Is a tan worth the travel in the summer of covid?
Foreign holidays may be back, but the realities of a trip abroad in 2020 temper my excitement
RIGHT, grab the suncream and the flip-flops, buy the euros and set the alarm for sparrow o’clock ahead of the flight – holidays abroad could be go. According to travel industry bosses there are private assurances being bandied about by the Government (although obviously, assurances from the Government aren’t always quite as advertised) that ‘travel corridors’ will be in place by July.
That means it’s looking more likely that Brits can travel to foreign climes this year, thus potentially saving our summer and our sanity and comes as a result of pressure from companies to overturn the 14-day quarantine rule.
Now this is all terribly exciting. The prospect of catching a few rays on a foreign beach instead of your garden, the sound of waves lapping the sand instead of next door’s dog barking is enticing – but ask yourself this: do you really want to go on holiday abroad?
Holidays are all about having a break, spending more time together as a family – but hell, haven’t we all been doing that for the last 11 weeks?
I love my husband and kids but – more of them? Really? Just in a hotter country?
In previous years I have been able to gear up in advance for my hols, as well; perhaps lose a bit of weight, get my hair done, slap on a bit of false tan so at least I can kid myself I look presentable as a tourist. This year? No chance. The salons remain closed and I have eaten my own bodyweight in biscuits these past three months; if I appeared on a beach in a swimsuit the marine conservation authorities would be called.
And there’ll be the palaver at the airport. If the queues were bad before the pandemic I can only shudder to think how it will be this summer. You might find you’ll have to have a mini camping break in the departures lounge pre-flight, just so you can guarantee you’ll make it through the temperature check lines.
The thing is, we’re all so desperate to hit Europe but I’m not sure Europe is desperate to see us, given the UK’s comparable infection rate. If you thought French bar staff were rude before the pandemic, think how they’ll greet us in August.
Finally – nowhere in Europe does a decent cuppa or offers decent telly and as they have been the only two things keeping us going in the UK, why would we deny ourselves them now?
Nope, it’s true what they say – there’s no place like home. At least for summer 2020.