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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why people are booking holidays abroad...

184 replies

MrsMillhouse · 17/07/2021 00:18

... when the rules seem to change every 5 minutes?

I understand those desperate to see family. But otherwise I don’t get why you would take the risk of getting your holiday canceled or have to spend £000s on quarantine as the bloody rules seem to change from day to day

OP posts:
zafferana · 17/07/2021 08:38

We booked our holiday last year in the hope that all this nonsense would be over by then, but for most of this year I've thought it wouldn't go ahead and I'd made my peace with that. Now it looks like it might, but yes, it is stressful and I am worried about testing +ve there and I am worried about the rules changing while we're away. Our trip is happening between two travel traffic light announcement dates, so the rules shouldn't change, but who knows with this govt who can't make a decision and stick with it? I don't want to holiday in the UK though and with so many Delta cases I think we'd be FAR more likely to get infected here than somewhere else.

Willwebebuyingnumber11 · 17/07/2021 08:40

I forgot the overweight aren’t allowed to holiday......

Greenwateringcan · 17/07/2021 08:41

I’m overweight. Clearly I should cancel my holiday forthwith.

IsabellesMissingSock · 17/07/2021 08:41

@Willwebebuyingnumber11

I forgot the overweight aren’t allowed to holiday......
Yeah, I'm not sure why that poster felt the need to share that detail tbh
OnTheBrink1 · 17/07/2021 08:41

I know people who are away in Greece now having a lovely old time. If you can and don’t mind the quarantine / tests then why not

Jemimapuddleduk · 17/07/2021 08:42

Because there are no/very few UK breaks now available. We have an apartment we can use for free and our flights to Spain are insured and refundable. We are double vaccinated. We have endured lock down after lock down in Bolton the covid hot spot of the UK. We’ve had a tough year with parents being in poor physical health and are of the view that we need to live and let live as you don’t know what is right the corner. On top of that autistic ds (6) is counting down the days to the pool and beach. Lock down has done him no favours at all.

jihhy · 17/07/2021 08:42

I’m overweight. Clearly I should cancel my holiday forthwith.

No fun allowed for you!

IsabellesMissingSock · 17/07/2021 08:43

@jihhy

I’m overweight. Clearly I should cancel my holiday forthwith.

No fun allowed for you!

Only if you are "extremely overweight" tho. Otherwise, crack on
Geamhradh · 17/07/2021 08:44

@EileenGC

You said it perfectly. Flowers

Whatafustercluck · 17/07/2021 08:45

We booked for France this year in August last year, thinking it would be over by now. We decided to postpone till next year in June, clearly the right decision for us despite being doubled jabbed given the latest news. But even if we were double jabbed and didn't have to quarantine from there, we'd still have to pay for PCR tests, which would add hundreds onto the holiday for us and our children. It's not that we can't afford it, we just couldn't justify the additional cost. Presumably though many others can both afford and justify the cost. And that's their decision to make. I can't really blame people, given how shockingly unpredictable the UK weather can be. We're now going camping in the UK and I'm already stressing about what the weather is going to be like. Dh has had loads of health problems this year which have been hard for the whole family. We need a break. Presumably others feel the same.

jihhy · 17/07/2021 08:45

😆😆

newnortherner111 · 17/07/2021 08:45

Aside from the other reasons.

Some people could actually manage quarantine at home reasonably easily, because of a large house and/or a large garden, and can or do now work from home.

I'm not one of them though so it's UK holidays for me this year.

SarahBellam · 17/07/2021 08:46

Haha! What country is going to let us in now? We are about to become the world’s largest Petri dish.

ZingDramaQueenOfSheeba · 17/07/2021 08:46

YANBU

I haven't seen my mum in over 2 years now.
she lives in Hungary, we are in the UK.
we had several discussions about her coming for 2 weeks for the duration of 3 different birthdays in the family but the prospect of her potentially being stuck in an airport quarantine hotel for the very 2 weeks she was supposed to be with us was unbearable to think about.
The money would've been ridiculous but her being stuck instead of spending much valued time with us would've driven me to a breakdown.

just thinking about how much I would've worried is triggering a mild panic attack.
so no, she didn't want to risk it either. so she's missing everything for the second summer.😭

It's so very upsetting. I've no idea when we can see her. we don't dare to book anything because it's all so uncertain.

Maybe people who do book things are more desperate than me . or they have nerves of steel. or both.

bumblingbovine49 · 17/07/2021 08:47

My friend's son is going to Italy today. He is studying here but is a dual national so will be staying with family. He is going for fun though and has several events like weddings and short trips with friends lined up

He may have to isolate when he comes back but as a student with no job at the moment he is ok with that. Even if he has trouble with flights to get back to the UK he will be able to do most of his course online for a while . So I suppose it depends on individual circumstances. I wouldn't though

chocolatesaltyballs22 · 17/07/2021 08:49

Also because UK holidays are shit and over priced (in my opinion).

ProbablyGryffindor · 17/07/2021 08:49

@Melitza - France is on the amber list due to a specific variant in France, not due to actual case numbers.

jihhy · 17/07/2021 08:50

Also because UK holidays are shit and over priced (in my opinion).

I've been lucky to have good ones but yep £££

AngelsWithSilverWings · 17/07/2021 08:52

I've completely lost any confidence in being able to travel this year. We had booked Corfu for May but it got cancelled a few weeks before.

I'm hearing of more and more people around us testing positive so you could pay out all the money for pre holiday testing and still not get to go.

We are due to go camping in Wales from next weekend ( booking carried over from last summer) but even that is looking doubtful now. DD
13 met up with her big sister for a meal on Tuesday and then sister tested positive the next day. So she is now isolating and I
will be amazed if she doesn't also test positive over the next week or so which will trigger isolations for the rest of us and mean we can't go away. It's such a bloody shame.

5823MintY · 17/07/2021 08:52

Will be on holiday in UK next week Grin

My friend has had 10+ holidays cancelled abroad in the last year.

NakedAttraction · 17/07/2021 08:52

@chocolatesaltyballs22

Also because UK holidays are shit and over priced (in my opinion).
And not guaranteed anyway. I had a hotel booking cancelled on the day we were due to check in due to covid amongst the staff. Not even an apology from the hotel or offer to try and rebook.
NellePorter · 17/07/2021 08:54

You've answered your own question really OP. You couldn't deal with it (me neither), but others can, and for them it's worth it.

Original poster
MrsMillhouse · 17/07/2021 08:57

@Squirrelblanket I’m not criticising you. I imagine you didn’t have a choice around cancelling etc. I just can’t understand why someone would book Holidays with the rules changing so often (except where they really need to go somewhere to see family, or where the country is very unlikely to turn red)

OP posts:
Killahangilion · 17/07/2021 08:58

I live in a touristy area abroad.

I’m sick to death of people invading the area and bringing the Delta variant with them. Our numbers were zero in March to May and now it’s growing at a ridiculously fast rate.

DH was told by his consultant on Wednesday that people with his condition are no more protected by the vaccines than if they hadn’t had them. It’s shit!

Not only can we not travel back to visit family, we can’t even enjoy visiting local beaches and beauty spots due to high numbers of visitors. We’re stuck at home and the garden is our holiday destination.

Uramaki · 17/07/2021 08:59

They might be willing to take the risk