Escape lockdown: Six places you can still fly to before Thursday
Unless you have been living under a rock (and if you have – Dose of Mild Covid-Era Humour Alert – you’ve started early, because the under-rock-living requirement doesn’t kick in until later in the week), we are about to enter another national lockdown. As of November 5, if you live in England, it’s back to working from home and not going out beyond essential shopping and exercise. And with this, as of Thursday, holidays of any sort are also banned – whether that be a weekend in Norfolk, or a fortnight in Barbados.
Of course, if you want to look on the bright side (apparently it still exists somewhere; have you checked behind the sofa?), this also means that you have two days to get up, out and away. The officially sanctioned “travel corridors” allowing for breaks that do not require two weeks of quarantine on return will still be in play until lockdown officially begins – and if you are (really) quick, you can still make a dash for the beach before the shutters come down. The new restrictions permit tourists to conclude their holidays and fly back to the UK on their intended dates – as long as they have left before this Thursday.
In other words, if you have the time, the inclination, and the desire for a spot of sunshine, you can still go abroad. At time of writing, the following six packages are all possible. But don’t delay. Never has the old phrase “last-minute booking” been more appropriate…
Rhodes
Greece has been gloriously resistant to Covid travel restrictions all summer, and while some of its islands were subject to UK quarantine requirements for a short time, the whole country is currently available to British travellers. Although temperatures have obviously dipped, you can still expect warmth of around 20C on the Aegean islands in November.
A seven-night all-inclusive getaway to the five-star Labranda Blue Bay resort, at Ialyssos, on the north coast of Rhodes, flying from Manchester tomorrow (November 3), starts at £345 a head, with Olympic Holidays (020 8492 6868; olympicholidays.com).
Kos
As the above price for a week in Rhodes surely indicates, there are bargains in the offing if you know where to look. And if you are going to flee Britain’s imminent lockdown at short notice, you may as well do so for a fortnight as a week.
A 14-night all-inclusive stay at the four-star Blue Lagoon Resort, at the north tip of Kos, flying from Gatwick on Wednesday (November 4), starts at £513 a head through TUI (020 3451 2688; tut.co.uk).
Tenerife
It has been less than a fortnight since the Canary Islands were restored to the travel corridor list – but you can still slip through this briefly open window before it is bolted shut once more. Again, speed is most definitely of the essence.
A 10-night half-board stay at the five-star Hotel Riu Palace on Tenerife’s Costa Adeje, flying from Birmingham tomorrow, costs from £1,172 a head via First Choice (020 3451 2716; firstchoice.co.uk).
Barbados
For those looking a little further afield, the Caribbean is also feasible. Barbados requires tourists coming in from the UK to be carrying proof of a negative PCR test for Covid-19, taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival, with a second test to be administered two or three days into the holiday – but otherwise, travellers can “self-isolate” in the beachfront hotel of their choice.
A 14-night all-inclusive break at the four-star Sugar Bay resort, on the south-west corner of the island, near Bridgetown, flying from Heathrow on Wednesday, starts at £2,189 a head. Options for private Covid tests include Nomad Travel (01341 555 061; nomadtravel.co.uk) - and VFS Global (020 3603 3860; vfsglobal.com).
The Maldives
If the mental image of a desert island where you can see out some of lockdown sounds like paradise – which it very much does right now – then the Maldives could also be on your agenda. The Indian Ocean archipelago requires a negative PCR test certificate dated no more than 96 hours prior to departure, but had no quarantine period for tourists.
A 14-night full-board holiday at the five-star Meeru Island Resort & Spa, flying from Gatwick on Wednesday, costs from £3,135 a head via Sovereign (01293 832 657; sovereign.com).
The Seychelles
Elsewhere in the most sun-dappled and turquoise-shallowed of the seven seas, the Seychelles will also provide shelter for drop-everything-and-go lockdown escapees. Here, the negative PCR test must be dated no more than 48 hours prior to departure, and you have to remain in your designated hotel until a second test is administered on the fifth day of your stay - but the beauty of the archipelago makes this small imposition more than worthwhile.
A 17-day break at the five-star Raffles Seychelles resort on (the second island) Praslin, flying from Heathrow on Wednesday, starts at £4,828 per person, including breakfast, through British Airways Holidays (0344 493 0787; ba.com/holidays).
