London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 14, 2026

Portugal travel list: 'Let us go on holiday and live our lives'

Portugal travel list: 'Let us go on holiday and live our lives'

News that Portugal will be taken off the government's green list of quarantine-free destinations from Tuesday has thrown travel plans for thousands into disarray. Some tell the BBC of cancelled holidays, wasted money and family visits postponed once again.

Kerry, a photographer from the Wirral, says her family - like many others - have had "the year from hell".

Her partner has been shielding for over a year due to an auto-immune disease, Kerry has had to nurse her mother through Covid-19 and a stroke, and her 18-month old son has hardly known a world without a pandemic.

She was just about to book a trip to Portugal, one of the few tourist destinations where quarantine-free travel was allowed, when the rules changed.

From 04:00 BST on Tuesday, it will join the amber list, meaning holidaymakers should not visit and arrivals must self-isolate for 10 days.

Kerry says: "This holiday was everything for us our first with our baby who has had no experiences in his first 18 months on this planet."

Kerry says the prospect of a holiday was a ray of hope after a "year of hell"

Kerry says there are countries with low rates of infection but the government refuses to "let us holiday and live our life", even when many people are fully vaccinated.

Rachel Richmond, from Edinburgh, also expects to be fully vaccinated by the time of her two-week trip to Portugal in early July, booked just last week.

"What is the point of being vaccinated if you cannot go anywhere? It is so utterly frustrating and so unfair," she says.

She feels the government keeps "shifting the goalposts on travel", raising the hopes of people who follow the rules only to dash them a few weeks later.

'Travel not responsible'


Although travel to Portugal will still be legally permitted for people willing to quarantine on their return, some people - like Paul Modley and his partner, Tom Griffith, from London - say they are cancelling their trip.

"It doesn't feel responsible" to travel anyway, Paul says, adding: "Neither of us are really up for doing quarantine for 10 days when we come back."

Paul Modley and partner Tom Griffith opted to cancel and avoid quarantine

The couple will lose £360 spent on PCR tests to travel. They do not yet know if the airline or accommodation provider will give them a refund.

Paul, 54, says he booked out of "hope" that they would be able to get away and relax after the stresses of the last 15 months.

The suspense of waiting to hear if they had a negative test had already meant it was "not the most relaxing start or preparation for a holiday."

But he says: "It was worth a punt."

'Plans in disarray'


For others, the news that the green list status might be revoked came when they were already in Portugal - in the case of Mervyn Dinnen, just as he landed at Faro airport in the Algarve from Gatwick.

It's not the first time he's experienced a travel U-turn from the UK government, having previously been in the Canary Islands in December when quarantine requirements were imposed.

Arriving on a plane more-or-less full of Britons to a hotel full of Britons, he says most people seem determined to make the most of their holiday.

Until the change, Portugal was one of the few tourist destinations on the green list for travel

"I had a lovely lunch, I've got a beer here, the sun is shining. I feel relaxed even though what's happened has completely thrown my plans into disarray," he says.

But he says the fact that thousands of football fans were able to travel to Portugal for the Champions League final on 29 May sent a signal that it was safe for others to make the trip and it was "frustrating" to see that change within a week.

Although Portugal is a major tourist destination with about 2.5 million UK visitors before the pandemic, it is not only holiday plans that are being disrupted.

Stephanie Price, from Burnley, has tried five times to visit her family in Portugal after originally booking in 2019, each time being forced to rearrange due to the pandemic.

"I have worked all through lockdown and was looking forward to getting away to see my family," she says.

She says she has had both vaccinations and the virus is "here to stay" so people should not be "confined to misery" without being able to travel.

Portugal was placed on the green list for travel on 7 May

Portugal's coronavirus infections are much higher in the north and centre than in southern regions such as the Algarve, she says, and the travel policy should reflect that.

Some people are refusing to let the change to the travel list stop them, however.

One man, who is due to fly from London to Portugal on Saturday to stay in an AirBnB, says he may consider rebooking for another destination - but the need for a negative test in the 72 hours before travel means the options are limited.

Instead, he tells the BBC he is "leaning towards" heading on the Portugal trip anyway "because it is still legal".

"Unless they say, you must not go, you will be fined if you go, we might well still go and just have to bear the additional costs of an extra PCR test and the fact that we have to quarantine," he says.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Advertising Industry Warns Wider Junk Food Rules Could Put £1 Billion in Media Spending at Risk
Cornwall Opens Devolution Talks With UK Government Over Transport and Local Services
UK Parliament Considers Sovereign Grant Reform Setting Royal Funding at £99.9 Million
Trades Union Congress Calls for Income-Based Energy Tariff Funded by Higher Bank Levy
UK Prime Minister Rejects Second Scottish Independence Referendum
House of Lords Begins Scrutiny of Bill to Lower UK Voting Age to 16
Anthropic Says Claude Was Exploited in Weapons-Related and State-Linked Cyber Activity
Institute of Directors Urges UK Government to Avoid Business Tax Increases in Autumn Budget
Rising Gilt Yields Cut UK Fiscal Headroom to About £13 Billion Ahead of Budget
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Services and Technology Activity Strengthen
UK Government Promises Clearer Student Loan Guidance After Repayment Backlash
Charities Warn Unpaid Carers May Die Before Receiving Government Compensation
Dover Unrest Prompts Review of UK Counter-Extremism Strategy
Celtic Summit Leaders Reassert Right to Pursue Independence From UK
NHS Records Busiest Summer on Record Amid Severe Heatwaves
Harrods Faces Potential £150 Million Compensation Bill Over Al Fayed Abuse Claims
UK Parliament Opens Debate on Landmark Assisted Dying Legislation
Metropolitan Police Investigate Reform UK Over Alleged Foreign Electoral Donations
UK Economy Expands 0.4% in July as AI Investment Boosts Activity
Bank of England Signals Caution on Rates as Inflation Pressures Persist
Tesco Alerts Police After Scammers Use Its Branding in AI-Generated Fraud
Lindy Cameron Appointed First Female Permanent Under-Secretary at UK Foreign Office
UK Government to Rewrite Student Loan Guidance After Mis-Selling Criticism
Welsh First Minister Warns Andy Burnham Government to Respect Devolution
Trump’s Falkland Islands Remarks Trigger New Diplomatic Tension With Britain
Reform UK Receives Record £72 Million Donation From Cryptocurrency Billionaires
UK Bans Imports From Israeli West Bank Settlements and Sanctions Supporting Institutions
Bayeux Tapestry Draws Large Crowds at British Museum
Cuts to International Aid Raise Concerns Over Fragile Overseas Health Systems
UK Airlines and Logistics Operators Adjust Capacity as Fuel Costs Rise
UK Mortgage Arrears Edge Lower in Second Quarter
UK Government Advances New Devolution Offers for English Councils
UK Parliament Begins Debate on NHS Governance and Single Patient Record Reforms
Andy Burnham Launches Number 10 North Devolution Initiative
UK Parliament Rejects Assisted Dying Bill for Terminally Ill Adults
UK Bans Goods From Israeli Settlements in the Occupied West Bank
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Technology Services Strengthen
Metropolitan Police Continue Investigation Into Reform UK Political Financing
Chinese Crypto Entrepreneur Leon Li Identified as Seller of £190 Million London Mansion
Trades Union Congress Proposes Social Energy Tariff Funded by Higher Bank Surcharge
British Chambers of Commerce Calls for State Pension Triple Lock to Be Scrapped
Anthropic Says Claude Helped Disrupt Biological Weapons and Cyber Espionage Threats
UK Imposes Sanctions Over Israeli Settlements and West Bank Violence
UK Reimposes Sectoral Sanctions on Iran’s Aviation, Shipping and Energy Networks
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as AI and Programming Services Lift Activity
UK House of Commons Rejects Assisted Dying Bill by 286 Votes to 270
UK Reviews Nationwide Emergency Alert Tests After Systems Meet Reliability Targets
UK Seeks Faster Rail Links Across Northern Industrial Corridors
British Business Bank Allocates £150 Million for High-Growth Companies in Northern England
BBC Warns Staff Strikes Are Possible Amid Pay Dispute and £500 Million Savings Drive
×