Just as the world is getting a grip of the Coronavirus pandemic and international travel returns to normal; Russia invades Ukraine. Ukraine is a popular destination for tourists but at the moment of course, it would not be wise to make any plans to visit. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has advised against all travel to Ukraine.
Travel advice for Eastern European countries
If you are travelling to western Europe you would have no problem. It is still worth checking the entry requirements for any country you visit but France, Germany, Spain and all the other popular European destinations are now much easier to visit.
On the eastern side, Ukraine borders Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. All of these countries attract tourists from the UK for many reasons but is it still safe to go there?
We looked at the current travel advice for each of these countries:
Poland
It is still possible to visit Poland and for the majority of the country it is largely safe. Entry requirements are the same as before the conflict. You must present proof of a negative lateral flow test taken 24 hrs before arrival in the country. This applies even if you've been fully vaccinated. If you've not been fully vaccinated you must quarantine for 7 days unless you are passing through the country within 24hrs.
The Poland/Ukrainian border is around 530km and for safety and security you should not attempt to cross into Ukraine from the Polish border.
As of 2 March 2022, Poland extended a law limiting access until 30 June 2022 to areas near to the Belarusian border (areas within 3 kilometres of the border) in parts of Lubelskie Voivodeships and Podlaskie.
Full details on visiting Poland for leisure, study or work can be found on Governments travel advice pages. In case you don't know, the currency you need for Poland is the Polish zloty.
Slovakia
If you are fully vaccinated you will have no trouble entering Slovakia. The Slovak Government have allowed all normal travel to the country for leisure, family or work. If you are not fully vaccinated it's a different story. You may not enter if travelling from the UK unless you are a resident or close relative, you study there or are a commercial transport worker.
All visitors must complete an eHaranica form available online on the Slovak Government website. If you travel by air you will need to complete a passenger locator form as well.
You should not attempt to enter Ukraine via the Slovakian border. Although the Slovak/Ukranian border at 97km is not as long as some countries, it is probably best to avoid the border areas particularly the town of Vyšné Nemecké.
Incidentally, the currency in use in Slovakia is the euro.
Hungary
The advice for Hungary is very similar. If you are fully vaccinated you will have no trouble entering the country by air, land or waterways.
If you have not been fully vaccinated a negative PCR test conducted in the previous 72 hours of arrival is required for entry. For the negative PCR test to be accepted, the document proving the PCR test result should be either in Hungarian or English and should contain the following data: Date, type, result of test and evidence of where the test was performed.
As with Slovakia, the border is relatively small. You should not try and cross to Ukraine from the Hungarian border and its good advice to avoid the border areas particularly Beregsurány.
The official currency of Hungary is the Hungarian forint.
Romania
The Romanian/Ukrainian border is the longest of all the European borders at 600km. Once again the FCDO advice is not to attempt to enter Ukraine via the Romanian border. It is best to avoid all the border areas in particular Siret.
You can still travel to Romania fairly easily if you've been fully vaccinated, can demonstrate you have recovered from covid-19 in the last 6 months or provide a negative PCR test result taken 72 before arrival.
If you can't meet any of those criteria, you have to quarantine for 5 days on arrival.
The currency of Romania is the Romanian leu.
Follow the UK government's official travel advice
It's no doubt that the invasion of Ukraine is shocking. It can be troubling to see images of war in countries that are not far away and we may even have visited.
However, at the moment it involves just Russia and Ukraine from a military point of view so it is still perfectly feasible to visit the surrounding countries providing you follow the relevant advice from the UK FCDO and the official Government pages of the destination country.
As always, you can find up to the minute advice on visiting any country or territory on the GOV.UK travel advice pages.