Now, however, the addition of mainland Portugal to the green list looks likely, as the country’s average daily case rate remains consistently below 500.
“Portugal should be green from 17th May,” tweeted Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s vaccine drive is continuing apace, with 24.6 per cent of its population having had their first inoculation.
The nation lifted its ban on UK flights in March, and tourism minister Rita Marques told industry leaders this month that Portugal would try “at all costs to avoid quarantines and additional Covid-19 tests” for international arrivals, adding that she believed the UK will remain its largest inbound market.
Happily, a handful of hotels have their own beach huts; some you can stay in and avail of the hotel’s facilities and amenities, while others are offered as practical bases in which to store one’s beach-day paraphernalia.
Sophia Chan revealed in a press briefing that venues, including the likes of karaoke bars, will be allowed to open if all staff and customers have had at least one dose of an approved vaccine.
When – and if – the government confirms that we can start travelling again on May 17, there will no doubt be a rush of bookings.
Let’s remember that hotel rates abroad may well remain low for some time to come: competition for a smaller pool of travellers will be fierce and that will keep pressure on prices.
According to his social media, Steve Davis has been diagnosed with hypothermia and Covid-19, which has put a premature end to his expedition.
A hundred years ago, Trieste was one of the great seaports of the world – an animated Riviera town, and a Mitteleuropean trading hub as easily accessible by rail from the Baltic as it was from Egypt by boat.
So, how is it these days that so few people are familiar with Trieste? While Venice hogs the headlines with the never-ending controversy of megatonne cruise ships entering its fragile lagoon, Trieste, barely two hours away, was designed for ocean-going traffic.
British Airways has today announced four new short-haul routes between the UK and eastern Europe this summer.
Wroclaw flights will operate twice a week, from £83 return.
“Until the UK has a digital passport, we have seen the paper cards that are provided with the two vaccine appointment dates and we are recognising them.
Our colleague Emma Featherstone is in Jersey this week, reporting on the island’s route out of lockdown.
Last year, 2.5 million holidaymakers travelled with Tui Group – approximately 10 per cent of a regular season, according to industry magazine Travel Weekly.
There has been increasing speculation that the US could be added to the UK’s green list this summer, enabling quarantine-free travel.
It is expected the Government will reveal next week which countries will open, quarantine-free, for British travellers from May 17.