Deal or no deal holiday

[Hcolhcsra]

We're booked to go to a campsite in France on 11th July with Eurocamp. It was rescheduled from last year and neither of us wants to go (constantly shifting rules re isolation, fears stuff there will be closed/limited access, masks).

If we cancel 29 days before, we get half our money back. If we cancel 22-28 days before its 30%, then it drops to 10%. Eurocamp are saying if its still on the Amber list 21 days before travel we'll get a full refund (approx £1500).

We're completely torn about what to do. We've already booked a UK break and shifted DH's holiday, so definitely aren't going to France. We don't want to move the holiday to next year as prices have been bumped up and we think we'll probably holiday in the UK for the next few years (cautious about new variants etc). What do you think the chances are of France opening up to tourists before 11th July? Would you be happy taking half the money or would you gamble on getting all the cash back?

I'd take half the money.

I’d take half.

I really can't see France making it onto the green list before 20th June which is the cut off date for your full refund. It all depends if you have the nerve to wait it out.

Yep I'd take half too

I don’t think France will move to green list before then sit it out and wait for full refund

I'd wait for the full refund. I agree with above posters, it's unlikely France will be letting us in by then, even if we were to move them to the green list.

Can you afford to lose 90%? In principle, the money is already spent and gone, so may be worth the gamble.

I think the list is due to be reviewed in the next couple of days and apparently it gets reviewed every three weeks, so the next review would be after the date they have given you for a full refund.

If that is the case then you could wait and see what happens with this review - (doubt France will move to green) and either get your 50% refund (if they did move to green) or wait in the fairly safe knowledge that the country list won't change before the deadline and they will still be Amber and then you will get your 100% refund.

Don't take my word for these dates though - I'd hate to find out I'd misunderstood and got it wrong.

I'd wait it out, I don't think France will be on the green list before 28 June at the earliest which is the second review due.

France have tightened the rules about people coming in from the U.K. even further so I can’t see being able to travel there by then. But it’s easy to say wait when it’s not my money!

I'd wait it out and go for the full refund.

Are you sure you can't move it to next year? We've just moved our May holiday to Italy to next year. Second time it's moved as was originally booked for last year. Not costing us anymore.
Looking in their website, they don't seem to have made them much more expensive at all. We've been looking at booking france for next august.

Almost no chance of France being on the green list by then. If it was a Greek or Spanish island I'd take half.

France has a 7 day average of 8,776 cases and 7 day average of 122 deaths per day.
(Google page at 31 May). Vaccine rollout is quite low too.

I think if they do change from Amber, it won't be in the next couple of weeks. Macron won't let Brits in at the moment either.

Things probably will ease up, but 11 July seems optimistic.

Personally, I wouldn't visit this year (you don't say how you would get there, but I suspect the border controls will be "interesting" for ferry traffic.

I suppose the question is whether you cancel ASAP and lose a deposit, or wait and "hope" France is still "amber" and you get a full refund?

I'd make my decision next week after the next review of green/red/amber

Macron won't let Brits in at the moment either.

With all this fixation on the UK's list I'm glad somebody mentioned that.

The Uk's list system isn't bi-lateral, it's only dictates what happens on arrivals into the UK.

The French rules, tightened w.e.f. last Monday AM, means UK citizens who are not French resident can't come to France for holiday purposes until further notice. No idea when there's going to be a review.

I’d wait out the chance of a full refund

They're rumoured to be announcing green list tomorrow which will start 7th June and I believe the next update after that is 28th June. So if it's not green listed next week I can't see how it will change before the 21 day thing. I've been obsessively reading up on green list predictions and haven't once read that France is expected on it yet so I think you'll be still amber

There's a bit of an overview here with regard to the big picture within the EU here:

www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2021/06/01/europe-is-opening-june-eu-travel-restrictions-covid-19-test-requirements-quarantine-by-country/

I think TBH it's paints a very very optimistic picture, there is obviously plenty of scope for a reversal in the improvements we've been seeing being seeing in the situation (certainly in France) ...so it's very much a case of fingers crossed.

As the article says the Indian variant has caused complications, and is the reason for the recent increase in restrictions on travel UK> France is:

"The only possible cloud on the travel horizon for Europe and the U.K. (and the hope that the U.S. might soon revoke the EU/U.K. travel ban) is the rampant rise of the variant B.1.167.2 (the so-called Indian variant, now renamed Delta) in several parts of Britain. Whilst low at present, it is rising and the fear would be that it is transported to the EU before vaccination rates are high enough to fend it off."

Just to be clear, nobody in the medical community AFAIK is pretending the B.1.167.2 variant isn't on "the mainland", so to speak but there's a desire to prevent further spread.

France is already vaccinating young people but the take up rate is much lower than here. French schools break up at the end of June so according to my relative who lives there, it's likely all restrictions within France/the EU will be lifted then but restrictions to travel to from UK may well remain - mainly for political reasons (Brexit) the EU is promoting travel within the EU not to the UK.
On that basis France will still be on the amber list 3 weeks before you go so I would hold out for a full refund.

France is already vaccinating young people

True..and there's talk (today) of it being open to anybody over 12.very shortly.

but the take up rate is much lower than here.

Once upon a time, at the start of the programme, January/February, yes, potentially you might have been right, there was widespread expression of reluctance.

Now, however it's changed - people noticed that their elderly neighbours didn't drop dead like flies after being jabbed and then the government cunningly hinted that access to travel, restaurants, bars, concerts this summer might be conditional on being vaccinated the mood has very much changed...et Voila:

"" According to opinion polls, there are currently 80% of people willing to be vaccinated. We need to work to make the remaining 20% decrease again”"

www.sortiraparis.com/news/coronavirus/articles/252490-covid-90-of-the-adults-could-potentially-be-vaccinated-over-the-summer-fischer-s/lang/en

It's most certainly the case that even with the programme now doing 500k - 600k vaccinations a day across the country demand is such it can be a challenge to get an appointment ....slots are in demand.

Move your holiday to some random time in the far off future and cancel within the timeframe.

I'd wait it out for a full refund.