Summer holidays abroad ‘extremely unlikely’ as third wave hits Europe

Holidaying in the UK will be a nightmare. You only have to look at the hoards of daytrippers when the last lockdown was lifted. any decent holiday resort will be packed ot. how on earth is that going to be safe? Take a look at the extortionate prices that are already showing for Easter through to the end of the Summer, then try looking at the availability. I'm afraid that many of us will be unable to go anywhere in the UK

Anyone else fed up with this?
Retired husband who doesn’t garden, diy, housework, food shop, cook, wash up (we have dishwasher but that’s another issue!) empty bins, .. the list seems endless!! Spends hours on computer and watching tv, planning his golf and painting in his art studio but often complains no time to exercise!! My ‘retirement’ just seems to be an unremitting repetition of the last 40 years - with child care replaced by husband care
Sorry for rant!! I need a rethink when this Covid caper over!!

I do feel for those who are feeling low and restricted and holidays will happen again next year if not later this year.
A holiday is not a right, it is a privilege.
For now it’s more important to keep covid at bay so if that means staycations or garden camping for the greater good, so be it.
It’s not a police state, it’s a country trying to protect its citizens.
‘If lawyers are worried we should all be worried’. Thanks for the revered status but I can’t agree. Lawyers are as diverse in their thoughts and beliefs as any other walk of life.
Civil rights lawyers will mainly be rubbing their hands with glee if some start to demand their right to a holiday on mental health grounds.

The government was criticised and rightly so for not closing our borders a lot sooner than it did. We should not be allowing people to go abroad while there's a third wave hitting Europe, and while vast numbers of people haven't been vaccinated.

I for one, having followed the strict guidelines for a year like so many others, will question whether or not I'll be willing to do so if we go into another lock down because people were allowed to travel abroad.

IMO the Government should announce that there wont be any holidays abroad this summer.

I tried to book my granddaughter's favourite "campervan" (a static caravan) as soon as the roadmap was announced. Totally fully booked for the whole of the school holidays.

I suspect this will be the case around the country, with everyone being desperate to see any part of the country other than the one they live in, let alone attempting to go abroad.

Looks like we will be having an actual staycation this year (as I understand it, a staycation is where you stay at home and just have days out).

Having seen the state that the popular places were left in last year despite being in lockdowns, I'm not sure I want to be mixing with the hoardes this year.

I might book a cottage in Somerset, not in the school holidays. There are plenty available on Booking.com. We don’t use holiday companies, we always do it ourselves. I don’t want to be anywhere near the hordes, to be honest, we never do. Then I shall hope to book for Greece in September.

Another point worthy of consideration is that the possibility of a holiday abroad may act as an incentive to younger people to get a vaccination when their turn arrives. If younger people see no advantage in getting a vaccination, some may simply not bother. Remember how many didn't ‘bother’ to vote in the EU referendum?

I have accepted that a holiday abroad won’t happen this summer. I do agree about the disadvantages of UK holidays. Yes we do have some beautiful countryside and coastal areas but, judging from my experience last year, it’s not an ideal situation. We visited Devon and Cornwall outside school holidays. Everywhere was crowded and some shops and restaurants were closed. It was hard to find tables without booking several days in advance and many places were not obeying the social distance rules. Food was expensive and of variable quality. In the hotels there were a number of understandable restrictions which made them uncomfortable places to be. I’m not sure I would wish to repeat that experience this year. As for self catering, well it’s not for me. I do enough cooking already!

We had a long September weekend in Poole last year, b&b, it was great, ate out, boat trips all open, no booking issues. I’ve booked in an hotel in Weston-super-Mare, again for September, four days mid week, we go to places we’ve not been to before and it’s something to look forward to.

I may be getting on a bit but I have not had a lifetime of travel. I couldn’t afford to but now I can only I can because of the pandemic.

I am concerned when people talk about losing their civil liberties. Are they saying they want to be free to be seriously ill perhaps die or to cause that in others what about my rights to be protected? I want to see my children and grandchildren I want to travel to far flung places but I want us all to be safe far more.

Now I can’t

Keeper I’m the one that’s speaking of civil liberties. I’ve already been seriously ill with Covid, as I described up thread. Civil liberties mean you should, now the numbers are dropping, but more so because 50% of the adult population have had their first vaccination, you should be able to see your family, and go on holiday from the designated date, which is May 17th. There should be no more talk of extending the lockdown. If you want to lock yourself down Keeper, no one is stopping you. You can stay locked down for the rest of your life if you want to, and so can all the rest of those who want to curtail everyone else’s activities. But please leave me alone to go on holiday if I want to. I’ve had the virus, I was extremely ill, I got it from my mother who got it in hospital after a fall. I was in a support bubble with her so simply followed the rules, but I still got bad Covid. Now I’ve done everything I was told to do for a year, I want to go on holiday. I don’t live in a dictatorship, and therefore the right to free travel is important to me and to many others.
For everyone who doesn’t want to travel, or who wants to remain locked down, no one is stopping you. Please respect my choice to travel if I want to.

Why would anyone want to go to countries which have a higher case rate than here? Don’t want to go abroad these days but I’m sorry others can’t as it means U.K. holiday places will be inundated!

Why go abroad and give money to a foreign country's GDP, is it not better to stay within the UK, Channel Islands, Isles of Scilly and boost the economies in these places. As the comedian Billy Connolly says "there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing." There is so much to see and do at home. I live on the coast in Scotland, we have fab beaches, castles, food, music and lots more. No passport needed, no long queue at the airport, noisy/drunk travellers sitting near you on a hot aircraft that is hours late taking off. The Queen has always had her hols in Scotland.

I have no desire to holiday in the UK this summer, will instead stay in my own sunny back garden, have friends around to sit in it and catch up over a glass or two of something sparkling and frequent local pubs and restaurants with a garden to have lunch, supporting local business. My idea of hell is self catering in the uk; pay £800 a week to cook in someone else's kitchen? No thanks. I would imagine that anywhere half decent will be packed full of people desperate to have a break, and I don't blame them, but having to book for dinner rather than eat on impulse/drive around looking for a parking space/try to find somewhere not rammed with others? Nope.

I agree!

I agree to a point coastalgran, I live in a tourist area as well (Brecon Beacons), and tourism is great for the local economy. It comes at a cost to locals though, we were inundated last summer with people who probably normally go abroad but as they couldn’t thought a walking holiday was a good idea, but didn’t use common sense, resulting in trashed holiday lets, gates left open, lots of accidents because they didn’t respect narrow country roads or wear suitable gear when walking, or understand poor weather , and there was litter everywhere. We usually have lots of European tourists in this area, mainly Dutch (not sure why), and they are much more respectful of the environment. I really dread to think what some British people behave like when they go on holiday abroad, and the ‘noisy/drunk’ element you describe will be somewhere in the UK holidaying this year.

Want to go and see family in Dubai! Daughter and her family including baby twins who we have yet to meet! We need our freedom and to be able to live our own lives! We have been vaccinated and so have they!

GillT57

I have no desire to holiday in the UK this summer, will instead stay in my own sunny back garden, have friends around to sit in it and catch up over a glass or two of something sparkling and frequent local pubs and restaurants with a garden to have lunch, supporting local business. My idea of hell is self catering in the uk; pay £800 a week to cook in someone else's kitchen? No thanks. I would imagine that anywhere half decent will be packed full of people desperate to have a break, and I don't blame them, but having to book for dinner rather than eat on impulse/drive around looking for a parking space/try to find somewhere not rammed with others? Nope.

Totally agree.

Actually.... partially agree! I guess it could be fun with the whole family somewhere not too crowded.

As has been stated many times, Nobody is safe until everyone is safe

I'm sure none of us believe that the government just wants us all to never leave our homes. Of course they don't. They want life to get back to normal as soon as possible.

I'm no expert on vaccines but I do know that they don't take in a small number of people. I know with MMR it's about 10%

It matters not if you've had the virus and the 2 vaccines. Not everyone has. You can still contract the virus, it can still be passed on.

We end up going back to square 1 unless we use a bit of common sense.

And to be honest, the thought of sitting in a plane filled with people just fills me with dread at the moment.

We complained, quite rightly, that we didn't shut down soon enough and now we're moaning that we can't go on holiday.

There have been several comments here about helping out the British tourist industry. Why is it that the Brits themselves aren't always keen to work in the hotels and restaurants to help the cause? The irony is that staff are having to be employed from Europe and other far flung covid suffering countries while we have lots of unemployed here. It rather defeats the object.

Totally agree with everything you have said Maddyone. I haven’t gone through a ghastly year of my freedoms being curtailed to protect anyone. I’ve done it because I was ordered to. If you don’t want to emerge into the everyday world of near normality then stay inside. But I don’t intend to. Enough is enough. If having had the vaccination doesn’t free us to do what we want then what is the point if it? How can we have any belief in the vaccine if we are still prisoners.
I’m not afraid if the virus and haven’t been from the start. The idea of living in the constant state of fear and anxiety that many people have is more unhealthy. The government plans to extend the COVID laws for a further 6 months frightens me more. I fear that we will never get back many of the freedoms that we had before as it suits this government not to allow protests etc.
I love exploring this country in my Campervan, wild unpopulated places enjoying the spontaneity of eating out where I want and going where I want. But I’m not going to queue to get into a place or put up with people who have no regard for the countryside and use it as a tip. So let those of use who are not afraid of catching or transferring the virus get on with our lives.

Marsie

Want to go and see family in Dubai! Daughter and her family including baby twins who we have yet to meet! We need our freedom and to be able to live our own lives! We have been vaccinated and so have they!

Perhaps so, but what about all the others who haven't? Those who refuse to cover their faces? Those who cough without covering their mouths? Those who speak very loudly and project heaven know what from their mouths?
These people are everywhere! And you don't know just what the person standing next to you is carrying either.

You're ...not afraid of catching or transferring the virus ...

So you don't care if you transfer the virus then? Let's hope you don't pass it on to one of your loved ones, MissChateline Or mine, come to think of it.

Have you seen what's happening in Europe at the moment? Many areas are seeing growths in cases and are imposing strict lock downs again.

There is talk of a Covid Passport which will entail people to travel but it's unlikely to happen for a while.

I'm not frightened by Covid. But it's a shame to hear people saying they are just going to do what they want, when they want

There is light at the end of the tunnel. We're just not quite there yet