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Having a holiday has turned into a very stressful affair for long-suffering Brits longing for a bit of late summer sun.
Whether it’s organising PCR tests, having flights cancelled, or, for some passengers the country they’re travelling to being changed from amber to red just after they’ve arrived, it’s not been easy.
Obsessing over traffic lights and local travel rules that might not let your teenage children in also provides additional stress.
The rules have been relaxed over the past few months, with the government’s scrapping of the quarantine requirement for anyone who is double vaccinated and coming back from an amber list country, seen as a big turning point.
Another issue is that some holiday hotspots have been deemed unsafe by the government and put on the red list.
Anyone going to and returning from those countries faces a pricey 10-day stay in a quarantine hotel.
As well as the cost, user reviews of the hotels haven’t been great in a lot of cases.
There are still 60 countries on the red list, and while people probably aren’t desperate to head out to the likes of the Democratic Republic of Congo or Mongolia, the likes of Sri Lanka, Mexico and Turkey have also been largely ruled out.
Countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, where many Brits have families, are also on the list.
On August 12, the government hiked the price of hotel quarantine per adult from £1,750 to £2,285.
A further £1,430 will now be paid for an additional adult or child over 11, up from £650, meanwhile, the additional rate for children aged five to 11 is £325, which is unchanged.
There was better news when Germany, Austria, Norway, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia were added to the green list in the last update.
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However, some other hotspots are on the green watchlist, which means they could go amber at any time.
Another hurdle for Brits are the rules on the other side.
For example, Australia and New Zealand are both on the green list, but don’t let in British holidaymakers.
America and Canada also have strict entry rules.
People in Britain are still being advised not to travel to red list countries.
Full list of 60 red countries
Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Bangladesh
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Burundi
Cape Verde
Chile
Colombia
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
Eritrea
Eswatini
Ethiopia
French Guiana
Georgia (moved to red list from 4am, August 8)
Guyana
Haiti
Indonesia
Kenya
Lesotho
Malawi
Maldives
Mayotte (moved to red list from 4am, August 8)
Mexico (moved to red list from 4am, August 8)
Mongolia
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Réunion (moved to red list from 4am, August 8)
Rwanda
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Suriname
Tanzania
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe
