Spain this summer (MOD WARNING IN POST 1)

bladespin

Comer1 wrote: »

So, because of government advice, they won't cover you if you travel and the won't cover you if you don't travel (by refund).

Don't you just love insurance companies?

I'm remembering several cases of motor insurance where the insurer was forced to cover after they had accepted payment, no idea if it's relevant here but if they're still selling the thing then they should be honoring it IMO.

JuanJose

faceman wrote: »

There are actually 70 outbreaks in Spain at present. Only the 2 are of concern. Outbreaks are when there is a larger than expected rate of infection. Technically even a few people can be considered an outbreak

The reason the 2 are of concern is because they’re in lockdown. One is agriculture related, a bit of an eye roll. The town with 200k is different. One reason it’s of concern is the upcoming local elections. They’re in lockdown for 5 days then it’s reviewed again. Cases did jump in the town, so lockdown was the right course of action.

Lleida looks to be of definite concern. Someone I know of in the region says that medics believe it's false to picture the cause of the outbreak as purely being down to fruit pickers. Indeed, information today shows the outbreaks are currently attributed to 10 fruit/veg companies, one old folks home, one homeless person's centre, a block of apartments & a scout group. Very widespread, in terms of age groups. Not good.

johnire

So does that mean everyone who is travelling at the moment from Ireland isn’t covered by any form of travel insurance? That’s a big chance to take.

Comer1 wrote: »

So, because of government advice, they won't cover you if you travel and the won't cover you if you don't travel (by refund).

Don't you just love insurance companies?

Damiencm

johnire wrote:

So does that mean everyone who is travelling at the moment from Ireland isn’t covered by any form of travel insurance? That’s a big chance to take.

I guess it depends on your appetite to risk.

Firstly don't forget you can rely on your EHIC card for emergency care in Europe.

Secondly for the first time ever I had reason to try and use my travel insurance while abroad last year. I realise my ailment was very minor but it transpired that my excess was €150 and it wasn't worth my while to claim.

Thirdly, even if the no travel advisory was lifted your travel insurance would still not cover any illness related to Covid.

Finally and just IMO, something pretty pretty serious would need to happen to you during your week abroad for you to be regret travelling without insurance

johnire

I take all your points on board but travel insurance doesn’t just cover for medical emergencies. The EHIC card only covers health care and it’s still not the end all and be all- that’s why it’s recommended to take out travel insurance as well.
Whatever about solo travellers I definitely think a family to travel without travel insurance is taking a big risk.

Damiencm wrote: »

I guess it depends on your appetite to risk.

Firstly don't forget you can rely on your EHIC card for emergency care in Europe.

Secondly for the first time ever I had reason to try and use my travel insurance while abroad last year. I realise my ailment was very minor but it transpired that my excess was €150 and it wasn't worth my while to claim.

Thirdly, even if the no travel advisory was lifted your travel insurance would still not cover any illness related to Covid.

Finally and just IMO, something pretty pretty serious would need to happen to you during your week abroad for you to be regret travelling without insurance

Damiencm

johnire wrote:

I take all your points on board but travel insurance doesn’t just cover for medical emergencies. The EHIC card only covers health care and it’s still not the end all and be all- that’s why it’s recommended to take out travel insurance as well. Whatever about solo travellers I definitely think a family to travel without travel insurance is taking a big risk.

No look you are completely right and it really is a personal call for people to make.

Which is completely unfair as it's all due to dithering on the governments part.

I would hate if there was a blanket ban on travel but at least we would all know exactly where we stand and be in line for flight refunds. Instead we are in a kind of no man's land.

JuanJose

Catalonia to make facemask use obligatory when out in the street, whether you can maintain social distancing or not.
The extended measure will be implemented between today & tomorrow.

johnire

100% agree with you!

Damiencm wrote: »

No look you are completely right and it really is a personal call for people to make.

Which is completely unfair as it's all due to dithering on the governments part.

I would hate if there was a blanket ban on travel but at least we would all know exactly where we stand and be in line for flight refunds. Instead we are in a kind of no man's land.

sideline warrior

Writing this while sitting on a beach in Lanzarote �� The Irish shame & guilt is slowly subsiding �� Precautions here are far greater than at home. Anyone know where you can find the Spanish new cases per 100,000 for past 14 days? Looked but can’t find. Would also love to know what the threshold will be for Ireland’s Green List as it will probably be far more cautious than the European acceptable level. Being an international traveller right now must be akin to what it was like to have been Irish and living in the UK at the height of the troubles, when everyone worried that you were a terrorist. Travellers are deflecting from the Govt’s failure to ramp up testing, sort out the nursing homes, protect healthcare workers etc. We are a soft touch. Must go for a dip now.

Damiencm

Stop the press everyone!

I have just come off the phone with my travel insurance provider (chill)

They confirmed that they have changed their terms and conditions.

As of now if I travel while the government travel advisory is in place I am still insured!

My policy is due to expire before I travel and the operator advised that their terms and conditions applied to both new and existing customers!

The only caveat being that the insurance excludes Covid19.

Break a leg - insured
Get robbed - insured

Etc etc.

I have to say that this is huge news to me, from what I had read in the media and here nobody was insured for travel.

Contact your insurer and ignore any other information you see elsewhere!

Manc_Red

billyhead wrote: »

Is it the exact same holiday. How can they get away with charging extra. Did they cancel it or you

No I didn't cancel it but when we went to ask for any other dates next year, all of a sudden they were looking for much more money.

Key with that is to say Ah No, I'll have my money back please and all of a sudden the price comes down.

Chancers

Manc_Red

Damiencm wrote: »

Would you not have been better off taking a refund?

It's gone from 10 days to now 11 all-inclusive so it's not that bad for 6.

JuanJose

sideline warrior wrote: »

Anyone know where you can find the Spanish new cases per 100,000 for past 14 days? Looked but can’t find.

This is as much as I've found thus far. Scroll to the far left column in the table - "confirmados / 100,000 - 14 days."
I haven't compared & verified it elsewhere.

https://datosmacro.expansion.com/otros/coronavirus/espana

PCwiggum

sideline warrior wrote: »

Writing this while sitting on a beach in Lanzarote �� The Irish shame & guilt is slowly subsiding �� Precautions here are far greater than at home. Anyone know where you can find the Spanish new cases per 100,000 for past 14 days? Looked but can’t find. Would also love to know what the threshold will be for Ireland’s Green List as it will probably be far more cautious than the European acceptable level. Being an international traveller right now must be akin to what it was like to have been Irish and living in the UK at the height of the troubles, when everyone worried that you were a terrorist. Travellers are deflecting from the Govt’s failure to ramp up testing, sort out the nursing homes, protect healthcare workers etc. We are a soft touch. Must go for a dip now.

Heading to PDC on Monday... I think. Are most of the restaurants and bars opened up at the moment?

Stratvs

PCwiggum wrote: »

Heading to PDC on Monday... I think. Are most of the restaurants and bars opened up at the moment?

Take a look at this guys vlogs. He does them almost every day and a few nighttime ones too.

https://youtu.be/_KAXQWQKu9Y

sideline warrior

PCwiggum wrote: »

Heading to PDC on Monday... I think. Are most of the restaurants and bars opened up at the moment?

Very quiet here. Lots of places not open especially in the Old Town. The strip is also quiet. Main beach has a few on it in the afternoon, lots of Spanish. I guess if they’re not working, they’re on the beach. No sunbeds or umbrellas for hire but we never get them anyway. Very strange here TBH but weather is good and very warm.

Ladylouth

Damiencm wrote: »

Stop the press everyone!

I have just come off the phone with my travel insurance provider (chill)

They confirmed that they have changed their terms and conditions.

As of now if I travel while the government travel advisory is in place I am still insured!

My policy is due to expire before I travel and the operator advised that their terms and conditions applied to both new and existing customers!

The only caveat being that the insurance excludes Covid19.

Break a leg - insured
Get robbed - insured

Etc etc.

I have to say that this is huge news to me, from what I had read in the media and here nobody was insured for travel.

Contact your insurer and ignore any other information you see elsewhere!

Multitrip.com have confirmed the same to me - book and travel against advisory and we are covered for everything as per the policy, except Covid.
[/B]

Awfull Lawfull

Hi . I have a trip booked to Mijas for a week on the 9th of August .
Paid a low deposit with Love Holidays and if I cancel now will lose that
and the price of the flights . We wont go if its not on the green list so we
just have to wait and see. Our next payment date is the 29th of July.
Does anyone know if we wait any longer to cancel , could we lose even more money ?
I cant get through to LH.

Arnold Layne

Awfull Lawfull wrote: »

Hi . I have a trip booked to Mijas for a week on the 9th of August .
Paid a low deposit with Love Holidays and if I cancel now will lose that
and the price of the flights . We wont go if its not on the green list so we
just have to wait and see. Our next payment date is the 29th of July.
Does anyone know if we wait any longer to cancel , could we lose even more money ?
I cant get through to LH.

Similar to myself, but with Travel Republic. We are due to fly to Tenerife on August 5th and the remainder of my payment is due July 22nd. I have contacted TR and am waiting for a reply.

I just wish the government would get off the pot and make decisions now.

Awfull Lawfull

Arnold Layne wrote: »

Similar to myself, but with Travel Republic. We are due to fly to Tenerife on August 5th and the remainder of my payment is due July 22nd. I have contacted TR and am waiting for a reply.

I just wish the government would get off the pot and make decisions now.

Totally . Its very frustrating !

CruelSummer

Arnold Layne wrote: »

Similar to myself, but with Travel Republic. We are due to fly to Tenerife on August 5th and the remainder of my payment is due July 22nd. I have contacted TR and am waiting for a reply.

I just wish the government would get off the pot and make decisions now.

To be honest, I don't expect Spain the make the Green list of countries with the two local outbreaks and restrictions on the mainland. The Government could include the Balearics and the Canarys easily in this list, but won't because they seem to want to go out of their way to 'encourage' families to flush that paid for holiday down the toilet and sit pretty in the wind and rain. Which I will not be doing btw, if my plane is flying - I'll be on it!

RoryMac

CruelSummer wrote: »

To be honest, I don't expect Spain the make the Green list of countries with the two local outbreaks and restrictions on the mainland. The Government could include the Balearics and the Canarys easily in this list, but won't because they seem to want to go out of their way to 'encourage' families to flush that paid for holiday down the toilet and sit pretty in the wind and rain. Which I will not be doing btw, if my plane is flying - I'll be on it!

Absolutely right, if Spain is not on the green list it will be for purely economic reasons rather than safety.

fawlty682

Jack Lambert is the only common sense medical expert. I would feel a lot safer out in the sunshine 95% of the time abroad than stuck in pubs etc here. Only time we are in abroad is for sleeping. It’s the typical Irish feeling that we are the most virtuous country once again and the world is dangerous. It’s not about where you are, it’s how you behave. Ridiculous teachers union threatening children if they go abroad.

RoryMac

fawlty682 wrote: »

Jack Lambert is the only common sense medical expert. I would feel a lot safer out in the sunshine 95% of the time abroad than stuck in pubs etc here. Only time we are in abroad is for sleeping. It’s the typical Irish feeling that we are the most virtuous country once again and the world is dangerous. It’s not about where you are, it’s how you behave. Ridiculous teachers union threatening children if they go abroad.

I'm going to Spain in mid August and will be spending most of the days at the beach where social distancing is being enforced. In the evening I'll be going for meals and a few drinks sitting outside in the open air. Any enclosed spaces and mask wearing is mandatory.

I feel I'll be far safer there than booking a week in a packed hotel in Ireland around the same time especially if the weather is bad and we're mostly confined to the hotel.

Reading the article from that school principal yesterday it looks like the media completely twisted what he actually said, he said kids going away would present challenges for schools returning in Sept but every headline is pushing the 'go on holidays and your kids won't be allowed to return to school' line. I really feel the media are hyping up this scaremongering over travel and if at the end of the summer lots of people are out of pocket for cancelled trips they'll be first in line saying how unfair it is for people to lose out.

LilyShame

Just heads up for anyone with tui package to lanzarote

Customer service just confirmed to me that if Ireland government advisory stays in place then tui will not fly, you will get another option to either be reimbursed or change your time line.

They will announce their position on their website within next 2 days. Got the impression the governments change of heart in last few days has caused them lots of programming issues..

Hope that helps some of you..

ASOT

Just a quick update, in the 5 days iv been here iv felt safer than the last 4 months in Dublin. The masks/sanitizing before entering any building is streets ahead of what we have back home and is strictly enforced.

I urge anyway who has something booked to go, don't listen to the nonsense being peddled in the media.

billyhead

ASOT wrote: »

Just a quick update, in the 5 days iv been here iv felt safer than the last 4 months in Dublin. The masks/sanitizing before entering any building is streets ahead of what we have back home and is strictly enforced.

I urge anyway who has something booked to go, don't listen to the nonsense being peddled in the media.

I am traveling to the North West of Spain in September and as long as the flight is going and that local lockdown in the Lugo area and any other local area has been rectified I will be on that plane.

JuanJose

Confirmed - facemasks in the street will be obligatory from tomorrow in Catalonia (except in exceptional circumstances i.e. such as when doing exercise or kids at summer camps). Applies to everyone over 6 years of age but their use on beaches hasn't been clarified.
Authorities are emphasising the message that you're to leave home with your facemask on. You run the risk of a fine of up to €100 if you're found not to have one.

kingshankly

JuanJose wrote: »

Confirmed - facemasks in the street will be obligatory from tomorrow in Catalonia (except in exceptional circumstances i.e. such as when doing exercise or kids at summer camps). Applies to everyone over 6 years of age but their use on beaches hasn't been clarified.
Authorities are emphasising the message that you're to leave home with your facemask on. You run the risk of a fine of up to €100 if you're found not to have one.

Jesus that seems like torture rather than a holiday 40 degrees heat with mask on
I love the sun as much as anyone but for this year just going to Have to do without
Hopefully in 12 months the works is a different place

faceman

I posted this is another thread but I’ll share here given it’s Spain.

Snapshot photo this opening of one of my local beaches in Spain this morning. Note that this town is predominantly Spanish, there isn’t many Irish/U.K. visitors to it. I could go to one of those beaches but I prefer this one.

As you can see I’m surrounded by coronavirus and it’s going to consume me. :rolleyes:

There are 2 cops patrolling the beaches up and down and also the additional staff hired to patrol the beaches

(I’m not a beach person. You’ve know idea how much it pained me to go get this photo )