Editor’s Note – CNN Travel periodically updates this article. The last update was made in full on December 30.
(CNN) – If you are planning a trip to the Maldives, here’s what you need to know and expect if you want to visit during the global coronavirus pandemic.
The basics
The Maldives reopened the borders of all travelers on July 15.
What is offered
This is the destination of couples to put an end to all the others – luxury hotels located on private islands, with console rooms over the water, only if a walk to the beach is too much effort.
Who can go
All visitors can travel to the Maldives at present, as long as they have given negative results for Covid. However, cruise ships are currently banned.
What are the restrictions?
All arrivals, except citizens of the Maldives, must present a negative PCR test certificate performed within 96 hours prior to departure, clearly showing the name and address of the laboratory and the date of the sample taken.
The hotels are open and the hostels reopened to international visitors on October 15. Tourists are allowed to divide their stays between hotels. However, if you spend more than 48 hours in the Greater Male ‘area, you must take another PCR test before moving elsewhere.
Since the discovery of the new British variant at the end of December, all non-tourist arrivals in the UK, including transiting passengers, must be subject to a 10-day quarantine. However, this does not apply to tourists.
All passengers leaving the airport on arrival will have a health check.
What is the situation of Covid
There were only 48 deaths in the Maldives and a total of less than 14,000 cases as of December 30.
What can visitors expect?
The Maldives is sold as a destination that offers a “normal” holiday, due to the isolation of most hotels and the fact that the vast majority of visitors stay in the resort rather than venture.
This means that although locals are subject to restrictions, those who go to and from the airport are exempt. Shared stays between different hotels are allowed if the hotels meet government requirements. Requests for separate stays must be made 48 hours before the trip to the Ministry of Tourism.
Also, wait for your resort to have a few rules – especially a temperature check on arrival and masks to be worn indoors.
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CNN’s Julia Buckley contributed to this report