HOLIDAY GURU

All the answers you need . . .

QBEFORE lockdown, we booked a Tenerife holiday for July 10. We booked Jet2 flights and paid for our hotel room directly — £2,000 on a no-show, no-refund basis. Now Jet2 is not flying before July 15, what can we do?

Mandy Holian, via email.

AYOUR situation highlights the benefits of booking a package deal, as you would have qualified for a refund of both flights and hotel. Your best bet is to hope that, before July 10, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s international travel advice changes, and also that an ‘air bridge’ for quarantinefree travel between the UK and Spain is fixed. Then book new flights. Or, politely ask if the hotel will offer a credit. Jet2 will provide a refund in due course.

QI AM 87 years old with underlining health issues and I purchased single-trip holiday insurance costing £354.53 with Holiday Extras before the lockdown to cover a nine-day cruise back in April. I cannot get a refund. Any advice?

Joan Bayley, via email.

AHOLIDAY Extras says it was unaware of your difficulty as you had contacted the insurer directly. Its procedure for single-trip policies in such instances

Ais to provide 50 per cent refunds outside of the usual 14-day ‘cooling-off’ period, which it has now offered.

QWE BOOKED a safari in Kenya with Trailfinders, departing August 3. Our final payment must be made soon. Should we make this, an extra £4,000, and accept a refund if the holiday is later cancelled? We are concerned that quarantine rules could still be in place. We are also worried about social distancing on the trip.

Simon Hanley, Lancashire.

TRAILFINDERS says that if you were to cancel now due to worries about social distancing you would lose the amount that has been spent on flights, although some of your deposit could go towards a future booking. To be sure of a full refund, pay the final balance, then, if the FCO travel restrictions remain in place in late-August, you will be reimbursed; Trailfinders has a good reputation for prompt payment. If the holiday goes ahead, this will be because the FCO has given the thumbs up to non-essential travel.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP

THE Holiday Guru is here to answer your questions. Please send them to holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk — and include your contact details.