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Coronavirus - Destinations Update

Please read for up-to-date details of which countries our tours are operating in again, as well as which remain suspended, together with notes on expected restart dates. 

Coronavirus - Destinations Update

Destination Updates

The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented upheaval for the world, including upsetting the plans of people looking forward to travelling abroad. We are committed to providing safe and enjoyable holidays for our customers, and as a result we suspended tours in all of our destinations departing from 19th March 2020 onwards.

We'd like to thank all our travellers whose trips were cancelled for their patience and understanding while we worked through their bookings and processed any refunds due. 

From late 2020 onwards we have been delighted to be able to start running trips in more and more destinations again, based on the current situation in each country and in conjunction with our Safer Encounters scheme and any updated rules and precautions that local authorities have put in place to ensure that tourist travel there is as safe as possible. We will continue to add to this list over the weeks and months ahead.

Our tours are currently operating in the following countries:
Country From Notes
Egypt 1 Nov 20 No restrictions to itineraries
Sudan 15 Dec 20 No restrictions to itineraries
Turkey 20 Dec 20 No restrictions to itineraries
Jordan 16 Mar 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Maldives 1 May 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Morocco 1 May 21 No restrictions to itineraries. 
Greece 20 May 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Lebanon 20 May 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Africa Overland tours 1 Sep 21 No restrictions to itineraries 
Nepal 1 Oct 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Pakistan 1 Oct 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Thailand 1 Oct 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Tanzania 1 Oct 21 No restrictions to itineraries
South Africa 1 Oct 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Cambodia 15 Dec 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Bolivia 15 Dec 21 No restrictions to itineraries
Peru 15 Dec 21 No restrictions to itineraries 
Israel & OPT 20 Jan 22 No restrictions to itineraries
India 1 Apr 22 No restrictions to itineraries
Balkans 1 May 22 No restrictions to itineraries
Bhutan 1 Oct 22 No restrictions to itineraries
Vietnam 1 Nov 22 No restrictions to itineraries

Note – while there may not be any restrictions to our itineraries within a country, all destinations do have a range of different entry requirements. These often vary depending on whether you are fully vaccinated or not. As these requirements are changing regularly, we are not listing them all here (unless you must be vaccinated to travel). However, we provide all our customers with a dedicated pre-departure document around 2 weeks before departure which includes detailed up-to-date information on entry requirements, and what to expect in your destination (eg. extra hygiene precautions and protocols, mask wearing rules, seat rotation on vehicles etc.). You are also welcome to contact us for current information at any time.

Our tours are currently still suspended in:
Country Provisional re-start date Notes
Tonga Group tours: Jun 23
Tailor-made: Mar 23
Our group whale-watching safari tour season runs from July to October and is hopefully running again in 2023. Tailor-made tours should be available earlier in the year

We are accepting bookings for our tours in these destinations with start dates anytime from the Provisional Restart Dates given above. However, it must be stressed that these are provisional dates and the re-opening of international borders and countries to tourists is unfortunately not something we can control. Re-start dates will be updated as and when we get more information on the situation in each country. We will only restart tours in these countries once all our Safer Encounters checks and protocols have been completed and are in place. Our Flexible Booking Conditions will apply to bookings in these destinations to allow for date changes if necessary. Please ensure you wait to receive confirmation from us that your trip is going ahead before booking any non-refundable flights.

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Ralph Foulds
About the author

Ralph Foulds

Traveller, writer, and part of the Encounters Travel team. Covers destinations, culture, and real stories from the road.

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