Can we go on holiday abroad right now?
If there’s one thing we’ve all never been more deserving of it’s an effing break. Maybe a little festive hibernation just you and the telly, a self-imposed ban on reading any more depressing news or an actual getaway in the form of an international holiday. Set on seeing off this sodding year with an escape overseas? Here’s the deal at the moment.
Are holidays allowed right now?
Everyone living in England was subject to a travel ban during lockdown. Overnight stays in the UK and trips abroad were not permitted unless they were for essential reasons relating to work, health or education. However, when the lockdown lifted, this nationwide travel ban will expired.
So, travel is back on the agenda in December?
Yep. It is no longer prohibited for anyone in England to leave their homes to travel.
The government guidance states that accommodation providers must remain closed in areas that fall under Tier 3, like London, and that people who live in these highest risk areas should ‘avoid travelling to other parts of the UK, including for overnight stays other than where necessary, such as for work, education, youth services, to receive medical treatment, or because of caring responsibilities’ but there is no actual travel ban preventing people from moving around the country.
Can we go abroad?
Yes. The same rules apply to international travel. ‘Domestic and international travel [are] permitted again subject to guidance in each tier,’ reads the government’s ‘Winter Plan’. Again, it isn’t encouraged for people who are living in Tier 3 areas but there is no official ban in place preventing it.
Instead, the guidance states that, when it comes to international travel, people living in all three tiers should check ‘the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice for your destination and the travel corridors list’.
Where can we travel now without facing quarantine?
As you’re probably all too aware, the list of countries on the travel corridors ‘safe’ list changes all the time, as the rate of infection changes around the world. Right now, you’re able to visit the likes of Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Dominica, some Greek islands, The Maldives, Namibia, Rwanda, St Lucia, Turks and Caicos Islands and Dubai, as well as Iceland if you can prove you’ve already had Covid, without facing quarantine at either end.
Sure, it’s not a huge list, but that might change in the coming weeks and, if you’re desperate to go somewhere, it’s something!
Find out where else is on England’s travel corridors list.
Here are the rules for travelling to see family and friends this Christmas.
