Can I visit Northern Ireland? Latest travel advice for holidays this summer
Northern Ireland's 'roadmap' out of lockdown was announced in March, setting out a tentative return to normality for the region. However, many within the region’s tourism industry are feeling frustrated by the slow pace, especially as the easing of restrictions ramps up in the UK.
Most recently, the Northern Ireland Tourism Alliance (NITA), which represents tourism operators, visitor attractions and tour guides, called for the NI Executive to ease travel restrictions between NI and Great Britain. Under the current plan, this would not happen until step 5 of the plan, when the return of leisure travel is permitted.
"With the testing and the roll out of the vaccination programme and the protocols, airlines and ferries have put in place, we are getting to the point where we should be able to open travel up throughout the UK,” said Joanne Stuart, Chief Executive of NITA.
"The problem is we really don't have a plan. We want to see the roadmap for international travel, but for us we also want the roadmap for UK travel."
Northern Ireland’s exit plan sees premises where customers cannot drink alcohol and outdoor sports facilities opening first, and Ministers have stressed that the blueprint is led by data, not dates – very few of the latter have been provided.
Northern Ireland has had strict measures in place since last year, but relaxations are slowly happening, though none yet which permit any return to domestic travel. The Executive announced that from April 1, six people (including children) from two households could now meet in private gardens, and the “stay at home” message is due to change to “stay local” from April 12. Not much else will materially change.
With the region's lockdown exit strategy giving little away in regards to an actual timeline, many questions still remain for those looking to holiday there this year.
Here, we answer the key questions about travel to Northern Ireland.
What are the lockdown rules in Northern Ireland?
On January 2, a few restrictions were loosened: essential retail and hospitality services were allowed to start trading past the 8pm curfew, and church services were allowed to resume with a cap of 25 people on weddings and funerals. Things were further eased on April 1, when groups of six were permitted to meet outdoors, and will ease again from April 12 when that number extends to 10 people, and the "stay at home" message is removed.
Currently, those in Northern Ireland may only leave home, where necessary:
to obtain goods or services from any business permitted to open
to exercise, as permitted in the regulations
to visit your bubble to visit hospital, GP, medical appointments or health services (including mental health)
to provide care or assistance to a vulnerable person, or to provide emergency assistance
to avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse)
to go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home
to access education or childcare
to access critical public services (such as MOT or social care services)
to attend to the care, welfare and exercise of an animal
to fulfil a legal obligation, such as attending court or jury service
to donate blood
to attend a place of worship
to go to a wedding or civil partnership
to attend a funeral or visit a burial ground
to continue access and contact between parents and children who do not live in the same household
to facilitate a house move, and to do associated activities for that purpose, including viewing properties and making arrangements for removals
From April 12, however, the rules will be as follows:
The ‘stay at home’ provision in Northern Ireland's lockdown legislation will move to a ‘stay local’ and ‘work from home’ message.
Up to 10 people (including children) from no more than two households can meet up outdoors in a private garden.
Two households can form a bubble with each other, and meet indoors. Bubble sizes are limited to a maximum of 10 people.
Overnight stays are not permitted, unless it is with a member of your bubble.
People should work from home unless unable to do so.
The use of face coverings is mandatory on public transport, in taxis, private buses, coaches and on aircraft, in train and bus stations and in airports.
All pupils may return to school.
Hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs must remain closed, with the exception of providing food and drink for takeaway, drive-through or delivery.
Businesses providing takeaway services must close at 11.00 pm and off-sales must stop at 8.00 pm. Outdoor areas are not permitted to be used.
Hotels, guesthouses, bed and breakfast establishments, hostels and caravan sites and self-catering accommodation are only able to host those already resident, those who need to travel for work-related purposes,, vulnerable people or those in emergency situations, and those unable to return to their main address.
Leisure and entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, amusement arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, inflatable parks, go-karting venues, soft play centres, fairgrounds and funfairs, indoor museums, galleries, visitor and other cultural attractions are not permitted to open.
Outdoor visitor attractions are not permitted to open, along with drive-in events.
However, outdoor parks, play areas, outdoor areas of properties operated by the National Trust and the outdoor areas of stately homes, historic homes and castles are permitted to open.
Close contact services, such as hairdressers, beauticians, make-up and nails, tattoo and piercing parlours, tanning shops, massage, electrolysis, well-being and holistic treatments, and driving instructors (except for motorcycles) are not allowed to open.
From 12 April, contactless click/ phone and collect will be permitted for all non-essential retail businesses.
Outdoor retail, such as car washes; car, vehicle and caravan retailers; garden centres and plant nurseries will also be permitted to reopen.
Up to 15 people (including coaches) can take part in structured outdoor sports training.
The number permitted to attend weddings, civil partnerships and funerals is to be informed by a risk assessment for the venue.
Since January 8, the police have been granted powers to issue £200 fines to rule breakers (lowered to £100 if paid within 14 days), increasing up to £3,200 for repeat offenders. Since January 25, a new £800 fine has also been put in place for anybody who attends a gathering of more than 15 people.
When will Northern Ireland's lockdown lift?
For now, it's unclear. Though infection rates and Covid-related hospital admissions have fallen during lockdown, the Executive is still concerned over new variants of the virus, and mindful of lifting restrictions too soon.
This is highlighted by the lockdown exit strategy, which Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill described as a “careful, cautious and hopeful approach to existing restrictions”. The plan features a step-by-step reopening of nine 'pathways' including:
Sports and Leisure
Work
Education
Worship and Ceremonies
Retail
Travel and Tourism
Hospitality
Culture
Home and Community
Each area has five steps out of lockdown. Progressing through each of the five phases will depend on heath-based data being in favour of loosening the rules. No set dates are given, and the stages are:
Lockdown
Cautious First Steps
Gradual Easing
Further Easing
Preparing for the Future
The infection rate of the virus, known as the R number, hospitalisations, vaccine rollout and progress in testing and tracing positive cases will all be factors in whether an area is allowed to move to the next step. There will be a rolling review every four weeks, in line with how regulations are currently reviewed. The next review of restrictions is scheduled for April 15.
There's also no guarantee that areas may move back a stage, or that Northern Ireland won't go into lockdown again. When asked whether she could provide a guarantee that there will be no further lockdowns, O’Neill refused to rule it out: “I think we should be very honest with the public also to say that this virus is still among us, it’s still spreading, it’s still too high a rate, there are new variants there.
“What we have done today and what we’re trying to achieve with this plan is that, if we do this in a gradual way, in a very considered way, if we work our way through it gradually and be cautious and take the right decisions at the right time, that mitigates against the risk of going backwards.
“Nobody wants to go backwards, we only want to go forwards here, so we deliberately stayed away from giving dates because I think that gives people false hope and it builds up peoples’ expectations that people grab onto and unfortunately can be disappointed."
When will hospitality reopen in Northern Ireland?
Stage 2 for Northern Ireland's hospitality will be the lifting of curfew on takeaway (which is currently prohibited past 11pm). Premises that cannot serve alcohol will also be allowed to open with table service for groups of up to six from no more than two households.
Stage 3 sees the reopening of premises where alcohol can be consumed, again with table service for groups of up to six, with the exception of wet pubs. Wet-led pubs (i.e. establishments that aren't able to serve food alongside their drinks) will be allowed to reopen with only table service in Stage 4, which will also see 'limited entertainment relaxations'. Bar service is permitted from Stage 5 onwards, the rule of six will be relaxed, and nightclubs and live entertainment will resume.
No dates have been provided for any of these stages.
Can I travel to Northern Ireland?
Unlike in England, Scotland and Wales, travel outside the country is not actually banned in Northern Ireland, with ministers instead issuing guidance against non-essential travel between Northern Ireland and both Great Britain and the Irish Republic. Those arriving into the country will need to undergo a 10-day quarantine, however.
This does not hold true for those in Britain, who are under Level 4 lockdown rules; banning all non-essential travel.
Similarly, hotels and other accommodation providers in Northern Ireland can currently only operate on a restricted basis for those already resident, for work related purposes, for vulnerable people, those in emergency situations and people unable to return home, making it impossible to stay within the region as a tourist.
When will Northern Ireland welcome tourists again?
Currently, everything but essential travel is advised against in Northern Ireland, with all tourist accommodation closed to tourists and only public transport in place.
Stage 2 sadly sees little change to this, with only an increase in the capacity of public transport mentioned. For Culture, Heritage and Entertainment, outdoor visitor attractions will be permitted to reopen in Stage 2.
It isn't until Stage 3 that some tourism accommodation options become available again. Caravan sites will be allowed to open, but with no shared facilities, while hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs will reopen with limitations. Indoor visitor attractions will also reopen, as will libraries and 'low-risk activities'.
Under Stage 4, hostels, bunkhouses, and the shared facilities on campsites will reopen, as will campus accommodation for tourism purposes. Hotels will also be able to offer a wider array of services, beyond just food, drink and a place to rest your head. Theatres, concert venues and cinemas will reopen, and outdoor organised events (with limitations on numbers).
By Stage 5, Northern Ireland will be 'preparing for the full return of leisure travel', and large-scale outdoor events, like concerts and festivals, will be permitted again.
Should I book a holiday in Northern Ireland?
Though the roadmap initially held some promise for those keen on a holiday in Northern Ireland, crucially, there are absolutely no dates included on the document, and none beyond April 12 have yet been given.
This means that calculations on when these stages may actually be put into place involves a fair bit of guesswork. Currently, the earliest Stage 3 could start is May, and similarly June would be the earliest Stage 4 could begin. Stage 5 could potentially start in July – but none of this has been hinted at in anyway by the Executive.
This means that though April 12 marks the start of domestic travel in England, going for more than a day trip in your local area is still banned in Northern Ireland . With so little information to go off, those looking to enjoy the sights of the Causeway Coast or Belfast this summer, and desperate to lock plans in now, would be wise to steer clear of booking anything before June.
Booking anything right now comes with the risk that your holiday might not go ahead and that you may lose some, or all of, the money you had paid towards it. For now, holding off until further information is released is likely the wisest course of action.
Read more: When can I go on holiday abroad?
