Travelling to the UK for Christmas?

[Velocity]

We have travel booked back to the uk for Christmas. By that point it will be one year since I've seen my parents, brothers, nephews and nieces. If you normally travel to the uk for Christmas/ New Year is this still your plan or have you already given up hope?

I do understand people not wanting expats to come back, I get it really do. On a covid level I think it more likely frankly my parents will give it to us than us to them, we’re a lot more careful and will quarantine before we come over, spray everything in site and are used to wearing masks constantly so just hoping the planes and airports will remain as empty as they are. We will quarantine the whole time we are there, in my parents house. I know accidents could always happen and no of course I don’t want to add to a strain on the health service but I haven’t seen my parents in over a year or any other friend or family member in nearly two so I’ll do everything I can to keep us from putting extra pressures on the NHS or anything. There’s still a chance we won’t come and if the government said actually nobody come then we would stick to that and cancel but my poor mum is beside herself with excitement about seeing me and her grandchildren, I would hate to break her heart like that as she can’t come to us at all. It all sucks and it won’t be the most fun Christmas ever and I REALLY regret just not coming in the summer but here we are

We’re also only coming at Christmas because of D.C. and school otherwise we would have come before as well

No chance for us here in Cayman, and haven't seen family since Easter 2019.

We cancelled our summer trip this year, and at this rate it looks likely we won't travel to UK next year either.

We have no community spread here and all Covid cases are from incoming travelers who remain in isolation until they test negative.

But even if we could travel, I wouldn't want to subject kids to time off island only to be quarantined for 2 weeks + WFH when we return. That and the risk of infection means we won't be going anywhere for a year at least I think.

We’re in California and everyone has been asked not to travel at all and we’re now on a 10pm-5am curfew until 21st December.

I’m going to have to cancel arent I? Starting to feel like we can’t travel in good conscious

@IJumpedAboardAPirateShip,

Is it asked not to travel, or mandated not allowed?
My folks in CA wanted to go to FL for 2 months (to stay there with my step-sis), leaving early December. I have no idea what they'll do now. They were very much looking forward to change of scene, though.

It’s not been mandated at all, just requested

@lovelemoncurd

Please don't travel to the UK. Our NHS is already struggling to care for the numbers of ill people. We are in a lockdown because our useless government has not stopped people holidaying. It's hard I know but just accept you have to Zoom and be sensible.

Britain is much more of a risk to us than we are to them numbers wise. My host country won't let me back in from Britain without a negative PCR. And if we do go, we'll test before we go too (as I don't want to put my family at risk). I expect you're not having a zoom Xmas...

[quote lljkk]@IJumpedAboardAPirateShip,

Is it asked not to travel, or mandated not allowed?
My folks in CA wanted to go to FL for 2 months (to stay there with my step-sis), leaving early December. I have no idea what they'll do now. They were very much looking forward to change of scene, though.[/quote]
I don't think they can actually prevent people travelling from one state to another, legally. They can mandate that you do particular things once you've arrived in a state eg wear a mask, quarantine, get a Covid test.

We're still planning for DD to travel to university in January, which will be a nearly 2000 mile trip. She has to quarantine for 2 weeks before going, get a negative Covid test before she leaves, quarantine when she arrives, and get another negative Covid test. This seems to be increasingly common for interstate travel.

I also think some people need to remember that not all of us moved overseas as a family group due to a job relocation or something. I came here on my own. My husband is American and was denied a visa to live in the UK so I had to move here. That adds another dimension to the feelings of homesickness and isolation. I haven’t seen my mum since May 2018. I can’t even visit her because she lives in a retirement complex for over 55s where they have had 2 COVID deaths and several cases and the residents tend to fall into the more “at risk” categories so overnight visitors have been banned. So I couldn’t even quarantine at her place.

It’s all well and good pointing the finger and telling us the NHS is already overstretched. But I didn’t decide to underfund it. Maybe take your anger out on those that did. I have private medical coverage on my travel insurance plan anyway.

It looks like the UK rules are being updated to require a 5 day quarantine followed by a negative Covid test, at a cost of I think £100+.

Yeah I saw that @SlartBartFast I’m trying to find out from my US insurance if we can claim it back because otherwise we’re looking at £400-500 for our family.

I’m so sorry @BritWifeinUSA that’s a horrible situation for you to deal with and you’re right that those of us more fortunate to have the option should thank our blessings

Is anybody going? We still haven't decided with three weeks to go.

Our host country asks for a pcr test for all people returning from the uk and we can't afford to pay an extra £600 for a family of four. But at the moment you don't need one if you enter by land, so in theory we could drive. But I think all hotels in France are shut...

Our family are desperate to see us. It's so hard.

It really is hard, isn't it

I wasn't planning to go anyway, but if I were, I'd be worried that Japan will slam the borders shut again if infections continue to rise here (the next three weeks are critical - they may reinstate the State of Emergency if things don't get any better)

That's DHs worry but I think with Europe we'd still be able to get home. Ds7 keeps asking, he hasn't seen his grandparents in a year and I don't know what to tell him! and there's the added worry if brexit too, if we go we'd have to get out of the country before that as I don't fancy being stuck in a COVID-ridden operation stack in Kent!

At the moment we’re still going. I wish we’d either not told everyone we were or we’d said very much “we’ll decide for sure much closer to the time” I’m feeling quite anxious about it but will be breaking so many hearts if I cancel

@QuentinInQuarantino what are your fears about not getting out due to brexit? Is it your European country specific?

We still haven’t made up our minds either, travelling from Germany. The test requirement on both ends would make it a really expensive trip. I just hate the thought of telling my mum we’re not going.

We are not going. It's just too complicated with the requirement to quarantine and also the fact is my mum has been taking no risks and thinks its silly to throw caution the the wind for the sake of a few days (even though she's on her own now). Having made the decision we all feel happier and are gearing up for a scaled down Christmas and actually quite looking forward to it in a funny sort of way. That said, I saw her in February just before the first lockdown and again in the summer when lockdown was lifted so I (and she) know we'll see each other again as soon as we can.

We've also taken the decision not to travel. Too complicated and stressful working out testing and quarantine rules. I do find that there is piece of my mind that is more restful now that the decision has been taken.

If it helps it's not just people who are overseas who are affected by this. I'm in England and haven't seen any of my family in Scotland since August 2019. I'm in a T3 area, they are in an area that has had no cases for months. DBro is also in England and lives alone and hasn't seen anyone from the family since he last saw us late 2019, he at least is coming to us for Christmas to form a support bubble. I have no idea when the Scottish government will allow us to cross the border for 'non-essential' purposes, the irony is of course, in a T3 area we have access to mass testing without symptoms so could easily test the whole family before travelling if we wanted to.

MIL comes from another continent, when she came to the UK in the 60s she never expected to be able to fly around the world to see family regularly like we do now, it was a boat trip of several weeks to come here. It's the price of moving abroad.

@IJumpedAboardAPirateShip I tried to cross the border from Spain to fence when the gilet Jaunes we're holding up lorries (but letting cars through) and a normally 40 minute drive took 5 hours! So I'm anticipating that there might be some delays on brexit day and the first few days while the paperwork gets sorted. Maybe there'll be strikes on the French side. I've driven past operation stack a few times and it's just miles and miles of parked lorries and traffic jams caused by the cars trying to use only one or two of the lanes. I just don't want to risk it for the sake of travelling back a few days earlier when I have young dc and a 12 hour car journey anyway! Yes

@CountFosco sorry to hear that, I thought Boris was lifting the rules nationwide for 5 days or something? That is probably just lazy reporting in my local papers!

It never was the price of loving abroqd for us though. We came on a gap year a 2 hour flight away when Ryanair flights were still 99p and loved it so much we never went back! Our country is amazing for families so it's bittersweet that our own family unit here is just our nuclear family while everyone else is having huge inter generational lunches every week (although this is almost certainly why they're struggling with COVID so much!!) but at least we had visits all the time!

CountFosco sorry to hear that, I thought Boris was lifting the rules nationwide for 5 days or something?

Well he is but Scotland are saying to keep the size of gatherings to under 8, our family have told us and DBro not to come because the risk is too high, and 5 days isn't very long if you're spending days travelling (as we would - the drive north takes 2 days) or travelling through multiple stations and airports as DBro would have to. At least we'll be with DBro.

I’m also wondering whether to go or not.
My mum has been isolating very strictly the whole time and is worried about DC coming so if I go it will probably be alone.
DC are with their dad for Christmas anyway.
Under the new 5 day isolation rules can you stay with family for those five days?

We've just had an email from the in-laws disinviting us! I'm actually pleased to have the decision taken out of our hands! But feeling very flat.