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Holidays

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Original poster

I don't know what to do about our holiday to Greece!!

121 replies

Plantsandwine · 04/06/2021 07:16

I have booked flights with Ryanair to Greece with my husband and two toddlers. We booked it last summer assuming everything would be fine by now.
I have looked at the guidance and it says it is not illegal but you shouldn't go... I am so confused by this.
We are both teachers so we can both isolate as it is summer holidays. I am so confused if we are allowed to go, and if we should. My husband has had both vaccines and I have just had one if that makes any difference. We desperately want a holiday and are happy to isolate on arrival back to the UK.

OP posts:
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DareIask · 04/06/2021 10:10

I think the gov are beginning to expect people know what's the right thing to do without them making laws.

While I understand some international travel may be essential I can't agree wanting a holiday is essential.

Grumblesigh · 04/06/2021 10:21

Assuming Greece is still amber when you go...

  1. What will the cost of the required PCR tests be for all of you?

  2. Your travel insurance is almost certainly invalid - as you are travelling against government advice. That is, your insurance is invalid completely - for any eventuality, not just to do with Covid. Have you checked?

Grumblesigh · 04/06/2021 10:32

Close as I can tell, and prices do vary... it would cost a family of four roughly £240 for the Fit to Fly PCR certs to leave, then another £500ish for the 2x PCR tests required on . A little more if you test to release early. Is that about right?

Grumblesigh · 04/06/2021 10:33

*required on arrival.

GlencoraP · 04/06/2021 12:02

Don’t forget the tests after you come back . It’s test before you go, test before you come back and test after you come back as I understand it .

I must be the only person who thinks the amber list is sensible . It allows people with a need to see family , attend funerals etc to travel. To be fair the government have repeatedly said ‘don’t book holidays’ the fact that some people have wS probably foreseeable but this is one of the few things the message has been consistent on.

I haven’t seen my brother since summer 2019, no idea when we will see him again or his family. My parents are all in their eighties 🙁

MissyB1 · 04/06/2021 12:43

the Government have repeatedly said dont book holidays

And at the same time saying that ALL restrictions would be lifted on June 21st. And they still seem to be going along with that. So i can certainly see where confusion lies with that. If all restrictions were to be lifted according to their "roadmap" it was reasonable for the public to think that would include travel.

Mixed messages again.

GlencoraP · 04/06/2021 13:31

No they said all restrictions except travel and they also said that all of this was subject to their being no variants of concern.

I think one of the problems is that the media focus on sound bites and slogans rather than explaining things and referring back to the actual guidance. Also the guidance has been publicised In the same way it’s as if the whole country now assumed to be unable to read polysyllabic words and sentences with more than three words. But the problem is that this is a very complicated and nuanced situation which is not easily reduced to this level of simplicity.

AllOptionsAreOnTheTable · 04/06/2021 13:39

@Kocduw

It's going to set you back £1000+ in testing and more cost for idolating when you get back.
No it won't. Under 5s dont need to be tested. 3 tests each for adults currently and they are under £100 now (we paid £80 for a fit to fly test).
MargosKaftan · 04/06/2021 14:49

@GlencoraP - no, the Amber list isn't sensible- because you can go, its a choice if you do. So if you choose not to go, you have no reason to get your flights refunded. Its a shit message "you can go, but you are a bad person if you do go, and the government won't do anything to help you get your money back if you do the right thing."

But OP - just wait. If you've got until late July / early August, that's enough time for the countries on the lists to change 3/4 times.

BarbaraofSeville · 04/06/2021 15:09

@MissyB1

the Government have repeatedly said dont book holidays

And at the same time saying that ALL restrictions would be lifted on June 21st. And they still seem to be going along with that. So i can certainly see where confusion lies with that. If all restrictions were to be lifted according to their "roadmap" it was reasonable for the public to think that would include travel.

Mixed messages again.

They never said ALL restrictions would be lifted on 21st June. They said that restrictions would be lifted not before 21st June if the 4 tests were met, which is not the same thing and I think we can all agree that now cases are increasing and the Indian variant means that it's quite likely that the next step will be pushed back, for foreign travel at least.

On the matter of foreign travel, it wasn't clear at all that they didn't want people to holiday in amber list countries until people had had a good few weeks of arranging and rearranging holidays then they started with their useless 'well we didn't mean for you to go on holiday' shit meaning that people are between the rock and the hard place of travel not being illegal so they're unlikely to get refunds if they try to cancel their plans.

MeanMrMustardSeed You can go on holiday in the UK. It’s not Greece vs no holiday

Would you like to suggest where the OP can go in the UK in the school holidays this year at short notice for a sensible price, if there is anything available at all? Even if she looked for something totally outlandish and as far away from a conventional holiday as possible such as a like a weekend break in Darlington, to reference a current thread, she's likely to find low availability and high prices.

GlencoraP · 04/06/2021 15:47

@MargosKaftan

you can go, but you are a bad person if you do go

but that’s not what it’s saying . It’s saying that you can go but not for holidays, what is so difficult about that ? You can go if you have a real need to . That’s need in terms of dying relative , or similar , but despite that you still have to isolate.

HelenHywater · 04/06/2021 16:05

@LoudestCat14 I'm in the same position - have a holiday booked in 2019 rolled over to this year. I don't want to go, but my insurance won't pay up. I don't really want to roll over to next year - I already have one dd who doesn't want to come this year (she's turned 18) and neither of my dds will want to come next year.

I also can't afford £1000 on pcr tests/fitness certificates and I can't isolate. But I can't afford to cancel it. The holiday company won't reimburse me. The insurance situation has put me in an impossible position.

MargosKaftan · 04/06/2021 16:06

@GlencoraP you are missing that by not banning people from going, they cant get a refund.

The airlines do not have to refund you because you bought flights for a holiday not family emergency or work (which face it, if you bought your tickets a year or more ago, it was for a holiday).

I do think with this fudge "we'll tell you not to go, but not stop you so you can't get your money back" the decent thing would be for the government to refund tickets.

MissyB1 · 04/06/2021 16:09

[quote HelenHywater]@LoudestCat14 I'm in the same position - have a holiday booked in 2019 rolled over to this year. I don't want to go, but my insurance won't pay up. I don't really want to roll over to next year - I already have one dd who doesn't want to come this year (she's turned 18) and neither of my dds will want to come next year.

I also can't afford £1000 on pcr tests/fitness certificates and I can't isolate. But I can't afford to cancel it. The holiday company won't reimburse me. The insurance situation has put me in an impossible position.[/quote]
This is where I blame the Government for mixed messages. The holiday companies have been allowed to sell holidays on an “Amber” list which means essentially that people can lose that holiday but not get a refund because it’s not on the Red list. There should never have been Amber list.

BarbaraofSeville · 04/06/2021 16:11

I do think with this fudge "we'll tell you not to go, but not stop you so you can't get your money back" the decent thing would be for the government to refund tickets

Exactly. It's like at the beginning when Boris said 'if you don't mind awfully, maybe give the pub a miss' and people did, and there's the poor pub and restaurant owners seeing takings through the floor, but not given any support and unable to claim on business disruption insurance.

If they really don't want people to go on holiday, give the travel industry proper support and allow people with bookings to move their holiday (again) or get a refund. Not leave everyone in limbo, damned if they do and damned if they don't.

thekingfisher · 04/06/2021 16:16

We have Crete booked from 2nd week in July and will go as long as not red. We can do and pay for all necessary tests and can isolate at home fully as we did last year from our holiday in Spain.

thekingfisher · 04/06/2021 16:17

Battleface insurance offer good insurance covering covid. Most insurers will cover as long as the fcdo haven't advised against travel.

Grumblesigh · 04/06/2021 17:02

The FCDO advises against travel to amber and red countries. Thus, no travel insurance.

You can find insurance for travel considered essential. It is very expensive.

HelenHywater · 04/06/2021 17:23

I booked my holiday 2 years ago before amber destinations, indeed before Covid, was even a thing.

I haven't booked mine knowing this was a risk. I am covered by holiday insurance, just not for cancelling a holiday that is an amber destination. So I need to go and suck up all the extras, be vilified by everyone and isolate for however long I need to, or roll it over yet another year. I do blame the govt because if it was simply going to ban holidays then I could get my money back. I get why they're doing it (to make the consumer rather than the holiday company take the economic hit for it) but it sucks.

Oblomov21 · 04/06/2021 17:55

"It'll cost you a bomb in tests". Nonsense.
PCR cost £60 and apparently will decrease in price.

Remmy123 · 04/06/2021 18:09

I wouid go

99victoria · 04/06/2021 18:23

We've got a holiday booked to one of the Greek Islands. I've already checked us in online. If the flight goes, we intend to be on it 🙂

Swallowridge · 04/06/2021 20:39

Travel Insurance is the big issue - I'm not sure you will be covered.

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 05/06/2021 07:24

No - the FCDO does NOT advise against non essential travel to all amber countries.

The advice differentiates - eg advises against non essential to Spain and the Balearics but not to the Canaries.

And with package holidays to ‘soft’ amber countries / areas - eg Canaries - travel insurance is really available through the tour operators

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 05/06/2021 07:25

Sorry - tbat was to @Grumblesigh so erroneously posted The FCDO advises against travel to amber and red countries. Thus, no travel insurance.

You can find insurance for travel considered essential. It is very expensive.