Eight countries that are off-limits to unvaccinated travellers

Aromantic trip to Paris is no longer an option for unvaccinated travellers from the US this autumn, after France became the latest country to remove the US from its safe travel list.

Following recommendations from the European Council, French authorities updated Covid-19 regulations to state that travellers from America who are not fully immunised can no longer visit unless they have an essential reason to do so.

Unfortunately for any US tourists hoping for a French holiday, essential reasons do not include drinking hot chocolate in a Parisian cafe or admiring an autumnal forest in the Bois de Boulogne.

But it's not only tourists from America that need to worry about being vaccinated before travelling. Several destinations around the world are only welcoming visitors who have received a complete dose of an approved Covid-19 vaccine.

If you’re not yet vaccinated, here are eight places that you’ll have to scratch off your travel bucket list for now.

If you want to take a cable car to the Matterhorn, go boating on Lake Geneva or explore the medieval city of Lucerne any time soon, then you’ll have to make sure you’re vaccinated first. That’s because only fully immunised tourists can travel to Switzerland for tourism purposes. An exemption exists for unvaccinated children, who can enter the country when accompanied by fully inoculated adults.

Switzerland is accepting travellers who have vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), namely Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The country is also recognising vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation for emergency use, including Sinopharm and Sinovac.

The land of fire and ice thrills with its lagoons, hot springs, glacier peaks, Northern Lights and untouched wilderness, but it's only worth putting on your bucket list if you have had your Covid-19 vaccine.

One of the first countries to reopen to tourists, Iceland has strict entry requirements in place since the outset and remains open only to travellers who are fully vaccinated.

There are eight accepted vaccines, including Sinopharm, but tourists must ensure they've had the last jab at least 14 days before flying to Iceland.

The last frontier for travel has reopened to tourists after being closed for 17 months. Saudi Arabia is welcoming tourists who have been immunised against Covid-19 and who come from countries that are eligible to travel visa-free, or get a visa on arrival.

The bustling cities of Riyadh and Jeddah, endless sand dunes, mountain peaks and desert oases, not to mention Saudi Arabia’s thriving Red Sea coastline, await travellers who meet entry requirements.

Four Covid-19 vaccinations are approved for entry: AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Visitors are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after their final dose. Any tourists vaccinated with Sinovac or Sinopharm can also travel to the kingdom but only if they have taken a booster shot from one of the recognised vaccines.

However, travellers from 10 countries, namely Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, India, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Vietnam, cannot yet travel to the kingdom even if they are fully vaccinated.