Hotel Quarantine – what you need to know

Narrowing down where you, as a South African, can travel internationally with few restrictions is still a minefield. Even though millions have been vaccinated, many countries are still at different stages of lockdown while others are lifting restrictions.

Some have only got restrictions in place for certain regions. For instance, at the time of writing, New Zealand said it is extending its level 4 restrictions in Auckland for at least another four weeks but is lowering the alert levels in other parts of the country. In Australia, there’s still a lockdown in effect in regional NSW, but this is set to lift 10 September.

Locally, things are starting to get back to normal, albeit slowly. Several airlines were grounded but this is now changing. South African Airways (SAA) recently announced that it will once again be visible in the skies from 23 September and Kulula will resume flights from this month (1 September).

But where can South Africans fly to and are there any dreaded quarantines applicable?

South Africans welcome

Two Indian Ocean Island bestsellers, Zanzibar and the Maldives are both allowing entry to South Africans with minimal restrictions in place. While Covid tests are required, quarantine is not applicable.

‘It’s important to note that even if countries aren’t enforcing quarantines, countries may still insist upon proof of a negative Covid-19 test, undertaken no more than 48 – 72 hours before the time of departure from South Africa, and a vaccination passport,’ says Sue Garrett, general manager supply, pricing, and marketing Flight Centre Travel Group.

Quarantine restrictions

Unfortunately, there are still many countries that insist that South Africans quarantine in hotels before entry. This includes the UK, Austria, Croatia, Germany, Morocco, and France which are all open to unvaccinated South Africans with strict quarantine and vaccinated South Africans with less restrictions, according to Flight Centre.

But don’t let this put you off booking if you’re keen to travel abroad in the next couple of months. Garrett says: ‘The bottom line is that fully vaccinated South Africans are certain to be able to resume ‘normal’ international travel a lot sooner than those who have yet to receive their jab.

‘However, since the vaccine rollout is constantly gaining momentum, there’s nothing stopping unvaccinated South Africans who intend to get vaccinated as soon as possible from booking an international getaway in advance.’

7 Hotel quarantine tips

Hotel quarantine can be boring and very expensive. In the UK, for example, travellers are set to be charged £2,250 (R45,317.30) for solo travellers – it’s currently £1,750 (R35,246.79). Ideally, avoid going to places that require quarantine.

If this is unavoidable, there are things you can do to limit the expense and ensure the experience is less of a bore:

1. Choose a rand friendly hotel: ‘The best advice we can give if quarantining with your family is to choose a rand-friendly hotel to avoid that accommodation, food and beverage bill running up too quickly,’ says Garrett.
2. Make sure you have access to entertainment: Sign up to streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ and download some programmes.
3. Get help: Let friends and family know that you’re quarantining. They’re allowed to drop off care packages for you at reception. This can be a great help, especially if the hotel food isn’t up to scratch.
4. Make the most of outside time: Hotels will allow you some outside time. Make the most of this to get some fresh air and exercise. Times vary but this can be anything from 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Do something purposeful: Experts warn that sleeping during the day and binge-watching streaming services through the night can be harmful to mental health. Instead, spend a few hours doing something purposeful. Also, exhausting yourself both mentally and physically will help you to sleep better.
6. Try giving up smoking ahead of your travel: There are no smoke breaks during hotel quarantine, and everyone gets the same amount of exercise allowance ‘outside’. So, either pack some nicotine patches or try to give up – it’s a bad habit which is bad for your health anyway. It will save you money in the long run too!
7. Keep up to date on travel news: For the most up to date destination entry information, which changes at very short notice, visit com to find countries that are currently allowing South Africans with or without quarantine.