The green list is a washout, says Annabel Fenwick Elliott in The Daily Telegraph, a pitiful selection of “obscure British overseas territories” and a handful of countries that won’t let us in anyway. At least there’s Portugal, but no doubt it will be heaving with sun-starved Brits. Spain, Greece and France might not be green-listed until August, which is “utterly absurd”. The entire population of the Greek islands, where Covid rates are low, will be vaccinated by the end of June. “What more could you ask for?”
This is where the amber list comes in. The Foreign Office might be advising against “leisure travel” to these countries, but as of yesterday it’s not against the law. And if you’ve been vaccinated, “there is no moral conundrum”. As well as the bargains on offer as holiday firms “bend over backwards” to lure customers, you’ll have the “rare and golden privilege” of visiting beautiful places that would otherwise be swamped with tourists. When I visited Santorini last June, its “Instagram-famous” labyrinth of white domes was empty of “the usual dawdlers and pouty influencers” who clog up its cobbled streets. In Venice, my mother and I had St Mark’s Square almost to ourselves. “Time is running out” if you want to enjoy these classic destinations before they return to their pre-pandemic state. “I’ll be making the very best of that while I still can.”
Read the full article here.