Holiday-anxious? Try our 10-point escape plan

If you haven’t ventured abroad since the pandemic began, you’re not alone – but help is at hand. Nick Trend gets you match-fit for travel

Plenty of people have managed to get away this summer but, for many, the uncertainties and anxieties of coronavirus remain a huge psychological barrier to travelling. And the longer we stay at home, the harder it gets to overcome that block.

It may easily be two years or more since you last went abroad and in that time the protocols have changed significantly – with a whole new regime of forms, tests and rules, plus a new set of risks to worry about. Ironically though, it has not been so much the fear of Covid-19 that has held us back, but the sheer nightmare of all that admin and the worry of what happens if we do fail a test.

In fact, although there is no doubt that the complications of Covid and Brexit have added to the hassle of going abroad, once you have got a grip on what is needed, it is a perfectly straightforward process.

As one reader who has just got back from a holiday in Spain said to me the other day: “I was very, very apprehensive before I left, but now I know what is actually involved, I’d go again tomorrow.”

So, now that the school holidays are over and things are quietening down again, why not think about breaking your duck? Whether you fancy some beach weather or a cultural break, September is just as lovely on the Mediterranean coast as on the boulevards of Paris.

To help you on your way, we have come up with a 10-point plan to ease you back into travel mode. You might want to re-start your travel in the gentlest way, or you might just need a confidence boost to see you off – either way, we’ve got it covered.

sense of release: if you’ve been put off travel since the beginning of the pandemic, perhaps now is the time...