French zoos are reporting on their websites that a new government requriement goes into effect July 21, 2021. Visitors will need a pass sanitaire which consists of digital or paper proof that you meet one of these three criteria: 1) You have had both doses of an approved Covid-19 vaccine (at least 7 days after second dose). 2) You have a negative test for Covid antibodies within 48 hours of your visit. 3) A test proving you had Covid-19 (test administered more than 11 days prior).
This pass sanitaire is not only necessary for zoos, but for basically everything: restaurants, public swimming pools, ... In short, visiting France unvaccinated is hard (and expensive, with €29 per test per person) at the moment.
I have reservations in place to visit Belgium and France (including two zoos) and Italy in September. Of course I am vaccinated, but I am waiting about a month before I seriously check to see what the latest requirements are.
Yes, that is a given. I will be there two and a half days, then the final half day at Parrot World, plus that night staying in their Jaguar Lodge.
Thought it would be Will you be going to the new primate park too ? Look forward to your review of it as I'm curious to get back there at some point in the future myself.
No I cannot take time away from Parc Felins to visit the primate park. In fact (some ZooChatters will find this unthinkable) I have never even stepped foot onto the lemur island at Parc Felins for the same reason.
I find it unthinkable too But you are forgiven and I find it totally understandable given your passion for felines and just how impressive the park is. I'll PM you in a bit as there is something I need to talk to you about.
@Arizona Docent So you are not trying to take pics from iberian lynx in Mervent ? If you change of idea and need a driver to go to let me know
Unfortunately I do not have time. If I had never photographed Iberian lynx I might have changed plans, but I have good photos from ZooBotanico Jerez. (I also saw one in the wild by flashlight a year before that). I am hoping the Covid situation in France (and Belgium and Italy) does not get worse with the new Delta variant. Just recently the U.S. State Department issued a no travel advisory for Spain and Portugal; I hope they don't expand it.
This is true, but only for adults. Children accompanying adults that fulfill any of these criteria are allowed to enter. And I believe it does apply to all zoos as the French zoo I visited a few days ago required it too. As for rules tightening, the variant making many countries think twice about allowing people in and out of France is the beta variant - not terribly common but Astrazeneca is ineffective against it from what I've understood, so there is a danger there.
There are protests in Paris (and a few other places) against the new pass sanitaire requirement. Thousands protest against COVID-19 health pass in France | Reuters I will decide in about two weeks time whether or not to continue with my travel plans or cancel. (My departure date is exactly five weeks from today). When I discovered the jaguar lodge at Parrot World, I cancelled the two nights I had booked in Paris, so being away from the capitol city makes me feel a little better about it. I still have to go into Paris by train and pick up a rental car.
It was already the case the two previous week-end but nothing really important (it is a smallish part of the population). As the world knows, french people are famous for their protestations For the moment the health situation is stable but who knows in four weeks. Hope it will be ok for you (and for us !).
The travel situation in Europe is quickly deteriorating (for foreign visitors). Today the United States was reclassified by Europe as red list. For Italy this means mandatory five day quarantine and testing (which I cannot do so I am cancelling Venice). UK and Belgium, which were open for vaccinated Americans two days ago, now require a test day after arrival. France has not updated its status since mid July as far as I can tell, so they have old info that says open for vaccinated Americans. However I expect by tomorrow they will update to reflect the new designation of USA as red on European covid map and enact similar testing requirements. I will either cancel my trip or rebook it for one country only (France or UK) so I don't have to take more than one arrival test.
Also on our side, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control in the USA) today issued a Level 4 "do not travel" advisory for France: COVID-19 in France - COVID-19 Very High - Level 4: COVID-19 Very High - Travel Health Notices | Travelers' Health | CDC
I saw this info just a few minutes ago. What I can say now is that the situation here is quite stable at the moment with the increasing of the vaccination (more than 44 millions persons received their first dose and more than 37,5 millions are fully vaccinated - total population 67,5 millions). Hope it will continue and fingers crossed for you (we have plenty of nice zoos to visit just in France )
I don't think this is a new change from the UK side; arrivals from countries on our green and amber lists have always required a test on the second day after arrival since we started reopening more this summer (though the costs and perceived usefulness of this are proving controversial/questionable so this may change). It applies to UK residents as well, if we leave and come back.
I just cancelled my trip. With the constant changes and the testing requirements, it was becoming too stressful. (I received a voucher from British Air for the full amount that I can use in the next two years).
