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TOURISM

Passengers warned forms still needed for travelling from Italy to the UK

Anyone travelling to the UK from Italy is being warned that they still need to complete the contact locator form before travelling.

Passengers warned forms still needed for travelling from Italy to the UK
Border checkpoints at London Heathrow Airport. Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

The UK on July 10th began lifting its quarantine for travellers from certain countries that it deemed 'safe' – including Italy.

However, though it is no longer necessary to self isolate when travelling to the UK from Italy, each passenger needs to fill out the contact locator form before leaving Italy.

READ ALSO: Italy's latest travel rules, explained

The form asks for detailed information about your journey, where you will be staying in the UK, contact information and details of someone who can be contacted if you fall ill – so it's best not to leave the form to the last moment as your flight/ferry/train/coach is about to depart.

The form can be accessed online here and you can show either a printout or a completed version on your phone. You cannot submit the form more than 48 hours before you travel.

The information you need to provide includes:

  • your passport details;
  • the name of the airline, ferry, train or bus company you’re travelling with;
  • the name of the company organising your trip, if you’re travelling as part of a tour group;
  • your booking reference;
  • the name of the airport, port or station you’ll be arriving into;
  • the date you’ll be arriving;
  • your flight, train, bus or ferry number;
  • the address you’ll be staying at for your first 14 days in the UK;
  • details of someone who can be contacted if you get ill while you’re in the UK.

If you’re travelling by Eurostar or Eurotunnel, put ‘Eurostar’ or ‘Eurotunnel’ when the form asks ‘What is the flight number, train service or ship name that you will arrive on?’ and provide your scheduled time of departure.

People travelling from the UK to Italy will be given information about the procedure when they leave the country.

The UK did not have international travel restrictions during the strictest phase of the lockdown, but on June 8th introduced a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all international arrivals.

From July 10th these were lifted for arrivals from a list of 'safe' countries which included European countries like Italy, Spain, France and Germany.

The initial announcement from the UK government referred only to arrivals in England, but devolved authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland later confirmed that they would be applying the same rules.

READ ALSO: 

Italy was one of the first EU countries to lift its travel restrictions for arrivals from within Europe – including the UK – on June 3rd, so there are now no extra measures required at the Italian border.

From July 1st the EU began opening up its external borders to countries deemed to be low risk from Covid-19, although travellers from the USA remain excluded.

Italy has kept its quarantine requirement even for non-European countries on the 'safe list', as well as banning all entry from an additional 13 high-risk countries including Brazil and Bangladesh.

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TOURISM

‘Not even that ancient’: The harshest TripAdvisor comments about Italy’s sights

From Roman ruins to grand Gothic palaces, Italy’s most popular tourist attractions welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors every year – but not everyone leaves satisfied.

'Not even that ancient': The harshest TripAdvisor comments about Italy's sights

With its rich cultural heritage and plenty of art and architecture wonders, Italy draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all corners of the world every year. 

But a quick scroll through the review section of travel website TripAdvisor will be enough to show that some of the country’s most famous attractions aren’t to everyone’s taste.

Colosseum, Rome

It may be Italy’s biggest tourist attraction, but even the Colosseum – the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, dating back to 80 AD – fails to impress some.

“I came. I saw. I left,” wrote one reviewer, saying that looking at pictures of the building and reading about its history will spare you from “a long wait line, a port a john [sic] bathroom, and a big disappointment”.

READ ALSO: Nine tips for making the most of a Rome city break

Others were seemingly not so happy with the overall state of the attraction.

“[It] was a lot more broken than I thought it would be, at £15 a pop you’d think they’d invest in repairing it,” one wrote. 

“Not even got a roof? When they finishing it [sic]?” asked another. 

Milan, Duomo 

Though it is often regarded as one of, if not the greatest example of Italian Gothic architecture, not everyone seems to be impressed by Milan’s Duomo cathedral. 

“The outside is gaudy and tacky as the worst of Las Vegas,” while “the inside is as bad taste as the outside” and not worth the wait, “even if they paid you”, one reviewer wrote.

READ ALSO: Stay away! How Europe’s most popular spots are fighting overtourism

Another said the Duomo was no different than any “old cathedral” found in every European city, claiming that “pigeons watching [sic] is more exciting than this building”.

Speaking of pigeons, one tourist warned future visitors about the aggressiveness of the local bird population, saying that the area surrounding the Duomo is “swarming with thousands of pigeons that have long ago lost any fear of humans” and will “fly directly at your head”, forcing you to “take evasive action”.

Just another cathedral? The famed Duomo in Milan. Photo by Martin Anselmo on Unsplash

Doge’s Palace, Venice

Venice’s Palazzo Ducale is the third most-visited tourist attraction in the country and arguably one of the best-preserved traces of the ancient Venetian Republic’s power. 

But the palace isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – at least judging from its reviews.

“When you go inside, there’s nothing to see except a lot of paintings on the ceilings and high on the walls. The paintings are impressive but very samey,” one reviewer wrote.

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between Italy’s city taxes and new ‘tourist tax’?

“Really boring,” complained another, saying that the rooms were “bland” and “the view never got any better”. 

Other visitors said they were disappointed with some of their tour guides’ choices.

One wrote: “Our guide took pleasure in telling about people being tortured here. It was a bit grizzly [sic]. Personally I would give the place a miss.” 

Tourists sit under the archway of the Doge's Palace in Venice

The Doge’s Palace in Venice, which some visitors found abit “samey”. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

Pompeii 

Even the Pompeii archaeological site, which consists of the ruins of a city buried under volcanic ash following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, has its fair share of detractors.

A reviewer described the site as being “poorly paved street after poorly paved street of pretty much the same old same old terraced house over and over and over and over”.

Another said: “I really don’t get what the hype is about.

“It’s not even that ancient since they had to build so many structures around it to keep it standing. Even the freaking pillars didn’t make it (some barely did I guess).”

One reviewer even went as far as saying it was the “worst place” he’d ever visited, mentioning he had “too much ground to cover in sweltering heat” and he “should have stayed at the nice beaches of Vico Equense”. 

Trevi Fountain, Rome

A prime example of Italian Baroque aesthetics, the Trevi fountain is one of Rome’s most widely recognised symbols worldwide, but not all visitors are impressed by it.

“It splashes and splashes. It spurtles and flows. It fountains and gurgles and is as romantic as my oldest pairs of smelly socks,” wrote one reviewer, who concluded they felt “let down”.

Tourists around Rome's Trevi Fountain

Tourists around Rome’s Trevi Fountain in March 2024. Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP

That said, many reviewers expressed appreciation for the fountain’s architecture, but complained that their visit was ruined by hordes of fellow tourists. These complaints are far from unjustified given the attraction’s long-standing overcrowding issues

One reviewer suggested that “packing a pair of 8 foot stilts” may be the only way to “ensure a satisfying visit to the Trevi”.

Another called the attraction a “claustrophobia mecca” that’s “nearly impossible to deal with because of the thousands of pushy, sweaty, rude and large tourists”.

Have you seen a surprising review of an Italian landmark? Are there any Italian sights you think are overrated? Let us know in the comments section below.

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