Will my vaccine be out of date for a trip to Italy in May? The Holiday Guru answers readers' queries

Will my vaccine be out of date for a trip to Italy in May? The Holiday Guru answers readers’ travel questions

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 17:01 EST, 28 January 2022 | Updated: 17:17 EST, 28 January 2022

The Holiday Guru is always on hand to answer your questions.

Here, he helps one reader with a query about the tests that are required to enter France, and advises another on the new duty free limits in the UK.

Q. I plan to go to Italy on May 2 and am concerned about an Italian government rule, coming into effect on February 1, that UK visitors must have had their last vaccine within 180 days to travel. I was fully vaccinated, including the booster, in mid-October so will exceed this. Can this be right?

– Charlotte Smith, via email.

New rules: Visitors to Massa Marittima (pictured) in Italy must follow the new vaccine certificate regulations that are coming into effect on February 1, says the Holiday Guru

A. Yes. You will have to self-isolate for five days, inform local authorities of your arrival and take a test with a negative result at the end of your quarantine.

However, travel experts expect this to be dropped when the damaging effect on tourism is realised. Monitor entry requirements at gov.uk.

Q. France says we need antigen lateral flow tests to enter. Will it accept home self-tests if done with a private laboratory? And if you fly to Geneva to go to France, must you comply with Swiss and French regulations?

– Nigel Moore, via email.

One reader, who is flying to France via Geneva (pictured), wonders if they need to comply with both Swiss and French regulations when it comes to fit-to-fly tests

A. Such tests are fine for France if paid for privately. If you fly to Geneva (a Swiss-French airport) for France, it is best to fill in the Swiss passenger locator form as well as the French forms. See gov.uk.

Q. With the new duty free limits, for example, 18 litres of wine, is that per person or per car?

– John Tempest, via email.

The Holiday Guru explains that the new duty free limits on goods like wine are per person, rather than per car

A. Limits are per person; see ‘Bringing goods into the UK for personal use’ at gov.uk.

Q. I’ve heard flights are being cancelled to the U.S. due to interference from new 5G masts. I’m set to fly next month. Will the disruption last till then?

– Ben Greene, via email.

A. No. It was found that 5G masts, switched on in America this month, can interfere with radar altimeters on some planes, and BA and other airlines cancelled flights on one day. Towers have since been switched off within two miles of airports to ensure landing is safe. Services are back to normal now.