What's international travel like these days ?

[makelovenotpetrol]

Would anyone go on holiday abroad at Xmas ?

We have no concerns over catching covid. We're both fully vaxxed and have young kids below the age for being vaccinated.

But my worry is that if we go somewhere, that seemed ok and that we could go and come back without having to isolate or something, that the rules would change whilst we were there and it would just ruin everything.

Is this still the case though? I've lost track totally of what's going on with regards to travel - I know it used to be the case that rules and zones and whatever would change whilst people were away and they'd find themselves suddenly having to pay thousands for a quarantine hotel or whatever, but is this still the case ?

Our kids are too young to put up with things like that and I have to return to work and I can't work at home.

We were thinking somewhere hot like Thailand.

I have travelled a lot throughout the pandemic, mostly for work but some family trips too.
The rules seem finally pretty settled in the UK. As long as your destination isn't on the red list you can come back with no quarantine and just have to do a LFT on return.
However watch out for the rules in other countries. Some still require a negative test to enter or are completely closed to non nationals. Thailand has been hit badly in the later stages of the pandemic so I'm not sure of its current status, you'd need to check

@Frederica852

I have travelled a lot throughout the pandemic, mostly for work but some family trips too. The rules seem finally pretty settled in the UK. As long as your destination isn't on the red list you can come back with no quarantine and just have to do a LFT on return. However watch out for the rules in other countries. Some still require a negative test to enter or are completely closed to non nationals. Thailand has been hit badly in the later stages of the pandemic so I'm not sure of its current status, you'd need to check

Ah ok. That's what I'm worried about - our rules for coming back changing. If that's not so much the case anymore then that's promising

We're not set on Thailand I just gave it as an example as we would want to go somewhere hot so it would be somewhere like that / quite long haul. I'd check obviously before booking. I'd also plan on doing it quite last minute so we had the up to date rules in that country.

Mauritius might fit the bill, think they've opened up to tourists again now

@Frederica852

Mauritius might fit the bill, think they've opened up to tourists again now

Oh thank you! I'll have a look there !!

We are off to Spain for Christmas. If the plane is leaving I will be on it.

We’re off to the Canaries for new year. You can’t live your life with what ifs. We went abroad last summer and twice this summer, no issues.

I believe Thailand has different rules if you’re going to Phuket. I’m thinking about going next year.

I’ve been on approx 35 flights since the pandemic started. This year it’s much better and easier than it in late 2020.

The rules aren’t changing as often and unpredictably as they used to, there are set reviews every X weeks in each country, and if there was a sudden change due to some catastrophic rise somewhere, you’d hear about it quickly.

I have only travelled in Europe though, have Asia and the US planned for first half of 2022 so I can’t comment on long haul yet.

The forms are a pain and you need to spend a bit of time reading up on each country’s restrictions, but everything is very clearly explained I have found. Don’t trust the gov.uk travel website. Go straight to the destination country’s official sources for reliable information.

Thailand is still expecting all non residents to quarantine on arrival

Same for Hong Kong (21days in quarantine)

We're off to the canaries for new year
Hopefully do HK and Thailand if the rules change

They try and bring people home before any new rules take effect (eg Morocco last week)

The rules from coming back won’t change overnight, but there is of course the possibility of testing positive the day before getting on the plane back, or the day after landing. In the same way that it’s an option at home every day really. So do have contingency plans in place and don’t travel unless you know exactly what you’d do if something like that happened. Good insurance and a rough plan in your mind, like you would’ve done before Covid but now with Covid in consideration if that makes sense!

With the change to LFT as of yesterday it’s a bit less expensive for incoming tourists.
The biggest problem is with Easyjet who keep cancelling flights. After 2 changes and lots of vouchers I currently don’t have a flight into the Uk, which means I can’t book a car rental.
So it’s all a bit disorganized but like a PP says, if there’s a flight that day were going to be on it!

www.wanderlust.co.uk/content/coronavirus-travel-updates/

This website is your friend.

Stays pretty up to date re what the other countries require, and separates them by continent, and then groups for ones that let Brits in, and ones that don't.

@TomAllenWife

Thailand is still expecting all non residents to quarantine on arrival

Same for Hong Kong (21days in quarantine)

We're off to the canaries for new year
Hopefully do HK and Thailand if the rules change

They try and bring people home before any new rules take effect (eg Morocco last week)

There is an exception for Phuket, you don't need to quarantine if you're vaccinated. If you stay 7 nights you are then able to travel elsewhere in Thailand without quarantine:

www.thaiembassy.com/travel-to-thailand/no-quarantine-phuket-sandbox-plan

@BrightYellowDaffodil but you have to fly in from abroad eg not Thai airways

I wonder what this would mean if I stopped in HK then flew to Phuket

@TomAllenWife

I don’t think you can get direct flights from the UK to Phuket, so you’d just need to make sure you did your transfer outside Thailand rather than inside (as in, you couldn’t change within Thailand).

It's easier than people believe. As long as your organised. Had some great holidays during the pandemic :) also work at a uk airport (non london) and things have really picked up now. Not quite pre covid but well on the way:)