[Hanchurch]

We have flights booked in the summer holidays to Mallorca, if the flights are going we have decided we will be going. I have been working throughout the COVID 19 outbreak and my employer is ok if I have to isolate for two weeks on return to the country if I take it as holiday or unpaid. We will be staying in a holiday home so do not need to be mixing with others.
What are everyone else thinking regarding holiday travel within the next couple of months?

[davyk31]

Staying in a holiday home is better than a hotel but who was staying there before you and how well was it cleaned would be my concern.

[JustChris]

Sounds ok.

Any small print checks for travel insurance etc.

[Hanchurch]

Originally Posted by davyk31

Staying in a holiday home is better than a hotel but who was staying there before you and how well was it cleaned would be my concern.

The wife's parents own it and it isn't ever rented out so no issues from that point.

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

I was getting close to booking a gite in France and driving like we usually do. Not much risk there.

But, going to wait and see what happens in the next month or two. Decided it won’t feel the same if we’re avoiding all the restaurants and towns we normally visit when there.

If I’d already booked like you had, I’d probably still be planning on going. The airport and flight part would be the most off putting for me though, don’t really fancy that just yet.

[mikeoz]

Well I am hoping to get away in the car Prob Germany. Did have a family holiday booked for 2nd week in July but have cancelled that and rebooked for next summer which was no problem.
But until they change the FCO advice any travel insurance etc is not valid...so hoping they change that. 15th June is when most EU borders open again which is just in time for our stupid quarantine, which is 8 weeks to late but hey ho...I won't have to actually do it due to my job but it makes no sense too me?

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by mikeoz

Well I am hoping to get away in the car Prob Germany. Did have a family holiday booked for 2nd week in July but have cancelled that and rebooked for next summer which was no problem.
But until they change the FCO advice any travel insurance etc is not valid...so hoping they change that. 15th June is when most EU borders open again which is just in time for our stupid quarantine, which is 8 weeks to late but hey ho...I won't have to actually do it due to my job but it makes no sense too me?

It is stupid. The people exempt are the ones working in areas most likely to pass it on. Hospitals, care homes, prisons, schools, distribution centres. If all these people are exempt, everyone may as well be.

And as we’re still far and away the most infected country in Europe, at least for short haul travel, what is the quarantine protecting us from? As far as I can see it’s satisfying the wishes of the far right, such as Farage, who was kicking up a fuss about people coming in unchecked. Not much of a surprise there.

[mmarkk1990]

The quarantine malarkey is a concern for us in the travel industry as until it's gone, nobody will travel. I suspect that package holidays are likely to be cancelled if a quarantine is due to be in force on return.

I'm hoping the quarantine doesn't last long. The cynical part of me says they're doing it just so the gov can say "We had a world leading Covid 19 response. We locked down and quarantined incoming arrivals". Yeah, locked down after everyone else and quarantined well after the first wave, but who will remember those details at the next election?

Anyway, travel and tourism are big parts of the economy and whilst the death toll is low it wouldn't make sense to keep a quarantine period in for too long. Our company is hoping mid July.

Pleased to hear you're still good to go if you can. Have a nice time in Majorca if you do go, please let me know what the overall experience ends up being like!

[Hanchurch]

Originally Posted by mmarkk1990

The quarantine malarkey is a concern for us in the travel industry as until it's gone, nobody will travel. I suspect that package holidays are likely to be cancelled if a quarantine is due to be in force on return.

I'm hoping the quarantine doesn't last long. The cynical part of me says they're doing it just so the gov can say "We had a world leading Covid 19 response. We locked down and quarantined incoming arrivals". Yeah, locked down after everyone else and quarantined well after the first wave, but who will remember those details at the next election?

Anyway, travel and tourism are big parts of the economy and whilst the death toll is low it wouldn't make sense to keep a quarantine period in for too long. Our company is hoping mid July.

Pleased to hear you're still good to go if you can. Have a nice time in Majorca if you do go, please let me know what the overall experience ends up being like!

My MIL and FIL have already missed 2 trips out there since March and booked flights for 1st July yesterday as the flights were cheap, I will report back as to if they get over there on the 1st. It's good to hear from someone in the industry, thanks.

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by mmarkk1990

The quarantine malarkey is a concern for us in the travel industry as until it's gone, nobody will travel. I suspect that package holidays are likely to be cancelled if a quarantine is due to be in force on return.

I'm hoping the quarantine doesn't last long. The cynical part of me says they're doing it just so the gov can say "We had a world leading Covid 19 response. We locked down and quarantined incoming arrivals". Yeah, locked down after everyone else and quarantined well after the first wave, but who will remember those details at the next election?

Anyway, travel and tourism are big parts of the economy and whilst the death toll is low it wouldn't make sense to keep a quarantine period in for too long. Our company is hoping mid July.

Pleased to hear you're still good to go if you can. Have a nice time in Majorca if you do go, please let me know what the overall experience ends up being like!

I would have thought that the FCO No travel advice would be a big issue also for you also?

[mmarkk1990]

Originally Posted by mikeoz

I would have thought that the FCO No travel advice would be a big issue also for you also?

Good point, forgot about that one! I suspect that the quarantine will be lifted at the same time that the FCO advise is changed. News of one will back up the decision to change the other. This is all my personal speculation, I don't work for the government!

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by mmarkk1990

Good point, forgot about that one! I suspect that the quarantine will be lifted at the same time that the FCO advise is changed. News of one will back up the decision to change the other. This is all my personal speculation, I don't work for the government!

Yeah sure of course but that FCO advise kills it...I suspect that this will get dropped on the 1st review end of this month. They have got themselves in a tangle with this and don't seem to want to admit it...yet.

[Arcticdan]

Originally Posted by mmarkk1990

Good point, forgot about that one! I suspect that the quarantine will be lifted at the same time that the FCO advise is changed. News of one will back up the decision to change the other. This is all my personal speculation, I don't work for the government!

Thought I'd seen somewhere that the FCO had added a line to their advise:

COVID-19 Exceptional Travel Advisory Notice
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office currently advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. This advice is being kept under constant review.

I can not remember that last line being there a couple of weeks ago, so I suspect a change will come soon, probably just prior to the first review at the end of June!!

[rokut]

Stuck with ours. All booked at the start of the year but multiple issues with it currently happening: flying into and out of LA, two week roadtrip, four of us, all hotel stays booked (thankfully with free cancellation until start of August), car booked, theme park tickets paid for (Universal Hollywood & Disneyland). Should be flying out on the 16th August and back 1st September.
Huge amount needs to happen to even 'allow' this to start: FCO advise, quarantine, air bridge, USA to get ahold of the spread (second spike seems to be starting), and the obvious public unrest to calm down a little...

I can see us cancelling hotels and car hire by start of August, and then fingers crossed we're not physically allowed to fly and we can get back our flight costs too. Fun times!

[Blacktemplar]

Nothing booked before the brown stuff hit the fan, so nothing 'lost' as such. No1 son is a chef and was about to start a new job at a top restaurant in Bergen, but that got cancelled. Plan was to fly to Copenhagen then do a road trip up through Denmark, Sweden & Norway to see him and do a bit of walking in the mountains around Bergen, but that's also buggered now.

It depends on how/when lockdown rules change, but we had a week booked in April at a country house near St Andrews which we might be able to take later in the summer. I'm WFH for the foreseeable future, but my employer is mandating that we take holidays in a 'normal' timeframe so that there aren't loads of people off in August when we 'might' be able to travel more.

I have a charity bike ride in Denmark scheduled for mid-September, flights & accommodation booked so hopefully that'll still be on. Trouble is, Mrs BT works in education and can't take holidays then so earning -ve brownie points on that one.

So short of taking a risk and heading somewhere warm at short notice I fear we'll be restricted to that well-known Scottish resort Hameldaeme....

[bytejunkie]

So if i were to book a gite in northern france, pay 3 extra days before we actually arrive for it to be empty, drive there, get the chunnel over so could stay in the car, make sure its a my family only occupancy and be careful shopping when over there....

In my eyes that's an acceptible risk level, cos we've minimized the shared air which as far as i can tell is the main problem.

I've effectively been isolated since sept as i remote work and its been constant graft since then, so i need a break!!!!

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by bytejunkie

So if i were to book a gite in northern france, pay 3 extra days before we actually arrive for it to be empty, drive there, get the chunnel over so could stay in the car, make sure its a my family only occupancy and be careful shopping when over there....

In my eyes that's an acceptible risk level, cos we've minimized the shared air which as far as i can tell is the main problem.

I've effectively been isolated since sept as i remote work and its been constant graft since then, so i need a break!!!!

Sounds pretty reasonable and is in line with my thoughts. Apart from the 3 days at the start part. Unless you’re wanting to miss part of your own full week, or two weeks. You won’t get any 3 day add ons in the summer, they only book full weeks.

Rather than sacrificing 3 days, you could always take some disinfectant and give it a once over yourself. It’ll generally be spotless and disinfected by cleaners anyway, and not huge, so might only take 30 mins to an hour to do another once over.

And from Chesterfield I can get to the South West coast in one hit without too much pain to benefit from better weather. Around La Rochelle area.

It certainly doesn’t seem to increase your risk in comparison to staying at home. My wife’s one throw in comment, was, but if you do happen to catch it travelling there, do you want your treatment in a French hospital if you need it? My MIL needed hospital treatment in France a few years ago when we were in the Dordogne. Whilst they are as capable as British hospitals, the care experience as a non native isn’t great. I had a similar experience in Cyprus.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Goneinsixtyseconds

Sounds pretty reasonable and is in line with my thoughts. Apart from the 3 days at the start part. Unless you’re wanting to miss part of your own full week, or two weeks. You won’t get any 3 day add ons in the summer, they only book full weeks.

Rather than sacrificing 3 days, you could always take some disinfectant and give it a once over yourself. It’ll generally be spotless and disinfected by cleaners anyway, and not huge, so might only take 30 mins to an hour to do another once over.

And from Chesterfield I can get to the South West coast in one hit without too much pain to benefit from better weather. Around La Rochelle area.

It certainly doesn’t seem to increase your risk in comparison to staying at home. My wife’s one throw in comment, was, but if you do happen to catch it travelling there, do you want your treatment in a French hospital if you need it? My MIL needed hospital treatment in France a few years ago when we were in the Dordogne. Whilst they are as capable as British hospitals, the care experience as a non native isn’t great. I had a similar experience in Cyprus.

I reckon the holiday accommodation will be cleaner than your own home or any bubble that you join - their reputation depends on it (and yes I have just sat through an hour long meeting with our cleaning company discussing the appropriate cleaning products and their testing accreditations...)

I'd do it this year - but daughter wont take 2 young kids that far this year so its not an option....

[Roo12]

Would really like to get away, have flights booked for Madrid 3 nights there and then drive down to Murcia for 2 weeks.

Cancelled all accommodation a month ago as deposits were refundable, only left the flights at the moment. Don't think we will fly as don't fancy airport experience and recirculated air on a plane.

Definitely want to get away so will do a road trip to Germany or Austria via tunnel, failing that someone where in the UK.

Never done France so wouldn't really know where to go or what to expect.

Be interested to see what others are planning

[doncarlyon]

Don't know what to do, think it will be in the UK if anything.

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

I reckon the holiday accommodation will be cleaner than your own home or any bubble that you join - their reputation depends on it (and yes I have just sat through an hour long meeting with our cleaning company discussing the appropriate cleaning products and their testing accreditations...)

I'd do it this year - but daughter wont take 2 young kids that far this year so its not an option....

Did you have a look at those options I sent? We’ve done it with two young children every year and it is way easier than an airport, flight and transfer journey. In fact as they get older they’ll be less suited to this kind of laid back holiday.

If you were up for a stop off on the way down it really is simple?

That chateau I sent is a great place and reasonably priced.

From your location you could set off at 6am and be there by lunchtime to enjoy the gardens and pool.

Then the next day set off at 10 after breakfast. Picnic after a couple hours and at the house by 3. I’m only saying this because my wife took a lot of talking into it, anxious about the journey, and nearly put a stop to the whole thing. Then we did it she couldn’t believe how easy it was.

Neither day is very long, there are toilets and picnic/play areas every 15 minutes if you need one at any point.

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by Roo12

Would really like to get away, have flights booked for Madrid 3 nights there and then drive down to Murcia for 2 weeks.

Cancelled all accommodation a month ago as deposits were refundable, only left the flights at the moment. Don't think we will fly as don't fancy airport experience and recirculated air on a plane.

Definitely want to get away so will do a road trip to Germany or Austria via tunnel, failing that someone where in the UK.

Never done France so wouldn't really know where to go or what to expect.

Be interested to see what others are planning

Is it a family holiday, or just adults? Not got much experience of elsewhere, but France I’m ok with, both for family trips, and a road trip I went on before kids that I would recommend.