Holiday next week cancelled - what would you do now?

[HazelnutRaspberryRoulade]

Husband and I were supposed to be going to the Canary Islands for 5 days in the last week of June (flight and hotel booked through BA), but the airline has cancelled it.

I’m not quite sure what to do now - we could book something else last minute but with flight cancellations/ rail strikes/ luggage problems I feel like we’ll spend the coming week (and maybe the holiday itself) worrying about things going wrong again.

I’ve looked at a few UK breaks but I was really after a sunny hotel/reading by the pool/dinner by the harbour type holiday and it’s quite hard and expensive to recreate that in the UK.

I’m 23 weeks pregnant and won’t be able to rebook my annual leave for later in the summer, so it feels like our last opportunity to have a holiday just the two of us, and I’m feeling so indecisive I’m worried we just won’t end up doing anything!

Looking for inspiration because I’m sure there are solutions we haven’t thought of. What would you do?

Well. I'm going to be honest with you.

I spent 6 hours in an airport yesterday with my mother waiting for her plane back to the UK after a short trip here in france.

Whilst we were waiting one of her fellow passengers was researching other ways to get back to Bristol.

Trains are out due to UK strikes.

Nobody wants a 24 hour bus ride in 40 degree heat. Train to Paris and then Eurostar but when you get to St P you are stuck.

Planes back are randomly being cancelled or just horrendous delays. And that's with the airport's that are small. Let alone large airports.

So trains and planes are pretty much out.

But not just for you, for many people.

So they are all likely to divert to Cornwall or Devon. So that will be full..

If it were me, and I could get somewhere on the north French coast, I'd just drive and get a ferry and stay somewhere like St Malo or nearby.

However, in our region of France it is going to be rainy for the next 3 days which cannot come soon enough for us. So check forecasts before you book.

Or follow the coastline through to Belgium, and look for vacant BnBs or hotels going east from Calais and get the Eurostar if tickets are available.

Good luck, I'm not going anywhere this summer after yesterday's shenanigans.

I’d get a train to Nice, overnight, wake up somewhere warm.

It depends on where you live. Is your local airport Gatwick or Leeds Bradford? The situation is not the same in different parts of the country.

www.corsica.co.uk/le-home
Try this. Beautiful place. Very reliable company.

Alisondonut what a nightmare! That’s just the sort of thing we want to avoid. We know so many people who have had delays and complications, even if their holiday hasn’t been totally cancelled.

@Flopisfatteningbingforchristmas we’re in London, don’t own a car so would be relying on public transport or hiring a car to get anywhere.

Take a chance: travel on a non strike day and get the hell out of Brexit Britain for week

Just returned from Greece and didn't have any major problems

We went to Corfu two weeks ago and stayed in a fantastic villa through air B and B.
Flew out from East Midlands airport no problems at all.
If you going abroad it's worth travelling to a smaller airport IMO.
Good luck!

Just rebook something in Europe OP. Chances are you won't get cancelled/delayed again and a holiday before your baby comes will be lovely. Agree about looking into getting the train from at pancras down to South of France (Nice, Marseille, Antibes - my personal recommendation). Will be lovely there at this time of year.

Jet2 doesn't seem to be cancelling anything.
I'd book with them - if possible a non weekend afternoon flight.

I’d find a lovely Hotel, by the sea, and drive to avoid rail nonsense. accept the weather may be shit, but enjoy someone else making breakfast, wandering around somewhere new and a chance to unwind.
anything involving public transport will just be stress

When you say the airline has cancelled it, do you mean the flight out was cancelled or the whole thing? Did they offer you a different flight out?

I'm currently waiting at the airport to pick up my Son after a weekend in Krakow.

No issues getting there or home. Flights in time and no issue through security.

My MIL flew to Cape Verde yesterday with no issues.

BA are shocking at the moment. But plenty of flights are not delayed.

I'm flying to Dubai next week so I a hoping for stress free trip.

Jet2 do seem to be the most reliable airline at the moment. But I would book a package rather than booking it separately

If you are in London, get to Eurostar and just use that. You are in much better position than loads of people. We got Eurostar to Lyon for a week a few years back. You can get to Paris so you can get to anywhere in Europe from there.

Definitely take the holiday now. I would go somewhere in France by train eg Annecy, Biarritz or Nice although I don’t think Nice has a sandy beach so maybe look at other options on the french Mediterranean coast.

Another vote for book another Europe trip and just avoid flying with the airlines known to be having problems. We flew out of Heathrow back into Gatwick at half term and the airports themselves had no problems other than long queues for the restaurants. Our return flight was cancelled by easyjet at short notice and we flew back with Lufthansa via Germany. Although it made the trip a little longer Lufthansa had no problems and it was nice to fly back into Heathrow instead of Gatwick as we live in west London. Personally I would scan the live departure boards at Heathrow and see which other airlines are flying to the places you'd like to go. If you have no car Heathrow would obviously be better as only one day of tube strike vs multiple rail strike days. Also if not flying directly then check covid entry requirements for transit too (non EU citizens have to prove fully vaccinated status for Germany even if only in transit). My husband did a short work trip with return flights out of Heathrow last week and had no problems. You should definitely try and have your lovely beach holiday before baby comes (congrats)

Sorry we flew out of Gatwick (easyjet) and back into Heathrow (Lufthansa) at half term and not the other way round!

As you're in London, can you get city airport? It is so much smaller than other London airports so much less stressful. Have a look at what flights are on offer and choose one. You can fly to Italy from there.

What about a cruise from Southampton/elsewhere in uk if you can get it?

I would go for eurostar and train to somewhere in France if I were you. Be aware there is a heatwave though!

I’ve looked at a few UK breaks but I was really after a sunny hotel/reading by the pool/dinner by the harbour type holiday and it’s quite hard and expensive to recreate that in the UK.

East Yorkshire coast, Welsh coast or Cornwall would be my recommendations.

I’d just book a last minute deal with someone else.

I’ve looked at a few UK breaks but I was really after a sunny hotel/reading by the pool/dinner by the harbour type holiday and it’s quite hard and expensive to recreate that in the UK.

If you can get there (train, longish taxi or maybe the hotel sends a car) the Budock Vean hotel near Falmouth is an idyllic location, in its own beautiful Cornish gardens and with Trebah gardens and National Trust Glendurgan gardens just up the road. Walks down to the beach. Tennis courts etc. Nice pool area and spa treatments. They do lots of deals so might be quite negotiable (caveat - I haven't been for a few years so things could have changed). I think they have their own boat for hire too. It's not the most fashionable decor unless there have been a lot of changes but the location is a winner.

Oh, and as a pp said BA are appalling right now. Colleague booked a week skiing for half term in spring. It took 30 hours to get there and no luggage. He saw them try to deliver his luggage to his home on the Tuesday on his ring gadget. Had to do a supermarket sweep for all basics like underwear, night clothes etc for whole family plus borrowing ski wear. Journey home wasn't quite so bad but still a stressful 12 hours. And of course many hours on the phone complaining and arguing over compensation.

Go somewhere by Eurostar, lovely, comfortable way to travel.

I’d go to the south of france by train. If you time it right you can have lunch in Paris when you do the terminal switch and be somewhere like Nice or Cannes for dinner.