The Netherlands Will Now Welcome Vaccinated Americans Without Quarantine

The Netherlands will welcome fully-vaccinated American tourists without a quarantine next week, a reversal of its earlier decision to require all visitors to self-isolate upon arrival.

Starting Sept. 22, the country will welcome travelers who have received the second dose of either the BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccines, or who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two weeks before their trip. If a traveler received Johnson & Johnson after Aug. 14, at least 28 days must have passed before they travel.

"The rules on self-quarantining for people traveling to the Netherlands will change as of 22 September," the country wrote in its updated guidance. "Vaccinated travelers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other very high-risk areas no longer have to self-quarantine on arrival in the Netherlands."

The United States remains classified as a "very high risk" area to the Netherlands and vaccinated travelers will still be required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 48 hours of departure, or a negative rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours of their departure.

Children under 18 who are traveling with vaccinated parents or guardians are exempt from the vaccination requirement, but must still show proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

The change in policy comes just about two weeks after the Netherlands imposed mandatory self-quarantine measures for American travelers who entered the country for nonessential reasons. It also comes after the European Union removed the United States from its pandemic-era list of safe countries.

Following that, several European countries have shut down to American tourists or imposed stricter vaccination or testing requirements. Sweden and Bulgaria each reimplemented a ban on nonessential travel from the U.S.

Denmark, Spain, and France each banned unvaccinated U.S. tourists. And even before the EU's decision, Germany had declared the U.S. a 'high-risk' country, requiring American tourists to either be fully vaccinated or show proof they contracted COVID-19 and recovered to enter the country.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.