Cape Town calls but can I skip quarantine?

QSouth Africa is on the British government’s red do-not-travel list. However, I am determined to attend the centenary celebrations of my nautical college in Cape Town next February. How do I avoid the 10-day quarantine in a Heathrow hotel on my return – if that requirement is still in place?

I am considering travelling back to the UK by ship – on a MACS Line freighter that takes eight passengers – from Cape Town to Vigo in Spain before flying home from there. The voyage takes 17 days. Will that be sufficient to avoid having to quarantine in the UK?

– Douglas Wrathmall

A

Strictly speaking, non-essential travel to South Africa is currently not advised by the government but is not banned. There are rumours this may soon change and it will come off the red list, but it is too early to be sure what the situation might be in February.

Unfortunately, your clever idea of returning on a cargo ship is a nonstarter. Specialist cargo cruising agent the Cruise People (020 7723 2450; cruisepeople.co.uk) says no cargo ships are taking passengers this winter, though managing director Kevin Griffin is hopeful that passengers will be allowed back on board by Easter.

While negotiating the ever-changing requirements for testing and entry paperwork costs time and money, the thing that can really scupper a trip to a red-list country is a late flight cancellation. Airlines flying out of the UK and Europe often cancel flights just outside the 14-day cut-off period for paying compensation, if bookings are low.

One solution is to spend time in Kenya, now back on the green list. There is a good choice of flights to Nairobi, either from the UK or via the Gulf on Qatar and Emirates. On your return from South Africa you could spend 10 nights in Kenya to avoid quarantining in the UK. I would advise booking flights through Trailfinders (020 7084 6500; trailfinders.com) which can advise on routings and will quickly change your itinerary if there is a problem.

Kenya is eager to welcome tourists again and it would be no hardship to spend a few days on safari in the Masai Mara followed by a week on the beach. As a former naval captain, you might enjoy Lamu, a short flight from Nairobi, where craftsmen still build Indian Ocean dhows on the beach and boat captains take tourists out for rides under sail. Peponi Hotel in Shela is the best place to stay, and staff can arrange for you to go out with local skippers.

Wild idea: one way to avoid having to self-isolate in the UK after a trip to South Africa is to spend 10 days in Kenya on the way back