It's a nuisance. I haven't been able to go abroad for a short break/holiday abroad for nearly 2 years because of all this nonsense and malarky dragging on for far too long.
This seems to be a common complaint on other forums too, but I don't understand why so many people were reluctant to travel and now they all have plans for December which are being ruined.
Extensive travel in Europe was possible from July-September 2020 and in the early half of December 2020, and as the UK was still effectively in the EU there weren't any problems with being allowed entry. There were no testing or vaccine requirements and only a vague instruction to self-isolate at home if you had been in certain areas, which was not particularly enforced.
I travelled extensively in those 3 months to continental Europe and did not need to self-isolate. This period was also during school holidays so that isn't an excuse.
Outbound holidays were illegal from the UK from January to May 2021 but that didn't stop people, according to my acquaintances who work for airlines/airports. You couldn't go to EU countries but many others were available (Dubai, Maldives, Turkey were common).
From May to September 2021 you needed a test to board transport to the UK which I can understand was off-putting, however for trips under 3 days you could do the test in the UK before leaving. This also removed the risk of testing positive while abroad. By August most of Europe was allowing vaccinated people to enter without onerous requirements. Case numbers in many countries were very low meaning that there were very few restrictions.
Once the preflight test was no longer needed for the UK you only needed a PCR test after returning which could be obtained for under £30, and more recently the requirement was changed to LFTs which can be obtained for £1 (limited situations) or £10-£20. For those with schoolchildren October half-term was possible, from England at least, and prices were not particularly inflated compared to before covid.
