HERE COMES THE SUN!
We have the ‘roadmap’ at last — so what about a ‘travel map’ for summer? Here’s our country-by-country guide and everything you need to plan a long-awaited break
THE Government has not exactly been fanning the flames of enthusiasm for well-deserved getaways this summer. All we know for now is that until May 17 foreign travel for tourism is illegal and EU leaders agreed on Thursday to introduce vaccine passports by the summer.
We are due a review on April 12, which hopefully will give us the green light, although thousands of us have been voting with our feet booking trips near and far. Quite right, too. Read the small print, obviously, to make sure you will be refunded if disaster strikes again but we believe firmly that it’s never too early to think about a holiday, not least because it gives us something to look forward to. And we all need that.
So here is our guide to what to expect in some of our most popular destinations, with the likelihood of holidays marked out of five palm trees . . .
ALL GO IN GREECE
THE Greeks love us and we love Greece. So much that four million Britons fly in each year. Dear old Greece already has forged a ‘vaccine bubble’ agreement with Israel and cyprus, meaning those who have been vaccinated will be able to travel between the countries without needing to quarantine or be tested.
It is now keen to strike the same deal with the UK and welcome us in May. Greece is rolling out its
vaccination programme at a rapid rate, from mega-facilities capable of inoculating up to 20,000 people a day. Parts of the country, including Athens, are in lockdown, with all restaurants, bars and hotels closed. However, restrictions are expected to lift in the spring. Face masks are mandatory in indoor spaces. TOTAL VACCINES ADMINISTERED: 826,370 (population 10.7 million). WHAT THEY SAY: Greece’s tourism minister Haris Theoharis is hoping for a ‘semi-normal summer’. He says discussions are under way between Greece and the UK and hopes a ‘vaccine passport’ scheme could facilitate travel between the two countries. He added that the scheme would mean only unvaccinated tourists would need to be tested. WHAT WE SAY: If we’re going anywhere for sure this summer, it’s to Greece. The country has fared better than most of its European neighbours during the pandemic, having registered 155,000 infections and a death toll of 5,700, and has introduced an impressive vaccination programme. SELF-CATERING LUXURY: Seven nights at three-bedroom Villa Anastasia (sleeping six) on Crete from £3,163 on June 22, including flights ( gicthevillacollection.com). BUDGET: Seven nights at Matina Aparthotel in Pefkos, Rhodes, from £ 532pp in J u l y, including flights ( jet2holidays.com).
FOGGY FOR FRANCE
WITH cultural venues shut, restaurants open only for takeaways and a strictly enforced 6pm curfew, many French residents have been crossing the border into Spain.
There are situations where residents can leave the house during curfew but they must have an attestation, a form filled in and signed by an employer, for instance.
Restaurants, bars, theatres and gyms have been closed since October last year and will reopen on April 6 at the earliest. However, beaches are open.
Nice, which has the highest rate in France, has gone into partial lockdown for the next two weeks.
The government may extend the lockdown to other areas, including Paris and Calais, where infections have surpassed 250 per 100,000 people. About 50 per cent of new cases in France are caused by the so-called British variant of the virus.
The slow pace of France’s vaccination programme has been much criticised.
However, the campaign has gained some momentum in recent weeks. And French President Emmanuel Macron is concerned that vaccine certificates would discriminate against those who have not been immunised, particularly young people. TOTAL VACCINES ADMINISTERED: 4.1 million (population 67 million). WHAT THEY SAY: The borders are currently closed to anyone wishing to travel from the UK and the French government has said little about when it hopes to reopen to tourists. WHAT WE SAY: Without much guidance, it’s difficult right now to predict whether we will be able to holiday in the country this year.
SELF-CATERING
LUXURY: Seven nights at three- bedroom Villa Marie (sleeping six) in Provence from £4,048 in August ( akvillas. com). British Airways flies to Marseilles. BUDGET: A week at Residhome Nice Promenade from £316pp in September, including flights. ( thomascook.com)
VERDICT:
EYES EYESONISRAEL ON ISRAEL
THE world’s leading country for vaccinations, Israel is a strong contender for a summer getaway.
Domestic tourism resumed this week, including the reopening of hotels, museums and theatres, for people who can show that they have had both their shots or have recovered from coronavirus, using a ‘green pass’ mobile app.
This is likely to become a requirement for international tourists once borders reopen.
Israel will move into the second phase of its exit plan on March 7 when restaurants and cafés, currently restricted to deliveries, reopen.
The main airport could open on March 6 at the earliest.
Social distancing and facemasks are still required in most indoor social settings.
The country has struck a deal with Greece and Cyprus to allow restrictionfree travel for vaccinated tourists. T O TAL VA C C I N E S ADMINISTERED: 7.9 million (population 9 million). WHAT THEY SAY: The Tourism Ministry has launched a new campaign, ‘Bring Tourism Back to
The good news is we have a target date for travel — and countries across Europe are gearing up to welcome us
Israel’, in which they expect to open up to international arrivals ‘in the middle of 2021’. WHAT WE SAY: The country’s impressive vaccination programme makes it a good bet for a summer holiday. SELF-CATERING LUXURY: A week’s stay in a four-bedroom villa (sleeping 12) in Tel Aviv is from £2,555 in July. Virgin Atlantic flies to the city. ( airbnb.co.uk). BUDGET: Seven nights in a threebedroom beachfront apartment (sleeping eight) in Haifa is from £833 in July. ( airbnb.co.uk)
COUNT ON CROATIA
DEALS were plentiful in Croatia last year as the country enjoyed a busy summer. And competitive prices are expected to continue this summer, according to the president of the Croatian Tourism Association, Veljko Ostojic, who said tourism will ‘start recovering in the second quarter’.
Masks are required indoors and outdoors where it is not possible to maintain a 1.5- metre social distance, with £55 fines for those who do not comply.
Hotels and beaches remain open but restaurants are operating only for takeaways. Arrivals from the EU can visit unrestricted.
However, anyone arriving from the UK, South Africa and Brazil needs to self-isolate for 14 days owing to the mutant strains.
The country has begun its vaccination programme and aims to inoculate 50 per cent of the adult population by summer.
TOTAL VACCINES ADMINISTERED: 194,267 (population 4 million). WHAT THEY SAY: Veljko Ostojic said he expects ‘good numbers [of tourists] from the second half of May onwards’. The Croatian National Tourist Board has launched a new campaign on social media ‘ Croatia Full of New Beginnings’. WHAT WE SAY: Croatia’s eagerness to welcome tourists and its comparably low infection rates make it a good bet for an affordable holiday in the sun.
SELF-CATERING
LUXURY: A week at six-bedroom Villa Pegasus (sleeping eight) near Split from £4,289 in June ( croatian villaholidays. com). Croatian Airlines flies to Split. BUDGET: Seven nights at threebedroom Villa Tempera in Istria ( sleeping six) from £ 769 in September ( myistria.com).
VERDICT:
WAITING ON SPAIN
SINCE coming out of one of the world’s tightest national lockdowns last year, Spain has taken a more localised approach to restrictions and this is likely to continue as regions are expected to open up to tourism at different times.
The country is looking to introduce a vaccine passport scheme, with the Balearics — Ibiza, Formentera, Mallorca and Menorca — seeking to become the first region to do so in May.
The Canary Islands, which has maintained the lowest infection rate of all regions in Spain throughout the pandemic, is expected to open up soon after.
Spain’s foreign secretary proposed that ‘vaccine certificate holders could be exempt from taking a test’.
Bars and restaurants are slowly starting to open up in some regions of mainland Spain with social distancing measures in place.
The country is vaccinating its residents at a slow rate, with recent problems over deliveries and distribution of vaccines hampering the campaign. Face masks are mandatory indoors. TOTAL VACCINES ADMINISTERED: 3.4 million (population 47 million). WHAT THEY SAY: Spain’s Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto believes that if the vaccination campaign goes to plan and herd immunity is achieved throughout the summer, ‘it gives hope and certainty that the second semester of 2021 will be when the reactivation of the tourism sector’ takes place. WHAT WE SAY: Our best chances of visiting Spain this year will be from July onwards. Holidays before then could be tricky. SELF-CATERING LUXURY: Seven nights at fivebedroom Casa Grande Country House (sleeping ten) is from £7,656 in September. Wizz Air flies to Mallorca. BUDGET: Six nights self-catering at Protur Aparthotel in Mallorca from £688pp in July, including flights. ( tui.co.uk).
DOUBTS OVER ITALY
RESTRICTIONS in 15 of Italy’s 20 regions were eased earlier this month through its three- tier regional programme, enabling bars and restaurants to serve customers indoors.
In Rome, the Colosseum and Vatican reopened for the first time in two months.
The entire country is under a 10pm curfew and its state of emergency has been extended until April 30, banning residents from crossing regional borders after a 10 per cent week-on-week rise in new cases.
Italy’s National Federation of Travel and Tourism Industry is urging the government to launch a digital vaccination passport but the authorities have said little on the matter.
More than three million jabs have been administered but, like France, progress has been hampered by delayed deliveries.
Italy’s new Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, pledged last week to speed up the country’s vaccination programme WHAT ABOUT VACCINATIONS? 3 million doses ( 5 per cent of population) WHAT THEY SAY: Not a lot. Tourism minister Dario Franceschini says ‘Italian tourism will return very quickly’ after the pandemic. WHAT WE SAY: The prospect of holidaying in Italy this year remains unclear. If you are desperate to visit, hold off for a few months before booking. SELF-CATERING LUXURY: A week at two-bedroom Casa Nerello ( sleeping four) in Sicily from £5,139 in July, including flights ( cvvillas. com, thinkingtraveller.com). BUDGET: Seven nights at threebedroom Villa Chiaraluce (sleeping six) in Puglia from £475pp (saving 20 per cent) in September, including flights. ( dialaflight.com).
MAKE IT MONTENEGRO
MONTENEGRO’S new government removed all restrictions for overseas visitors in January — one of only a handful of nations across the globe to have done so.
The open invitation originally included British holidaymakers, until the Kent strain was discovered. Now a ban on Britons is in place, although this is likely to go by the summer.
The government wants to make the country ‘corona- safe’ to lure back holidaymakers, although there is a problem with vaccine supply. Masks must be worn in indoor and outdoor public places. Cinemas, theatres, cafes and bars are open but not nightclubs. TOTAL VACCINES ADMINISTERED:
No data as vaccine programme only began this week . WHAT THEY SAY: The new foreign minister, Djordje Radulovic, states: ‘Tourists can come from Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia — you name it — [and they] will be safe and sound in our country.’ WHAT WE SAY: Worth considering for a holiday in late May because visitors will be extremely welcome ( visit-montenegro.com).
The population is 622,000 and there are about 400 new Covid