What are your options for a post-lockdown holiday?
In a time when the closest thing we have to a “holiday” is a walk to the corner shop to buy some Pringles and a scratchcard, with a piece of ropy cloth clinging to our face, it’s understandable that so many of us are daydreaming of our next trip away.
Despite travel being off the cards right now, the travel corridors list – the Magna Carta for getaways – is still in operation. So how is it looking?
At first glance, it looks like the world is (or indeed, will be) our oyster. From New Zealand to Thailand, Japan to Fiji, a whole host of our long-haul holiday favourites have corridors. But look closer and you’ll see this doesn’t mean we can actually visit any of these. Many of the countries on the travel corridors list are refusing UK arrivals, and many that are welcoming us will make you self-isolate for 14 days on arrival. The corridors are one-way, you see – instructing where you can arrive from, without needing to quarantine back here in the UK.
And the list is by no means set in stone. Last night, Grant Shapps removed the UAE. Not that this makes an enormous difference right now, of course. We're not meant to travel at the moment anyway. And anyone currently in Dubai or one of the other Emirates would have to ‘stay home’ when they get back to the UK – corridor or no corridor. But this could stymie Dubai holiday plans after lockdown, if the UAE stays 'red' after the UK Government lifts its non-essential travel advisory and we're told to go back to the office.
So where is actually left, for people keen to take a punt on a post-lockdown holiday?
For a European escape, your best bets are Iceland, Madeira and Gibraltar. Iceland has ditched its quarantine restrictions for arrivals who can prove they have already had Covid-19. So if you land with an antibody test that is no more than 14 days old, you are free to explore. Everyone else can take a test at the border and a second test after five days, to leave isolation.
Obviously anything can change at short notice, but Iceland’s cases are low – eight new cases yesterday – just 30 cases per 100,000 over a seven-day period. The UK, by comparison, has 596 cases per 100,000.
In Madeira, you will need to take a test 72 hours before departure and undergo a health screening on arrival. However, Madeira currently has a strict curfew – you cannot go out between 6pm and 5am over weekends – but with a bit of luck these restrictions will no longer be in place by spring, or whenever you’re hoping to get away.
Gibraltar is temporarily cracking down on UK arrivals due to the new Covid-19 variant, but throughout the pandemic the island has been generous with its rules. For some time, it was the only place on Earth allowing in British holidaymakers without demanding a negative test, so we can expect ‘The Rock’ to be equally kind to us once cases come down in the UK.
By far the most bountiful corner of the planet, when it comes to viable travel corridors, is the Caribbean. A number of islands will let you in – Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, Grenada, St Kitts, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines – simply requesting a test before departure. Cuba asks UK holidaymakers to take a test on arrival, and Dominica and Anguilla require tests before departure and after arrival.
Note, however, that cases in Barbados are rising steeply. On January 2, Barbados had recorded a total of 395 cases throughout the pandemic. By January 11, there were 884 cases – more than doubling in just 9 days. The case rate is 96 per 100,000 over a 7-day period, which puts the island at serious risk of losing its travel corridor. If you’re itching to book, it might be safest to go for a different Caribbean island right now.
For a luxury escape in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is a solid bet. All tourists and short-term visitors must present a negative PCR test on arrival, taken no more than 96 hours before departure. Screening procedures are in place for all passengers on arrival, with quarantine facilities set up to isolate any suspected cases. Everything can change, but cases are presently low – there were 50 positive Covid-19 cases yesterday.
There are other countries on the list which do not impose major restrictions on UK arrivals – such as Rwanda – but getting there is a bit more fiddly. There are no direct flights to Rwanda, meaning you’ll have to make sure your connection country has a corridor – fly via Dubai and you will now have to quarantine on return to the UK; a trip there has double the risk of disappointment. Chile is also welcoming UK arrivals, and British Airways plans to restart flights after the latest lockdown.
There are other options out there. You could go to Sri Lanka, if you don’t mind spending your first 14 days locked inside a luxury hotel, and you can go to Bahrain if you are happy coughing up for its “enhanced arrivals testing procedure”, and you can also go to Cambodia if you don’t mind depositing US$2,000 (£1,472) for your Covid service charges.
If you are due to get vaccinated in the coming weeks you might want to take a punt on a country like Cyprus, which has said it will waive quarantine for anyone who has been vaccinated against Covid-19 – from March 2021 onwards. However, with Cyprus currently off the UK's travel corridors list, there would be risk of disappointment if things don't change in the next couple of months.
The reality is that, by the time we can travel again, case numbers around the world will have changed. Some of the countries listed above will have lost their travel corridors, and other favourite destinations will have gained them. When Italy, France, Spain and Greece are given the 'green light' and welcome us back, we might feel rather silly for booking that 10-day Easter escape to Gibraltar.
So, while it is tempting to get something in the calendar immediately after lockdown, the most sensible course of action is to hold fire and book at the last minute, once we have a fuller view of the terrain of travel. That is exactly what I plan to do. I will also probably wait until the Government lifts its requirement on all arrivals to take a test before returning – surely something they will be looking to do, as soon as it's deemed safe.
Or, if you really need something to look forward to – consider booking a bit further in the future. Just get hold of some bullet-proof travel insurance, make sure whoever you book with has an air-tight Covid cancellation policy, and an absolute must for holidaymakers in this new world: prepare for squeaky bums on Thursday evenings, when Grant Shapps updates the travel corridors list between now and departure.
Are you planning a post-lockdown holiday? Where do you hope to go? Comment below to let us know your plans.
