International Travel Returns
Posted on Monday 24th May 2021 by
Great News! International travel is back with the introduction of a traffic light system for UK travellers.
Although Crete has initially been placed on the amber list it is not all bad, as it is likely to be a temporary move by the UK government who want a safe and cautious return to travel.
What does an amber rating means for travelling?
Countries are rated by the Global Travel Taskforce who consider a range of factors when categorising a country. This includes the current rate of infection; the percentage of the population vaccinated; the presence of new variants and other scientific data/genomic sequencing.
An amber rating for Crete means that your holiday can go ahead as planned as the FCDO are not advising against travel. Travellers will need to take a test within 72 hours of your return to the UK, isolate for 10 days on arrival and have PCR tests booked to take on day 2 and 8 of your isolation period. This can be reduced however if you opt to Test to Release on day 5.
Once Crete moves onto the green list there is no requirement to self-isolate or take a test on day 8.
Why is Crete rated amber and will this change?
The decision to put Crete on the amber list is partially due to the current vaccination rate of the population. However, the Greek government has committed to fully vaccinating all the residents on nearly 100 of its islands before the end of July. We are extremely hopeful that Greece will get the green light at the next review on the 31st May, which comes into effect on the 7th June.
Planning your Escape
With things looking positive we want to remind you about our COVID-19 Guarantee i.e.; we may defer your final balance closer to the day of departure (no later than 14 days to departure) in case of ongoing travel disruption, as well as a promise to refund final balance payments if borders are closed, flights are grounded and/or in the unlikely event of Crete moving on to the red list.
Keep an eye out on our coronavirus news page for regular updates and relevant information.
We also want to remind our non-UK customers to check travel restrictions in your country and for those eager to travel we are offering 20% off selected villas for all June dates.
Get booking your Escape now!