Two-and-a-bit years into the pandemic, we’re all getting a bit tired of travel restrictions. Even if they’ve been in put in place for all the right reasons, they add so much faff and bother to every trip abroad.
Some countries, however, have decided to start ditching all travel rules – even for the unvaccinated. That’s right. No tests, forms, quarantine or vaccine passes. Zilch. Nada. For all intents and purposes, these countries have returned to a pre-pandemic normal.
So, which ones are they? Well, there are 15 countries in total that have so far lifted either all (or essentially all) of their travel restrictions. Norway was one of the first nations to do so, having lifted all its rules back in February. It’s been followed by fellow Scandinavians Sweden, Iceland and Denmark.
Over in the Baltics, both Latvia and Lithuania have also lifted restrictions though, notably, the situation in the latter is still a little complicated. The country remains in a state of emergency following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has certain restrictions in place for arrivals from a select few countries. All arrivals from the UK, EU and the rest of the European Economic Area are exempt from restrictions.
In central Europe, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia are all restriction-free – with Poland being largely mask-free now, too. A little further south and east, Romania, Moldova and Montenegro all have no requirements for vaccine passports, mask-wearing or testing.
Both Ireland and the UK also currently have no restrictions, opening up the British Isles in time for the Easter holidays. And the final restriction-free destination isn’t a country but an autonomous region: Madeira, which is officially part of Portugal, requires no proof of vaccination, isolation or testing.
It’s worth noting that, obviously, all these entry requirements are liable to change at any time. So always check your destination’s official government advice before you travel.
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