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Can you visit the Eiffel Tower this year? (Getty)After over a year of lockdowns, restrictions, and troubling news a beach holiday is well overdue.
Foreign holidays are currently banned, and could land you with a £5,000 – but with the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine programme shaping up to be a roaring success, and England’s lockdown roadmap well underway, it looks like your dream city break could soon become a reality.
Each foreign country (and island) has been given a colour (green, amber or red) as part of the traffic light travel system which designates whether you’ll need to self-isolate on return to the UK.
Green countries will typically be places with low Covid-19 rates and a high percentage of vaccinated citizens – with amber and red countries considered a higher risk for spreading the virus.
But which countries have been given the amber light, and what are the rules?
Here’s all you need to know.
Which countries are on the amber travel list?
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Holidaymakers will be delighted to know that the vast majority of countries are on the amber list.
This includes popular beach destinations such as the Bahamas, Greece, Italy, Thailand, and Barbados.
City breaks are back on the cards too, with the likes of France, the United States, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands on the amber list.
These amber countries only apply to English holidaymakers – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not yet said when they might ease their travel rules.
It is worth noting that these countries may move up to the green category or down to red depending on their Covid-19 rates – Grant Shapps has confirmed that the lists will be reviewed every three weeks.
For the full red, amber, and green travel lists visit gov.uk.
Time to book your flights to Barcelona (Picture: Getty)How will the traffic light system work?
The lists will be decided based on the following criteria:
The percentage of a country’s population that have been vaccinated
The rate of infection
The prevalence of variants of concern
The country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing
What are the rules for travelling to an amber traffic light country?
While legal, the government is discouraging holidays to amber list destinations.
If you’re returning from an amber country, you must self-isolate for 10 days, unless you receive a negative result from a test taken at least five days after arrival.
You’ll also have to take a pre-departure test, plus Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on both day two and day eight of your arrival in the UK.
PCR tests must be booked through one of the Government’s approved providers.
The rules for quarantining upon arrival in your holiday country will depend on local rules, which you should look up ahead of time.
You will need to book some PCR tests (Picture: Getty)When will holidays abroad be allowed?
The roadmap for easing lockdown states those living in England can travel on holidays abroad from May 17 at the earliest.
All being well, more countries may be added to the green list by the end of June.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not said when they might ease their strict travel rules.
MORE : What is a Travel Test Package and how do you book one?
MORE : How far can I travel in the UK right now?
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