Traveling to Scotland in 2021: Our Experience Traveling During a Global Pandemic

A note: Travel requirements are rapidly changing. This post is only about our experience traveling to Scotland in the middle of October. Prior to booking flights, check your desired country’s entry requirements to know what to expect and what you need to travel!

We just arrived home after a quick 10 day trip to my absolute favorite country in the world: Scotland! We’ve only been back for two days, but I wanted to get this information down as quickly as possible to not forget anything as it’s a little more convoluted than our last international trip to Italy in August.

About a month ago, when flights were dirt cheap, we decided to book two roundtrip tickets using our travel points from our Chase Sapphire credit card to fly into Edinburgh, Scotland. We had already been (check out my blog post about it here or you can read more about our my series of posts on Scotland here) but were thrilled at the opportunity to revisit. Other than what I found on the US Embassy website and GOV.UK, I couldn’t find much in the way of people’s experiences with traveling to the UK during this time.

Verifly App

We flew through American Airlines/British Airways and at the time of our trip, we were required to use an app called Verifly, which I found to be extremely handy. Verifly essentially works as a one stop shop for the list of everything you need to do/have prior to flying to your destination. In the app, you choose what country you are visiting and it gives you a list of the requirements needed to enter that country.

For example, at our time of visiting the UK, we needed to upload proof of covid vaccination, proof of a negative covid test 72 hours prior to boarding our flight, and fill out a passenger locator form with details about where we were staying when arriving in the UK and whether we had already ordered our Day 2 covid tests (more on this later). You can upload documentation of these these right in the app and once you have everything uploaded and you’ve completed all of the steps, you’re required to enter your passport information, flight information, take a photo, and it verifies that you are “good to go” when it comes to entering the country. When checking into your flight, you show the pass that displays your photo with a green circle around it if you’ve completed all the steps. This was so much easier than when we traveled to Italy where we had to show our vaccine cards, our proof of negative covid tests, passports, etc. I’m not sure if all airlines are requiring this app or if it’s just American, but I hope we are able to use the Verifly app for future travel during covid as it was really so helpful.

Day 2 Test

Now, let’s talk about Day 2 tests. At the time of our travel, the UK required us to book a home kit test to be delivered to our AirBnB upon arrival. This test was to be taken by Day 2 after arriving in the UK. Once you take the test, you then send it in through the Royal Mail. This process would have been easy if we had the correct address for our AirBnB.

Long story short, we did not have the complete address when booking our at home covid tests to be delivered so they were not delivered. We had to call the covid test kit company while abroad and change the address they had on file for us but the address we were given still wasn’t the actual address and the Royal Mail said that our covid test kits were delivered but they hadn’t been. We had to call the Royal Mail to file a claim with them and then call the test kit company again to try and correct the issue. It turns out that the address we were given for our AirBnB was actually the address for the apartment right below ours and we figured this out only by stopping the mailman in the hallway and asking him if he remembered delivering test kits the day before. He said he remembered delivering them but he delivered them to the apartment below us. It was all very confusing but not due to the covid test kit company or the Royal Mail, but rather on our part for not having the correct address. This was stressful as we don’t have an International travel plan for our phones but had to make multiple calls. If we had had the correct address from the get go, this wouldn’t have been as stressful as it was.

At the time of our trip, travelers did not have to quarantine upon arrival if fully vaccinated and had scheduled a covid test kit in advance, so we were able to move about the city as we pleased while waiting for the arrival of our test kits. Once we had our hands on the kits, we had to follow the step by step instructions to swab our throat and nose (this is different from anything we’ve done before with covid testing) and enclose the test tube in the prepaid shipping container and drop them in a priority mail Royal Mail box, which we had right next to our apartment building. Our results were delivered via email and text the very next evening, both negative.

Traveling around Edinburgh

Scotland was similar to Italy in that most people were respectful in wearing their masks in an enclosed space. There were sanitizating stations at the entrance to literally every building we entered and businesses require you to check in when you visit a restaurant or other location by scanning a QR code on your phone for contact tracing.

We did notice more folks not wearing masks at all or simply wearing them improperly more on this trip than during our trip to Italy. Even prior to boarding our flight to the UK, I noticed more people at the airport not wearing masks at all and there were even a few people on our long flight not wearing their masks at all, which was very concerning. But we did our part by wearing our masks properly, washing and sanitizing our hands, and socially distancing as much as possible.

One of the biggest differences we noticed about traveling in the UK during this time was access to testing. To be completely honest, it was all very confusing. Here at home and we found in Italy as well, you could go to pretty much any pharmacy and get a covid test. Now, of course, not all pharmacies and locations offer the same test, some are PCR, some rapid, etc., but usually you could figure out where to get your hands on a covid test if necessary. In the UK, as forgein travelers we felt like this wasn’t the case. Pharmacies didn’t have any information posted in windows saying anything about covid testing being offered and I couldn’t find clear answers online. It wasn’t until we went into the Boots on Princes Street and spoke with a pharmacist about the testing procedures and protocol that we got some answers.

Here’s what we ended up doing: upon re-entering the United States after traveling internationally, you need to provide proof of a negative covid test taken within 3 days of boarding your flight. We had to book an appointment online with Boots for two PCR tests. We then had to buy the actual PCR tests to be completed at the appointment, which ended up costing us about $218 all told. After that, we showed up to our appointment at the same Boots location and were greeted by the kindest person who administered both of our covid PCR tests. We received our negative results the very next day.

Overall, it seemed pretty confusing and a bit stressful to find a covid test in Scotland. I’m sure it was just lack of knowledge on our part, but I think it’s still important to mention.

Flying Back Into the US

When flying back into the US, we had to show our negative covid test at the Edinburgh Airport in order to board. We connected at London Heathrow, where we had to show our negative covid tests and Verifly app at least three times to different people. We found this to be completely different than what we’ve experienced before. We weren’t entirely sure why we needed our documents checked so many times, but of course, we complied without complaint. After boarding our flight to in London, we were set.

Overall, traveling to the UK during this time proved to be a bit more stressful than our trip to Italy. I also want to be clear that we understand that we are attempting to travel during a global pandemic. I am in no way complaining about the covid protocols in place in the UK. We understand and respect what people are doing to keep themselves safe during this time. I just want to share our experience with you in case you’re interested in what it’s like right now and/or in case you’re interested in traveling to Scotland during this time.

Just remember, every country seems to be doing things differently when it comes to covid and that it’s critical to check the entry requirements for the countries you will be traveling to as things are still changing rapidly.

As always, if you’re traveling right now, just be patient and be kind. Everyone is a bit more tense right now and the last two years have been difficult on all of us. Just be respectful of airline staff and fellow passengers and for God’s sake, wear your mask properly.