Airports are expecting a big increase in passenger numbers over the next fortnight as the Easter break approaches.
Coronavirus restrictions have been relaxed across the world since the start of 2022. The upcoming four-day weekend be the first time many have boarded a plane and flown abroad since the start of the pandemic back in 2020.
While measures have been relaxed to allow people to travel without quarantining, there are still requirements in many countries for adults and older children to be vaccinated.
Read more: 1 in 13 still have Covid in UK
Below we take a look at the Covid entry rules for countries popular with holidaymakers flying from the UK. Download the NHS Pass if you are heading abroad, or request paper proof of your vaccination/recovery status from your doctor. You can find out about mask rules for airlines here.
Spain - including Balearic and Canary Islands
If you are a British tourist heading to Spain, you will need to be either vaccinated or recovered from Covid to enter the country. The rules apply to travellers aged 12 and over, although those aged 12 to 17 can also enter by producing a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before arrival.
To be considered fully vaccinated, you must have had either two doses of a two jab vaccine, or had a one-shot jab, and your final dose must be no more than 270 days ago. If your final dose was more than 270 days ago, you will need a booster jab. There is no time limit, currently, on booster jabs.
Portugal - including Madeira
You don't have to be vaccinated or have recovered from Covid to go to Portugal on holiday. But if you are not fully jabbed or can't prove you have recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months, you will need to pay for and take a PCR test before 72 hours of arrival.
That test must be negative. Children aged 11 and under are exempt. The rules that apply to adults also apply to children aged 12 and over.
There are slightly different rules for Madeira. If you fly there from the UK, there are no testing or vaccination requirements to enter, although there is a Covid pass system in place to enter businesses like bars and restaurants.
Greece
You do not need to be fully vaccinated to enter Greece as a British tourist. To enter Greece from the UK, you can either show you are fully vaccinated, or you have recovered from Covid in the past 180 days, or you can take a PCR within 72 hours before arrival, or an authorized lateral flow test within 24 hours before arrival.
"The test provider must be certified by the competent national certification authority of the country in which you received the test, and must provide you with a certificate of your test result in English," reads advice on the FCO's site.
"The certificate must include the full name of the person, as stated on the passport." The rules apply to arrivals aged five and over.
To qualify as fully vaccinated "there must have been at least 14 days, and not more than nine months, since the completion of your primary vaccination for Covid-19," says the FCO. "Booster jabs are not subject to the same time restriction."
Cyprus
Tourists from the UK can enter Cyprus if they are fully vaccinated or can prove they have recovered from Covid in the previous 180 days. If you can not prove either of those and you are 12 or over, you will have to take a PCR test 72 hours before departure or a lateral flow test 24 hours before departure, then a PCR test on arrival in Cyprus at your own expense, and isolate as you wait for the result. If that's positive you must remain in self-isolation.
Children aged 11 and under are exempt from the testing requirement. Children aged 12 and over who have not completed a full vaccination programme need to follow the guidance for unvaccinated adults.
Malta
British tourists who are not fully vaccinated will have to take a PCR test before arriving. They must also quarantine for 14 days on arrival.
Fully vaccinated arrivals do not need to take a test or quarantine. Malta does not accept the UK's proof of recovery, the Foreign Office says.
The Maltese Government says: "A valid vaccine certificate is where at least 14 and no more than 270 days have passed since the last dose of the primary vaccination series or if the person has received a booster dose. For persons aged less than 18 years this validity period is not applicable."
Children aged five to 11 must show a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival. Children aged under five do not need to take a test. Children aged 12 to 18 must be fully vaccinated to enter Malta without quarantining for 14 days.
Turkey
Tourists from the UK who are not fully vaccinated will need to show proof of a negative PCR test or lateral flow to enter Turkey, or prove they have recovered from Covid in the past six months. A PCR test must be taken no more than 72 hours before arrival and a lateral flow no more than 48 hours before.
Turkey accepts the NHS Pass for proof of recovery. Children aged 11 and under can enter without a requirement to take a test or prove they have recovered from Covid.
Italy
To enter Italy all travellers aged six and over must show proof of either being fully vaccinated, or a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival, or a negative lateral flow test taken within 48 hours of arrival, or proof they have recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months.
Those who can not do that are required to self-isolate for five days after arriving in Italy. Children five and under are exempt.
Croatia
If you’ve been fully vaccinated within the last 270 days, you can enter Croatia without needing to test or quarantine, as you can if you can prove you have recovered from Covid in the past 180 days.
Those who are not fully vaccinated and have not recovered from Covid must take a PCR test within 72 hours before arriving or lateral flow test within 48 hours before. Children under 12 and accompanied by a parent or guardian who has proof of vaccination, a negative test result or proof of recovery, do not need to take a test to enter Croatia.
France
Fully vaccinated arrivals can enter France without having to take a test. Those who are not fully vaccinated must provide either a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours or an antigen test result taken within 48 hours pre-departure. Children aged under 12 are exempt.
If it has been more than nine months since you completed your vaccine course, you will need a booster, otherwise you will be considered unvaccinated.
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