To think we might not be going on holiday next April after all?

[Hoardernomore]

We stupidly booked a holiday to France for about a fortnight after Brexit. I didn’t even consider brexit at the time, I just considered ds’s Easter holidays. It’s to Disneyland Paris and we’ve been waiting to take the children for ages. We’ve only paid the deposit on the hotel (stopping in Disneyland hotel so expensive if we end up not being able to go) but have paid for the flights.

We are idiots.

Would we be best to cut our losses and not pay the balance on the hotel and book for another time?

Don't worry, Brexit will be cancelled because we can't afford it. (Eternal optimist).

My view is have a full passport with at least 6 months on and should be no diff to flying elsewhere. Be prepared to keep an eye on whether will need visas or other travel docs and be first in the queue

The Mayor of Stuttgart might be bending Mrs Merkel's ear but at the end of the day it is not her decision but one of the whole of the EU for which there are set rules about what can and can't happen. ANY attempt to dilute the 4 pillars on which the EU is founded will fail.

Sadly the threat of 'no UK tourists to the Costas' next year isn't real.
Printing their brochures in Chinese/Russian and possibly a bit of financial help from the EU 'hardship fund' will see them through.

cdtaylor - You seem to be confusing private businesses based in EU countries with the EU itself and imagining that either are desperate for our business. I don't think they are, I think they are looking on at us in pity. Hotels and suppliers are not only used by UK tourists and customers, they may feel a bit of a pinch, but won't be as fucked as we will be! Now excuse me while I feel a bit more sympathy for the people of NI who are staring down the barrel of renewed Troubles, than I do for people who can't go abroad for a holiday. And finally, for all Leavers: TOLD YOU SO.

I follow a person on twitter who is generally well informed, only posts stuff that is either verifiable or turns out to be true at a later date - all about the UK Brexit preperations.

No deal is something that the UK gov is now aiming for and is doing a lot of prep work. France thinks that the UK will come with a workable deal so isnt as prepared (or even really started that). A no deal is so full of uncertainties it is madness to think that there will be no problems. I would look at how to get a Schengen Visa for France which would help and fully consider how you are getting there. I think it would be odd if nothing was working in terms of travel but there would be some severe delays in the case of no deal. Also check out medical insurance policies. The EU medical card will not apply (thats already been agreed anyway by the UK and EU).

@1tisILeClerc is right. This is not about visas. It's about the right to enter and leave airspace, international waters etc. So booking a ferry instead of a flight will make no difference.

Many insurance companies will probably not pay out in the event of Brexit-related disruption as it is political disruption/force majeure. The fine print of many insurance products will already tell you this.

I think the only travel provider I have heard of providing a 'Brexit clause' so far (i.e. they will reimburse if Brexit prevents you from travelling) is, funnily enough, Ryanair. But you would need to check that.

The only other thing that might save you that I can think of is that if you have paid with a credit card they may help. But they too might play on political disruption/force majeure etc as a reason not to reimburse you.

The official UK government Brexit website has a list of things / topic areas that they 'don't know' or have no answers to. THAT is scary.

Blimey I'd not thought of Brexit in this way! (I voted remain, btw!) This is really frightening stuff! Should I stockpile food? Especially pasta as my son loves it??

I'm a Brit who lives abroad and I just don't understand what is going on. I voted "remain" but I really think that it won't be as bad as people are going to say it is...

This is precisely the situation that insurance exists for - there's a small chance that you face losing a lot of money.

Find a travel insurance policy that doesn't have a Brexit cop-out clause and you will be able to stop worrying.

Switch to the eurostar op if you are that worried.

Even speaking of credit cards. With a 'no deal' there is a possibility that they will not work, at least until new financial agreements have been made. It is currently unclear what the situation will be but with the possibility or even likelihood of more financial institutions moving headquarters to the EU the terms of the contracts between them may change.
The boss of one of the car makers has just said a day's stoppage costs them £60 Million. They are contemplating shutdowns of days or even weeks. IIRC that is around the amount that a red bus proposed the government would put into the NHS.

@knittingdad can you provide any specific examples as to which insurance policies are 'brexit-proof'? They all have rather vague clauses related to non payment in case of 'government action'.

FWIW today at my work we have been notified that insurance policies for my industry (related to touring musicians/artists) may no longer be valid after brexit date and we need to clarify individually with all insurers what the situation is. The response is varied with some confirming that the insurance will no longer be valid (as most are tied up in EU regulation) but there is not a lot of clarify on what can replace it.

What will happen post March 19 is a big unknown in sooo many areas and I'm kind of surprised how many people seem oblivious or blase about this!

We will be in the transition period then. Little will immediately change. It's after the transition that we are more likely to see impacts.
Book your travel insurance now for peace of mind.

If there is no deal, then there is no transition period, because that would have been a key part of the deal.

Even the Eurostar will stop unless new agreements are drawn up.
No deal means literally that the UK will be an island in isolation UNTIL new treaties are drawn up.
While many will be happy to accuse me of 'scaremongering' try reading the 60 odd GOVERNMENT published guidelines which lay all this out.

@Crabbitstick the transition period only applies if we have a deal.

If it's no deal, all agreements cease as of 30 March 2019. Travel insurance may not be valid and it's really difficult to get insurers to confirm either way what the situation will be

If you don't have to pay the balance until the end of Jan, I'd leave it for now and see what happens, because there is a chance that a Brexit deal will have been thrashed out by then. If it hasn't, well it's up to you if you want to take the risk of your holiday not happening, but I wouldn't panic just yet.

Having said that, we'll be staying in the UK over Easter. I hate uncertainty and with the government making such a cock-up of the Brexit talks and the EU doing its best to be obstructionist they can all fuck off, quite honestly!

Travel insurance will not cover this
For everyone saying it will be fine etc I really hope so but I’m not booking any flights for after March until we know what is happening
Nobody knows what the situation will be, this has literally never happened before so even the most idiotic Brexiteer must appreciate that there’s a lot of uncertainty around flights etc after March

FFS of course pay the balance and go.

This is getting ridiculous, even with no deal the world will not stop.

There will be a transition period or status quo agreement of some sort.

Chill out people

"even the most idiotic Brexiteer must appreciate that there’s a lot of uncertainty around flights etc after March"

I still see a lot of people spouting the 'scaremongering' line so I think you are being optimistic here!

Most people seem oblivious to the fact that there might be any issues at all (including my leaver dad who is off on holiday shortly after Brexit date)

But as he says, just think about all the trade deals...it'll be worth it I'm sure

People were allowed to visit continental Europe before free movement you know.

If you need visas to travel (unlikely) then you still have almost 2 weeks to sort it out.

I suspect you will need to have a passport with at least 6 months on it and may face delays at the airport due to additional checking. It won't be any worse than that.

Have a great trip.

Can I just add that I am a remainer and think brexit is the worst thing to happen to this country in my lifetime.

Hoarder How old is your DS? I know this might not go down well, but could you rearrange your trip for earlier and take DS out of school? The school might authorise an absence and the cost of rearranging flights will likely be little at this stage depending on the airline.

Timely cross post