Holidaying abroad at all ??

Fast_Muchly

Hi Folks , 
                We would love to book a new holiday for around feb/march in caribbean but i just dont get how you can even consider it, even if you are double jabbed but both at work , its easier if your retired to do it .

If your both of working age , you run the risk of one of you proving positive 2 days before returning then having the extra costs of a loss of 10 days income when you should be at home and hoping your travel insurance will cover some of the costs for your extra stay on holiday . 

What alot of people dont realise is the insurance only covers the one who is actually sick which is totally wrong , so their basically telling you to leave your partner sick in a hotel or in hospital .

I just dont get how so many people are going away and are comfortable with this , the only way around all this mess is to pay a bit more for insurance and have them cover the whole damn package if they want to kick start the holiday season proper .

Also dont get fooled by the new NO DEPOSIT holiday , what a greedy nasty way the holiday companies have come up with on this one .So to get this you have to agree on a Direct Debit of 3 payments , what this in effect means is they get hold of more of your hard earned cash alot EARLIER than they would have under the old system of a low deposit and pay rest 8/6 weeks before hand . 

We did ring about a holiday to the caribbean and you still can get a low deposit holiday if you ring direct but we were told on a £3000 all inclusive holiday we had to pay £250 now and then a further £250 in 4 weeks ( so basically £500 they now have ) and then the rest as normal around 8 weeks before . So if you get to the 71st day and things have not improved and pull out , bang you have lost your £500 which is alot of money to lose !! . If it was around the £150 mark i would have any issues with it . But for me at the moment abroad holidays are absolute turmoil and there isnt a chance of them getting of the ground and enough people booking them .We need more cast iron assurances on the travel insurance to cover costs .

It isnt the virus thats frightening people at the moment its the impact the loss of money on peoples lives that frightening the life out of us on what should be an enjoyable and hard earned trip abroad for some rest and relaxation . Meanwhile your getting ripped off on a staycation in miserable old England . 

A very confused holiday maker wanting to go abroad . 

Pollycat

I'm also a holiday maker wanting to go abroad. But very clear about what I'm going to do.

We usually have 3 or 4 holidays a year.

We haven't been away since September 2019 (partly because of surgery in March 2019 and surgery again planned for Jan 2020).

We had a holiday to Crete booked for June 2020 which was deferred to June 2021 and then deferred again to June 2022.

We had a holiday booked to Kos for August 2020. We cancelled before the balance was due and walked away from the deposit (only £60,00 each).

We both have had 2 vaccinations.

We are both retired so no issue with quarantining or loss of income.

However, there is no way I'm considering booking anything until things have settled down.

You talk about not getting "how so many people are going away and are comfortable with this".

I'm not sure they are comfortable.

You only have to look at the mad scramble for flights back to the UK when destinations change category.

They are just chancing it and hoping to get away with it.

You either do the same or don't.

I know somebody posted on here about rearranging BA holidays.

Have you looked at what options they offer?

maman

I'm like you @pollycat. We are used to holidays abroad about 4 times a year. Ironically our last holiday planned for March 2020 was cancelled, not because of Covid but. because of Flybe going into liquidation days before the first lockdown.

We had another holiday booked to Turkey for 2020, rolled over to 2021 and now much longed for in 2022.

Meanwhile, we could book somewhere else but what puts me off most of all is the thought of queuing at airports. Gatwick, in particular, is awful at the best of times with insufficient staff and so I'm going to wait until things settle down a bit. Maybe take a UK holiday when school holidays are over. 

pjcox2005

It’s just different peoples attitude to risk? For those who have to be in their workplace to work then any trip (shops, restaurant, visits to family) including U.K. holiday runs the risk of a 10 day isolation, likewise a trip abroad always has complications (before Covid) of an accident or ill health which puts you reliant on overseas healthcare, insurance and/or additional costs.

We’re going overseas, double vaccinated, to a place with equal vaccination rates and low Covid cases. We run a risk of one of us not being able to fly back due to catching Covid or Gov rules changing. We go eyes open that it could happen, and additional cost involved, but realistically probably lower risk of catching it than at home (testing on plane, outdoor activity, in family unit overseas as opposed to at home with more internal time and much greater mixing with work colleagues, family & friends and indoor strangers in restaurants).

We’ll see if it works but I can’t see Covid rules for international travel changing that quickly so the other options is not to go for some time.

Pollycat

pjcox2005 said:

It’s just different peoples attitude to risk? For those who have to be in their workplace to work then any trip (shops, restaurant, visits to family) including U.K. holiday runs the risk of a 10 day isolation, likewise a trip abroad always has complications (before Covid) of an accident or ill health which puts you reliant on overseas healthcare, insurance and/or additional costs.

We’re going overseas, double vaccinated, to a place with equal vaccination rates and low Covid cases. We run a risk of one of us not being able to fly back due to catching Covid or Gov rules changing. We go eyes open that it could happen, and additional cost involved, but realistically probably lower risk of catching it than at home (testing on plane, outdoor activity, in family unit overseas as opposed to at home with more internal time and much greater mixing with work colleagues, family & friends and indoor strangers in restaurants).

We’ll see if it works but I can’t see Covid rules for international travel changing that quickly so the other options is not to go for some time.

Yep.

I'm taking that option.

No intention of travelling abroad until June 2022 at the earliest.

[Deleted User]

We've just completed our first holiday this year - two weeks at a magnificent Greek villa - and plan further trips this year on account of me reaching retirement age,selling our company and second and third homes and somehow waking up to the fact that I have accumulated five pensions.

It really is the best time to travel at the moment - incredible bargains,empty planes,countries that are delighted to receive tourists,airlines offering flexibility.

Yes there's a degree of unpredictability but even though we live in a world of social media and information overload where scares and rumours are amplified there's also never been a better time and way to deal with postponments and cancellations.

We're not sure if our annual trip to Florida is going ahead this year and The Ashes in Australia will be a no-no for spectators this year so England's tour of the Caribbean next Easter is already pencilled in.

The world is our lobster.

When it's double-jabbed.

ginger_chocolate

If your both of working age , you run the risk of one of you proving positive 2 days before returning then having the extra costs of a loss of 10 days income when you should be at home and hoping your travel insurance will cover some of the costs for your extra stay on holiday . 

Some of us have the option of taking a laptop with us, and if worse comes to worse, working remotely - which admittedly doesn't eliminate all risk, but it does make the risk level slightly more tolerable. Some people are also probably comfortable enough financially that the risk doesn't bother them that much (lucky them). Everyone's circumstances are different and everyone's priorities and risk tolerance levels are different. It's the same as anything, you look at the benefits, you look at the severity of possible bad outcomes, you look at the likelihood of possible bad outcomes, and you make your decision - my decision might not be the same as your decision, and that's OK because we're not the same people!

Also, England (or more broadly the UK - there are still  other countries in it too!) isn't necessarily miserable. Sure the fancy hotels in well known tourist destinations are major rip offs (and usually not that nice), but we've had some gorgeous weekends away in Wales and England at bargain prices this year, you just have to do a bit of research. 

Sandtree

Fast_Muchly said:

If your both of working age , you run the risk of one of you proving positive 2 days before returning then having the extra costs of a loss of 10 days income when you should be at home and hoping your travel insurance will cover some of the costs for your extra stay on holiday . 

What alot of people dont realise is the insurance only covers the one who is actually sick which is totally wrong , so their basically telling you to leave your partner sick in a hotel or in hospital .

I just dont get how so many people are going away and are comfortable with this , the only way around all this mess is to pay a bit more for insurance and have them cover the whole damn package if they want to kick start the holiday season proper .

If you are of working age a lot will depend on if you are able to work remotely and/or have extra holiday you can take.

Personally, we can work from anywhere in the world as long as its roughly UK hours. We spent some time in the Caribbean before lockdown 2 started but ti was a working holiday for me anyway so had my laptop and was up at 4am every morning but in the pool with a beer by 2pm. Tests to return to the UK weren't in effect then but still if you'd gotten ill or had a temp them the same 10 days isolation would have been required... our flight booking was flexible so could be changed at no cost and we'd just have had to swallow the cost of another 10 days of villa charges.

Similarly in Latin America recently, had work laptop, had flexible flights, so cost would have been an extra 10 days of flat rent. 

There are risks in going away right now, more than usual but there are always some risks, and so it all comes down to your personal risk tolerances.  We personally we'd rather risk having to pay 10 nights accommodation away then spend 2 years without going abroad and having been abroad several times so far its worked out and the fact we've booked flexible options means the one time it wasn't going to work we could change it with just over 24 hours notice at no cost.

Brie

Fast_Muchly said:

What alot of people dont realise is the insurance only covers the one who is actually sick which is totally wrong , so their basically telling you to leave your partner sick in a hotel or in hospital .

A very confused holiday maker wanting to go abroad . 

I think you need to look at different insurance.  Ours says we are covered if any family member (including those not travelling) get ill. 

But yes - confusion reigns! 

My biggest problem is that I can't wear a mask so air travel is completely out of the question currently.   

Sandtree

Brie said:
I think you need to look at different insurance.  Ours says we are covered if any family member (including those not travelling) get ill.  

But yes - confusion reigns! 

My biggest problem is that I can't wear a mask so air travel is completely out of the question currently.   

That is the cancellation or curtailment section, the OP was talking about accompanying an ill traveller for an extended stay. 

Most policies will cover the room and flight costs of one person staying with someone that is ill and unfit to fly but its at the discretion of the insurer's medical officer on if it is "necessary"... some will also cover someone flying out to do so but again at discretion of the insurer.