Editor’s Note – CNN Travel updates this article periodically. It was last updated on December 30.
(CNN) – If you are planning a trip to the Maldives, this is what you need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic.
The basic
The Maldives reopened borders to all travelers on 15 July.
What is on offer?
It’s the couple’s destination to end it all – luxury hotels located on private islands, with rooms diagonally across the water, just when a walk to the beach is too much trouble.
Who can go
All visitors can currently travel to the Maldives, as long as they have tested negative for Covid. However, cruise ships are currently banned.
What are the restrictions?
All arrivals, except Maldives residents, must present a certificate of a negative PCR test performed within 96 hours before departure, clearly stating the name and address of the laboratory, as well as the date of the sample. indicated.
Hotels are open and guest houses have been reopened to international visitors. 15 October. Tourists may divide accommodation between hotels. However, if you spend more than 48 hours in the vicinity of the Bigger Male, you will need to take another PCR test before moving on to another location.
Since the discovery of the new UK variant at the end of December, all non-tourist arrivals from the UK, including passengers traveling, must undergo a ten-day quarantine. However, this does not apply to tourists.
All passengers leaving the airport on arrival have a health test.
What is the Covid situation
There were only 48 Maldives deaths and on 30 December a total of less than 14,000 cases.
What can visitors expect?
The Maldives sells itself as a destination that offers a ‘normal’ holiday, thanks to the seclusion of most hotels and the fact that the vast majority of visitors stay in the resort rather than venture out.
This means that although locals are subject to restrictions, those going to and from the airport are exempt. Divided accommodation between different hotels is allowed if the hotels meet the government requirements. Requests for split accommodation must be made to the Ministry of Tourism 48 hours before the trip.
Expect your resort to have some rules as well – especially a temperature control on arrival and masks to be worn indoors.
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CNN’s Julia Buckley contributed to this report