Safest place to holiday Europe

[Slippersue]

I'm in the UK and want to go to an All Inclusive type resort next year somewhere in Europe. I have a medical condition, children, and OCD which is triggered by health and safety. I am getting treatment for this and I have come far enough that I feel okay with the idea of going abroad. However, the place I choose

Oops, posted too soon. The place I choose needs to:

• Have a hospital with good A&E services (including paeds) within 15-30 mins (wouldn't need to helicopter to another island, for example).

• Good, fast ambulance service.

• Under 1 hour transfer time to airport, closer the better.

• Ideally less than 5 minutes walk from beach.

Any ideas?

The issue with AI is that the food is mainly buffets - which means that the food is left out fir longer, small children stick their fingers in it and people sneeze all over it.

I can't imagine such a place exists but watching with interest!

The places I think of with AI greece, turkey, islands don't fit hospital requirements and places I'd think of with good hospitals (near big continental cities) arent very AI places.

Maybe Costa dorada as close to Barcelona as possible?

Costa del Sol, Spain should fit your requirements.

Unless you're on an island I think most coastal resorts in Europe would fit the bill.

Malaga is on the sea, has plenty of hospitals including peads and am sure has some decent AIs. But self catering will give you more control over your surroundings, other countries have a different approach to H&S which maybe difficult for you.

I think any decent sized resort that’s mainland Europe should be ok, just avoid smaller islands.

France.

The country has one of the best heath services in the world and it is close by so you don't have to travel too far

Nice is a good destination. Nice airport itself is literally on the sea front and you can get to the centre of Nice in 30 minutes from there.

Or you could go for Brittany for somewhere closer to home.

Also Monaco (which you can visit from Nice) or somewhere in Spain near a big city for access to hospitals.

I hope you enjoy your holidays!!

I wouldn’t do all inclusive personally if you’re concerned about health and safety. Literally hundreds of people all touching the same utensils.
If you’re worried about sickness, I personally have quite a weak stomach and have travelled extensively. In Europe I’ve been ill in Turkey (hospitalised twice) and Greece but never France, Spain or Portugal so those would be my safest bets.
I also wouldn’t choose a hotel with a water park if you’re concerned about safety as they seem to have very lax rules compared to the U.K.

Menorca is really safe and clean. We’ve been multiple times and never needed a doctor or hospital. The whole island is really small and takes less than an hour to drive from one end to the other.

Most resorts are on really safe beaches, too.

I would choose Spain (mainland), healthcare is good, short flight, plenty of options at all price points

Pine Cliffs on the Algarve. Faro hospital is good, and it’s very clean. £££££ though.

Would you consider Denmark?

Regardless of where you go, you need to check whether your NHS / NI coverage would entitle you to free hospital care and ambulance services in Europe or if you would need to take out travel insurance. If you end up with travel insurance, read the small print carefully.

Thank you all! I will go through all of these. Sickness in AI concerns me, but I would be careful with handwashing etc. The lack of public access defibrillators is another one of my concerns (don't ask....!!) But from my research I can see that most EU countries do not have them in the same way we do. I would always have a GHIC and insurance.

As others have said I would avoid AI tbh. You can be as particular about hygiene as you like but others may not be and buffets are a health risk. We travel to Bali frequently which is notorious for “Bali belly”. I have been sick twice, both times staying in five star resorts with buffet food. I regularly eat at the local Warungs and have never had a problem. You can control your environment in self catering and choose your restaurants.

I’ve not been to Greece or Turkey so can’t comment on those, but I’d say Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Denmark… are generally cleaner than the U.K. and have better funded healthcare so you’d be safer there than staying home. Maybe it helps to put it into perspective this way?

Barcelona?
Its got close airport, the city and hospitals, and beach. You can choose how far out to stay

I wouldn’t go all inclusive. I don’t have germ issues but I won’t eat at an all inclusive buffet at all now. Ds has allergies and have seen people sample stuff and return, lick communal yogurt spoon, dip fingers in stuff, sneeze, and obviously use same item between dishes so contaminate all for allergies.

Book hotel with full on al a carte restaurant service or self cater

Any of the Tenerife south towns would fit l your criteria though I'm not sure if the defibrillator part would be sufficient.
We had to use a&e there for my daughter and it was amazing service.

You literally live in one of the worst countries in the world for healthcare. Most European countries will be way better in terms of ambulance response times and care whilst in hospital.

I recommend Mallorca .As a family we had first hand experience of paed emergency and the response time and care at the hospital was amazing ie paediatrician actually waiting for my sons ambulance,organised immediate CT scan ,fluent English…exceptional care !
We were in Cala D Or and hospital was about 45 mins away.

@catblanket I know! But there are Defibs here and you don't generally have to helicopter to another island for treatment.

Anyone know if Lanzarote is good for healthcare?

Otherwise thinking Mallorca or mainland Spain somewhere.

I want to do an AI type holiday as a kind of cheesy holiday before my children get too old.

When we go away DS needs to be not to far from a major hospital with a peads GI team and PICU as he ends up in hospital way to often.
So have a think about what you realistically needs access to, but if it's nothing too specialised any Spanish big town will have a hospital with A&E so just Google the distance to the hotel to reassure yourself.

I also have OCD around health and safety. I’ve been to both France and Spain quite a few times with kids and felt safe. I think you’d be better off in an emergency in France than in the UK, on average! Do you take medication for your OCD? I take sertraline and it is infinitely better!

You should ALWAYS take out travel insurance.

You cannot guarantee going to a state hospital if their are private nearby. You wouldn't be covered for medical assistance / changes to flights home.

Whether there is an State hospital should have no bearing on whether you take out insurance!

You literally live in one of the worst countries in the world for healthcare.

Evidence please. Literal or otherwise.