The Balearics have been downgraded from green to amber along with the British Virgin Islands in the latest reshuffle of the government’s traffic light lists for international travel.
The Spanish islands, which include holiday favourites Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca, will change status from 4am on 19 July, triggering a 10-day quarantine and two PCR tests for unvaccinated travellers aged 18 and over.
However, from 19 July, those who have been double jabbed two weeks prior and children under 18 will no longer have to self-isolate when entering England from amber countries, but can follow green list requirements instead.
Younger holidaymakers will still be affected, as they are unlikely to have received their second vaccine dose when the new rules come into effect.
Grant Shapps announced the islands’ move as part of the Department for Transport’s tri-weekly travel review on 14 July, a day earlier than anticipated.
Two destinations were bumped up to the green list - Bulgaria and Hong Kong - while Croatia and Taiwan were nudged from amber onto the green watchlist, meaning they are at risk of falling back down a category at any time.
The various moves mean the green list currently stands at 29 countries and territories.
Meanwhile, nothing moved up from red to amber and four countries made the reverse switch: Indonesia, Myanmar, Cuba and Sierra Leone all turned red, triggering 11 nights of hotel quarantine for UK arrivals, at a cost of £1,750 per solo traveller.
