Hello there, good day, can you help please? We are coming over to Ireland for a short holiday in June, arriving on 17 or 18 June and staying for a week, touring around West Cork and the Wild Atlantic Way to include NI, visiting Belfast and Antrim coast etc. It’s a trip we have done many times in the past. All our accommodation is booked and we are aware that hotels will be open in the north from the 24th May and down south from I think 2nd June. We usually sail on the ferry from either Cairnryan to Belfast or from Holyhead to Dublin, and the reason for my question is to ask about entry and exit requirements regarding Covid 19. As the whole of Ireland is within the Common Travel Area with GB, do we still have to have a PCR Covid test a maximum of 72 hours before we arrive, and will we need another test before we return to England/Scotland?
Within the next 2-3 weeks, the people who are travelling with us will have had 2 doses of Covid vaccine and will be able to provide proof of this with a certificate or NHS app verification. Will it be easier for us to take the ferry to Belfast, and cross the land border between north and south, stay there for 5-6 days before either returning to Belfast to sail back to Scotland, or can we sail into and back out of Dublin. Thanks very much for your advice – we are really looking forward to returning to Ireland, it’s one of our favourite places. Cheers Tony