Europe reopens: Spain, France, Denmark and Greece welcome tourists

If you’re struggling to know your PCRs from your CDCs from your PPEs, you’re not alone.

Luckily CNN Travel is here to help you unravel the rat’s nest that is the constantly changing world of global travel restrictions.

Come to these round-ups each week to learn about the countries relaxing entry rules, the attractions reopening the doors and the places that have shuttered because of Covid-19 outbreaks.

Explainers explained

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This vaccination 'certificate' will open travel in Europe this summer

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Our travel elves have been working around the clock to put together explainers on all the latest twists and turns in travel guidance.

In Europe or hoping to travel there? The EU Digital Covid Certificate – known informally as a “Covid vaccine passport” – will be issued by July 1. CNN Travel gives you the lowdown here on who’s eligible, how to get one, and which countries have started using it.

In the United States? The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new travel advice for more than 120 countries. Thirty-three destinations – including Iceland, Israel and Singapore – have moved into the lowest risk category. Find out more here.

Cruise news

On board Celebrity Millennium, part of the Celebrity Cruises group.

Celebrity Millennium – the first major cruise ship allowing American passengers since the pandemic began – set off last weekend from Sint Maarten. Its first port of call was Barbados, which is now welcoming fully vaccinated travelers.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. Two guests had to be put in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 in required end-of-cruise testing. And in in the Mediterranean this week, two passengers also tested positive for Covid on the MSC Seaside cruise ship.

Catch you all next Saturday for another travel round-up.

It’ll depart from Florida in May 2022 with a select 500 guests on board a 2,800-passenger ship. However, the most on-brand sitcom-meets-cruise adventure is still “Golden Fan at Seas,” a celebration of “The Golden Girls,” which is also set to return next year.

Luxury barging specialist European Waterways plans to resume barge cruises this June. It serves nine countries, including France, Germany, Holland and Italy.

Meanwhile, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises will resume operations on June 20 with a range of itineraries in Italy, Portugal and France.

The latest from Europe

Tourists walk toward the Erechtheion on the Acropolis hill in Athens on June 4.

The EU has a white list of countries from which nonessential travel into the bloc is approved: Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Japan and Australia.

While the European Union is trying to create more universal requirements for tourism, conditions of entry differ from country to country.

Spain opened to vaccinated travelers from outside the EU on June 7 while France opened in international travelers on June 9 (the same day as it resumed indoor dining and the national curfew moved to 11 p.m.)

Those on France’s “green list” – vaccinated travelers from the European Union, Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand and Singapore – can enter restriction-free. Nonvaccinated travelers will need to do a Covid test.

Vaccinated travelers from the “orange list” – which includes the US and the UK – will need to do a test, while the unvaccinated will be allowed in only for essential purposes. United Airlines will resume nonstop flights from Washington Dulles Airport to Paris Charles De Gaulle on July 1.

Denmark has also opened to fully vaccinated travelers from the UK and the US and its neighbor Norway is letting the fully vaccinated skip quarantine.

All foreign tourists can now visit Greece without the need for quarantine on arrival, provided they have a negative PCR test. The government plans to declare 80 islands – including most of the country’s top tourism destinations – Covid-safe by the end of June.

The island of Cyprus is open to vaccinated travelers from 65 countries, including the US and the UK.

32 BEAUTIFUL REASONS TO VISIT IRELAND: Poulnaborne is a Neolithic portal tomb in the Burren region of Clare, dating back to as early as 4,200 BC. It attracts around 200,000 visitors each year.

Laytown Races (Meath): Beach volleyball isn't the only sport that can be played on sand. Thirty miles north of Dublin, a full race meeting is held each September on an east coast beach in Meath, with thousands in attendance.

Inishmore (Galway): Inishmore is the largest of Galway's Aran Islands, off Ireland's west coast. The flat karst terrain is limestone crissed-crossed with cracks known as grikes.

Benbulbin (Sligo): In the heart of Yeats Country -- the childhood home and final burial place of the poet W. B. Yeats -- Benbulbin is a jaw-like slab of the Dartry Mountains. It gained its distinctive shape during the Ice Age. It can be found on the northwest coast.

Ballintoy Harbour (Antrim): This fishing village on the north-east coast doubled as the Iron Islands in "Game of Thrones." If it doesn't seem dangerous enough in real life, it's a short drive away from the terrifying Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.

Cliffs of Moher (Clare): Perhaps Ireland's most famous attraction, the 214-meter-tall Cliffs of Moher attract around a million visitors each year. It's on the southwest edge of the Burren region.

Mount Errigal (Donegal): Mount Errigal is the tallest peak in Donegal, northwest Ireland. It's renowned for the pinkish glow of its quartzite rock at sunset.

Moll's Gap (Kerry): A pass on the world-famous Ring of Kerry route, Moll's Gap has views towards the Macgillycuddy's Reeks mountains. The rocks here are Old Red Sandstone.

Killiney (Dublin): Stay in the exclusive seaside suburb of Killiney, south Dublin, and you might be lucky enough to spot neighbors Bono and Enya when you pop out for some milk (although they might send their butler for theirs).

Mussenden Temple (Derry): Another "Game of Thrones" filming location, Mussenden Temple is an 18th-century folly -- originally built as a summer library -- perched dramatically on a northwestern clifftop overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Connemara (Galway): Connemara, in northwest Galway, is one of the country's official Gaeltacht -- or Irish-speaking -- regions. In 2010, the number of daily Irish speakers in Ireland as a whole was estimated at 83,000, out of a population of around 4.6 million.

Castlegregory (Kerry): Surfers can catch waves straight off the Atlantic at Castlegregory, a village halfway between the lively town of Dingle and Tralee, home to the endearingly outdated "Rose of Tralee" beauty contest.

Tollymore Forest Park (Down): C. S. Lewis is said to have found his inspiration for the fictional land of Narnia in the sweeping mountains and labyrinthine forests of the Mourne region. Tollymore Forest Park -- home to waterfalls, bridges and grottoes -- still feels like somewhere one might encounter a faun or even a wildling. "Game of Thrones" was filmed here too.

Powerscourt Estate (Wicklow): A popular day-trip from Dublin, Powerscourt Estate in Enniskerry is noted for its grand country house, landscaped gardens, golf course, and Ireland's highest waterfall.

Strangford (Down): Strangford village sits at the mouth of Strangford Lough, the largest inlet in the UK or Ireland. A ferry connects it with the village of Portaferry, on the southern tip of the Ards Peninsula.

The Skelligs (Kerry): Skellig Michael is an imposing, windswept hunk of rock and a UNESCO World Heritage Site 12 kilometers off the southwest coast. If it looks familiar, that's because it starred in the ending of "Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens."

Trinity College Long Room (Dublin): The 65-meter "Long Room" is the main chamber of the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin. Former students who perhaps took inspiration within these walls include Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker and Samuel Beckett.

Tyrella Beach (Down): An Irish folk song penned in the 19th century by Percy French, and later covered by Don McLean, celebrates the northeast coast "where the mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea."

The Burren (Clare): The Burren (from the Irish word "boíreann," meaning rocky place) is a 250-kilometer-square area in south-west Ireland. It's a vast karst landscape of broken limestone, cliffs, caves, fossils and rock formations.

Dublin Docklands (Dublin): The regenerated Dublin Docklands have seen plenty of new developments in recent years, including the construction of the Convention Centre Dublin and Samuel Beckett Bridge (pictured).

Ross Castle (Killarney): Ross Castle is a 15-century tower house and keep on the edge of Lough Leane, the largest of Killarney's three lakes.

Blarney Castle (Cork): Blarney Castle -- and the famous Blarney Stone inside it -- are so pretty it's no wonder people have been coming for centuries to kiss it.

Newgrange (Meath): This 5,000-year-old tomb is older than the Egyptian pyramids and is an astonishing feat of Neolithic engineering. It's aligned with the rising sun and on the winter solstice its innermost chamber is filled with light. Tickets for the annual event are only available by lottery.

Giant's Causeway (Antrim): Legend has it that these interlocking basalt columns were formed when Irish giant Finn McCool built a bridge across the Irish Sea so he could go fight a Scottish giant with whom he had beef. The scientific explanation is almost as good, though. The 40,000 pillars are the result of a volcanic eruption some 50 to 60 million years ago.

Hill of Tara (Meath): The Hill of Tara is the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland and has been in use since the Neolithic era. Margaret Mitchell borrowed some of Tara's resonance when she gave its name to Scarlett O'Hara's beloved homestead in "Gone With the Wind."

Glendalough (Wicklow): The glacial valley of Glendalough is home to a sixth-century monastic settlement founded by Saint Kevin. He was an ascetic, with one particularly lurid legend claiming he drowned a woman who tried to seduce him.

Kinsale (Cork): A stop on the Wild Atlantic Way -- a 2,500-kilometer driving route along the west coast -- Kinsale claims to be Ireland's foodie capital.

Dark Hedges (Antrim): You might recognize this avenue of 18th-century beech trees from the second season of "Game of Thrones," when Arya Stark flees King's Landing disguised as a boy. The village of Stranocum is now a regular stop on Northern Ireland's "Game of Thrones" location tours.

Lismore Castle (Waterford): Want to stay in your own private 12th-century castle, complete with 15 bedrooms? The Irish seat of Britain's Duke of Devonshire, Lismore Castle is available for exclusive hire -- at about 50,000 euros a week.

Achill Island (Mayo): Achill is the largest island off the coast of Ireland and is home to a population of fewer than 3,000 people. The land here is mostly peat bog.

Allihies (Cork): The Allihies Copper Mine Trail is a walking route around the wild Beara Peninsula, with spectacular mountain and sea views.

Glenariff Forest Park (Antrim): Hidden from the crowds heading to the nearby Giant's Causeway, Glenariff Forest Park is home to the Waterfall Walkway, featuring a total of three stunning waterfalls along its path.

32 beautiful reasons to visit Ireland

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Ireland, which has had one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns, will reopen to the EU, UK and US on July 19. Non-EU unvaccinated travelers will have to arrive with a negative test, then self-quarantine until they take a second post-arrival test

Slovenia has also reopened to tourism with its own traffic light system and testing requirements, which you can read about here.

The Netherlands is welcoming tourists from “safe countries with a low Covid-19 risk,” while Iceland, a member state of the European Economic Area, opened its borders to vaccinated travelers back in April.

Croatia is also welcoming vaccinated travelers, as well as those who present a negative PCR test or proof that they’ve recovered from Covid-19 within the past 180 days, and no less than 11 days before they arrive.

The UK’s transport minister, Grant Shapps, announced via Twitter on June 9 that a US-UK taskforce had been set up to facilitate the reopening of transatlantic travel, but there is no news yet of resumption of flights.

The Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea, is reportedly on course to fully reopen its borders with the UK on June 28, having been closed to almost all non-residents since March 2020.

Having recently been knocked off the UK’s green list, Portugal is hoping to build up some tourist numbers by welcoming vaccinated US travelers, but no date has been confirmed yet.

The Americas

The Macy's July 4 Fireworks -- pictured here in 2020 -- will be open to in-person viewing this year.

California is poised for its grand reopening of business on June 15, with masks becoming optional in many public settings – although restrictions vary between the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Be sure to check ahead before traveling, as there will be plenty of caveats.

New York City will be following suit on July 1 and, to kick the month off on style, Macy’s July 4 Fireworks will return to being an in-person event.

Canada, which has only been open to essential travel since the pandemic began last year, has given a cautious nod to possibly allowing fully vaccinated citizens to return home as early as July.

The Caribbean island of St. Bart’s is now welcoming fully vaccinated travelers from the US while UK and EU residents just need to do a pre-departure Covid test. St. Lucia has also eased on-island protocols for vaccinated travelers – including being able to book rental cars and dine at more local restaurants.

Middle East, Africa and Asia

Morocco will reopen to international travelers on June 15 and Algeria is also starting to reopen air travel. In the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi will end mandatory quarantine for international travelers on July 1. That’s the same day Phuket will be reopening over in Thailand.

Covid escape plan of the week

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Google 'sheep' view? Island maps itself

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However, there is some good news for fans of sheep-strewn archipelagos. Atlantic Airways is starting direct flights from Edinburgh to the Faroe Islands on July 1 – although at £308 ($406) per person return, it’s not cheap for a short hop.

The islands feature in the hotly anticipated and long delayed James Bond movie “No Time to Die,” coming later this year, and a new Sightseeing Tour visits the key locations. Keep your eyes closed to avoid spoilers.

CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Julia Buckley, Alaa Elassar, Jamiel Lynch, Lilit Marcus and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.