We’re not going on a …Summer holiday
‘So, after much waiting and excited anticipation for the famous Green List of where we will be allowed to go on holiday without doing time… I mean quarantine, we have been granted 12 countries with only four realistic possibilities – Portugal, Gibraltar, Israel and Iceland.
Although Gibraltar is tiny so has very few hotels, Israel will only allow entry with two vaccinations and digital proof, and Iceland, while exciting and stunning, isn’t exactly known for its sunny beaches and high temperatures, only high prices. Portugal it is then.
The other places on the list: Australia, New Zealand and Singapore won’t let you in; and the rest, well does anyone know where they are? South Sandwich Islands, anyone? Nope, me neither.
No sign of Turkey, hot, affordable and with arms wide open for us Brits, because it’s been dumped on the Red List where, on return, after a likely 10-hour wait at immigration, you will have to pay almost £2,000 to be locked up in a government-sanctioned hotel for 10 days. Greece wants us too, so does Spain (even without a test!) but both are on Amber. Of course, if you can afford the time to quarantine, then the world is almost your oyster although no one, not even the doublejabbed or Green-goers, can avoid the multiple Covid tests required to return, which can add many hundreds of pounds to the cost. So, while the mantra of “we can travel again” sounds good, it’s nothing of the sort and, worse, the scaredy-cats and smug “staycationers” will still shoot you down for being upset about it. But people deserve a holiday after the past year, and they should be allowed to go on one, without it being so difficult. But I’m guessing many people won’t bother, and maybe that’s the point.’