Where is open for cruising this summer?
by Noonsite 2 Jul 2020 12:42 UTC
Antigua re-opens port and airport © Antigua and Barbuda Marine Association
While some Caribbean countries boldly organized controlled openings for yachts for hurricane season in May (including Grenada, Bonaire and Curacao), the tide really began to turn at the start of June as more and more Islands started to open up, including Antigua and the Bahamas (all be it with quarantine and/or testing).
On June 15th the EU encouraged border restrictions to be lifted and Spain, Portugal, Italy and Croatia obliged. In the eastern Med Turkey and Cyprus also opened their borders, to the joy of many Red Sea yachts wanting to leave Egypt and find safe haven for a well-deserved rest. Restrictions are easing in the Azores as well and access to shore is permitted following a negative test. At last mid-Atlantic passage makers can explore this wonderful archipelago and properly meet the friendly locals who have gone so far out of their way to help sailors, in particular during this time of crisis.
In the Pacific, cruising yachts have been laid-up in French Polynesia for months with no where open ahead of them to sail to. All that is beginning to change, however, with Fiji being the first to re-open their maritime borders to foreign flagged vessels on 21 June,(limited initially to superyachts). It seems French Polynesia will be following suit from 15 July when quarantine measures will be lifted and French Polynesia's borders will re-open to international tourism from all countries.
This article has been provided by the courtesy of noonsite.com.