The destinations that have scrapped all travel restrictions – regardless of vaccination status

On 22 June, South Africa announced that it would drop all remaining Covid travel restrictions, becoming one of a handful of long-haul destinations to do away with its lingering traces of travel admin attached to the virus.

It joins a string of mainly European destinations to end all restrictions, with some of the earliest being Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

If you’re looking for the simplest possible holiday, these destinations – although not all the usual big hitters for summer holidays – might be your best bet.

All of these countries have now removed both entry requirements such as tests and proof of vaccination, and all or most of their rules on the ground (with masks recommended or advised in certain spaces, such as on public transport).

Meanwhile, countries such as Spain have held on to their travel rules for visitors from most countries – although it dropped all restrictions for EU and Schengen Area visitors on 2 June, visitors from third-party countries including the UK still need to show proof of vaccination or a negative test result.

The US and Australia have both ditched their pre-travel tests, but still require visitors to be fully vaccinated and hold the correct visas.

Here are your faff-free travel options, regardless of vaccination status:

Ireland

The UK’s emerald neighbour scrapped its remaining Covid-related rules for international visitors in early March, including eliminating its passenger locator form. Now travellers to the country, regardless of vaccination status, will have no pandemic-related admin to contend with before departure or on arrival. The Irish government announced: “From Sunday 6 March 2022, travellers to Ireland are not required to show proof of vaccination, proof of recovery or a negative PCR test result upon arrival. There are no post-arrival testing or quarantine requirements for travellers to Ireland.”

Denmark

This Scandi city-break favourite dropped the majority of its Covid rules back in February, but on Monday night eased restrictions even for unvaccinated people coming from non-EU countries – before, they’d needed a pre-travel test. However, authorities warned that they reserve the right to put restrictions on countries where new variants are detected. “As a part of this contingency, the so-called ‘handbrake’ can be activated if concerning variants emerge. The handbrake is not activated for any countries at this time,” said a government statement.

Norway

Norway was one of the first to axe…