Spain, Greece and France are set to be added to the UK's green travel list by the end of June, it has been claimed.
It would mean Brits can holiday in those countries this summer without having to quarantine for two weeks on return, with popular tourist destinations desperate to open their borders.
Ministers are currently finalising the list, though none of the above three countries are expected to make the initial cut, when non-essential travel is allowed again from May 17.
But with reviews expected every few weeks, insiders claim they will be on there by the end of next month.
Holiday favourite Portugal is said to be on the cusp of making the first green list, with others likely to be included being Malta, Iceland, Israel, Morocco, Gibraltar and Grenada.
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"It's a rolling, evolving list that is going to start off cautiously but could start to change quickly," a government source told the Telegraph.
"It is not like a one-off list that affects the totality of the summer. It will update and other countries will be added."
Ministers are also said to be confidant the Caribbean at the US can be included by the end of June.
Brits returning from red list nations will have to quarantine in £1,750-a-head hotels while those returning from amber list nations will need to self-isolate for 10 days at home.
Those returning from green list nations won't have to isolate, but will instead have to pay for two Covid tests each.
A Downing Street source told the Times jet-setters must be patient, but reiterated there will be a "big bang for summer holidays" in the weeks to come.
"June will look a lot more like normal, many of the traditional holiday destinations will be on the list by then," they said.
But with Spain and Greece likely to be placed on the amber list to begin with, it would mean all of their islands would be cut off too.
That's despite the Balearics having a Covid rate less than a quarter of that of the mainland, while the Canary's have vaccinated almost a third of all adults.
Ministers are therefore understood to have agreed to separate travel corridors for Spanish, Greek and Portuguese islands even if the mainlands still have high Covid levels.
The EU plans to let in anyone who's had both doses of a vaccine for tourism.
And Brits who've not been fully vaccinated will likely be allowed in too, if the UK is added to a soon-to-be-expanded 'safe' list run by Brussels.
A country's 14-day case rate will need to drop only to 100 per 100,000, rather than 25 as is the case now. The UK's is around 46.
Boris Johnson, who was in jubilant mood yesterday as he told reporters the UK had reached the 50 million vaccine dose mark, has said the approach to foreign travel will be sensible.
During a visit to Hartlepool, the Prime Minister said: "We do want to do some opening up on May 17 but I don't think that the people of this country want to see an influx of disease from anywhere else.
"I certainly don't and we have got to be very, very tough, and we have got to be as cautious as we can while we continue to open up."
A Department for Transport spokesperson told the Mirror: “The Taskforce is working toward restarting international travel in a safe and sustainable way, from 17 May at the earliest. This will allow families and friends to reunite, and businesses to start thriving again, while ensuring we protect public health.
“As we have always said, we will confirm by early May if international travel can resume on 17 May and which countries will fall into which list determining the requirements for travel.”
