So you think we will able to travel abroad in the summer?

[katie20202]

Hi

I've got a holiday booked in august and I'm just wondering if any one else has a holiday booked? Do you think we will get to go? Oh I hope so! You read all the supposed plans like need a COVID test or be vaccinated!

@name674398

I upgraded our holiday today 🤞

We're hopeful for Kos in August too! I think island resorts will fair better than mainland areas!

Canaries, Balearics and Greek islands will be ok by August I think.

@BG2015 oh I do hope so!

It's definitely not looking like DH and I will be double vaccinated by August if we aren't done by middle of May (I'm now panicking my second vaccine will fall during the holiday!) so I hope PCR is enough (and more affordable!)

We're book for September and should be double vaccinated by mid June so quite hopeful for that one. My dm's birthday is coming up so with the announcement today for vaccination from 40 my db can book in and my plan for a treat for her can happen too (my kids got vaccinated due one being cv, the other got end of the day spares so lucky)

@ILikeMango

Do not discount the cost of covid testing for a holiday. You can’t just grab a LFT or stop by your neighborhood testing center. For now anyway you have to book it all in advance with specific vendors and they are not cheap. Recently my family and I had to travel abroad for an urgent matter and we spent more than £2000 on testing. We were away for six days. There are five of us and we each needed a negative PCR the day before we left, another one the day before we came home, then again after returning on days 2, 5, and 8. We did choose to test out on day 5, which is optional and added to the cost. But still.

The rules may be different in the future or for different places but we were very taken aback. The covid testing almost doubled the cost of our trip.

I agree with you, we are a family of 5 too and this is why we’ve not booked anywhere abroad yet, although I’d love to get some sun!

I’m surprised not many people are considering this as it’s a massive cost implication.

Despite both being fully vaccinated we've (finally) moved our July Greek holiday to 2022. I just don't think I could cope with all the stress.

Still got a trip to Ireland in August but they are unlocking soooo slowly.

I miss the sun so badly

I agree with you, we are a family of 5 too and this is why we’ve not booked anywhere abroad yet, although I’d love to get some sun! I’m surprised not many people are considering this as it’s a massive cost implication.

Multiple news outlets reporting today that PCR tests for travel will come down to £45 each. Still not cheap for five people if you need to have two lots of tests, but better than £120.

I've budgeted £500 in PCR tests for the 4 of us, I really hope that covers it! I know some people want to be able to do the cheaper lateral flow but I'm worried about false positives on those.

@name674398

I've budgeted £500 in PCR tests for the 4 of us, I really hope that covers it! I know some people want to be able to do the cheaper lateral flow but I'm worried about false positives on those.

Fingers crossed that the rules will become less onerous end cheaper in the coming months but we of now I don’t think that would be nearly enough. As a PP said the PCRs should be come down to £45 each, multiplied by 4 people means £180 total each time you test. At a minimim the UK requires you to test 3 times — once before you go and then on day 2 and 8 after you return. In addition I believe many or most airlines require another test locally before your return flight — in the US we paid approx £110 each but I’m sure it varies. If you are happy quarantining for 10 days (as your Day 8 test results can take 48 hrs or more to come in) that should be it but if you want to test out sooner it would be another £180 for the family to do Day 5 tests. The total of all of that is almost £1100.

I’ve based this assumptions that may not apply later this summer but if you have a strict budget you should think about how long you can quarantine and look into the requirements of the airline and your destination. Hopefully you won’t need to use it all but nobody knows exactly what rules will be in place when you travel. Or maybe they do know and I just don’t. I can’t keep track.

@ILikeMango I'm aware as my DH has been working abroad and using the system. But I'm hopeful for the travel industry's sake that they are going to do something to make it feasible, foreign travel for leisure is currently banned so I don't expect it to be the exact same system when it's allowed.

@ILikeMango and we won't need to quarantine at all for green countries, if my location goes amber or red I'm able to rebook the holiday so the 5/8/10 testing isn't applicable for us.

The EU has floated the idea of having free PCR tests for travelers, so as not to discriminate against those who are not yet/do not want/aren’t old enough to be vaccinated and have the vaccine passport/certificate. It’s a fantastic idea. Bloody Brexit otherwise we would have done the same!

I hope the free PCRs happen.
I live in an EU country and for 3 months now, we have had free access to the day 1 and 5 tests on return (first compulsory even from green country, day 5 to release from quarantine). The free tests are not PCR but high-sensitivity and specification antigen lab tests, as opposed to the DIY LFTs, so as reliable as possible without them being PCR. You can also choose to pay for a PCR which is around €40 at the moment, although the price is constantly going down, the cheapest was €70 two months ago.

PCR compulsory on leaving the country for most destinations, but you get free tests on return so the most families have to pay is 1x PCR and 1x antigen required by returning airline, per person. Borders were never closed and the relatively affordable tests have meant we have been able to go and visit family as needed. It’s still too expensive for many and I hope they bring down the costs even further. Or come up with a system that means adults can avoid testing if they’ve been vaccinated, as all adults should be jabbed by the summer. We can already avoid quarantine and day 5 testing if vaccinated (except from variant areas such as Brazil and India, you still need 14 days for those). With a high % of vaccinated population, hopefully the UK will relax these rules soon too.

@QuentininQuarantino that's interesting, I just hope the UK can meet capacity I've had lots of delayed PCR tests, my DH's positive Covid test result on landing in the Uk took 5 days 🙄 not too worried about returning but will be concerned about not getting the result on time to fly out!!

The latest I’ve found on the traffic light countries is but no information on what entry requirements each of these countries are putting in place. My family is in Belgium and DH’s in US and Canada. Still crossing fingers and toes that we can see them soon.

Green countries

1. Malta
2. Caribbean
3. The USA
4. Israel
5. Portugal
6. Gibraltar
7. UAE

Amber countries

1. Spain
2. Denmark
3. Greece
4. Cyprus
5. Turkey

@Parker231 I read USA was looking to be amber. Have they published what the perimeters are going to be?

@Parker231

The latest I’ve found on the traffic light countries is but no information on what entry requirements each of these countries are putting in place. My family is in Belgium and DH’s in US and Canada. Still crossing fingers and toes that we can see them soon.

Green countries

1. Malta
2. Caribbean
3. The USA
4. Israel
5. Portugal
6. Gibraltar
7. UAE

Amber countries

1. Spain
2. Denmark
3. Greece
4. Cyprus
5. Turkey

If this is true it looks like we made the right decision regarding Greece. I could isolate and work from home on our return but DH couldn't.

@StCharlotte they have said they're going to treat the islands different to mainland areas.

U.K. government is due to publish details this coming week but I guess it will then be a case of checking what the entry requirements are for the country you want to travel to. U.K. could put a country at green but that country have different entry requirements.

I don't understand why the UK is requiring a PCR test on departure, shouldn't it be down to the receiving country?

If someone has to take a PCR test on departure, they can’t travel. No one wants a plane full of those testing negative and one positive.

@name674398

I don't understand why the UK is requiring a PCR test on departure, shouldn't it be down to the receiving country?

It would make sense to do that so you avoid the extra faff of quarantining abroad (and spreading it on the plane).

In Italy, 10% of passengers arriving from India this week tested positive on landing. If these people had been tested before departing and banned from boarding the plane, a lot of virus spread and extra quarantines would have been avoided.

What will be interesting to see is how often do they update the lists? Have they said anything about that? Is it a weekly or every 3 weeks review?

Depends where you’re going and whether it’s categorised as green, amber or red.

We won’t be going anywhere overseas this year because we can’t afford to quarantine if the situation changes quickly.

@EileenGC yes that's very true, but then frustrating if you have to test again in the receiving country. I just have so little faith in our track and trace, my DH flew to the UK, did a test, it got lost for 5 days, then came back positive, and there was no way of informing anyone, the passenger locator form was completely redundant. He called 119, they gave him a number to call, he call multiple times a day and no one picked up. I'm just so frustrated we have to pay hundreds of pounds and that's the system!

[quote name674398]@StCharlotte they have said they're going to treat the islands different to mainland areas.[/quote]
They did that last year and the island we fly into turned red while we would have been out there. Our family members who did go had to scramble an early flight home via Athens. I would just be on edge the whole time.

Dammit.