UK travellers from Spain must quarantine – but Foreign Office won’t advise against islands

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• Eugene says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:13

  Agree with all this and you pay your money you take your wholly refundable book with confidence chances.

  I posted this on the chat last night at 11 so apologies for the reposting . But just to show its not all doom and gloom stay at home under your blanket stuff on here.

  Had an interesting evening. Cases all packed and in car for early flight to Bilbao. Once FCO posted mainland Spain as non grata that was all my Amex travel cover invalidated and a 14 day home stay to look forward to.
  Five minutes on Reward flight finder and within half an hour and a raid of Avios and Hilton points cookie jars has us off to the Rome Waldorf tomorrow and the BA voucher ordered.
  Travel now may be constrained but it’s certainly not uneventful…

  • Mr(s) Entitled says:

    26 Jul26 July 07:23

    Eugene,

    As I am sure you are aware, the hotel is in the suburbs so requires a taxi in and out of Rome. If you fancy staying local but eating outside the hotel then I recommend Ristorante Pizzeria Al 384 for good food at a price point significantly below the onsite options. It’s less than a 5 mins walk and leaves you eating with locals, not hotel guests.

    Enjoy your trip.

    • Eugene says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:04

      Thanks for the great tip 🙂

  • Crafty says:

    26 Jul26 July 07:37

    Well done on being flexible. Have a safe trip.

  • Paul74 says:

    26 Jul26 July 19:43

    Good stuff Eugene!

• BJ says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:43

  I had to smile at this article, closest thing to a rant I ever recall in an HFP article 🙂 I guess it will be very divisive, and I myself am in the camp that there has never been a better time than the next 3-6 months to stay close to home, explore the many wonders in our own back yard, support our local economies, and the public health effort. However, before people start throwing the mud around at Rob, and each other, just remember that HFP is a stakeholder in the travel industry we all love, and that industry is facing unprecedented challenges. Let’s support that industry here on the ground in the UK itself. Sure, that doesn’t help the airlines much but they will just have to change to reflect the market as they always do. There was a time a few years ago when collecting miles and points suddenly became that much harder but around the same time the availability of cheap premium longhaul flights became much greater. There was a change in HFP articles about that time to reflect this and we started to see much more articles on good deals at the expense of emphasis on miles and points earning deals. I feel we are at another crossroads, hopefully just a temporary one though. Would be good to see HFP reflecting this change too with a temporary shift in emphasis to focus more on hotel and travel opportunities here in the UK. I think most of us here are agreed that the reader hotel reviews have been a great success. So, how about a series on favourite UK hotels or favourite corner or travel destination in the UK? I don’t see that HFP should be paying for these articles, I doubt many of us need the money, we should be sharing them because we want too. The chat articles have also worked very well so people could use those too to highlight their adventures at home and the travel deals they found.

  • Andrew says:

    26 Jul26 July 07:48

    +1 HFP needs to evolve now and I think this article will be the turning point. We tell Rob when we think he’s got it wrong because we care about this site and come to it every day. The insights and deals have always been invaluable, but it’s not business as usual for anyone and yes I think your suggestion on more things to do in the U.K. over the next few months will be timely.

    • Jim says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:15

      Nonsense. Apart from a few posters in these comments whose names pop up over and over again, I suspect a majority of readers don’t share this viewpoint. I don’t see the article as being a rant at all. All the government is doing is persuading some people not to book travel to Spain. And is clearly working. Just as the masks in shops policy persuades more people to go to shops at the expense of those that refuse to wear a mask. Those already in Spain, or booked to Spain, will need to cough cough, self-isolate on their return. That is all the article is pointing out. 👍

  • Anna says:

    26 Jul26 July 08:05

    Quite – we’ve just had a lovely week in Northumberland (weather notwithstanding but rain was hardly a surprise!), exploring the wonderful Roman remains and other visitor attractions which we’ve virtually had to ourselves. We’ve worn masks when indoors (apart from when eating) and enjoyed the extra space and attentive service in cafes and restaurants which social distancing rules has resulted in. Hopefully done our small bit for the UK economy as well (especially when you consider accommodation prices in July 🙄).

    • Harry T says:

      26 Jul26 July 12:42

      @Anna yes, not too many good deals to be found in the UK, unfortunately! Hope you enjoyed your trip.

      I just want the Langley to open so we can have a nice staycation there! Even when I stay on points, I spend some money so hopefully they will recognise there is a market for UK visitors like myself. I didn’t get to use the gym last time, and I really want to visit the spa again. Maybe we can all have a HFP meet up when they open up again 😂

    • Colin says:

      26 Jul26 July 21:45

      A good patriotic decision to holiday in the U.K. We’re probably one of the countries in Europe most impacted by a lack of foreign tourists at the moment so it’s good to do your bit for the industry.

      • Alex Sm says:

        27 Jul27 July 02:12

        UK levels of infections are still one of if not the highest in Europe, so basically travelling to anywhere in Europe is safer than to stay in the UK! and do you remember what happened in Dorset – do you want all these people descending there again? Be careful with what you may wish…

• Andrew says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:44

  I would imagine that by late September most if not all travel will be back to essential only. The current period is a hiatus not the beginning of the end.

  • BJ says:

    26 Jul26 July 07:57

    I prefer to be much more optimistic but it will ultimately depend on decisions governments, public health authorities, industry, and we ourselves make.

    • Yuff says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:15

      I’m in BJs camp, of optimism, if emirates several months ago could do a blood test and have the results in 10 mins to determine whether passengers could board a plane then quarantine free travel is possible. Whether airlines and airports/countries choose to go down that route is another matter.

    • Spursdebs says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:47

      I’m in your camp of optimism as well, got to have something positive to look forward too.

• ChrisW says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:47

  Are people who are travelling to Spain right now required to be back at work in person straight after their return though? With these constantly changing rules the only people I know who are going to Europe are those who are working remotely for the foreseeable future so if they have to quarantine on return to the UK so be it – it won’t be much different to the last 4 months. There is no way I would fly in the night before I had to be somewhere in person with so much uncertainty now.

  Some aren’t even taking time off – they’re simply working remote from Europe and enjoying their weekends at the beach. To be honest, some of their employers haven’t even realised they aren’t in the UK…

  • Alex Sm says:

    26 Jul26 July 11:43

    In many cases you need to notify your employer of such moves, plus change of scenery in your Zoom backgrounds and your Instagram feed will give you away…

    • Evan says:

      26 Jul26 July 16:33

      Erm there’s more than one room in aot of people’s homes..

• D says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:49

  Hypothetically if one were to return from Spain And take a Covid test with a negative result, would there be any scientific reason to quarantine?

  • Andrew says:

    26 Jul26 July 07:52

    Yes, incubation period.

  • The Savage Squirrel says:

    26 Jul26 July 08:06

    Yes, the antigen test accuracy varies widely (probably mainly due to operator technique – basically how brutal or timid you are with the throat swab – brutality is required), but nobody is claiming 100% accuracy and it may be as low as 70% with some tester cohorts. When you remember that a coinflip can get you up to 50% accuracy that shows how unreliable this is…

• Sarah Silcox says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:54

  The notice period was around 4 hours, not 24. 24 hours would have given families like ours the chance to nab a flight and get home had we chosen to do so.

  • MasksSaveLives says:

    26 Jul26 July 08:28

    I think the point was to stop people returning from a high risk-zone without quarantine as soon as possible. I am sorry you feel inconvenienced, but lives are at stake. We all need to put ourselves out a bit for now I am afraid. I am not surprised with this response after looking at your twitter account.

  • Alex Sm says:

    27 Jul27 July 02:37

    Guys, come on… the number of cases in Spain was on the significant rise since early July. This was the accident waiting to happen and it was only the matter of time when the UK govt was going to act

• Simon_M says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:57

  I don’t quite understand how the Balearics or Canaries can be considered ‘safe’ to travel TO by the FCO (and I’m paraphrasing of course, before I get jumped on) but effectively considered ‘unsafe’ to return FROM.

  In my opinion the FCO advice should either be that no one should travel to Spain in its entirety (including the islands) unless for essential purposes OR that if a destination is still considered ok to travel to for non-essential purposes, like the islands currently, then these destinations should be exempt from the quarantine/self-isolation rules on return to the UK.
  It must surely be one or the other rather than the mixed approach for the Balearics and Canaries.

  • jc says:

    26 Jul26 July 09:33

    ‘It’s safe enough that you can go there as long as you quarantine when you get back’ makes a lot more sense than ‘It’s dangerous enough that you shouldn’t go there but if you do you can roam about the UK as normal as soon as you get back’ which is the situation for some of the countries on the UK lists!!

• The Savage Squirrel says:

  26 Jul26 July 08:01

  To add some balance to the implied suggestion that you could simply not mention to your employer that you’ve been in Spain….

  As an employer, If one of my employees has been advised to self-isolate (whether it’s travel or any other reason) and then lied about this to me and turned up to work, then that’s immediate summary dismissal for gross misconduct. I really wouldn’t have any other choice as they’ve shown premeditated dishonesty while willfully endangering the health of the rest of the team. Also in the days of social media and instant messaging, are you really sure you never posted your travel plans in any electronic form that may end up in front of your empoyer (even though that’s not where you may have sent it)?

  So consider carefully whether you REALLY want to take that chance…

  • Anna says:

    26 Jul26 July 08:09

    I’m pretty sure an employee would have mentioned it to their colleagues, who would be under a similar professional obligation to disclose it.

    • Spursdebs says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:30

      If they are that dumb you can guarantee they will have posted it all over social media.

  • Cheshire Pete says:

    26 Jul26 July 08:09

    And I guess you’d pay them for unpaid leave as any responsible employer would!?

    • Andrew says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:18

      How can you pay someone for unpaid leave? That’s just leave.

    • Anna says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:20

      I can’t see why the employer should be liable when the employee has taken the decision to travel knowing full well what the consequences might be.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:20

      I’d follow employment law to the absolute letter, as does anyone sensible in a dismissal situation; as the employee will inevitably look for any reason to make a claim.

  • Heathrow Flyer says:

    26 Jul26 July 10:21

    ‘Willfully endangering the health of the rest of the team’ – seems a bit far fetched?

    What’s more dangerous? A week in an isolated villa in Lanzarote or a week in a large hotel in busy Paris?

    • Alex Sm says:

      26 Jul26 July 11:46

      Are hotels open already?

    • @mkcol says:

      26 Jul26 July 16:23

      Far fetched but accurate.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      26 Jul26 July 19:41

      You do have a point in terms of true Covid risk; an isolated Spanish farmhouse is not going to be riskier than the UK (although the plane journey might well be). Unfortunately that’s not the only factor in play.

      In terms of employer’s liability and regulatory problems for myself (my business is in a heavily and aggressively regulated sector), then any employer in my sector who has been shown to knowingly ignore HMG’s guidelines or be complicit in breaking them won’t have a leg to stand on and will be in deep poo.
      I’m not going to risk liability, employer’s duty of care to their other staff, and my own professional registration for anyone who chose to take a chance on a foreign holiday and then chose to lie about it. That means my hands would be tied and action against the dishonest employee would be unavoidable.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.