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As we move into an adjusted alert level 3 lockdown, domestic leisure travel is on the cards again.

There are a ton of interesting places to explore locally, but some of us might be angling to go a bit further than just staying within our borders.

Thankfully, South Africa’s vaccination program is ramping up efforts quite considerably (despite the anti-vaxxers and their unverified claims), with people between the ages of 18 and 34 due to be vaccinated from September 1.

This is obviously in addition to the age groups that are currently eligible, which is everyone over 35 years of age.

Via BusinessTech, every weekday, just over 240 000 vaccines are administered, said President Ramaphosa this past Sunday.

The government is also looking to increase vaccination capacity on weekends, increasing the number of vaccination sites, and improving the vaccination registration system.

This progress with vaccinations will do well to put more international countries at ease and allow us to visit again, according to Andrew Stark, the managing director of Flight Centre Travel Group:

“The only way to give our international source markets – travellers and airlines – confidence in reopening the door to South Africa is for us to reach the herd immunity threshold of vaccinating approximately 67% of our adult population as quickly as possible.”

Last we checked, 10 countries in Europe were open to fully vaccinated South African visitors, while three others just required a negative COVID-19 test, and two had no restrictions at all.

Now, Switzerland, Canada (from September 9), and France are all opening their borders for vaccinated South Africans.

Mauritius is also set to open its borders to vaccinated South Africans from October 1, 2021.

What’s more, Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) is opening its gates to vaccinated passengers, who will just need proof of vaccination from two weeks before departure, as well as a negative COVID-19 antigen test, which will be administered and paid for by the cruise line before boarding.

The Flight Centre Travel Group also points to the world map powered by Sherpa, which provides real-time updates on the travel restrictions worldwide.

The latest update shows that 52 countries are open for travel with required COVID-19 testing, or proof of vaccination, while 28 countries require COVID-19 testing and quarantine upon arrival.

Entry is restricted to 112 countries at the moment.

Although, the information changes often, and entry regulations and required documents are different from country to country and airline to airline.

For these reasons, it is best to check the specific entry requirements of the country you wish to visit closer to the time of travelling.

[source:businesstech]