Honestly - are we going to be able to go abroad

[Moonstone1234]

Hi All,

I really want some honest answers please regarding your thoughts on travelling abroad this year. I know there are people around who want to be locked down for the forseeable future (maybe they are on furlough?) and people who are generally half empty people or people who just dont see the appeal of a holiday abroad, the different cultures, the WEATHER, the excitement of choosing and booking a holiday in another country just doesnt do it for them,

I know as well there are some who want us all to stay in the UK but the prices for medicore places within the UK are shocking and we all have the weather which is iffy in the UK, crowds etc to deal with.

So - my question is - I am happy to book something, most of the good operators are offering 2-3 changes without penalty, CV19 cover if you have to T&T etc.

However what is putting me off completely is how many tests you will potentially need to do on the way out and the way back! Additionally the cost of UK quarantine for a family of 4 for example is £8K at present if you come from a red list country. Looking at last year we did manage a 1 week break to Spain at the beginning of Sept but there was numerous u turns, travel corridors changing every week and little notice when a country was put on it by the UK government.

So - honestly honestly. Do you think the testing process will sort itself out? Maybe rapid tests, testing at airports etc. We were due to go last year to Africa and the cost of ONE test was nearly £200 each! We didnt go in the end but the testing company told me they were overwhelmed with bookings and that was only from the brave souls who wanted to go abroad.

[Sirius99]

It’s very hard to give an answer, it all depends on infection numbers in different countries, vaccination numbers, government travel guidelines re travel, will you have to quarantine both sides, at the moment to many unknowns, If you can get your money back or alter travel plans then carry on and book. I will personally not bother this year, worried about getting my money back if companies go bust.

[mothtoaflame]

Hi, we have booked to go to Thailand at Christmas.
I'm assuming we will still go if:
We are vaccinated and Thailand has vaccinated its vulnerable groups, but that we will not go if:
We have to quarantine, there is a new variant or Thailand is red risk.
If we can't go then we will move to the following year. If Ba go bust, I've lost £700 deposit which I can live with.
It really cheered me up having something to look forward to. We didn't travel abroad last year and have paid £1500 for 1 week in a 2 bed cottage in south coast England.
Personally I think travel won't resume until Sep at earliest.

[lurker101]

I think we’ll be able to go abroad, but there will be no guarantees on what the situation with quarantine etc. will be like on return. So i have annual travel insurance which includes covid cover, and I will only book a cancellable or movable trip that I would deem “worth” paying potential hotel quarantine stay for. So until there is more clarity we won’t book anything other than a trip to see family abroad, as I wouldn’t be able to justify 10 days in hotel quarantine for some of the long weekend city breaks we normally do.

[idontlikealdi]

No I am fully expecting my French holiday in august to be cancelled.

I don't want to go and be stuck with restrictions there either.

If we're lucky we may get our UK break.

[chipsandpeas]

i wouldnt book anything in advance just in case

[pollylocketpickedapocket]

I’m booked to Italy in august and Lapland in December and I’m very confident. There’s no way they can allow the entire travel industry to collapse. I’d feel differently if I was booked for may/June.

I also got away last august and it was the most appreciated holiday ever!

[CountessFrog]

We have France booked for august. It’s a house with a pool miles from anywhere. It’s fully cancellable and the flights can be moved.

I’m 50/50 on it. It entirely depends on whether France requires proof of vaccination (DH and I are due our second vaccinations in March but our children can’t be vaccinated). It also depends on what their figures are like at the time, because I wouldn’t go if there was a chance of having to quarantine on return.

I have an alternative uk holiday booked just in case. I think it’s too early to say.

[Caramel81]

I think towards the end of summer/autumn it will be possible. I’d be very surprised if it’s allowed before then though.

[RaraRachael]

We are resigned to a UK holiday in the summer, but the doom monger Nicola Sturgeon has even cast doubt on that.
We would love to go abroad in the October half term, but are now thinking of London instead.
I don't want to get my hopes up and then have them dashed. I'd rather stick with something simpler and look forward to next year. However, I said that in summer 2021 and we're no further on.

[TierFourTears]

Personally, we arent going to risk it. The possibility of being shifted onto a redlist whilst on holiday would mean I wouldn't relax and would constantly be checking the news. We have, however, booked a week in the Midlands, and are hoping to meet up with my parents (assuming we cant go stay with them), and go to some outdoor places like Alton towers. Fully refundable if they close, or we cant travel. I'm not convinced we will make it, but worth a go - we didnt go more than about 15 miles from home last Sumner.

FWIW, quarintine for a family of 4, sharing a room, is £3700 for 2 adults and 2 teens, less if kids are between 5&12, and less again for families with kids under 5 -still expensive, but half that quoted in the OP. 1750 for the first adult. 650 for a second adult or child over 12, 325 for child between 5&12, free with no testing for an under 5.

[SparkysMagicPiano]

Honestly.

Nobody knows.

[Silkiechickscat]

I think at some point there has to be a resolution to this now a vaccine is out as we can't stay in lockdown forever.

But I'm not risking booking anything as not convinced a viable solution for us will be found in 2021 as the kids won't be vaccinated and I won't be vaccinated until later on in autumn. So I've just booked a week at the end of UK school summer holidays (moved from first 10 days incase of school covid close contact isolations) and then is a solution is found over the summer which doesn't involve lots of tests / quarantine may book a week abroad.

I had a nightmare getting money back from last year's Asia trip booked direct and insurance got out of whole lot even though in theory covered covid so no confidence in insurance as a solution. My DH is also doing cancer tests which makes insurance very difficult to get as well.

We had to do UK last year after Asian holiday cancelled and we had good weather and not too crowded but with the close contact rule we had to book later in season so expecting rubbish weather this time though at least have indoor pool.

[BlueTimes]

We’ve already been warned about summer holidays not going ahead. Sturgeon has said the same for Scotland. So if you book for the summer, do so with the knowledge you might need to cancel.

I would hope October half term might be ok. Christmas though will be winter, the third wave, and also in doubt as far as I can see. It’s not looking good for holidays at the moment. There is also the risk that whilst away the country you are in could be put on a risk list meaning a lengthy, boring, and expensive quarantine upon return.

[Moonstone1234]

Thank you all and for being so gentle. Feared that someone would come on and say we needed to be lockdown all year and probably next and what is wrong with Southend in the rain...

I stand corrected re the cost of quarantine but 4 people in one hotel room for days on end! Really that isnt feasible.

[BlueTimes]

@Moonstone1234

Thank you all and for being so gentle. Feared that someone would come on and say we needed to be lockdown all year and probably next and what is wrong with Southend in the rain...

I stand corrected re the cost of quarantine but 4 people in one hotel room for days on end! Really that isnt feasible.

I am remaining very optimistic that we will have a warm summer and there will be more freedom with the U.K.

[usernotfound0000]

People can only make a best guess. Mine would be that a negative test will be required before you can travel and again when you return, and potentially the day 2 & 8 test on your return along with quarantine - probably at home but maybe hotel for certain destinations. If you don't mind all of that then go ahead and book. For me, the additional cost of testing puts me off as they are quite expensive. But I think UK travel will be allowed so fingers crossed for a good summer!

[Zodlebud]

Wait and see what Boris says on the 22nd. I think he will give a general steer as opposed to committing to anything though.

There are so many factors to consider. Vaccination passports might allow you to travel but kids can’t be vaccinated at present so where does that leave us?

The vaccination programme in Europe isn’t going too well. They are way behind us. The U.K. may “close off” many European destinations to travel as a result. You must be bonkers to want to travel to the USA and what happens if you catch it in a less developed country? Does your travel insurance cover it and more to the point would you want to be in a lower standard healthcare facility if you do catch it? Just because you’re vaccinated doesn’t give you 100% protection plus new variants arise in different parts of the world.

In the same way the government closed travel corridors last summer with short notice, you may well find yourself having to hotel quarantine on return. 10 days minimum in a hotel room would not be fun, regardless of whether or not you could afford it.

I also think we have all had enough of this. I would take one more summer of everyone staying at home if it meant that everything can go back to normal and we don’t have lockdowns ever again though. If going abroad this summer means we are locked down again next Winter then I’m not sure I would cope. I am focusing on return to normal life within the U.K. as my priority and one I feel achievable right now.

[orchidsonabudget]

Op I feel you. I think U.K. holidays are pants 😂 too
I am not hopeful for you though
Alas we are not in the market for a foreign holiday this year.

[YukoandHiro]

Genuinely wouldn't risk it this summer - not because of covid risk, but the risk of getting stuck somewhere if a gov closed borders or being forced to isolate in a single hotel room outside Heathrow at your own expense for a fortnight because the gov unexpectedly black listed the country you travelled to while you we're away

[AnyFucker]

No, sorry.

Even the “fly in anything” merchants Ryanair have cancelled mine this summer and extended my vouchers to the end of the year

[countrygirl99]

I just want to be able to go and see family not in the UK.

[Aebj]

Personally I think no one around the world should travel till next year. Explore your own country. Get the different types of infection under control, get the Covid count down. Then by Christmas everyone can visit grandma ( if grandma lives in the same country as you!!) and the kids can go to school. Open little by little. Hotel quarantine when essential travel has taken place . Slowly opening works . Opening up everything , all at once and quickly with little trips to Europe for holidays didn’t work . 2022 travel to safe countries

[Elzbells]

I moved my holiday to Turkey from last year. Going 14 August.

Balance needs to be paid 4 weeks before so I will cautiously hope that things are better.

However I will be deferring it if there are still restrictions/social distancing/testing at airports and quarantine. So probably not going but will remain hopeful as I need something to look forward too!

[Neonlightning]

2023

[BiddyPop]

Just across the Irish Sea, we've been told not allowed go beyond our 5km limit until May, and strongly advised to not even think about travel abroad for the rest of the year.

I haven't seen my parents or DMIL (both in this country) since July and likely won't until July again.

And as for holidays, just to be able to stop working and sit and do nothing in the garden would be good at this stage. Or watch a whole movie on the tv.