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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you are still going on your France holiday this summer?

153 replies

LuckyLouby · 11/05/2020 20:30

Just that really. We have a family holiday booked to go to France this August and were very much looking forward to it. However, given the situation, we are unsure of whether to go or not. We have booked with Brittany Ferries and they have given us the option of taking a credit note for the deposit we have already paid and using it to rebook at a later date. Alternatively, we can go ahead with the holiday.

The holiday home itself is in rural France but the worry is over taking the crowded ferry to get to France.

Has anyone else booked a similar holiday for this year? What are you planning on doing? We're so confused about what to do Confused our hearts say go but our heads say don't take the risk and take the credit note.

OP posts:
Orangeblossom78 · 12/05/2020 21:25

As an aside I know someone from the UK (who happens works at consultant level in the NHS!) who flew over there in recent weeks to check on their holiday home. flew with Ryanair /easyjet - apparently was very cheap! but they were very 'upset' they found it hard to get back! Grin

lakeswimmer · 12/05/2020 21:29

We're due to go to southern France in August. No part of our booking has been officially cancelled yet and we're going via Eurotunnel and staying in a remote chalet so not much contact with other people. However I'm resigned to not going; in part because we need to take our dogs and the guidance on pet passports doesn't seem very clear due to Brexit and so what with that and the virus it seems doomed.

I'm disappointed because we didn't have a holiday last year, rarely go abroad, it was to celebrate a big birthday and our kids are getting to the point when they won't want to go away with us much longer. We may try for it in 2021 and hope they still want to come Grin

GiantKitten · 12/05/2020 22:39

@Daffodil101

I checked before I bought mine. It covers covid.

Who is it with, please? I've let our annual policy lapse because it didn't cover either pandemics or anything cancelled due to FCO advisories (even after booking) Hmm ad I don't know where to start looking for another one...

(Ours was with COVERED2GO in case anyone wants to know who to avoid)

okiedokieme · 12/05/2020 22:46

Still planning on going in September, overnight ferries with cabin, reducing contact with anyone on board, rural campsite- not risk free but no more risky than the supermarket

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 12/05/2020 23:07

Not France but we were due to fly to Prague with easyJet in June and the flights are still available to book on the website. Waiting to see if they’ll cancel nearer the time.

tiqtok · 12/05/2020 23:14

I have cancelled my UK holiday for August, I'd rather wait and make sure we can actually get out to do/see stuff and not annoy the locals!

FrothyB · 12/05/2020 23:20

I'd imagine the lack of quarantine after coming in from France is to facilitate road transport. This has been the case all over Europe since the various lockdowns began from what I can gather, particularly for certain types of goods.

I went to Belgium in the second week of lockdown. No one was being pulled coming off the train. There was a single checkpoint just after the Belgian border, but they were only fussed with cars and allowed all us freight traffic through.

We're due to drive to central Europe for a wedding midway through August. No trains etc have been booked yet, but we are still planning on going ahead with it if it seems it will be allowed.

Knoxinbox · 12/05/2020 23:50

keeptheaspidistra

@Knoxinbox you're right. I'd have thought it would be obvious and common sense that holidays won't be happening, whether that's a decision you take yourself or one taken out of your hands but apparently not! I appreciate it must be very disappointing if you've already booked and paid for a holiday but i am a tad jealous of the optimistic people who believe the world will be remedied in 2-3 months.

Yes this is what I mean. I don’t mean that people are musing about booking a holiday for later this summer. I realise this is people who have already booked months ago/last year.

But to be even questioning whether it will go ahead, to be even considering going abroad right now, is utter madness Confused

DreamTheMoors · 13/05/2020 00:17

@Bellebelle

Count your blessings you aren’t going to the USA. What a nightmare.

Bellebelle · 13/05/2020 00:31

@DreamTheMoors

Oh God I know, was going to be NYC, DC and Florida. Em...no thanks! Very sad about New York in particular, I love going there and the stories coming from some of the hospital staff make very difficult reading. Currently not being any more ambitious than hoping for a 2022 USA trip right now.

FatherWindyShepherdHenderson · 13/05/2020 00:38

We’re supposed to go to the South of France in September with my parents. They are both over 70 and my Dad has a chronic illness so is high risk. Our final balance is due soon but we will probably cancel before (we paid a very low deposit of £30 each so not too much to lose) as we just won’t be able to enjoy it even if we did go.

Daffodil101 · 13/05/2020 01:05

giantkitten

It’s with the AA, however we bought it on March 10th in anticipation that they’d stop selling it soon afterwards. They stopped on March 13.

DippyAvocado · 13/05/2020 01:15

We habe a holiday booked with Brittany Ferries in July. Resigned to not going now but I was really pleased with how Brittany Ferries handled it. Firstly they offered to extend the payment deadline until we had further information, then they said they would refund our deposit as a credit note valid for two years when we were resigned to losing it. So we don't have to pay the balance at all. We use them every year so the credit note is good for us.

Bouledeneige · 13/05/2020 01:19

I have a holiday booked self catering cottages in Wales at the end of August and I'm still optimistic we can go. I just would love the change of scenery, beaches, hills and castles. I don't mind that we wouldn't be able to go out to eat etc. Just something different and beautiful scenery.

brittanyfairies · 13/05/2020 07:00

I'm I intrigued with everyone who says they will stay in the cabin while on the ferry. Those boats have a turnaround of something like 2 hours and most of that is unloading and loading. If the virus can live for 3 days on a surface how clean do you think your cabin is going to be, when all the previous travellers spent 10 hours locked in their cabin?

I have all my family in the UK. We lost 2 members already to Covid. Obviously I couldn't see them as planned in April. As much as I love and miss my family and they want to see us too. Until this virus is under control we won't be going anywhere.

Currently in France we can travel only 100km from our homes and need permission to be in another department so even French people can't move around the country.

1969angep · 13/05/2020 07:24

We were also booked with Brittany Ferries in August. I contacted them to cancel on Monday. Even if they are sailing I don't see how it would be possible to enjoy a relaxing holiday whilst social distancing. A big part of our break are the campsite pool and waterslides and I can't picture how these could be used at distance. As for the fastcat.........well that's always heaving so.....

newtb · 13/05/2020 07:49

Travel without an 'attestation' is only allowed for journeys up to 100km. Over that distance you need one for permitted categories
Work
Aid to elderly/vulnerable
Buying essential food/supplies

Could be wrong but don't think holiday from the UK will come into that

jasjas1973 · 13/05/2020 08:01

Those boats have a turnaround of something like 2 hours and most of that is unloading and loading. If the virus can live for 3 days on a surface how clean do you think your cabin is going to be, when all the previous travellers spent 10 hours locked in their cabin?

When/if ferry travel is allowed again (assuming travel restrictions lifted in france too) passenger numbers will be limited, timetables altered to allow more cleaning and extra ferries put on.

But as i said, i don't see any european holidays until there is a vaccine, so no hols next year either.

oohnicevase · 13/05/2020 08:04

I have a holiday booked in July .. do I need to contact the holiday company ? I understood that they will contact us in due course .

stringbean · 13/05/2020 08:07

We have a campsite booked in south west France for mid-end August, but I'm not hopeful it will go ahead. We are due to take the ferry (usually use the tunnel) and self-drive with overnight stop in a hotel each way. I'm not getting my hopes up: even if we could go, the prospect of having to queue for the supermarket, no lunches out, markets closed etc would make it a very different experience from the one we'd expected. We took out cancellation insurance but it looks like it won't cover us - will be happy with a credit to book for next year though.

We're also due to go to Paris for a weekend without kids in early June - second time away on our own in 20 years and significant birthday for dh - doesn't look like that will happen and the hotel won't refund us. They are charging us a 100% fee to move the booking, so that's £750 we won't get back. Macron has never told hotels in France to close, so they are all still 'open' (no doubt empty) - so expectation is that tourists are expected to prop up the industry I guess.

QueenofLouisiana · 13/05/2020 08:20

Eurotunnel have contacted me to allow a change of date on my (normally not-at-all-changeable) tickets. I’ve got a year to use them. We were booked for half term, I hadn’t yet booked for summer- we just need travel, not accommodation.

Myfriendanxiety · 13/05/2020 08:21

We are in the same situation, date and destination but haven’t heard from the Ferry company yet. We are expecting France to say we can’t go.

Toscanello · 13/05/2020 08:28

I live in the south of France, in an area that is inundated with tourists in the summer. Which is fine usually. However we have an elderly population here who are very vulnerable. So far we have escaped being hit hard by the virus as we have all been strictly following the lockdown rules. Now we are opening up somewhat we are all still very aware of being safe. Tourists are normally welcome here but this year we would rather it is locals who sustain the economy in the summer.

If we have even half the number of tourists we usually have it could be disastrous for the local population here. I hope people will think about that before they make a decision to travel. Individuals may not be a problem but collectively high visitor numbers would mean death to some locals. No holiday is worth that.

Humphriescushion · 13/05/2020 08:35

Travel to France atm is very difficult. I dont think Boris realised that an attestion was needed for France. I am also in France and tourists from the uk would be a disaster, we are staying in France even though i am desperate to get back to the uk and for my children to get here - they cant.

fairycrossthemersey · 13/05/2020 08:49

It’s my understanding that the French are currently quarantining everyone entering the country for two weeks. Maybe the pp who lives in France can confirm this?

Where have you got this information from?

There is a reciprocal agreement between France and the UK that the 2 week quarantine rule does not apply*. Same for the Schengen countries too.

Having said that, you currently would not be allowed to come just for a holiday. As PPs have mentioned there is a lot of very specific paperwork needed to travel more than 100km from your home, and holidays are definitely not covered at this point in time

There will be a further review of our lockdown easing on 1st June and things may change then depending on the figures for infections/hospitalisations/deaths. At the moment all bars and restaurants remain closed.