Anyone else still hopeful for overseas this summer

[TheExtraGuineaPig]

We are booked to go to Greece for the last 2 weeks of July. I'm sort of resigned it won't happen but the optimistic part of my brain is telling me there could be significant additions to the green list or the system could be overhauled for the main holiday season.

Anyone else doing this sort of wishful thinking?

Me! Still kidding myself we are off to Malta end of July. Can’t bring myself to think about the idea of being stuck at home for 2 weeks as the alternative (as everywhere in U.K. fully booked).

Signing in from malta here. We are Totally stunned that malta didn't make the green list. Really don't understand why other than it is political. Thought we'd be flooded with visiting UK friends/relatives and instead just hoping a few will make it towards the end of summer.

We're off to Greece end of next week @TheExtraGuineaPig I'm mostly optimistic it'll happen, although won't quite believe it until the plane has taken off! (We're fine with Amber testing and quarantine). Certainly cases in the islands are low (1-2 per day where we're going) and rolling average of new cases is coming down on Worldometers.

Ooh yes I'm still hopeful we can go on a last minute break, always optimistic! We have a trip to Portugal booked for September, it'll be really nice if that happens but not the end of the world if not.

Me. American citizen with tickets booked to America for July. They are fully flexible, and I am trying to limit everyone's expectations, but secretly I think we'll make it

Isn’t going to happen. Next year, maybe.

I’ve cancelled our trip to Greece which should have been at the end of July. I think it may well still be an option but we would have had to pay the balance in a week or two and the risk / additional costs of quarantine, extra tests etc just felt too high for us. Plus it was making me miserable worrying about it. I feel better for cancelling and being able to make some cool UK based plans. Hoping others can have a good summer whether that’s at home or abroad!

I'm really hoping family from Germany can get to England in July to visit. Feeling less likely.

Planning to spend August at our home in France. Flexible chunnel tickets booked. We can both arrange to work from home on our return if necessary.

I didn’t book anything abroad (not that I often do) despite thinking this would be the year I did because the kids being older and better able to travel.

I just would find the stress of rearranging things, potential to have issues of rules change when over there etc to be more stress than it’s worth.

Sorry....I’m not very optimistic 😂

Nope. We've cancelled and have two weeks in the UK instead which is horribly over priced, will be ridiculously busy but I need a bloody change of scenery.

Have booked for august next year and really hope we're out of this by then.

@GalesThisMorning

Me. American citizen with tickets booked to America for July. They are fully flexible, and I am trying to limit everyone's expectations, but secretly I think we'll make it

Given there's a political as well as a medical angle to some of the decisions being made I wouldn't be surprised the UK follows any leads/announcements made by President Biden in the next few weeks..

Can’t American citizens go back and forth anyway?

I am not optimistic either. I have tickets for my mum and dad to come visit us in London end of July from Greece. I am due my baby then and they were going to look after our kids while I am in hospital. But I am more resigned to the idea they won't be able to.

Shame because they are both fully vaccinated and in all honesty won't be roaming much other than parks with the other two kids.

We won't go if Greece is still on the Amber list, we could quarantine but it would be too mean to ask the kids to stay at home for 10 days in the holiday so we'll have to cancel if the rules stay the same.

On the other hand there is a real possibility that transatlantic travel will be discussed (and Americans are able to travel to lots of places now) that would make keeping restrictions on lots of other countries untenable. Also the EU borders will open with the digital certificate at the end of June, if their rates are lower than ours then our govt will be under pressure to join in somehow.

I'm talking myself into it now! (And of course the possibility that we won't be allowed in places if our case numbers go up a lot more)

No, can’t be doing with the stress of watching lists, airports, extra requirements etc. We’re going on one of the cruise staycations instead.

I do have my fingers crossed for Florida in December, a trip we rescheduled from last year.

I'm really hoping family from Germany can get to England in July to visit

We are also hoping for this. Covid rates in Germany are now significantly lower than in UK. Germany is only allowing returning residents/nationals to enter the country - and they then have to quarantine for 14 days -so opening up would not significantly increase traveller numbers.

The current arrangements with the compulsory testing add around £450 -£500 to a trip and the “test and trace” and “quarantine regulations” are farcical.

I would like to see figures on how many people coming from Germany (not transitting) have tested positive after arrival in the past month. The same for other potential green list arrivals. And I strongly suspect that the handful of positives coming from Portugal recently were infected by other Brits - not Portuguese.

@HasaDigaEebowai

Can’t American citizens go back and forth anyway?

AFAIK yes, as long as they observe the UK Amber list restrictions...

eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2021/06/07/covid-travel-restrictions-airlines-can-us-citizens-travel-to-uk/7584332002/

I think that we're going to stick to our amber holiday and just plan to be home afterwards. We'll do the day 5 test to release. yes, it's expensive but we think it's worth it.

I haven't got anything booked for summer as I think it's just too stressful.

I am saving holiday days in case I can get away for a week in October/November maybe to Malta, Canary Islands or Greece. I want to see what happens for a bit first.

Then I have big plans for spending the money I saved in 2022....

Yes we have Spain booked end of July, crossing fingers. We will quarantine and test and release on day 5 if still amber, both vaccinated now. Holding out hope. But I did hear they will be making travel more difficult soon, from an inside source, so my hope is thinning really want labour to shut up about removing Amber rating!

@welshweasel it's worth checking out Airbnb, I booked holiday accommodation in Devon for mid August yesterday!

We've moved our October 21 holiday to October 22, it was free to change up to 21 days before travel, but I've been keeping an eye on availability and could see the options reducing as other people booked up the same half term date so rather than wait and end up with little or no choice we choice to just decided to move it now.
We feel much happier not having to worry about it and actually ended up with a nicer hotel in a slightly different area for the same price

Hoping to go to majorca in 4 weeks so long as it stays amber and jet2 don't pull the plug.