THINKING of booking a last-minute foreign break after all those months stuck at home?
Millions are doing it, although others are holding back due to concerns about local lockdowns, at home and abroad, or struggling tour operators going bust.
But getting the right protection means you do not have to worry about being left out of pocket.
Here, we show you how to Covid-proof your holiday so you can go away with confidence.
1. Double-check the quarantine rules
BEFORE booking, double-check the local quarantining rules so you don’t end up stuck in your hotel room for your entire holiday.
Travellers to Madeira in Portugal, for example, must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test, done no more than 72 hours before arrival, or take a test on arrival and await the results in 12 hours at their accommodation.
And holidaymakers going to, or through, Austria must present a medical certificate at the border with microbiological test results no more than four days old, or self-isolate for 14 days.
France, Spain and Italy have no restrictions in place, and you don’t have to isolate when you get back from these countries.
2. Check the local rules on masks
RULES vary not just between countries but also between resorts, so check to make sure you are OK with local requirements.
For example, this week it was made compulsory to wear masks while walking on beaches in the Costa del Sol, with fines worth £90 if you do not.
You can take off masks for swimming and sunbathing with members of your family but they need to go back on again if you start moving around.
Similar rules are in place in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands but exceptions have been made for Majorca and Ibiza, where people don’t need to wear masks on beaches or in swimming pools and restaurants.
Watch out for distancing rules too. Requirements vary: It is 1.5 metres in Spain but just a metre in France and Italy.
If you do not follow local rules and subsequently become ill, your travel insurance might not be valid.
3. Choose a DIY or package trip
SOME 6,500 British tourists had holidays cancelled this week due to one operator, Fleetway Travel, going bust due to coronavirus.
But luckily, its holidays were Atol-protected, which means that if your supplier goes under, you will still get your money back and be flown home if stuck abroad.
Atol’s guarantee typically covers package holidays where you book flights and hotels together, while another travel association, Abta, covers rail, cruise and self-drive ones.
Packages protected by the schemes are sold by travel giants such as Jet2, Tui and First Choice, as well as smaller firms such as Fleetway.
Whether you book a package or arrange your trip yourself, make sure your provider will move your booking to a different date if you need to cancel it.
4. Pay with plastic
IT is best to use a credit card to pay for your holiday as it will offer legal protection if something goes wrong with the booking.
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act applies so long as the booking costs more than £100 and you paid at least £1 of that on your card.
If you paid less than £100, or you paid by debit card, you can ask for “chargeback”. But this is not a legal requirement like Section 75, so ultimately it is up to Visa, Mastercard and Amex if they give you the money back.
If your operator cancels any aspect of your holiday, it should refund your money, but Section 75 offers an extra layer of protection if there is a dispute.
5. Take cover
TRAVEL insurance can be hard to understand, so here are some key things to ask for to protect yourself from any Covid-related costs.
Cover for treatment and travel home if you catch the virus is a must.
Consider cancellation cover in case you are infected before you go. Small insurers Cover For You, Coverwise, Southdowns and Cedar Tree (underwritten by Axa) all offer this.
If your holiday is not protected by the Abta or Atol schemes, you should also buy “end supplier failure” as an add-on.
This should pay for your trip if your hotel, flights or travel company collapses, but check there are no exclusions for failures caused by Covid.
6. Don’t forget
GET an up-to-date Ehic card for holidays in the EU for free access to healthcare.
These cards will only be valid in 2020.
