Traveling to Europe? What You Need to Know

Traveling to Europe During COVID: What You Need to Know

BY STEVE DINNEN

*Passport: Check.
*Online flight check-in completed: Check.
*Electronic results of fresh PCR test: Check.
*Completed Passenger Locator Form, also electronic, specified by the country to be visited: Check.
*COVID vaccination card to present to anyone who demands it for entry to a bar or restaurant or museum: Check.

Summer vacation in Europe is back, but with some extra steps needed now that COVID and its nasty delta variant still lurk. Nearly every country (see a very useful list compiled by the Points Guy) will allow Americans in, and the United States will let them return. But restrictions have been placed on travelers, and if you don't follow the rules, the airlines will deny you boarding.

A just-completed trip to Greece, coupled with an upcoming visit to Spain, have taught me some lessons you may find useful as you plan your travels. For starters, look to the airline website, plus the government of whichever country is on your itinerary, for up-to-date entrance requirements. It is from both of them that I learned I would need a COVID-19 PCR test and a Passenger Locator Form both to enter Greece and to transit through London's Heathrow Airport on my return. An entire industry has sprung up to administer PCR exams. You can get one done at Des Moines International Airport, or many other spots around town, though it's best to do so the day before you travel (and it can't be older than 72 hours).

For my return, my hotel in Athens had suggestions of PCR test sites, though I had pre-booked a PCR test at a hospital nearby. Greeks love to eat outdoors and apparently tend to health matters there as well, as my nose was swabbed as I stood on the sidewalk outside the hospital's entrance (pictured above). Twenty Euros and two hours later, results were emailed to me.

Both the Greek and British governments (and virtually every other country in Europe) require what they call Passenger Locator Forms, documents that list your flight particulars, where you'll be staying, contact information. You'll need to complete them before starting your trip, and airline workers will ask to see them at check-in. No form, no fly.

I had emailed a copy of both my PCR exam and PLFs to the hotel front desk and they printed them out. That way I had a hard copies of the documents, both of which also were imprinted with QR codes that officials could look up. I also used a QR code at the British Airways Galleries First lounge at Heathrow, to order drinks and food as I awaited my flight to Dallas. You cannot walk up to the bar, which was 10 feet from me, and order a drink. BA's tasty and practical buffet line has been replaced with a code-accessed menu. (A minor aside: Eighteen months ago I had no idea what Zoom was. Eighteen days ago, I had no idea what a QR code was. Times have changed.)

As for that COVID card: Get the shot. I got "carded" numerous times in Greece by restaurateurs who demanded proof of vaccination. (I had shrunk my card to wallet-sized and laminated it, courtesy of Office Depot.) France, Germany, Italy—most European destinations—are issuing "green passes" that show vaccinations and allow entrance to bars, restaurants and public places. They're accepting the paper COVID cards Americans have gotten (though Yanks can now apply online for the French Health Pass).

Take along masks. They don't hand them out much in Europe, but you're expected to wear one in the airport, on the metro, at a museum, etc.

With the delta variant raising a ruckus, these rules are subject to change. Before you go, triple-check requirements with your airline, the government in your destination country, and the U.S. Embassy there.

Getting Around in European Resort Areas

BY STEVE DINNEN

Arriving at the ferry terminal at Aegina, Greece, for a week of vacation, I face a logistics problem—how to get around. Footwork won't do; the island is the size of Ankeny. Community buses run on their schedule, not mine. Taxis are cheap, but hailing one from a remote beach might be difficult.

Across from the ferry lie several auto rental shops. I don't need a car—t's just me—and it's always hard to find a parking spot. A two-wheeled scooter won't do—stability issues. What about an ATV? They're easy to operate, can squeeze into any parking spot, and are thrifty on fuel (gasoline here is $7.90 a gallon). And affordable: 40 euros a day credit, 25 euros cash.

Off I go, at the cash rate and with a helmet. I've seen way crazier drivers than here, but the roads are kind of twisty and no-shoulder cliff sides have few guardrails. That said, renting an ATV seems a credible option for any island in Greece, or Italy, or resort area anywhere in Europe. I would not recommend them for the mainland, or even a large city as speeds are higher and there is way more congestion. Opt for a passenger car there; you'll have luggage to haul, anyway.

Check local and national regulations. My ATV people seem to have winked away the law that says renters need both a U.S. license and an International Driving Permit that the American Automobile Association issued. I carried one for years and was never once asked for it. I finally quit, and wham, that was the first thing they asked for in 2017 when last I visited Greece.

Age matters, too. They supposedly will not rent a car to anyone over 70 in Croatia, or 75 in Greece or Ireland. In France, some agencies will rent a mini car to a 21-year-old, but you'll have to wait until you're 24 to get a compact, or 30 for a luxury vehicle. Ahh, the French. But the Europeans are developing a soft spot for Americans and now offer cars with automatic transmissions with little if any upcharge to manual transmissions.

Commodity Index Has Jumped 28% So Far This Year

BY ANNA-LOUISE JACKSON FOR MONEY.COM

Bitcoin may be one of the hottest investments of the year, but a decidedly less-exciting asset class is nipping at its heels. Commodities—yes, things like oil, gold, soybeans, and sugar—are the second-highest returning investment, behind the largest cryptocurrency.

Through mid-August, Bitcoin has surged more than 51%, while an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks a commodity index has jumped 28% year-to-date, according to figures from YCharts. As recently as late July, the performance gap between these two classes was even narrower, with Bitcoin up 38% and commodities up 33%. In fact, a so-called supercycle has helped put commodities on pace to rank second for 2021 among 17 different major asset classes, including tech stocks, bonds, real estate and more.

Aside from playing a famous cameo role in the movie "Trading Places," commodities rarely garner the same attention as flashier counterparts like stocks or, more recently, cryptocurrencies. But trading as we know it today began thousands of years ago with commodities, and these alternative assets can serve an important role of balancing out risks in any well-diversified portfolio. (Experts generally recommend that commodities should make up no more than about 3% to 5% of your overall portfolio.) READ MORE.

Report Measures 'Return on Investment' for College Degrees

BY ANN CARRNS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Most four-year degrees pay off by paving the way for graduates to recoup the cost of their education relatively quickly, a new analysis finds. But that’s particularly true for some programs, while others may offer little economic advantage over a high school diploma.

The findings are part of a report on some 38,000 post-high school degree and certificate programs published this week by Third Way, a center-left public policy group. The report analyzed data collected for the federal Education Department’s "College Scoreboard" tool to measure the “return on investment” offered by various higher education programs.

The report found that almost two-thirds of the 26,000 bachelor’s degree programs in the study enabled a majority of their graduates to make enough money to recover their costs in 10 years or less after graduation.

Bachelor’s degree programs, which typically take four years, are generally more expensive but are most likely to show at least some return on investment—meaning graduates earn enough to pay off their college costs reasonably quickly—for those who complete a degree, compared with two-year associate degrees or shorter certificate programs. READ MORE.