|

Is It Too Early to Travel Abroad? | UK, Summer 2020

Do you believe in signs? Warnings from the universe? I do. I think there are some occurrences that prevent us from making certain moves. Case in point: My attempt to travel / move to Spain from the UK that constantly asked the question is it too early to travel abroad in July 2020?

Here’s What Happened

I’m addicted to searching flights. Since having to return from Australia, I’ve avidly searched the fastest and best way out of here. My nearest airport is Cardiff and I check everyday about updates for flights leaving Cardiff and I know that during July 2020 there were just a handful of direct flights leaving Cardiff: Barcelona, Malaga and Palma in Spain and Faro in Portugal. Portugal was not included on the ‘airbridge’ list on the FCO website but Spain was which left 3 destinations to fly to.

My dream is to one day live in Spain and the easiness of that dream diminishes the closer we get to Brexit (on 31st December 2020 the UK completely leaves the EU). So with one-way flights to Barcelona just £24, it was a no-brainer to at least try and move to Barcelona for a few weeks to find work.

Moving to Barcelona Plan A

I bought a one-way for £24 but with baggage ended up costing £70 and we were set to go mid July. I joined some facebook groups for English Speakers / Expats in Barcelona to get advice and keep up-to-date with information on travelling in Spain and coronavirus measures in Barcelona.

Moving to Barcelona Plan B

My family were then struck with some awful news of a sad bereavement in our family chain. I paid extra to move my flight to the week after the funeral (now end of July). We booked accommodation in Barcelona for 2 weeks hoping that we may find work or if not, at least we’d have a nice holiday out of it.

Accommodation prices were unbelievably expensive or the cheaper ones were well out of the region. Air BNB would not let us book accommodation in Spain if that’s because we are based in the UK, I’m not entirely sure! I seen there were people over in Barcelona/Spain, there was an airbridge and no indication of lockdown so we booked an ideal place. There was no option for free-cancellation and it was at this point I should have realised what was in the stars for me.

The Barcelona Plan Diminished

The breakdown of my moving to Barcelona plan went like this:

  1. I’d heard from a friend in Ibiza and via the Facebook expat pages that the Spanish government were no longer giving out NIEs in Spain to British citizens because we were leaving the EU and this was new legislation. NIEs is the thing you need to work in Spain (similar to National Insurance number in UK). Great. After a bit of research, there was a chance of applying for a TIE which is what they give for non-EU citizens.
  2. A week before the flight, it was announced that some areas of Catalonia had gone into lockdown. These particular areas were 2 hours away from Barcelona.
  3. 4 days before the flight there were articles in Catalan News of new restrictions in Barcelona such as advising all residents to stay at home and only 40% capacity allowed in bars and restaurants. No chance of us finding work but there was a hope of a small holiday.
  4. There were talks of a high R rate in Barcelona and having to quarantine for 14 days on arrival back to the UK. Both signs that Coronavirus is present and making me wonder is it too early to travel abroad?

Is It Too Early to Travel Abroad?

All these signs and restrictions made me step back and think I’m rushing into this. I’m not being a responsible traveller. There is a global pandemic happening and right now just is not the time to travel or attempt to move somewhere that is at high risk of another lockdown.

We decided to cancel our accommodation and this was the first time I’ve ever missed a flight! I managed to receive 50% refund on my accommodation even though there was no free cancellation which was better than nothing! I’ve also applied to get a government tax refund on the flights I did not use.

So is it too early to travel abroad this summer when places are still uncertain about this virus, the threat of a ‘second wave’, new rules that places are adjusting to? 

I’ve decided to focus on staycations in Wales and day trips to England / weekend breaks in the UK for the time-being and see what the future holds day by day.

What do you think? Are you travelling right now?

Thanks for reading my thoughts on whether it’s too early to travel post-lockdown. 

Staycation Ideas in UK:

Like This Post? Pin It

pin image for is it too early to travel abroad from UK?

Leave a Reply