Amid the UK traffic light system and international entry rules, travel is no easy feat for the holiday hungry this year. Despite this, one expert has estimated as many as 400,000 Britons are set to fly internationally this weekend alone.
However, the host of The Big Travel Podcast Lisa Francesca Nand, has warned of some areas which could catch Britons out if they do not prepare.
“I think one very important thing is that we might decide we want to go to a country, but if you do decide you want to go somewhere check [you must] everything about whether we’re allowed in there, what the requirements are,” she told GB News.
Indeed, travel rules both in the UK and abroad have been changing in rapid succession.
On June 30, the Balearic Islands, home to Menorca, Majorca and Ibiza, were deemed safe enough to go onto the green list sparking a surge in holidays.
READ MORE: Holiday warning: Britons warned ‘not to commit’ to travel
As per this list, quarantine applies to all travellers, regardless of their inoculation status.
France is currently the only nation on the “amber plus list”, though there are concerns COVID-19 figures in both Spain and Greece could indicate they might be next to move.
However, it isn’t just the chop and change approach of the UK Government that could cause trouble for travellers.
“Bulgaria went on the green list and then they immediately said they don’t want us in there,” pointed out Ms Nand.
“The US has warned against all travel here and we haven’t been allowed in there since March 2020.”
Croatia, which has also been flagged as a popular holiday haunt since being added to the green list, suddenly switched up its entry requirements for UK arrivals on Wednesday evening.
Due to rising COVID-19 cases in the UK, Britons will have to face tougher entry measures from July 26.
Travellers will have to show proof of a negative PCR test previously performed in the UK when entering Croatia.
The rule applies to all UK arrivals, regardless of whether or not they can prove they have been double jabbed.
A statement said: “Due to the worsening of the epidemiological situation in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Russia, as an additional measure for people arriving from those countries, a negative (COVID-19) test will be required regardless of whether they are vaccinated or have already had the disease.”
Ms Nand says typically popular destinations including Spain remain high on the list of places people are heading to this weekend.
Contrastingly, however, travel expert Simon Calder has warned Britons off planning holidays too far in advance.
Speaking on his Travel Radio podcast ‘Your Travel Questions Answered’ alongside Paul Charles, CEO of the PC Agency, he said the “anticipation” of a holiday was rapidly turning to “apprehension”.
Following France’s addition to the “amber plus list”, he said “committing” to travel plans might not be such a good idea at the moment.
“I was one of the many people who was due to go to France,” he said.
“Luckily, I am so old school that I was about to do the traditional thing where you catch a train to the coast.
“I was going to get to Newhaven, I was going to go up to the ticket desk in the port and say I would like to go to Dieppe, please.
“And so I booked absolutely nothing partly because everything is so up in the air that not committing to things is, unfortunately, a good strategy.
“I say this as somebody who absolutely loves and used travel agents.
“I love the anticipation of any holiday, and that is a really important component, but at the moment the more I speak to people who have got trips booked the more this wonderful sense of anticipation is being replaced by apprehension.”
For all the latest Lifestyle News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
