What is this obsession with holiday?

I really really love my one annual holiday and save up for it all through the preceding 12 months.
However NOTHING would induce me to get on a plane until this pandemic has been proved to be well and truly over.
(Having paid in full for a holiday in March, I am now having to fight to get a refund and its causing me a lot of anxiety as you can imagine. I scrimped and saved for this too as I'm not well off)

My Dad's had two cruises, one foreign holiday with us, one on the south coast to see old friends and family, a coach trip to Scotland and numerous day trips cancelled this year.
Yes he's upset because he says at 89 he's running out of time! ?

Many people have been going stir crazy and want to believe that because something is permitted from a certain date, that means it is safe.

I'm in a beautiful part of the country and I am happy doing no traveling, after having quite a lot of it in the past year, not all for holiday.

However, I have felt quite dejected, at times, knowing that I couldn't go anywhere even if I wanted to.

That’s right FarNorth - not being able to even if I wanted to. Nanny Drakeford won’t let us travel more than 5 miles anyway.

I am obviously in the minority.

We are booked into a cottage Saturday week. We are the first to go in after lockdown. The cottage has been closed since a February, so I think there is very little risk. We will eat in, go for all day walks with picnic. See an area of the country we have never before visited. All the necessary safety measures will be taken.

That does not mean however, that I am obsessed about holidays nor that I am unhappy in my own home and garden, quite the reverse.

But I always enjoy planning and taking holidays, always have done. Love it while we are away, and love it when we get home.

Apart from a week in Jersey in 1972 I have never taken a holiday overseas.
Annoyingly, we purchased a campervan/motorhome last year and I retired 2 years early at the end of 2019 with the intention of us travelling around the UK whilst we are still reasonably fit and able.
We have been able to have a couple of day trips to the coast which is about 45 minutes away from us in the past 2 weeks ( luckily not when the hordes descended en masse last Wednesday and Thursday) which was great as having our own facilities meant we never had to leave the confines of the van.
I would not use the word ‘raring’ but I am looking forward to being able to ‘overnight’ in the not too distant future. We have booked some campsites for the last week in August so hopefully things will continue to improve.

Rosalyn69 I wasn't complaining about any 'Nanny' preventing travel.
The restrictions are perfectly reasonable, IMO, but I don't have to like them.

I think for people who have been stuck indoors for weeks and weeks on end, the thought of getting away somewhere different, even just for a weekend, must seem very appealing. I've looked at perhaps booking a weekend away to a nearby seaside, just to be able to see a different view out of the window would be a treat tbh.

People who suffer with SAD do need to get away to somewhere with sun and warmth to get a top up to their vit D etc. It is a case of being between a rock and a hard place for some of these holiday places. Tourism is their bread and butter so they do want to be fully opened and have the visitors but of course are worried about visitors bringing the virus.
Here in the SW France there has not been a large infection rate and people have taken the advice to isolate and wear masks etc. The full time population are worried about visitors coming and people with second homes or holiday lets causing a wave of infections - because the healthcare is geared to coping with the normally much smaller population and would not cope if there were a high number of Covid cases. They can of course cope with ‘normal’ holiday casualties.
There is also the question of the safety of people - mainly women cleaning the gites and villas they book. There are guidelines for these properties such as the dwelling needs to be vacant between occupation of at least 24 hours and be well aired. Extra bedding etc so it can be changed and clean. I know a couple of people who do the cleaning and both say the people they work for think it will be OK and have not bought extra bedding etc and not willing to have a break between bookings. They are being told to give the holiday makers a bag to put the bedding in and then to leave it 2/3 days before washing.. One of my friends is working for a big place where the Rental rates are from £3-5 k a week.
Even with just the French coming from the north the infection level has gone from green to red in 3/4weeks.

I'm too cautious to even think about it. The current releasing of lockdown is only for the purposes of the economy. The virus is still here.

Lucca,
I think that if you have family in Aus you will be allowed in but have to isolate for two weeks.

I understand that for some people their holiday/s are the highlight of their year, I'm not really adventurous to travel too far. I would like to spend some time by the sea as we live a long way from the coast.

B9exchange I live in a rural area of France where the Covid rate is very low. We are really not looking forward to second home owners and holiday makers arriving from areas where the rate is much higher. selfish or what .

Sorry crossed with your post Welshwife

I have never enjoyed airports and wonder if they will be even worse now with social distancing.

If the queues are very long may end up with me and my trolley of baggage waiting outside the terminal in the rain.

It would hardly be relaxing or enjoyable with the constant worry about Coronavirus. Anyone who gets too close may have it, any surface touched may be contaminated, so no, I'd much rather stay at home!

I do wonder if there will be a mixture of relief that the visitors are bringing income and resentment that they may be bringing covid19 with them? It would be awful if there was any hostility from people living in resorts, whether here or overseas, a bit of "you're not from 'round 'ere are you?" For me, the enjoyment in going away is going out for lunch or dinner, pottering about in small local shops, museums, and until I can do that with complete freedom I shall not eb going away, here or abroad. I have no desire to be served by someone wearing a mask, or have someone follow me in after I have used the facilities to 'sanitise' it, and neither do I wish to self cater for every single meal and drink; I may as well stay at home and do that in my own kitchen, my own back garden.

If I had been working from home and trying to educate children at the same time, I think I would be desperate to get away. But the hotels, pools and beaches will be full of restrictions so probably best to wait until next year.

Well said Whitewave! Enjoy your break!

Agreeing with my point though sodapop. People around here are getting stressed about it looking at their Facebook posts.

PamelaJ1

Lucca,
I think that if you have family in Aus you will be allowed in but have to isolate for two weeks.

“ Only Australian citizens and returning permanent residents and their immediate family members are permitted to enter Australia without an exemption until further notice.”

Yes definitely agreeing Welswife we have been so lucky living here in our rural back water.

All I have ever wanted to do is travel and retirement has given us the opportunity, not to mention the fact that both DC live abroad. I’ve had 2 holidays cancelled, but now booked a cottage in the wilds of Scotland in September and if Thailand lets us back in I think we’ll be off for the winter. It’ll be a lot safer than the UK!

If the people who rushed to the beaches recently is anything to go by, no I'm more than happy to stay at home

I agree with GagaJo. so many people stress about "getting away" and spend a fortune, often taking all year to pay off their credit cards. Surely there are better ways of spending that money to improve your life?
I should add that I don't like too much heat so a beach holiday abroad would be my idea of hell anyway.

I think that, to some degree, people are booking so that they have something to look forward to as that is what has been missing in our lives recently.

Certainly in mine - although in no rush to go on holiday but am delighted we can have visits from family and friends again.