good news for you! Since April 30, 2022, the Australian federal government has scrapped all vaccination requirements to enter and leave Australia. There is however, one important catch; you will need to be either an Australian Citizen or a permanent resident; New Zealand citizens who usually live in Australia can also enter and leave the country unvaccinated. Temporary visa holders such as tourists will still need to be fully vaccinated to enter Australia.

What about different states?

It’s important to understand how Australian borders work. To make it easy to understand, you should know that the federal government controls the international border. However, the domestic border is controlled by the state government. So this means you could be subject to 2 different sets of rules depending on which Australian state you fly into.

NSW: New South Wales makes it pretty easy; they simply mirror the federal Government on entry rules which means you do not need to be vaccinated to enter Australia via NSW.

VIC: Victoria also followed the federal government on the rule changes, which means you can now leave and enter Victoria without being vaccinated.

QLD: Queensland also follows the government rules, so you can enter and leave Queensland without needing to be vaccinated.

WA: It will be no surprise that Western Australia continues to punish unvaccinated travellers. Currently, you will need to do 7 days of self-funded hotel quarantine when you arrive unvaccinated from overseas. If you don’t want to be locked up, you can simply fly via another state because there are no vaccine requirements to enter WA from interstate. Logic.

SA: South Australia now also treats vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers under the same set of rules. This means you no longer need an exemption to enter or leave South Australia if you’re unvaccinated.

NT: The Northern Territory has also scrapped any vaccine mandates for travellers and also follows the rules set out by the Australian Government.

ACT: Like most states, the ACT has also dropped vaccination requirements for travellers.

TAS: There are currently no restrictions for entering Tasmania, which means unvaccinated and vaccinated travellers will be treated equally once again.

Where can I travel unvaccinated?

Now that you’re free to go, the important question remains: where can you go? As it turns out, a lot of places! So instead of listing them all, we will focus on the most prominent names instead:

• United Kingdom: the UK has done away with vaccine requirements for some time now, and of course, that means you’re welcome back regardless of your vax status.
• Maldives: The Maldivian Government has recently done away with most covid requirements, so if you’re after a luxury travel destination, this would be it!
• Vietnam: Vietnam also no longer requires tourists to be vaccinated; you are welcome to visit as long as you have a visa and a negative test.
• Denmark: it’s time to lock in a reservation at Noma because Denmark has also dropped all entry requirements.
• Sweden: relaxed from day one, the Swedes also welcome back visitors regardless of vaccination status.
• Greece: Greece is dropping its COVID entry rules and mask mandate from May 2, just in time for European summer.
• France: While France now welcomes back unvaccinated tourists, they do need to come from a “green” country, and currently, Australia is orange.
• Portugal: Portugal welcomes all tourists back as long as they have a negative test before arrival.
• Spain: It’s expected that Spain will drop all restrictions from May 15; in the meantime, you will need to be double vaxxed or have recovered from covid within the last 6 months.
• Mexico: the country never really shut its border, so that means tourists are welcome to visit.
• United Arab Emirates: If you’re planning a trip to Dubai, you can now also visit without being vaccinated. You will be required to provide a negative test before arrival.
• Turkey: If you’ve ever wanted to visit Istanbul, I highly recommend it, and it’s probably the perfect time to do so! Turkey only requires a negative test before departure.
• Italy: while you will still need to provide a negative test, Italy is open again to unvaccinated tourists. The “green pass” system has also been scrapped, which means you no longer need to provide proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars and museums.
• South Africa: a negative PCR test will be required before entry, and you may be screened upon arrival, but vaccines are not required for entry.
• Iceland: if you’ve never been, this might be the perfect time to go before mass tourism returns; Iceland does not have any restrictions on international arrivals.

While there are plenty more countries, I hope this list can give you some travel inspiration for the time being!

What about airlines?

Believe it or not, there aren’t many airlines that require their passengers to be fully vaccinated. In Australia, the only international carrier that requires passengers to be vaxxed is Qantas. All your other favourites, such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines, do not require their passengers to be vaccinated.

Summing Up

It’s nice to see that normality is once again returning to the world of travel after 2 years of complete insanity. Travel is back, and I’m not mad about it!