April holiday about to be cancelled, alternatives?

[MrsTravelBug]

We are booked in to fly to Sri Lanka transit through Dubai in a couple of weeks. We are looking for alternatives to swap to but we can’t change the dates due to work commitments.

Ideally flying from Manchester, where would you go for some Easter sun?

We looked at Sri Lanka from alternative transit options but it’s an extra £1000 each and I would rather just go when everything has died down a bit instead.

Seville

If you want guaranteed sun, Caribbean will work. Europe may be nice but hardly the same weather as Sri Lanka

Maybe Caribbean or South/Central America :)

We are going Koh Samui, Thai airways

Barbados. Flights are better from Heathrow than Manchester. Stay at the Sofitel the night before flight.

I've just come back from the Caribbean, it was glorious. Europe is still likely to be quite chilly at Easter (you could be lucky and get a heatwave, but there is no guarantee)

Antigua!!!

We're also Northern UK based and long-haul sun options honestly a bit limited from Manchester. Barbados flights are via Dublin or London, Aer Lingus routing everyone via Dublin from end of this month onwards, all other airlines flying direct stop before Easter. We're doing flight only with TUI to Montego Bay, Jamaica. The other TUI direct options from Manchester are Cancun and Dominican Republic. I imagine prices are high though. There is also the Gambia which was a much cheaper option last time I looked, but was not very enticing for me. I think if willing to travel via Amsterdam that might give you some Dutch Carribbean options. Departing London will definitely give you much more choice.

If it were me I’d pivot to somewhere short-haul like Greece or Canaries - flights might be a bit pricier now but still way better than dropping an extra £1k each.

Barbados. West Coast. Colony Club hotel is my favourite.

We have looked at travelling from London, DH is in work at 6.30am on Sat 18th and it doesn’t leave much room for delays/travelling back.

We had this just got our refunds back today from Sri Lanka Emirates flights. We also decided against paying a lot extra to go at challenging times with delays risks. Alternatives were difficult even from London. We have gone with a cheaper holiday for now and will do Sri Lanka another time. A lot of alternative destinations saw price hikes. We went with La Gomera which seemed unaffected by price but it will be about 20C and sunny so pleasant in temp but not Sri Lankan weather. The pool is heated so hoping it will be warm enough to swim in and also hope to go in sea. If not will be kayaking / boats and hiking. We have hired a sports car. Though at least with it being last minute can check weather forecasts. Costa Rica is lovely.

I went to Colombia in April and it was amazing, will be planning a trip back soon. I haven’t been to Costa Rica but would love to go there too.

Sorry this isn’t going ahead for you - I loved Sri Lanka. You must be a bit gutted but it isn’t going anywhere & maybe when you do get to go, you’ll have an even better time than you would have this year.

Not sure what your budget is but the two places that sprung to my mind were Cape Town or Costa Rica. Cape Town isn’t always high on people’s agenda’s for safety reasons but I went last year with my Mum & we had such a great time. Yes you need to be safety aware but it’s a great place with fantastic beaches, scenery, vineyards & proximity to wildlife. Costa Rica is fantastic too if you like wildlife.

Closer options - south of Spain? Willl be warmer & you could train travel between cities.

Sri Lanka seems to be getting hit by the oil crisis going to a 4 day week and rationing of fuel. Some road trips / safaris are being called off. It's probably worth checking any less wealthy destination that involves lots of driving that there aren't issues.

I looked at Cape Town though have been there before, love the penguins, but flight prices were quite high. Saw BA is starting flights again from October to Sri Lanka direct.