Topic: Holidays - UK or abroad?

[rob1966]

Yeah there's been some more details than we initially received.

The white house pushed the decision to the FDA and they said any vaccine on their list OR the WHO list would count.

I'd read around 23m of us had AZ in the UK

By the end of the year ost will have then had the Pfizer as a booster too.

[red_Mark1980]

By the end of the year ost will have then had the Pfizer as a booster too.

I'm in the age group that won't (as it stands) get the booster.

[rob1966]

I'm in the age group that won't (as it stands) get the booster.

So you fell in that in between bit then.

Fauci is saying the AZ should be accepted under the new rules

Summary
US chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci says the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine should be accepted under new travel rules
White House says a ban on UK and EU travellers will lift in early November
Fully-jabbed passengers can enter the US if they take a Covid test before travelling
But precise details are yet to be ironed out - including eligible vaccines

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-58635383

[red_Mark1980]

Yeah. Although who knows what 2022 looks like at this point

[rob1966]

Yeah. Although who knows what 2022 looks like at this point

Hasn't stopped my missus booking 3 holidays, including Mexico, which she now wants to bin off  

She's going to book Orlando for 2023 after Christmas too.

[Ciara (with a capital "C")]

Yeah there's been some more details than we initially received.

The white house pushed the decision to the FDA and they said any vaccine on their list OR the WHO list would count.

I'd read around 23m of us had AZ in the UK

It’s a relief - I went ahead and booked flights to NYC and Cleveland yesterday evening for my Husband’s birthday in late Nov, as I got a great deal. Was hopeful they would accept the AZ but good to hear the signs are more promising!

[pazcom]

Just booked Dorset (Durdle Door & Lulworth Cover) for next August. We went this year and loved it. Stunning scenery, great pubs and loads of walking. Was so relaxing. Fingers crossed the weather holds up!

[Riquende]

Hasn't stopped my missus booking 3 holidays, including Mexico, which she now wants to bin off  

She's going to book Orlando for 2023 after Christmas too.

No wonder the shelves are empty, all the HGV drivers are spending half the time on holidays.

I've started to make a lot of travel plans, but nothing too ambitious - probably won't leave Europe until after 2022.

[rob1966]

No wonder the shelves are empty, all the HGV drivers are spending half the time on holidays.

I've started to make a lot of travel plans, but nothing too ambitious - probably won't leave Europe until after 2022.

We're going to change Mexico to Tenerife, she jumped the gun on it because it was dead cheap and I'm sick of her kicking off on me over me trying to explain that she was wasting her time, so I didn't argue when she booked it. Now reality has set in she's prepared to give up on Mexico.

[Drinks Sangria]

We're going to change Mexico to Tenerife, she jumped the gun on it because it was dead cheap and I'm sick of her kicking off on me over me trying to explain that she was wasting her time, so I didn't argue when she booked it. Now reality has set in she's prepared to give up on Mexico.

When were you due to go Mexico mate? We booked a while ago for March 2022, in the hope things would be 'normal' by then. Again we were incentivised by how dirt cheap it was being offered at the time for 11 nights in a five star.

I want it to go ahead obviously, if it doesn't we'll get a last minute deal elsewhere, but could do with the money back and it now being in any 'in-between state- that requires isolation periods etc.

[rob1966]

When were you due to go Mexico mate? We booked a while ago for March 2022, in the hope things would be 'normal' by then. Again we were incentivised by how dirt cheap it was being offered at the time for 11 nights in a five star.

I want it to go ahead obviously, if it doesn't we'll get a last minute deal elsewhere, but could do with the money back and it now being in any 'in-between state- that requires isolation periods etc.

May '22. Should have gone October 2020, was booked before Covid all kicked off.

From what she has been reading, the resort is dead, nothing is being ran and she just doesn't want to spend the kind of money it's costing and it not be everything she wants.

Edit :- Just cancelled Mexico and going all inclusive in Tenerife Feb 23 instead. £2.5k saved as well.

Mexico would have been a mare anyway if either of the kids had seen a Tarantula

[CraigDS]

4 nights in Florence booked for mid-Nov, with a night in Pisa before and a night in Bologna at the end. 3rd time in last 18 months we’ve booked this so fingers crossed.

13 nights in Fuerta booked for end Jan/start Feb. Had this cancelled for same time this year so fingers crossed.

4 nights in Barca booked for mid-Feb. Not booked the flights yet so will hold off a little to see how things pan out.

[rob1966]

4 nights in Florence booked for mid-Nov, with a night in Pisa before and a night in Bologna at the end. 3rd time in last 18 months we’ve booked this so fingers crossed.

13 nights in Fuerta booked for end Jan/start Feb. Had this cancelled for same time this year so fingers crossed.

4 nights in Barca booked for mid-Feb. Not booked the flights yet so will hold off a little to see how things pan out.

Hopefully it all comes off.

Trying to find out if my 13 yr old needs a PCR test for Cyprus now as he's tested positive for Covid. Cyprus accept the EU certificate, if only we were still in the EU

[CraigDS]

Hopefully it all comes off.

Yeah fingers crossed, we’ve had 4 cancelled since all this began so would be good to finally get away!

[rob1966]

Yeah fingers crossed, we’ve had 4 cancelled since all this began so would be good to finally get away!

My missus would put Judith Chalmers to shame the amount of stamps in her old passport - we've had 9 cancelled, but she keeps on booking just in case. Cyprus is costing £1900, its £3k now, so can't fault her.

[Drinks Sangria]

My missus would put Judith Chalmers to shame the amount of stamps in her old passport - we've had 9 cancelled, but she keeps on booking just in case. Cyprus is costing £1900, its £3k now, so can't fault her.

I must say Rob, I respect her relentlessness!

My Ma's the same, she's had about 6 cancelled and has another 4 on the horizon she's ever optimistic about.

I think right about now, I've never wanted a holiday more in my life. Half wish-we'd purchased some form of protection for this Mexico holiday due in March, so we could bin it off now and go away to the Canaries on a last minute thing, then maybe Kos in April next year. Only way we'll get the Mexico money back is if they cancel and I can't see that happening in all honesty, I feel it's going to go ahead but not provide the usual experience you'd get.

[rob1966]

I must say Rob, I respect her relentlessness!

My Ma's the same, she's had about 6 cancelled and has another 4 on the horizon she's ever optimistic about.

I think right about now, I've never wanted a holiday more in my life. Half wish-we'd purchased some form of protection for this Mexico holiday due in March, so we could bin it off now and go away to the Canaries on a last minute thing, then maybe Kos in April next year. Only way we'll get the Mexico money back is if they cancel and I can't see that happening in all honesty, I feel it's going to go ahead but not provide the usual experience you'd get.

Once she sets her mind to something that's it.

We've paid £200 to change Mexico next May to Tenerife in 2023, like your worries, she just wasn't prepared to gamble that we'd have to go and the resort would still be dead or not what she sold us when she booked it. It would be crap to go that far and then have a rubbish holiday.

[Crosby Nick]

Rob, as a Canaries expert, how worried should we be about the erupting volcano stopping us getting to Tenerife in October? Imagine being ok Covid wise and then that stopping us!

[gazzam1963]

Had nearly a week in sorrento last week and came back Sunday then was off  to London for three nights for a belated 21st treat for my lad , sorrento was pretty expensive and was highlighted moreso when I kept paying for stuff in london thinking oh that’s reasonable 😀 , off to porto on Sunday night until weds so a bit of a chaotic couple of weeks but it was nice to have some sun

[rob1966]

Rob, as a Canaries expert, how worried should we be about the erupting volcano stopping us getting to Tenerife in October? Imagine being ok Covid wise and then that stopping us!

Depends on how long the Volcano is spewing ash for and where its going, they're talking about the eruption lasting for 3 months. La Palma is to the North of Tenerife and not that far away, you can see it from the Adeje coast. The worry is the flight path into Reina Sofia airport is right between the two islands. The issue is if the winds blow the ash across the flightpath and they ground flights

[UntouchableLuis]

Depends on how long the Volcano is spewing ash for and where its going, they're talking about the eruption lasting for 3 months. La Palma is to the North of Tenerife and not that far away, you can see it from the Adeje coast. The worry is the flight path into Reina Sofia airport is right between the two islands. The issue is if the winds blow the ash across the flightpath and they ground flights

Hoping Gran Canaria should be OK as that's the opposite end to where this volcano is. 3 weeks until I'm due to go!

[rob1966]

Hoping Gran Canaria should be OK as that's the opposite end to where this volcano is. 3 weeks until I'm due to go!

La Palma airport was closed over the weekend due to the ash on the runway, it reopened yesterday after the clean up, but most/all flights have been cancelled. All other airports are operating as normal.

Hopefully you will be OK.

[Crosby Nick]

Hoping Gran Canaria should be OK as that's the opposite end to where this volcano is. 3 weeks until I'm due to go!

Good luck. Same issue for us and Tenerife in about 4 weeks.

[Danny Boys Dad]

Had a staycation and did the North Coast 500 up in Scotland. Must be mad in the summer but was nice when we went.

[Only Me]

Can’t be arsed travelling abroad at the mo, even though I miss it like mad.

Travel is a way for me to relax,and I’d only get wound up worrying about the extra security delays and testing regimes, so I’m not bothering for the foreseeable.

I would genuinely turn round and go home if I was faced with some of those mad wait times to get through security/testing etc - I am the worst person in the world in a queue 😂.

Prices for hols in uk are a bit mad, so we’ve done something we’ve thought about for years, and bought a little holiday lodge in the lakes. Can go when we like, there’s loads for the grandkids to do on site, and plenty of no kids allowed places for us too.

That’ll do us and the immediate family for the next few years.

[rob1966]

Can’t be arsed travelling abroad at the mo, even though I miss it like mad.

Travel is a way for me to relax,and I’d only get wound up worrying about the extra security delays and testing regimes, so I’m not bothering for the foreseeable.

I would genuinely turn round and go home if I was faced with some of those mad wait times to get through security/testing etc - I am the worst person in the world in a queue 😂.

Prices for hols in uk are a bit mad, so we’ve done something we’ve thought about for years, and bought a little holiday lodge in the lakes. Can go when we like, there’s loads for the grandkids to do on site, and plenty of no kids allowed places for us too.

That’ll do us and the immediate family for the next few years.

Lovely. We stay in a lodge up in Windermere every year and its great to go there for a weekend away. The prices have gone a bit nuts though 

[stewil007]

So we've had a down and up few days, Egypt taken off the red list last week - so we started booking airport parking etc etc, then found out that on the government site that Egypt had returned to essential travel only again, phoned TUI and they said they were cancelling all Egypt holidays up until the 16th October....we were due to travel on the 17th.  So we decided to change our holiday and now we are off to Turkey instead, Side, with the added bonus of a grand refund.

I look forward to the announcement of Turkey going back to the Red list in the coming weeks....as would just be our luck!!!

[rob1966]

So we've had a down and up few days, Egypt taken off the red list last week - so we started booking airport parking etc etc, then found out that on the government site that Egypt had returned to essential travel only again, phoned TUI and they said they were cancelling all Egypt holidays up until the 16th October....we were due to travel on the 17th.  So we decided to change our holiday and now we are off to Turkey instead, Side, with the added bonus of a grand refund.

I look forward to the announcement of Turkey going back to the Red list in the coming weeks....as would just be our luck!!!

Hopefully it stays off the red list. 

We're going to Side 12 months from now, missus has to keep reminding me, as I forgot we are going and I'm paying for it

[.adam]

Back from our couple of weeks in Croatia. Lovely place if a bit expensive. I guess that's the price for visiting the tourist places in the country - the islands, Dubrovnik, Split. I would imagine it would be a lot cheaper inland. Did feel that for what you get for your money in Spain and Italy, the prices were a bit OTT. Some places were £15 a starter and £30+ for a bottle of Croatian wine.

No real Covid-related issues despite a lot of hoops to jump through. Self-testing lateral flow was a piece of piss - exactly like you'd do at home then send a picture of the device back to an email address in the UK who send you a 'fit to fly' certificate.

Day 2 PCR we went with a home test too - just had to drop that off in a mailbox at Manchester Airport.

EDIT: Actually, forgot to mention that we were contacted by Test & Trace 24 hours after landing saying we'd come into close contact with someone who has tested positive. Given we'd been away for two weeks and hadn't been anywhere since we landed, it must have been from someone from our flight who tested positive. They must take your details from the Passenger Locator Form you need to fill out. 

As we're both fully vaccinated, we don't have any requirement to isolate which is good news.

[Stubbins]

Back from our couple of weeks in Croatia. Lovely place if a bit expensive. I guess that's the price for visiting the tourist places in the country - the islands, Dubrovnik, Split. I would imagine it would be a lot cheaper inland. Did feel that for what you get for your money in Spain and Italy, the prices were a bit OTT. Some places were £15 a starter and £30+ for a bottle of Croatian wine.

Surprised to hear that. I've been visiting Croatia for years now (as far back as when it part of Yugoslavia!) and always felt that it was good value compared with other countries like Spain & Italy. Drinking and dining 'on the cheap' used to be one of the big attractions.

I suppose they were a little slow to the tourist market and have now more than caught up with other more established holiday destinations.

[.adam]

As I say, we visited Dubrovnik, Korcula, Hvar and Split - all were quite expensive but all are very much on 'the trail'. I'm sure if you went to smaller, less visited towns and cities it'd be a lot cheaper. I found it a bit of a pisstake that on Korcula they were selling wine for £30 which came from literally 5 mins down the road.

[Ray K]

I'm in the Algarve now and it's absolutely beautiful. Going to be 27-28 today. It's a fair bit cooler in Porto so it won't be a problem for the match tonight. Just have to do the ol' 'Let's eat out in a bar rather than restaurant' trick with the missus later.

Passport control check for your COVID digital cert when you arrive (didn't check for the passenger locator form) and eating in you get it checked as well, so it's like back home in Ireland really. Except boiling hot.

[Nick110581]

Has anyone here been to Lanzarote ?

Looking to go in December and just want a chilled black holiday with a nice vibe.

[rob1966]

Has anyone here been to Lanzarote ?

Looking to go in December and just want a chilled black holiday with a nice vibe.

Yes, been to  Puerta del Carmen twice, my stepdad went there every November/December for about 15 years. its ace. Lots of nice relaxed bars and restaurants, big long promenade to walk along, its mid 20's in November and December. There is a place a short taxi ride away that does a line dancing night, big BBQ and its a really good laugh.

[Crosby Nick]

Has anyone here been to Lanzarote ?

Looking to go in December and just want a chilled black holiday with a nice vibe.

Playa Blanca is nice too. A bit smaller and quieter (well it was 10 years ago when I went!). White beach (obviously!) and there’s a marina there and a few bars and restaurants. Bit quieter than Carmen I think.

[rob1966]

Waking up this this on a November morning

[redgriffin73]

Playa Blanca is nice too. A bit smaller and quieter (well it was 10 years ago when I went!). White beach (obviously!) and there’s a marina there and a few bars and restaurants. Bit quieter than Carmen I think.

Similarly Costa Teguise is also nice and a bit smaller than Carmen. Nice and relaxed and if you want to do something there's great trips to the volcanoes etc you can go on as well.

[Legs]

Supposed to be going Amsterdam in March 2022 was meant to be March 2021 but I might move it yet.

Cant be bothered with all the testing just in case I test positive 2 days before leaving the UK !

As for other places peak district is an option for me.

I can wait im not desperate to go abroad at the minute.

[Only Me]

Yes, been to  Puerta del Carmen twice, my stepdad went there every November/December for about 15 years. its ace. Lots of nice relaxed bars and restaurants, big long promenade to walk along, its mid 20's in November and December. There is a place a short taxi ride away that does a line dancing night, big BBQ and its a really good laugh.

Seconded - Puerta Del Carmen is a great place.

Lanzarote generally is ace - Timanfaya National Park was brilliant.

[rob1966]

Similarly Costa Teguise is also nice and a bit smaller than Carmen. Nice and relaxed and if you want to do something there's great trips to the volcanoes etc you can go on as well.

We were supposed to go to Teguise this summer, gutted we couldn't.