FCO advises against all non essential travel 'indefinitely'

adonis10

Surprised this one hasn't had some discussion on here or been reflected in the markets today.
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/coronavirus-foreign-office-travel-advice-warning-fco-uk-government-a9448986.html
'Indefinitely' is a little vague but do we think this changes things with regards to planned trips which are a bit further out, June/July for example? Until now, agents have stuck to the line that those holidays are unaffected but surely this now changes things.

Westin

adonis10 said:

Surprised this one hasn't had some discussion on here or been reflected in the markets today.
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/coronavirus-foreign-office-travel-advice-warning-fco-uk-government-a9448986.html
'Indefinitely' is a little vague but do we think this changes things with regards to planned trips which are a bit further out, June/July for example? Until now, agents have stuck to the line that those holidays are unaffected but surely this now changes things.

It has been -
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6115832/the-fco-advises-british-people-against-all-non-essential-travel-worldwide#latest
Currently three pages down. Easy to miss with all the clutter.

Thrugelmir

Until individual countries lift their own restrictions as to entry. Travel is going to be severely curtailed internationally.  Unsure what the FCO can advise. Given that the war globally is ongoing. 

adonis10

Westin said:

adonis10 said:

Surprised this one hasn't had some discussion on here or been reflected in the markets today.
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/coronavirus-foreign-office-travel-advice-warning-fco-uk-government-a9448986.html
'Indefinitely' is a little vague but do we think this changes things with regards to planned trips which are a bit further out, June/July for example? Until now, agents have stuck to the line that those holidays are unaffected but surely this now changes things.

It has been -
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6115832/the-fco-advises-british-people-against-all-non-essential-travel-worldwide#latest
Currently three pages down. Easy to miss with all the clutter.

Thanks. Not much chat about it on there though.

adonis10

Crazy that this topic is rearing its ugly head again but Covid is still with us! We ended up rearranging our holiday for end of July this year due to Covid but, although it is early in the year, we are still in limbo as to what will be happening with travel to Africa. I guess we are thinking about it too soon as we don't need to pay the balance until late April but as the weeks go by it is worth thinking about and discussing. UK vaccination programme is flying so don't really have concerns this end as that should be all but done by late July but I honestly have little knowledge of the situation in Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Will the safari be as good as it could be, ie. lots of distancing, more waiting due to fewer people allowed on trips and transport etc. etc. Or it could be fairly normal like it was in the UK here last summer. 

Anyone in a similar boat with regards to a pre-planned holiday for mid-late summer?

Thrugelmir

adonis10 said:

Crazy that this topic is rearing its ugly head again but Covid is still with us! 

You sound surprised. Covid as never going to simply disappear. It's here to stay. 

Pollycat

adonis10 said:

Crazy that this topic is rearing its ugly head again but Covid is still with us! We ended up rearranging our holiday for end of July this year due to Covid but, although it is early in the year, we are still in limbo as to what will be happening with travel to Africa. I guess we are thinking about it too soon as we don't need to pay the balance until late April but as the weeks go by it is worth thinking about and discussing. UK vaccination programme is flying so don't really have concerns this end as that should be all but done by late July but I honestly have little knowledge of the situation in Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Will the safari be as good as it could be, ie. lots of distancing, more waiting due to fewer people allowed on trips and transport etc. etc. Or it could be fairly normal like it was in the UK here last summer. 

Anyone in a similar boat with regards to a pre-planned holiday for mid-late summer?

I'm in a similar boat with a mid June holiday deferred from last year and fully paid for.

Personally, I don't think it's even worth thinking about right now.

Re your concerns about how the trip will be, have you been in touch with the organisers to ask?

CKhalvashi

As of now, we don't know what the situation will be next month, let alone June.

I can tell you what may happen if the current infection trend continues, however this is not guaranteed so there is no point. Government advice is also not guaranteed to change in this time, and likely will depend on both the situation within the UK and the situation in other countries.

At the moment, sit back and relax, and wait for updates on government advice. The package likely won't be cancelled until around 30 days before you're due to go.

adonis10

Thrugelmir said:

adonis10 said:

Crazy that this topic is rearing its ugly head again but Covid is still with us! 

You sound surprised. Covid as never going to simply disappear. It's here to stay. 

I understand that but with a huge vaccination programme and plummeting case numbers etc. one is entitled to expect a bit more normality come summer. The UK was practically back to normal last summer and that was without a vaccine, by June pretty much everyone will have been vaccinated so the risk of serious illness/death should be minimal. Surely that's when Covid just becomes another prevalent illness but in no way to the same extent and may just be a cold/mild flu like. Granted, I hadn't expected it to be quite as bad as it was in December and January but that's behind us now.

adonis10

Pollycat said:

adonis10 said:

Crazy that this topic is rearing its ugly head again but Covid is still with us! We ended up rearranging our holiday for end of July this year due to Covid but, although it is early in the year, we are still in limbo as to what will be happening with travel to Africa. I guess we are thinking about it too soon as we don't need to pay the balance until late April but as the weeks go by it is worth thinking about and discussing. UK vaccination programme is flying so don't really have concerns this end as that should be all but done by late July but I honestly have little knowledge of the situation in Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Will the safari be as good as it could be, ie. lots of distancing, more waiting due to fewer people allowed on trips and transport etc. etc. Or it could be fairly normal like it was in the UK here last summer. 

Anyone in a similar boat with regards to a pre-planned holiday for mid-late summer?

I'm in a similar boat with a mid June holiday deferred from last year and fully paid for.

Personally, I don't think it's even worth thinking about right now.

Re your concerns about how the trip will be, have you been in touch with the organisers to ask?

I agree it's not worth putting too much thought into, particularly for you as yours is fully paid, but we've only paid the deposit with the balance due late April so naturally we are getting twitchy as it is clear by then we should be fine in the UK but no idea what it will be like in Kenya and Tanzania. The latter is on the red list at present and I've just been doing some reading about their situation and by all accounts their government has dismissed covid and vaccines, and is putting faith in "God" to protect the citizens. So it is a long way off but with that approach it is hard to see that country coming off the red list any time soon.

Yes, I emailed them earlier in the week and am awaiting a reply. No doubt they're inundated and are prioritising much earlier departures, which is totally understandable, but I imagine they will do the same as they did last year and hold the line that all is normal and going ahead as planned because they want several thousands of pounds in their bank rather than in ours.

adonis10

CKhalvashi said:

As of now, we don't know what the situation will be next month, let alone June.

I can tell you what may happen if the current infection trend continues, however this is not guaranteed so there is no point. Government advice is also not guaranteed to change in this time, and likely will depend on both the situation within the UK and the situation in other countries.

At the moment, sit back and relax, and wait for updates on government advice. The package likely won't be cancelled until around 30 days before you're due to go.

Completely agree. I think it is fair to say the current trend should continue, assuming we are still in lockdown for another month and then getting into spring and summer where cases will massively decline and bottom out. But who knows with our Government as they do love a u turn so things could quite easily change from one week/month to the next.

"Package likely won't be cancelled until around 30 days before you're due to go" therein lies the problem as by that point we'd have handed over thousands of pounds! On the one hand it's nice that we're only £650 in the hole at present as have only paid the deposit but if we end up paying the balance in April and having to defer for another year it'll be a nightmare as we may not even be able to go next year due to changing circumstances.