Determined to travel abroad this summer? Check this first
We now know that the Government is prepared to impose quarantine rules without notice. Clearly, if your job or your salary is at risk if you have to self isolate as a result of travelling, then you will may now be postponing your summer holiday. But if you are happy to accept some risk and determined to head for the Continent this summer, here is our checklist to minimise the chances of things going wrong.
1. Book late
There is no shortage of summer holidays or flights out there at the moment; so it’s quite feasible to book only a few days ahead of travel. Given how fast things are changing, this looks like the best strategy for most travellers in the short term. You may still get caught out, but the chances reduce the nearer to departure you book.
2. Check the stats
Obviously it’s best to choose a destination with a low rate of infection and transmission. Greece is probably the best option in Europe at the moment, with a relatively stable record of fewer than 50 cases a day (in Spain, it has risen to over 2,000). Others include Italy, Norway and Iceland. There is no guarantee that the situation won’t change, of course, so a useful site to keep an eye on the latest figures and trends in different countries is worldometers.info/coronavirus.
3. Protect your money
The travel industry is on its knees at the moment and you need to be sure that your money will be protected if your operator goes out of business – either before you travel, or while you are away. So, remember that you have much better protection from insolvency (and also cancellation) if you book with a bonded tour operator rather than make independent arrangements. Before you commit, check that your operator is a member of the official Atol bonding scheme (or a similar approved scheme) – caa.co.uk/atol-protection.
4. Book with a flexible operator or airline
Some operators are being very flexible, allowing you to postpone if you change your mind about travelling. For example, Tui (for travel before August 31) and BA Holidays (for travel up to April 30, 2021) both allow this. And Audley Travel has a flexible policy for seven of its short-haul destinations allowing cancellation up to seven days before travel for a full refund. It’s worth looking out for those kinds of deals to give you more protection against uncertainty. For flights, BA is allowing travellers who booked after March 3 to cancel up to the day of their flight for a voucher for the full cost. And Easyjet and Ryanair are allowing fee-free flight changes – exact conditions vary.
5. Insure now
After many companies stopped offering travel insurance because of the pandemic, more and more policies do now offer you some cover if you travel and fall ill with Covid-19 – and in some other circumstances. Trailfinders (https://www.trailfinders.com/insurance) has just launched one of the best, but even that has exclusions around lockdowns and some quarantine requirements. So whichever policy you buy, take the small print seriously.
6. Talk to your employer
If going into a 14-day quarantine would affect your job or salary, then it’s definitely better to talk to your employer before you book rather than trying to negotiate after the event.
