International travel is becoming easier as the UK and other destinations around the world begin to ease the restrictions of the past 18 months.

• As of October 4th, fully vaccinated UK travellers will no longer need to obtain a Covid test 72 hours prior to returning home from abroad, unless they have travelled to a country on the FCO red list. Travellers are now required to take only a single PCR test once they have returned home.

• The FCO red list countries have been reduced in number – and the amber and green designations removed entirely – which has had the effect of opening up a number of non-European destinations to UK travellers. This includes several countries that we specialise in at Gane and Marshall, such as Oman and Kenya!

• A number of countries that have been restricting entry to overseas visitors since the beginning of the pandemic have begun to ease their travel restrictions, or announced plans to do so in the coming months. These include Canada (now fully open to vaccinated UK travellers), Australia, Japan, and Sri Lanka, amongst other destinations.

Where can UK residents travel this winter?
As a result of the above, UK travellers can now consider a much larger number of destinations for travel this winter and early 2022 that were not possible even a month ago. Much of Europe remains open to vaccinated travellers from the UK, including the Azores (Portugal), Iceland, Spain, and Norway. Beyond Europe, countries such as Canada, Oman and Morocco have now opened to vaccinated UK travellers, while parts of South East Asia are expected to soon follow. Most excitingly for us at Gane and Marshall, the removal of Kenya from the FCO red list, and the easing of restrictions on international arrivals on the Kenyan side, means that East Africa is for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic a realistic travel prospect for UK travellers, though most of the continent still remains on the FCO red list despite destinations such as Namibia, Rwanda, and Uganda reporting very low rates of Covid.

There are of course still many caveats to consider if you are considering travel this winter, with extra bureaucracy involved in travel to all destinations and a large number of countries still shut to overseas visitors. Many travellers will understandably prefer to defer their holiday plans to the second half of 2022 or beyond, either out of necessity or because they would rather enjoy their holiday at a time when Covid isn’t a consideration. But for those keen to get away in the coming months, the list of possible destinations is now much larger than it has been at any point since the beginning of the pandemic.

Holiday planning with Gane and Marshall – visit the UK, Europe and selected long haul destinations
If you are considering a holiday for either late this year or 2022, please consider getting in touch with our team on 01822 600 600 or info@ganeandmarshall.com. Throughout the pandemic, we have been offering our clients impartial advice on where they can and cannot travel, as well as guidance on how best to navigate the Covid restrictions, and we would be delighted to help you plan your winter escape!

The UK government has now removed the ban on international travel and reinstated a traffic light system, with different rules governing travel to and from countries depending on their status – green, amber or red. The reintroduction of the traffic light system has opened up the prospect of travel to a number of destinations, but it has also led to some confusion as to where and when UK travellers can travel this summer. Below, we have tried to answer some of the questions we have been receiving and to offer guidance on what is and isn’t permissible for British nationals looking to travel abroad in the coming months, based on the current advice from the UK foreign office.

On 14 July, the team of 10 climbers all successfully summitted Kilimanjaro via the gruelling North Face route, all in support of the Lewis Moody Foundation. Congratulations to Alex, Annie, Clare, Kate, Kenny, Kevin, Maddie, Matt, Sally and Sophie!

In the second of her blogs detailing her journey into Antarctica, G&M wildlife consultant Sarah Williams recounts her time spent cruising around South Georgia Island.

Our first landing on South Georgia was at Salisbury Plain, home to grumpy fur seals as well as many thousands of King penguins. The sight of King penguins as far as the eye could see, gathered under beautiful snow-covered mountains, was a vision that I will never forget. So many wildlife programmes have been filmed here, and so it was very special to be observing all the action first hand. There were large groups, known as creche’s, of brown furry youngsters who were vocalising a constant whistling sound as they tried to attract the attention of their parents returning with food – how the adults find their own chicks amongst the huddle is just astonishing!