What destinations are safe to fly to this summer?

UPDATED: 15th August – Malta, France, Turks and Caicos and the Netherlands have now been added to the list of countries from which you will need to quarantine on arrival into the UK. 

Following the announcement of airbridges between England and a number of countries, the UK government this week announced 59 countries (Source: Gov) that you can visit without the need to quarantine upon your return. The government has also removed the restriction for essential travel only to a number of countries, the details but before you rush out to book flights, you need to do your research. This does not mean that these countries will allow you to enter without restriction, and not all countries on the list have had the ‘all but essential travel’ restriction removed. So which countries are safe to fly to this summer?

Where can you go without quarantine on your return to England?

The table below shows the 59 departure countries from which travellers to England will not need to quarantine after 10th July. The UK government has however also indicated that if circumstances change they will not hesitate to re-introduce quarantine. It is not possible therefore that quarantine will be introduced at short notice.

Covid experience in the 59 countries

The data shows the number of coronavirus infections (as at 4th July 2020), deaths and deaths per million. You can decide for yourself whether there is a heightened risk of travel to any of these countries before you commit to travel. As you can see, many of these countries have some of the highest rates of deaths per million of population.

Country	Number of cases	Number of deaths	Deaths per million	Exempt from ‘all but essential international travel’ (FCO guidance)	Top 10 count for number of UK visitors	Is the country accepting UK tourists?
Andorra	855	52	673	√	×	×
Anguilla (new)	3	0	0	×	×	×
Antigua and Barbuda	68	3	31	√	×	√ But must provide evidence of a negative test and 14 day quarantine is possible
Aruba	104	3	28	×	×	√
Australia	8362	104	4	√	√	√ 14 day Quarantine
Austria	18,165	705	78	√	×	√ 14 day quarantine if test positive
Bahamas	104	11	28	√	×	√ With proof of a negative test
Barbados	97	7	24	√	×	√ but mandatory quarantine until negative test confirmed
Belgium	61,727	9765	843	√	√	√
Bonaire	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	×	×	×
British Virgin Islands	8	1	33	×	×	×
Cayman Islands	201	1	15	√	×	×
Croatia	3008	112	27	√	×	√
Curaçao	23	1	6	×	×	×
Cyprus	999	19	16	√	×	×
Czech Republic	12,319	353	33	√	×	√
Denmark	12,832	606	105	√	×	√
Dominica	18	0	0	√	×	×
Faroe Islands	187	0	0	√	×	√ but tested on entry
Falkland Islands	13	0	0	×	×	√ but 14 day quarantine
Fiji	18	0	0	×	×	×
Finland	7248	329	59	√	×	×
France	166,960	29,893	458	√	√	√ but voluntary 14 day quarantine
French Polynesia	62	0	0	√	×	√ but 14 day quarantine
Gibraltar	180	0	0	√	×	√
Germany	197,000	9073	108	√	√	√
Greece	3486	192	18	√	×	× No direct flights from the UK until 15th July
Greenland	13	0	0	√	×	√
Grenada	23	0	0	√	×	√ Screening and possible quarantine (FCO)
Guadeloupe	184	14	35	×	×	√ Screening and possible quarnatine
Hong Kong	1248	7	1	√	×	×
Hungary	4174	589	61	√	×	×
Iceland	1855	10	29	√	×	√
Ireland	25,589	1744	343	√	√	√ 14 day quarantine
Italy	241,184	34,833	576	√	√	√
Jamaica	721	10	3	√	×	√ Prior authorisation required, with screening and possible quarantine
Japan	19,068	976	8	√	×	×
Liechtenstein	83	1	26	√	×	√
Lithuania	1828	79	28	√	×	√ Government recommends self isolation. Also restrictions apply if the number of Covid cases exceeds certain parameters. Check before travelling.
Luxembourg	4447	110	176	√	×	√
Macau	46	0	0	√	×	×
Malta	672	9	20	√	×	× Re-opens on 15th July
Mauritius	341	10	8	×	×	×
Monaco	106	4	102	√	×	×
Montserrat	11	1	200	×	×
Netherlands	50,335	6113	357	√	√	×
New Caledonia	21	0	0	×	×	√ but must complete a travel certificate
New Zealand	1530	22	4	√	×	×
Norway	8921	251	46	√	×	×
Poland	35,719	1512	40	√	√	√
Réunion	533	2	2	√	×	√ but must complete a travel certificate
San Marino	698	42	1238	√	×	√
Seychelles	81	0	0	×	×	√ 14 day quarantine
South Korea	13,030	283	6	√	×	√ 14 day quarantine
Spain	297,625	28,385	607	√	√	√
St Barthélemy	6	0	0	×	×	√ With proof of a negative test
St Helena
St Kitts and Nevis	15	0	0	√	×	×
St Lucia	22	0	0	√	×	× Phased reopening of the country
St Pierre and Miquelon	1	0	0	√	×	√ but must complete a travel certificate
Switzerland	32,101	1965	227	√	×	√
Taiwan	449	7	0	√	×	√ With proof of a negative test
Trinidad and Tobago	130	8	6	√	×	×
Turkey	203,456	5186	61	√	×	√
Turks and Caicos	66	2	52	√	×	√ 14 day quarantine
Vatican City	12	0	0	√	×	√
Vietnam	355	0	0	√	×	×

Source:

What countries can you visit without mandatory quarantine on arrival?

Before racing to book a flight, you will also need to check whether the country you would like to visit will allow entry to UK citizens.

These countries may still impose specific entry restrictions. Some have firmly closed their doors to UK tourists. I have highlighted the ones that allow entry without quarantine. As you can see, this hugely reduces the list of destinations which could be attractive to UK tourists hoping to find places safe to fly to this summer.

Countries highlighted in gold are what I would deem ‘safe countries.’ Not safe because they pose a lower risk of infection, but safe because you should be able to enter and return without the threat of quarantine unless circumstances change hugely during your stay.

This reduces your options to just 16 countries and many will not feature highly on bucket lists.

What countries are exempt from the restriction to all but essential international travel?

To confuse matters furthers, some countries on the list still remain on the FCO list as a destination that you should only visit for essential purposes. Of the 59 countries, I have highlighted the ones that are exempt from this requirement as you need to ensure you select a country where this restriction does not apply.

If this restriction does apply, although you will not need a quarantine, you might not be able to obtain insurance cover for your trip as usually such restrictions invalidate your cover.

Are these countries really safe to travel to?

I have highlighted the countries that feature in the top 10 for visitors to the UK. Travellers from these countries accounted for 41.9% of all overseas visits to the UK in 2019. (Source: ONS). This implies that factors, other than a ‘lower threat‘ may influence which countries made it onto this list.

I personally don’t think anywhere is safe. You could pick up the infection in any country, including the UK. But are you more at risk? We know that the incidences of infection receded during lockdown. Inevitably therefore, as more people start to travel, the potential for spread will naturally increase. But this is equally true of lockdown relaxation in the UK.

Only you can decide if you are willing to take the risk. You should follow usual social distancing policies where possible.

Advice for travel

If you decide that you are happy to take the risk of travel, there are 3 steps you should follow:

1. Use this Gov list to check that the country you wish to visit allows re-entry to England without quarantine.
2. Visit Gov.com to check that the country you wish to visit is not a country restricted to essential travel only as this will likely invalidate your insurance.
3. Check that the country is accepting tourists from the UK without quarantine on arrival.

If you can answer yes to each of these 3 questions go ahead and book your trip.

Note however, Covid hotspots change frequently. Even if your chosen destination passes these 3 tests today, the situation may change during your trip.

One last tip

Finally, my last piece of advice would be to book AirBnb rather than hotels. You will have less exposure to other people that way. If you use this link to sign up, you will get £34 off your first AirBnb booking.

Have your say

But what do you think? Have your say in the comments below.