Both Spain and Portugal have suffered greatly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence, plenty of travel restrictions have been in place for quite a long time.

Keeping track of the latest restrictions is no mean task, given that the rules change as the pandemic evolves.

But we can at least point to the sources of information where you will be able to check the latest updates for each country.

Covid-19 travel restrictions in Spain

The situation in Spain is quite complex. While the central government is responsible for the co-ordination of efforts in the fight against COVID-19, for the last few months it is the Comunidades Autónomas (ie, the regional governments) that have had the authority to impose or lift travel bans and other restrictions.

As Spain has 17 regional governments, there are 17 sets of rules and regulations in the fight against the pandemic. On top of that, the central government is responsible, in coordination with the EU, for any measures affecting the arrival from outside the borders of Spain.

Info sources to keep an eye on:

• Spain Travel Health. A website, in English, run by the Spanish Ministry of Health.
• Travel Safe. A website, in English, under Spain’s official tourism website. The latest news section is particularly useful.
• Travel restrictions within Spain. A website, in Spanish, run by the Spanish Ministry of Health. Unfortunately, it is not translated into English, but allows for easy consultation of the travel and other restrictions in force on each Spanish region.

Covid-19 travel restrictions in Portugal

The situation in Portugal is slightly different from Spain. The Portuguese government co-ordinates the strategy in all mainland locations.

Sources of information:

• Estamos ON. A website, in English, run by the Portuguese government. All sorts of COVID-19 information and updates.
• COVID-19 measures. A section of Portugal’s official tourism website, in English, with COVID updates.

Borders between Spain and Portugal

At the time of writing, the borders between Spain and Portugal are opened. They have remained closed during short periods of the pandemic.

Re-open UE

The website Re-open UE, run by the European Union, is the best source of information at European level. You can check the current situation in all the countries belonging to the European Union.

Any questions?

If you are unsure about the situation in Spain or Portugal, drop us a line at the commentary box below, and we will try to clarify the situation for you.

We understand this is an ongoing pandemic resulting on constant changes.