I have fucked up holiday

[Youagain2025]

I booked a holiday in tunisa. I have never been abroad before as an adult. I did not know tunisa is not a safe place to go. I didn't even know you could look it up. I just thought that if its not safe that all flights to that area stop . But that's not the case . I tried changing it but they told me I can't because airline operator do not go to the area I want . Its with tunisa airlines so basically it only gos to tunisa? . So i can't go change to a different destination. But unless I pay a load of money I can't cancel either.

Just to add . I do have learning difficulties. Which is probably why I did not realise all of this . I'm so pissed of

I can completely understand your new reasons for wanting to cancel and why your DS doesn’t want to go.

Can I ask, when did you book this holiday?

A few days ago.

What was the time gap between booking the holiday and you contacting Love Holidays requesting to change or cancel?

It's a good while since we went, we stayed in Hammamet and we wore shorts and vests when out and about. We felt totally safe. My DD and I went on an excursion down to the Sahara and back and it was great. Lots of people trying to sell us things on the beach and unless it was a fixed price shop, we had to haggle, but other than that, we had a great time.

I booked on 18th March. I them asked to change destination on the 19th of March.

I also done a cancellation quote on the same day. But that was done on the app. But it was the 22nd that I mentioned cancellation on an email to them today.

I hope you get through to someone helpful at Love Holidays today. If you don't get any joy with them then I agree with a previous poster that it would be a good idea to try Citizens Advice or maybe Trading Standards at your local council.
Good luck! It's so hard not to feel pressured when they say there's only so many minutes left to complete the booking.

i mean I went to school for people with learning difficulties.

Do you have some proof of that? That might be something to show them.

About destination change - the issue is that Air Tunisia probably goes to only one location (Tunisia) from your airport. To illustrate, they go to London and to Barcelona, but it means London-Tunisia and Barcelona-Tunisia, not London-Barcelona. And the "we can't recommend..." response would be a polite and avoidant way of saying "there is no destination available for change (that fulfills the requirement of using the same airline)".

It sounds you need an exception from that rule. Good luck.

I went to Tunisia in 2019 on my own, it was lovely completely safe, can't remember where abouts though

Really long post coming up!! Ex Travel agent of 28 years here 👋the hotel you have booked is fine and safe. Just wear what you want about the hotel and grounds. The staff are aware that you are all tourists and don’t take offence to you not covering up. Just don’t go into the restaurant in swimwear. Shorts and t-shirt will be fine. In an evening of you are eating there just whatever you’re wearing as your evening wear will be fine. Some hotels do state men must wear long trousers on an evening in the restaurant but it will state it in the description somewhere if this is applicable. When you go out and about the resort it’s advisable to respect the local culture and cover your shoulders and your legs to your ankles but if you only have summer dresses below the knee this is fine too. Again, the locals do realise you are a tourist and will accept this but please don’t be worrying too much about what you are wearing. When I’ve travelled to Muslim countries I usually take a long thin summer dress and take a really thin shawl to cover my shoulders. You could also just wear a t-shirt style long dress. You’ll be fine! Don’t stress about it’s remember the majority of the locals appreciate you going there because they rely on your money to live!! One last bit of advice, in future I would book with a travel agent or alternatively one of the main operators such As Jet2holidays or TUI where your book full package and pay a set deposit. You will then have so long to pay your balance and have better cancellation or amendment rights. Love holidays dynamically package their products which means you pay upfront for the majority of things and are very restricted to cancellation and amendment. They may work out a little cheaper bit imo it’s really not worth it. @Youagain2025 Have the best holiday, don’t stress and enjoy yourself! 🙂

Did you not discuss possible locations with your DS before? Is he aware you will lose quite a few hundred?

You should absolutely be able to change the holiday. I had booked with love holidays to go to Morocco, and changed the destination to Alicante. I had to pay £100 change fee and the additional price for the new flights. The new hotel was a bit more expensive too so I had to pay the difference for that.

But have you declared your LD and a y other medical history @Youagain2025 ? Insurance won't be valid if not

If that's the case why would they not just say that . They have told me at least a few times to find another location let them know what it is and they will look for me and let me know.

If your DS doesn't want to go and you can't change the holiday plans, then you may need to cancel (is your DS certain he doesn't want to go?). Even if that happens, though, you've still been really brave in trying to book a foreign holiday for the first time. Plus, now you've hopefully learned some things about doing it that you can use next time to make it more successful.

The "you have 30 minutes to confirm" stuff is just intended to make people panic and book things impulsively. You end up getting better value by taking your time and looking at your options thoroughly, because that way you get a holiday you actually want in a place that's suitable for you. Use a reputable firm and always check the cancellation policy before booking.

Finding out about countries before booking is important. It helps you decide if you actually want to go there, and helps you feel more confident there (for example, by knowing what social norms are expected where, what languages are widely spoken and how to say simple phrases). Some people choose not to travel to certain countries because of human rights issues there or politics.

Travel insurance is a must-have. Not just the basic, tick-box one, but proper comprehensive travel insurance that covers your health conditions and your children's conditions. You have to disclose absolutely everything, too. Some people choose to risk going without it, and are risking health bills of tens of thousands of pounds or even having treatments delayed due to lack of funds - it's not worth it, especially with children.

If you're going to be navigating airports for the first time while responsible for children, it can be useful to contact the airport in advance and ask for assistance. Many airports use lanyard schemes, can provide extra support, and can even organise advance visits so you know what will happen, where and when.

I'm sure you'll have had a lot more useful advice, too. Even seemingly minor things like taking the correct plug adaptors and having photocopies of important documents can be really helpful. These are often things people have learned from experience (I made the plug adaptor mistake myself, actually, the first time I travelled by myself) and you can learn from other people's mistakes to avoid making them yourself.

Not really he just said let me know what you book. He probably didn't realise i didn't knkw this stuff . I didn't realise I didn't know either 😭. He doesn't realise how much yet . I haven't told him, because I feel guilty.

I think you need to tell him and let him choose.

They keep saying no at destination i ask for . Saying because I have to stay with the same airline ie tunisa

A lot of airlines are subject to rules that mean they have to start or end flights in their home/base country. Some airlines have agreements in place which mean they don't have to do this. It's possible Tunisair might have to start or end flights in Tunisia.

Has your DS said he definitely doesn't want to go to Tunisia? I think it's important to let him choose whether to go, try to change, or cancel.

Ask how much it would be to cancel the flights(£491 ish) but transfer the booking . Hopefully the other costs will come down. Then rebook flights to new destination.

Why are you still wanting to change it despite the majority of posters reassuring you it’ll be a great holiday? I don’t get it. I think you’re flapping unnecessarily.

Yes, you definitely need to speak to a real person. You have two solid reasons now for them helping you navigate a change of holiday. I can't see any reason why they wouldn't help you do it.

If that's the case why do they keep telling me to choose another destination just for them to say no.

Could you ask them for a list of destinations from which you could choose? That's not asking for a recommendation, but asking for your options.

Or it could be that they're going from a script for the "choose another destination" bit but then can't find any other destinations because of the airline.

OK , it’s not the end of the world but personally I would just go on the holiday, chill out and soak up some sun, you’ll be fine. The lessons learnt are: don’t use Love holidays as they’re dreadful in my experience. Next time walk into a genuine high street travel agents such as Hayes travel and let them do it all for you and sell you a proper ‘package’ holiday which gives you much greater protection and takes all the stress and hassle out of the planning especially as you’re inexperienced at putting a holiday together yourself.

Apprently they can't do that.