The Turkish and Croatian governments have announced that proof of a negative PCR test is no longer required from double vaccinated UK travellers.
The Turkish Tourism Board hopes that the relaxed rules and a host of direct flights from across the UK – to the resorts of Antalya, Dalaman and Izmir plus the city of Istanbul – mean that holidaymakers will head to the country this autumn.
In a statement it said: “Turkey is ready and excited to welcome back travellers from across the UK this month and beyond.
“With no requirement for PCR tests, and following our removal from the UK government red list, travelling to Turkey couldn’t be easier.
“Turkey is the perfect destination for UK families this half term.”
Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, welcomed the announcement about Turkey, saying it is “one of our most popular destinations for customers who want some late-summer sunshine”.
“Since restarting flights and holidays to Turkey from all of our UK bases last month we have experienced enormous demand and this will only increase further on the back of such positive news,” he said.
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“We urge other overseas governments to follow the Turkish government in allowing UK holidaymakers to reap the benefits of the vaccine rollout.
“We have been speaking to the Turkish government about the impact of costly testing burdens on hardworking customers and families, so we applaud this decision.
“As the UK’s leading tour operator to Turkey, we are delighted at this news and we now look forward to taking even more customers on their well-deserved flights and holidays.”
All travellers 12 or over must be fully vaccinated and arrivals into Turkey must complete an online form a maximum of 72 hours before travel.
Furthermore, the arrivals must show proof of one of the following:
• a full course of Covid-19 vaccinations
• recent recovery from COVID-19
• or a negative PCR result 72 hours before arrival, or a negative antigen 48 hours before arrival.
The Croatian National Tourist Office in London said on Friday (October 1) that entries from the UK no longer need additional Covid tests before entering Croatia.
Along with filling an online passenger locator form on EnterCroatia and having proof of accommodation booking, passengers from the UK need to have one of the following:
• vaccination certificate
• certificate showing that they have recovered from Covid-19 and have received one dose of vaccine within eight months from contracting the virus, provided that the vaccine was administered less than 12 months ago
• a positive PCR or rapid antigen test result, confirming that the traveller recovered from the Covid virus infection.
If these are not possible to obtain, passengers will need to present a negative PCR test result not older than 72 hours or a rapid antigen test result not older than 48hrs at the time of arrival at the border. Children under 12 are exempt.
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