London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Nov 20, 2025

Portugal added to UK's safe travel list as Croatia is removed

Portugal added to UK's safe travel list as Croatia is removed

UK tourists will no longer need to quarantine after holidaying in Portugal, but travellers returning from Croatia will have to self-isolate.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said people will need to self-isolate for 14 days on returning from Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago.
The changes apply to anyone arriving after 04:00 BST on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Scottish government has added Switzerland to its list of countries requiring quarantine.

The Portuguese government welcomed the changes as "useful for all those who travel between Portugal and the United Kingdom".

It said the move was "proof of the good outcome of intense bilateral work" and "allowed for an understanding that the situation in the country has always been under control".




But consumer group Which? said the change in rules for Portugal was "likely to come too late to help many struggling holiday companies" and called for support for the travel industry.

The latest updates to the quarantine list come after thousands of British holidaymakers made a last-minute dash to get home from France last weekend, before quarantine measures came into force.

It is thought around 20,000 British tourists are currently in Croatia.



Responding to the changes, Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said the government had "now made it clear that countries can be removed or added from the travel corridor list at a moment's notice".

He said the policy made it "too risky" for those who are unable to quarantine to travel.

But he added that holidaymakers who want to follow government advice and avoid non-essential travel to specified countries are finding it "increasingly difficult to claim a refund".

Mr Boland also called on the government to provide "urgent" support to the travel industry, adding: "The addition of Portugal is likely to come too late to help many struggling holiday companies who are at the point of collapse, as summer trips have already been cancelled."

'We already cancelled Barcelona'


The Tucker family, from Cambridge, were at a waterfront café on the Croatian island of Solta, off the coast of Split, when they heard they would have to quarantine on their return to the UK.

"We already cancelled a holiday in Barcelona because of quarantine rules," said mum Luzita, 50, a childminder.

"We've always wanted to come to Croatia so we looked at the infection rates and they seemed very low."

She said it was good the government had acted decisively, but suggested there were other options.

"Why not [carry out] virus testing at the airport when we arrive back in the UK? And surely using public transport to get home could be a risk."

Diane Barwick was in the Croatian town of Zadar visiting her daughter - having cancelled a planned trip to France when that country was removed from the exemption list.

She told BBC News: "My daughter should have been married here in May. I've not seen her for nearly a year and have had three flights cancelled this year."

Unlike many other British visitors to Croatia, she had responded to rumours that the country was set to be removed from the exemption list by booking an alternative early flight home.

Beating the deadline


That means she should be able to get home before the deadline and back to her job in retail.

"If you're in France you can get the boat or Eurostar. Here it's a flight only. I've got to travel three hours tomorrow to get to the airport in Croatia," she said.

The Department of Transport has advised people in Croatia, Trinidad and Tobago and Austria to follow local rules and check the Foreign Office website for further information.

In a statement, it urged employers to be "understanding of those returning from these destinations who now will need to self-isolate".

But children currently on holiday in those three countries will now miss the start of the new school term in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - unless their parents can get them home before 04:00 BST on Saturday.



People who do not self-isolate when required can be fined up to £1,000 in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In Scotland the fine is £480, and up to £5,000 for persistent offenders.

BBC Balkans correspondent Guy De Launey said only a small number of direct flights from Croatia were due to reach the UK before the deadline of 04:00 BST on Saturday.

The UK introduced the compulsory 14-day quarantine for arrivals from overseas in early June.

But the following month, the four UK nations unveiled lists of "travel corridors", detailing countries that were exempt from the rule.

Since then it has periodically updated that list, adding and removing countries based on their coronavirus infection rates and how they compare with the UK's.

In July, the Portuguese government expressed "regret" at the UK's decision to continue to exclude it from the safe travel list.

The country's foreign minister had previously said he hoped an "air bridge" between the UK and Portugal could be secured by the end of June.



The UK provides the largest number of overseas tourists to Portugal, with more than two million tourists visiting every year.

The Algarve coast is the most popular destination, with 1.2 million visitors from the UK last year.

Travel expert Simon Calder tweeted that the cost of flights from Manchester to Faro on Saturday morning had risen from £50 to £98 in 30 minutes.

"A good time to book that late summer break, though fares are already soaring," he said.

According to the Department for Transport, weekly coronavirus cases are on the rise in Croatia, Austria, Trinidad and Tobago as follows:

* Croatia - 164% increase
* Trinidad and Tobago - 232% increase
* Austria - 93% increase

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
Nvidia Again Beats Forecasts, Shares Jump in After-Hours Trading
Wintry Conditions Persist Along UK Coasts After Up to Seven Centimetres of Snow
UK Inflation Eases to 3.6 % in October, Opening Door for Rate Cut
UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
UK Consumer Optimism Plunges Ahead of November Budget
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
Caribbean Reparations Commission Seeks ‘Mutually Beneficial’ Justice from UK
EU Insists UK Must Contribute Financially for Access to Electricity Market and Broader Ties
UK to Outlaw Live-Event Ticket Resales Above Face Value
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
German Entertainment Icons Alice and Ellen Kessler Die Together at Age 89
UK Unveils Sweeping Asylum Reforms with 20-Year Settlement Wait and Conditional Status
UK Orders Twitter Hacker to Repay £4.1 Million Following 2020 High-Profile Breach
Popeyes UK Eyes Century Mark as Fried-Chicken Chain Accelerates Roll-out
Two-thirds of UK nurses report working while unwell amid staffing crisis
Britain to Reform Human-Rights Laws in Sweeping Asylum Policy Overhaul
Nearly Half of Job Losses Under Labour Government Affect UK Youth
UK Chancellor Reeves Eyes High-Value Home Levy in Budget to Raise Tens of Billions
UK Urges Poland to Choose Swedish Submarines in Multi-Billion € Defence Bid
US Border Czar Tom Homan Declares UK No Longer a ‘Friend’ Amid Intelligence Rift
UK Announces Reversal of Income Tax Hike Plans Ahead of Budget
Starmer Faces Mounting Turmoil as Leaked Briefings Ignite Leadership Plot Rumours
UK Commentator Sami Hamdi Returns Home After US Visa Revocation and Detention
UK Eyes Denmark-Style Asylum Rules in Major Migration Shift
UK Signals Intelligence Freeze Amid US Maritime Drug-Strike Campaign
TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2025 Celebrates Top Creators Including Max Klymenko as Creator of the Year
UK Growth Nearly Stalls at 0.1% in Q3 as Cyberattack Halts Car Production
Apple Denied Permission to Appeal UK App Store Ruling, Faces Over £1bn Liability
UK Chooses Wylfa for First Small Modular Reactors, Drawing Sharp U.S. Objection
Starmer Faces Growing Labour Backlash as Briefing Sparks Authority Crisis
Reform UK Withdraws from BBC Documentary Amid Legal Storm Over Trump Speech Edit
UK Prime Minister Attempts to Reassert Authority Amid Internal Labour Leadership Drama
UK Upholds Firm Rules on Stablecoins to Shield Financial System
Brussels Divided as UK-EU Reset Stalls Over Budget Access
Prince Harry’s Remembrance Day Essay Expresses Strong Regret at Leaving Britain
UK Unemployment Hits 5% as Wage Growth Slows, Paving Way for Bank of England Rate Cut
Starmer Warns of Resurgent Racism in UK Politics as He Vows Child-Poverty Reforms
UK Grocery Inflation Slows to 4.7% as Supermarkets Launch Pre-Christmas Promotions
UK Government Backs the BBC amid Editing Scandal and Trump Threat of Legal Action
UK Assessment Mis-Estimated Fallout From Palestine Action Ban, Records Reveal
UK Halts Intelligence Sharing with US Amid Lethal Boat-Strike Concerns
King Charles III Leads Britain in Remembrance Sunday Tribute to War Dead
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows as Households Hold Back Ahead of Black Friday and Budget
Shell Pulls Out of Two UK Floating Wind Projects Amid Renewables Retreat
Viagogo Hit With £15 Million Tax Bill After HMRC Transfer-Pricing Inquiry
Jaguar Land Rover Cyberattack Pinches UK GDP, Bank of England Says
UK and Germany Sound Alarm on Russian-Satellite Threat to Critical Infrastructure
Former Prince Andrew Faces U.S. Congressional Request for Testimony Amid Brexit of Royal Title
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness Resign Amid Editing Controversy
×