Travel counsellor Emma Savage discusses summer holidays as airport issues improve
Its that time of year when, if you haven’t already booked a summer holiday, you probably start thinking about one – especially if you are looking for a way to break up those long school holidays.
I’ve been busy checking and rechecking the rules for all my customers who are due to fly in the coming weeks, so they have the up to date information before they travel. Covid restrictions are, on the whole, much more relaxed now and many countries don’t even need you to show proof of vaccination or take tests, which makes getting away less stressful and more like pre-covid times (and it also makes my job a little easier than it has been!).
Many people I’ve been speaking to are desperate to get away for a break because during the last two years we have, effectively, been confined to home shores if not our homes. My summer departures are packed with customers jetting away to Greece, Cyprus, and other Mediterranean hot spots, and I also have a selection of families holidaying at in the UK too. There’s a sense of anticipation and excitement when I speak with customers and the one thing they have all told me is how much they are looking forward to this holiday more than ever. The most popular short-haul destination I’m asked for is Greece, and as a Greece specialist I know the islands and mainland well. Having holidayed there myself a lot over the last eight years, and having sent lots of customers there, I can make recommendations - and steer you away from any not so good places - fairly quickly. Cyprus is also somewhere I know very well, thanks to an invite to explore it with Cyprus Tourism Board - I was lucky to view a lot of hotels, so I have first-hand knowledge of where they are located, what ambience they have and what customers they might suit.
If you are looking to book a holiday to depart fairly soon, there are still reasonable prices available to many popular destinations – for example, recently I came across a luxury all inclusive holiday to a lovely hotel in Greece departing at the end of July, for a family of three including flights and transfers for just over £2,500; that’s a bargain!
One last thing, don’t be put off by what you hear in the news - I’m pleased to see that airports are getting their act together so the publicised luggage mountains and flight cancellations should soon be resolved. The only thing I would strongly advise is that, as everyone is feeling the need to get away and prices are rising, if you do see something you like, book it before the price goes up. Happy travels!