Why are the Covid travel rules to Morocco so harsh?

Simon Calder answers your questions on Morocco, visas for visiting Russia, and flights to Tenerife

Despite BA offering flights to the kingdom, firm restrictions remain (Getty/iStock)

Q Do you have any more intel on Morocco? British Airways is selling holidays there next month.

Alex H

A For a normally welcoming, friendly, cultured, beautiful and warm nation, Morocco has imposed some extremely tough Covid rules. You may recall the sudden suspension of direct flights between Morocco and the UK (as well as Germany and the Netherlands) that took effect on 20 October.

That ban has since been widened. The current situation is described by the national tourist office thus: “Morocco is suspending all direct passenger flights to the kingdom until 31 January 2022.” But there is a clear expectation that flights will resume at the start of February.

For the purposes of opening up after that, Morocco divides the world into three categories of risk. The UK is in the middle group (“list B”), which means you will need to prove that you are fully vaccinated and, annoyingly, present a negative PCR test less than 48 hours old. There is no clarity on whether the time is relative to when you depart for Morocco or when you arrive there; to avoid possible problems I suggest you assume it is the arrival time at the Moroccan airport. The test requirement applies to everyone aged six and over.

You must also, predictably, complete a health card with contact details in Morocco. In the unlikely event you plan to travel by ferry (from Marseille or Sete in France, or Genoa in Italy) you will also need a test on board.

Compared with other countries around the Mediterranean, these rules look harsh. The requirement for a PCR, and the tight deadline, means paying perhaps £60 or £80 on top of the cost of the holiday.

As restrictions elsewhere ease and travellers vote with their wallets, I cannot see this hard line holding for long. The higher the hurdles to overseas visitors, the tougher the task of rebuilding tourism.

Abta, the travel association, is due to hold its twice-postponed annual convention in Marrakech in October, which may also encourage the country to open up a little further.

Conversely, though, the slow reopening of Morocco means that early visitors are rewarded with experiencing the nation in unusual solitude.

Visiting Russia’s most beautiful city will get easier in time (Getty/iStock)

Q I fancy travelling to St Petersburg in August this year and am aware that I need a visa of some sort. The problem is that when I research this, I find it very confusing, with costs varying from a fiver to hundreds of pounds, and procedures varying from just needing your hotel booking printed out to having to visit the Russian consulate in Edinburgh to have my fingerprints taken. Can you possibly simplify this for me please?

Victor R

A The prospect of being in Russia’s most beautiful city in August is a joy, and I salute your choice of St Petersburg. However, on the spectrum of cost and inconvenience you set out, I suggest you forget about the “£5 and a hotel booking print-out”. It is likely to be a lot more complicated than that.

Let us assume that all significant Covid travel restrictions are removed by August, and that all you need to tangle with is Russian bureaucracy. As things stand, you will certainly need to attend a Russian visa centre to be fingerprinted (unless you pay a fortune for someone to visit your home or office with the necessary equipment).

Consider these three options:

1. Contact a travel company with a vast amount of experience, such as Regent Holidays of Bristol, to organise your trip and guide you through the visa process. You will pay upwards of £100 for the visa part, but I commend the firm’s professionalism.

2. Take a Baltic cruise that includes a stay in St Petersburg, for which the visa rules are relaxed. You can leave the ship as part of an organised tour, and generally see the city for two days. While most cruises are a week or more, some mini-cruises depart from Helsinki to St Petersburg.

3. Wait until the Russians relax the rules for British visitors. At present more than 50 countries, including all European Union members, are entitled to apply for a free e-visa valid for stays of up to 16 days. While the UK is not among those on the list (possibly on political grounds following the Salisbury poisoning), I imagine that will change in months or, at most, a couple of years.

My recommendation is the last of these – to minimise cost and stress. I hope I am correct and that you can get there soon.

Open skies: the view from Playa Las Americas in Tenerife (Simon Calder)

Q If I book a BA ticket to Tenerife and then can’t go for Covid reasons, will they let me use the money for a flight to Tenerife or another destination later in the year?

Michael W

A In the coming months, British Airways will be flying from both Heathrow and Gatwick to Tenerife South. In May, I am seeing fares as low as £74 one-way from Gatwick to the island – an attractive price considering that British Airways allows every economy passenger two pieces of cabin baggage, totalling 46kg. BA also has a friendly cancellation policy. For any booking due to be completed by 31 August 2022, you can cancel any time up to the close of check-in for a voucher. This can be used for any trip that is fully completed by 30 September 2023. There is no need to stick to a London-Tenerife route.

But I am not a buyer right now, for three reasons:

1 Off-peak fares are good, but I would expect to see package holiday prices through Tui or Jet2 that are even more appealing: typically £300 for a week including flights (with baggage), transfers and accommodation.

2 Peak summer fares on BA are high: £334 return on 7 August from Gatwick to Tenerife for a week, for example. On the same dates, same route, easyJet is cheaper even with seat selection and a 23kg checked bag. Assuming travel restrictions begin to dwindle, I imagine airlines are poised to launch more flights to exploit the demand – leading to a temporary fall in fares, not a rise.

3 While British Airways has a good voucher policy, I prefer to keep my funds in cash. Doing so allows me to choose from the entire range of flights, rather than just BA’s.

Equally, though, I can also see the appeal of being locked into a particular trip: anticipation is an important component of travel. That benefit is more tangible if you are able to think: “Right, on 7 August I will take off around 7am and be sitting at a beachside bar on Playa de las Americas by noon.” In contrast, I am merely thinking I’ll be back again in the Canary Islands soon – but I don’t know where or when, exactly.

Email your questions to s@hols.tv or tweet @SimonCalder