SHOULD WE CANCEL OUR VENICE TRIP?
Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder
Q We are supposed to going to Venice this weekend but news reports suggest the acqua alta (high water) has caused the worst floods for 22 years and that St Mark’s Square is under five feet of water. We don't want to go and sit in a hotel room for three days. Can we claim on travel insurance?
JW
A First, I have been unable to substantiate a media report about severe acqua alta, where high winds and high tides combine to cause flooding in Venice. The last spring tide (when the peak water level is higher than usual) was on 14 March, and the next is on 29 March. You will avoid both. But if high water is a
problem, your rights depend on the nature of your trip.
If you have booked a package (ie flights and accommodation in the same transaction), then you can argue to your tour operator that the flooding constitutes a significant alteration to the contract terms, and that you should be able to change destination or get a refund.
You may, though, have bought flights and accommodation separately. In this case, the airline is able to say: “Your flights are unaffected. Since our contract with you is to fly you to Venice Marco Polo airport, and we are still able to do that, you have no grounds to cancel.” Similarly, if the hotel is still to host you adequately, the fact that the water levels are too high for you properly to enjoy your break is not, with respect, their problem.
Travel insurance is intended to make good financial losses, not loss of enjoyment. I fear you would have no joy seeking compensation for the cost of the holiday, though sometimes good insurers will give policyholders the benefit of the doubt.
Should you be in the position of holding separate reservations for train and plane, I suggest you ask the hotelier if you can cancel or postpone your booking. But fly to Venice as booked, but go west from the airport in Venice to Padua – easily accessible by train from Mestre station, the closest to Marco Polo airport.
Padua is in the shadow of Venice, but full of wonders – such as the Scrovegni Chapel, a church oddly located close to the railway station, which contains an early 14th-century fresco cycle by Giotto. Prices are lower than in Venice, and the old town is full of family-run bars and restaurants.
If time allows, you could also make side-trips to Verona or Vicenza, also easy to reach by train.
Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder