Anyone risking booking a foreign holiday

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Bronte said:
Covid is everywhere including Ireland. But at least in Spain you have nice weather most of the time.
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Which is great if you're actually allowed go outside, I was in Spain when the lockdown started in March and you weren't allowed step outside your house unless you were going to the supermarket or doctors. If you had a dog and lived in an apartment you could walk it once a day within 50 mts of your property but if you had a house with land you could only open the front door and let the dog out but you had to stay inside.

I left Spain at the beginning of April and caught the ferry home from Cherbourg as there was no point in been there and stuck indoors for what I think ended up been nearly eight weeks before there was a relaxing of the lockdown and I should add that I came home to better weather in Ireland than they had in Spain for all of April and a good part of May
 
We bought a camper van to travel Ireland ,Complete change from going to Spain 4 to 5 times a year , What a stunning country we live in , Not too bothered about going abroad now .
 
Your camper van will come in useful when the restrictions are lifted ......Pablo.
 
I'm watching the rollout of the covid vaccines and hoping I'm to be in the 2nd or 3rd wave to receive it. The second I'm in the clear, I'll be booking a flight to the sun. If the Boeing-Max fails to be started by jump-leads, I'm prepared to push the damn thing to get it motoring. And Pablo is right, Ireland looks beautiful especially from 30,000 feet as we head south toward Spain.
 
I have spent a relaxing few hours researching a big holiday for early summer 2022. East coast Canada is leading the charge at the moment. Maybe 3 weeks hopping from city to city with occasional side day trips from each base.
Looked also at Japan and New Zealand but the long flights are really off putting.
 
I did the #Festive 500 challenge this year for the first time (Ride 500 Km between 24th and 31st of Dec)
It's not a tough challenge per se but factor in sub 5 degrees and a wind chill that lowered it into the sub-zero temps
It turned out to be neither a fun nor a easy challenge, quite the opposite

I didn't travel to Spain this winter due to the escalating covid situation as I thought Spain would go into a lockdown similar to the one in March
It is a decision that I am somewhat regretting at the moment now given that Spain hasn't imposed that many restrictions compared to others
I had planned to spend the winter in Spain and then after Mrs Cervelo wanted to go to the Far east taking in Hong Kong, Beijing and a couple of weeks touring Japan but obviously this was put on hold until things return to normal or the "new normal"

But I've a feeling that even though we are now starting to roll out the vaccinations and the future is starting to look like things will return to normal
we are still a long way from this and given the issues with supply and demand we're probably looking at 2022 before things really look like normal
 
Bronco Lane said:
I have spent a relaxing few hours researching a big holiday for early summer 2022. East coast Canada is leading the charge at the moment. Maybe 3 weeks hopping from city to city with occasional side day trips from each base.
Looked also at Japan and New Zealand but the long flights are really off putting.
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Japan is very manageable and not nearly as long as the flight to NZ.

Perhaps treat yourself to Premium Economy to make things a little easier?
 
Bronco Lane said:
Any recommendations for two or three different locations to stay for 5 nights in each? Culture/restaurants/touristy things.
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5 nights might be a bit much. I’m no expert either; I was just there for the Rugby World Cup. Osaka and Kyoto are well worth visiting. I loved Tokyo. With the bullet trains, you can get around very easily. Hiroshima is worth seeing, it’s very moving, but just for a day.
 
Bronco Lane said:
I have spent a relaxing few hours researching a big holiday for early summer 2022. East coast Canada is leading the charge at the moment. Maybe 3 weeks hopping from city to city with occasional side day trips from each base.
Looked also at Japan and New Zealand but the long flights are really off putting.
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If going to Japan I would definitely recommend a personal tour guide. We had one in Tokyo & Kyoto, takes all the hassle out of trying to navigate the cities transport and tourist sites. We had them each for a full day tour, got to see loads.

Also a big thing in Japan is forwarding your luggage by courier to your next hotel, very efficient, it's waiting for you in the room when you arrive. The train stations can be very crowded, nightmare trying to haul suitcases around.
 
You could stay in Osaka and use it as a base to visit Kyoto by train (about 45 minutes) and also Hiroshima by taking the bullet. Wonderful food in Japan in general but Osaka is particularly famous for its street food. If you have the time, take the local train from Hiroshima to visit Miyajima, an island off the coast which is beautiful. The train fare includes the price of the short ferry ride. It’s a day trip and well worth a visit.
 
Fidgety said:
You could stay in Osaka and use it as a base to visit Kyoto by train (about 45 minutes) and also Hiroshima by taking the bullet. Wonderful food in Japan in general but Osaka is particularly famous for its street food. If you have the time, take the local train from Hiroshima to visit Miyajima, an island off the coast which is beautiful. The train fare includes the price of the short ferry ride. It’s a day trip and well worth a visit.
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Was considering going to Japan for the blossoms prior to Covid - might dust off that plan for 2022.

Was in Osaka for work once - didn't see much of those sites but would definitely go back. Much more relaxed place than Tokyo I found
 
EmmDee said:
Was considering going to Japan for the blossoms prior to Covid - might dust off that plan for 2022
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Highly recommended but as it’s highly weather dependent plan early in the cycle so you don’t miss it.
 
We booked a TUI resort in Greece for a week in end June last year. Deposit was paid pre-covid and I paid another 200 in March last year to postpone for this year. TUI expecting us to pay rest of amount in March with assurance of full refund in case government bans travel (either Irish or Greek) for holidays. The problem comes when government doesn't ban holiday travel but we are not comfortable. Or we simply loose deposit (€800) and don't pay rest in March.

Is anyone else in similar situation? Any suggestions how should I handle it?
 
I think your hands are tied Bish123 unless you can afford to leave your €800 evaporate. I can't reassure you in your discomfort as nobody knows what June will bring. I believe you will not be allowed to travel from Ireland in June and all the recent government announcements point towards this although nothing is written in stone. Worse Case Scenario:- If the Irish and Greek public doesn't continue to get its anti Covid act together, we'll be talking on dilemmas such as yours around this time next year. The amount of vaccinations administered in Ireland and Greece will affect the issue too.
 
Leper said:
I think your hands are tied Bish123 unless you can afford to leave your €800 evaporate. I can't reassure you in your discomfort as nobody knows what June will bring. I believe you will not be allowed to travel from Ireland in June and all the recent government announcements point towards this although nothing is written in stone. Worse Case Scenario:- If the Irish and Greek public doesn't continue to get its anti Covid act together, we'll be talking on dilemmas such as yours around this time next year. The amount of vaccinations administered in Ireland and Greece will affect the issue too.
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Luckily they allowed us to postpone free of charge this time. So we will move it to June 2022. I trust (and hope) majority will be vaccinated by then.
 
Bronco Lane said:
Any recommendations for two or three different locations to stay for 5 nights in each? Culture/restaurants/touristy things.
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We loved Japan when we were there a few years ago, would definitely go back. We went to Miyajima Island, hired e-bikes (very hilly) and cycled around the various galleries and installations, it was amazing.
To mix it up we did a little bit of walking on the Kumano Kodo, a real taste of rural Japan https://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/kumano-kodo/
Stayed in one of the Onsen lodges (hot springs) there which was very interesting.
Food everywhere was amazing and the train passes are great. Worth getting a mobile wi-fi hotspot to bring around.
Tokyocheapo.com is worth checking for tips too.
 
I've booked flights to Greece for August from the UK.
I fail to see how the Irish government can prevent people travelling to the Med when most of the countries in Southern Europe will have opened up their tourist season, probably with only negative PCR tests as a minimum.
Unless they intend to police the border with the North.
 
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