Travel wisely: the Foreign Ministry clears these sun destinations abroad

Dutch travellers can ‘travel wisely’ to sun destinations abroad, now that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is easing several travel advisories. Spanish and Greek island groups above all have been cleared, and the ABC islands are opening step by step. An overview.

Travel wisely: an overview of the cleared destinations

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken back control of the travel advisories. Advice will again be given per country. As announced , that comes with various easings.

After 5 months the world is no longer entirely ‘orange’ (‘essential travel only’). The following destinations are now ‘yellow’: tourist travel is possible, there are risks.

• Spanish island groups: the Balearics and the Canary Islands.
• Greek island groups: the North Aegean Islands, the South Aegean islands and the Ionian islands
• Portuguese island group: the Azores
• Madeira (a Portuguese island)
• Malta
• Ireland
• ABC islands: Aruba, Bonaire (from Wednesday) and Curaçao
• Sint Maarten

Two islands turn ‘green’, with no particular safety risks:

• Saba
• Sint Eustatius

And on the mainland, code yellow for:

• Finland
• Portugal
• Rwanda
• Thailand

So these are mainly sun destinations. In the Balearics, Ibiza and Mallorca are well-known draws for sun lovers; in Greece, Zakynthos beckons, in the Ionian islands. Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lanzarote are popular too (Canary Islands). We would recommend a holiday on rugged Fuerteventura instead.

Simply book a trip?

Does clearing these destinations mean we can ‘simply’ book a trip? At last Tuesday's press conference, caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte called for ‘wisdom’. “The appeal is: travel wisely”, says Rutte.

With that he also referred to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where ‘wijsopreis.nl’ takes you. “Only travel to countries with a green or yellow advisory”, the ministry says.

“Whichever country you go to, you may face corona measures such as quarantine or testing requirements. And the situation in a country can change quickly. So always keep an eye on the travel advice.”

Travel and lifestyle platform dionvacation® has kept an online dossier of the travel advice. We also publish special blogs when the advice for sun destinations abroad changes. And you can save blogs to your own list if you are logged in.