GREEN IS FOR GO!

THE UK’S FIRST GREEN-LIST COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN REVEALED – BUT WHICH ONES CAN WE ACTUALLY VISIT, AND D WHAT’S THERE TO O SEE? RICHARD D MELLOR HAS THE ANSWERS S

PORTUGAL & ISLANDS SLANDS

HOLIDAY FACTOR: The Algarve is famed for its beaches, while the Alentejo has wilder scenery. Hip Lisbon and slower-paced aced Porto make for beautiful city ity breaks, while the Douro River er delights wine buffs. As for the e islands, Madeira offers great walking, while the volcanic, far-ar-flung flung Azores archipelago excels in whale-watching. Across them all, internal restrictions have mostly eased.

GET IN: Mainland Portugal and the Azores are due to join Madeira in welcoming Brits from today. Proof of a negative PCR test 72 hours before departure will be needed for quarantine-free travel.

HOW TO DO IT: From £720pp including flights, car hire, eight nights’ B&B at two quieter Algarve hotels and four PCR tests, via sunvil.co.uk

ICELAND

HOLIDAY FACTOR: Gobsmacking geography is Iceland’s big draw – gushing geysers and waterfalls here, lichen-covered lava fields or icebergdotted lakes there. Other attractions include whale-watching, foodie capital Reykjavik and two geothermal spas in the Blue Lagoon and the new, more chic Sky Lagoon. Internal Covid restrictions should uld ease on May 26.

GET IN: Visitors must take a free Covid-19 test on arrival, then wait up to 24 hours for results before travelling freely. Unvaccinated Brits must also quarantine for or six days before another r test. Much gentler conditions ditions are anticipated from June 1.

HOW TO DO IT: From £1,395pp including flights, car hire, six nights’ B&B across the island and whalewatching, via regent-holidays.co.uk

GIBRALTAR

HOLIDAY FACTOR: You can’t miss the Rock, a promontory on which macaque monkeys live, but leave time too for La Caleta, a pastel-coloured fishing village beside golden sands. With every adult now vaccinated, life in this British Overseas Territory – to which Wizz Air (from Luton), Eastern Airways (Birmingham and Southampton) and British Airways (London City) have all announced new routes – is largely back to normal. Summer often sees 30C temperatures. GET IN: Britons won’t need a negative test result to enter, nor to be vaccinated. International flights should resume shortly.

HOW TO DO IT: From £255pp including flights and three nights’ B&B at the central Bristol Hotel, via easyjet.com

. Tram home: Lisbon. . offers a hip city break.

Up the river: The Douro is known for its wines

Spa attraction: The chic new Sky Lagoon in Iceland is breathtaking

. Rock solid: La Caleta. . village (top) in Gibraltar.