That holiday destination list....

[ShamedBySiri]

As I haven't got spare cash for an overpriced holiday abroad I have been able to laugh at the list. Though I would love a trip to Portugal or Iceland, both places I have had great trips to in the past. But the rest of the list??? I've seriously wondered if the government are just trolling us now!

South Georgia anyone? I'm not sure if there is even any permanent habitation there? Obviously if you are the next David Attenborough and want to study the penguins I'm delighted that you should be able to pursue your career. And I love penguins. But it's not exactly a practical holiday destination for most of us.
It would probably take the best part of a week to get there for starters (and another week to return obv).

Where do you fancy going to on the list?
(Australia and New Zealand are out as they aren't letting us in).

It's being touted as a holiday destination list but it's not - it's a list of countries from which travellers to the UK (or is it just England?) don't need to isolate on arrival.

As you've noted, Australia and NZ aren't letting tourists in anyway. St Helena requires 2 weeks quarantine on arrival, that's if you can get there. Ascension, Tristan and South Georgia are extremely difficult to get to and aren't tourist destinations. Don't know if Falklands is accepting tourists.

I bet Portugal are delighted! Holiday prices have shot up today 🙈

And it conveniently ignores the fact that some of those countries may have their own quarantine regulations to comply with.

Iceland for instance appears to require vaccination certificates, testing and/or quarantine.

@RafaIsTheKingOfClay - I do hope that's the South Sandwich islands otherwise your plans are buggered

Yes it is South Sandwich islands, so should be fine.

Currently you can only get into to Portugal if you are resident there or are from an EU/Schengen country. They may relax that later this month but I wouldn’t be spending huge amounts of money on tickets there just yet.

You could tell it was going to be a shit list when they sent Grant Shapps out to make the announcement. A good range of holiday destinations that were willing to accept us would have been announced by Boris, telling us he'd save summer holidays.

It was always going to be a shit list. It could never have been anything else. Especially once you take into account the restrictions countries that have control of Covid might have on entering by and any ongoing restriction e.g. masks and social distancing they might have while you are there.

Like your reading of the runes @Justajot.

I've given up on holidays now. People ran for their vaccines so that they could go on holiday this summer and here we are! It's a farce !

People ran for their vaccines so that they could go on holiday this summer and here we are! It's a farce

I ran for my vaccine so I wouldn’t die from COVID.

@HeddaGarbled

People ran for their vaccines so that they could go on holiday this summer and here we are! It's a farce

I ran for my vaccine so I wouldn’t die from COVID.

Yup, I ran for my vaccine as doing my bit to slow the spread and start digging us out of this mess. Holidays were waaay down the list of reasons I got vaccinated.

Singapore also isn't letting the UK strain in.

Not that I'm keen on international travel this year, but the places on the list are perfectly good destinations. Iceland is amazing, Portugal has some lovely parts, and Israel has sun and beaches (don't know how cheap a trip there is). The other places would also be well worth a visit - although I question the morality of us potentially bringing the UK (or other) strain to very small countries that might lack the infrastructure or healthcare needed to deal with an outbreak. Unless they've all been vaccinated?

Singapore has it’s own problems with a ‘spike’ of what might be the Indian variant. It’s only about 60 or so cases, but anybody coming from anywhere that has community spread of Covid needs to do a 21 day quarantine in a registered facility.

Israel & Iceland are probably your best bet if you are fully vaccinated. Maybe Portugal depending on what it decides.

I always wanted to see the Faroe Islands, shame about the quarantine rules for the first 4/5 days. That's half my holiday gone!

I certainly didn't think I'll get my vaccine to go on holiday more like I have 2 young kids I don't want to die!!
What it has done is made the price of uk breaks go sky high

I won't be going anywhere abroad anytime soon far too risky

They touted it as a holiday destination list to get hopes up pre election then released the list a day after.

They also delayed releasing info on the Indian variant for the same reason.

People in the UK should be shouting louder to be part of the digital green certificate being introduced in Europe. In very few weeks Europeans are going to have a way to travel between countries safely, through a combination of vaccination/certificate of recovery from covìd in last 6 months/negative PCR test. It is going to cost Europeans little to nothing to have this pass and will be a qr code on their phones. Britain should have been planning their technology in line with Europe, ideally using the same system, but the Tories avoid anything European for ideological reasons, despite it being a great idea that has been well thought through, especially from a privacy standpoint.

I also think the UK is being taken for a ride with all these mandatory 10 day self quarantines. Sure, people will be forced to buy overpriced day 2 and 8 tests from private companies (there is a scandal to be revealed there I am 100% sure there will be some guardian journalism into this before long!) But we are really kidding ourselves if we believe everyone who goes to amber destinations this summer will do the self isolation. As soon as the travel ban is lifted we will have ALL the variants. People won't isolate. We have the threat of a 10,000 fine and no one to enforce it. It's a joke.

I live in Singapore. I can't even leave the country as you need special government permission to get back in as a resident plus 21 days quarantine, 100% no tourists allowed. The list is flawed to say the least...

It’s not just a holiday list though - for people who live in countries on the green list who may have links to the U.K., they can now travel back much easier (I’m one of these as I’m in Aus but all my family are in the U.K. - at least I would be able to get back and not quarantine if there was a family emergency).

I reckon if you chartered a cruise ship to all the islands in the south Atlantic on the green list, with a stop off in Gibraltar on the way, for the end of May half term, you could name your price and it would sell out.

Otherwise, we have to wait a bit longer. But I think that's where we're heading over the next few months. Normal life more or less back to normal from 21 June, but severe restrictions on foreign travel.

We've just booked a European city break for late August as we had vouchers from a cancellation last year that were going to expire and I'm hopeful it will go ahead but won't be surprised if it cancels again.

@Plumedenom

People in the UK should be shouting louder to be part of the digital green certificate being introduced in Europe. In very few weeks Europeans are going to have a way to travel between countries safely, through a combination of vaccination/certificate of recovery from covìd in last 6 months/negative PCR test. It is going to cost Europeans little to nothing to have this pass and will be a qr code on their phones. Britain should have been planning their technology in line with Europe, ideally using the same system, but the Tories avoid anything European for ideological reasons, despite it being a great idea that has been well thought through, especially from a privacy standpoint.

Think the fact that the British shouted loudly they didn't want to be part of the EU might have scuppered that one.

I'm currently in France, not on holiday, but for sad personal reasons. My PCR test in Scotland before leaving cost £80, my 2 PCR tests booked for day2 and day8 quarantine cost 150.
My PCR test in France....free.
Some serious profiteering going on in UK