GET YOUR TESTING SORTED

I’ve just gone through the whole testbooking rigmarole before my trip to France. The key piece of advice is to get organised early and check exactly what you need for travel to your chosen destination. The Foreign Office travel advice website (gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice) is a good starting point, but your travel provider will also have full details.

Requirements for entry vary, but most European countries will allow the fully vaccinated to enter without having to show a negative test – though you will have to fill out a passenger locator form, which gives details of your vaccinations and where you will be staying. For your return to the UK, the minimum you will need is a negative test taken 72 hours or less before your return, and a test taken two days after your arrival back in this country, which has to be sent off for analysis.

The simplest way to organise these is through a company that will send you both tests. For my recent visit to France, it was quite straightforward. I took a lateral flow test pack with me on holiday and booked an online video appointment, so that I could be witnessed taking the test. Don’t leave it until the last minute to book the appointment or it may be hard to find a convenient time.

The other test you use on day two of your return, and it has a booking reference to add to your UK passenger locator form to prove you have booked and paid for it. It can be delivered to your home on the second day after your return – you send back the swab in a container and get the result a few days later. I used a company called Qured (qured.com) and it cost about £100.

Testing times: use a company that will send you all the tests you will need to take