Who's currently cancelling their holiday to Portugal then?

[diggingatrench]

Actually the houses we have rented are a higher standard than the two in France we had to cancel last year. We are driving instead of flying so no flight or hire car costs. It is possible to find some lovely places to stay in the UK if you avoid the usual tourist spots. I can't pretend I would not rather be going to France, but it is a chance to dicover some new places in the UK.

I would far rather the UK take a cautious approach that allows me to see my family, go to eat out and travel freely within the UK, allows children to stay in school, than put all of that at risk by allowing holidays abroad. I suppose it all boils down to what you value most

It does worry me that many pilots haven’t flown for months, I hope they’re not too rusty when they go back to it.

It's probably just like riding a bike - you don't forget

@Mojoj

What was the point of getting vaccinated? A shitshow if ever I saw one. I want my life back. The variants are just going to keep on coming. Time to get on with it

But we're not all vacccinated.

But we're not all vacccinated.

And almost no one is dying now. We don't all need to be vaccinated to have seen the desired effect.

Or at least the effect we were told was desired - people not dying and overwhelming the NHS.

People who book holidays at the moment are being, at the least, rather silly. Who knows when a country can change and reject UK visitors or when a country changes to red? Surely it is not THAT important to go on holiday? It may stay this way for a few years yet, so just accept it. No week in Benidorm with fish and chips and beer and football - thank God - you may as well stay at home anyway.

@Orf1abc

They are only doing what they said they would do... change countries status if things were going in the wrong direction.

The case rates in Portugal and England have both increased by c. 35% in the past week. The government tell us they see nothing in the data to suggest we should stop easing lockdown, then in the next breath they claim to have significant concerns about Portugal.

They can't have it both ways!

My guesssis that they're clamping down on leisure travel in order to keep relatively open here.

If concerned about a rise (and rises are going on in nearby countries too) what would you restrict first in the hope ofheadig it off here?

Remember you're regularly criticised for being too permissive over international travel

It was perfectly simple. All we had to do was extend restrictions (not all restrictions, but certainly non essential international travel) until ALL adults in the UK had been offered both doses of a vaccine

If only it was that simple - especially when so many of us remember being told that vaccinating the vulnerable would prevent most hospitalisations/NHS meltdown, and remember too the way goalposts are changed almost weekly

It's true of course that the situation isn't static and that variants can change things, but despite the predictable insults most aren't quite so stupid as not to realise there'll always be variants, and that the current situation's rapidly becoming untenable

Nobody pretends there are any perfect solutions, but my worry over folk starting to think "what's the point" over the vaccines is real - not because that's what should happen, but because it easily could

This was always on the cards, we always knew this could happen. Don’t understand why people are squealing about now. We’re absolutely desperate for a holiday, but it was always too uncertain.

@Needanewhat

Why people would even have booked a holiday abroad this year is beyond me

It was obvious it was going to go tits up

Yup

@Katie517

It’s an absolute joke! We are due to go end of July and will be cancelling if it doesn’t get back in the green list at the next review. It’s a farce people are vaccinated, paying for tests at their own expense at vastly inflated prices and it’s still not good enough, we are still expected to imprison ourselves in our homes on return even though we will have tested negative before getting on the plane and on day 2. Anyone who thought vaccines were our ticket to freedom must be feeling very silly now. Meanwhile business travelers and government officials can jet here there and everywhere with no isolation period, you couldn’t make this shit up.

Vaccines were never 'a ticket to freedom'; they are a socially responsible medical treatment. You are not 'imprisoned in your home'.........hyperbole, anyone?

The government oversold the benefits of one jab. No wonder people think we can go back to normal.

No week in Benidorm with fish and chips and beer and football - thank God - you may as well stay at home anyway.

Nice and sneery.

@vera99

All those who voted for these clowns take a bow we have got a shitshow circus

It is important to remember that this all the will of the people.

@MagicSummer

People who book holidays at the moment are being, at the least, rather silly. Who knows when a country can change and reject UK visitors or when a country changes to red? Surely it is not THAT important to go on holiday? It may stay this way for a few years yet, so just accept it. No week in Benidorm with fish and chips and beer and football - thank God - you may as well stay at home anyway.

Oh do fuck off with your patronising crap. 'Rather silly?' Pray how was I meant to forsee in 2018 when I booked my spring 2020, which I postponed until Sept 2020 as 'it will be all done in 12 weeks ' So then I moved it to April 2021, now August 2021.

I saved for four years for this holiday, I can't get a full refund, and actually it is important to me, a time away from reality with my family, holidays make a lifetime of memories.

Yes people have it worse, yes I will suck it up, but your sneering tone is vile.

Vaccines were never 'a ticket to freedom

They most certainly have been sold as such.

**Oh do fuck off with your patronising crap. 'Rather silly?' Pray how was I meant to forsee in 2018 when I booked my spring 2020, which I postponed until Sept 2020 as 'it will be all done in 12 weeks '
So then I moved it to April 2021, now August 2021.

I saved for four years for this holiday, I can't get a full refund, and actually it is important to me, a time away from reality with my family, holidays make a lifetime of memories.

Yes people have it worse, yes I will suck it up, but your sneering tone is vile.**

👏👏 well said.

This is a repeat of last year's holiday, which I predicted would happen, which is also why I'm skipping a holiday abroad this year. Holidays are meant to be relaxing not stressing if the rules are going to change

We booked December 2019 for summer 2020. Could technically have gone as the flights flew but we paid extra to move it to 2021. I can’t see we’ll be going this year either, which means paying extra again to change it, or losing £1200.

The biggest problem is the government is only “advising” against travel, not banning it, which means travel companies won’t refund and insurance won’t pay out.

All that said, I have zero sympathy for anyone who booked a holiday abroad in the last 12-15 months. Zero.

@MagicSummer

People who book holidays at the moment are being, at the least, rather silly. Who knows when a country can change and reject UK visitors or when a country changes to red? Surely it is not THAT important to go on holiday? It may stay this way for a few years yet, so just accept it. No week in Benidorm with fish and chips and beer and football - thank God - you may as well stay at home anyway.

It always comes down to snarky comments like this.

Reflects much much worse on you than it does in those going on holiday.

Joke? Shit Show?

Get real people, it was always a risk to book something.

You are allowed to go to portugul ,but you are imprisoned for 10 days on your return

Hardly 'the will of the people'; look at the percentage who voted for these morally bankrupt morons.

you are imprisoned for 10 days on your return

Oh please get a grip. Do you know what it is actually like to be in prison?

Lifetime of memories..... are these only available of holidays abroad?

I repeat I would rather keep children in school , be able to visit elderly parents in care homes, travel freely in the UK, eat out and go to the pub, visit family, than go on holiday abroad. The more people travel the more likely the virus is to infect more people.

I wish I lived in New Zealand.