TRAVEL
Travelling post covid – what to expect
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n my last article I delved into the dark abyss that is the UK government’s travel traffic light system, and looked at the ever-changing regulations that can apply to your holiday. There is no doubt that it is a bit of a minefield when trying to navigate, and even with professional advice, the reality can perhaps be a bit of an unknown. I thought that this month it would be helpful if I shared some real-life travelling experiences during the post-COVID era, so that you can fully understand the reality of going on that wellearned holiday. For my wife’s birthday we had originally been booked to Dubai, however a combination of the dreaded red list, and her falling pregnant, meant that we needed to consider an altogether more sedate holiday, and the hedonistic beach clubs of the Middle East were perhaps a bridge too far. For context I am double vaccinated, and my wife is not (or wasn’t at the time of travel), so we get to look at the experience here from both angles.
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We chose Funchal in Madeira as our destination, and while garnering a bit of a reputation as a destination for travellers of a certain, well, vintage, we thought this was most undeserved. Yes it’s quieter than the likes of Tenerife, Majorca or somewhere similar, but it had an air of elegance about it, with the sprawling marina set against the backdrop of the aged old town and the green hills. Most pleasant! Before we travelled, we had to download the app for Madeira which was simple enough. I uploaded a photo of my COVID certificate which was verified in about 2 hours. As my wife wasn’t vaccinated, we needed to do a pre departure PCR test, which we chose to do at Edinburgh Airport. We also had to prove that we had booked our “day 2 test” for our return. Which at the time of writing is in review – so this may not be relevant. That process was simple – we were the only car there at the time, and were waved through, test done, and out in a matter of minutes. Back to
