We all know the past year and a half has been a struggle. We have been landlocked and unable to travel, which, if you’re anything like me, has been tricky. Our lives were shrunk to the four walls of our houses and the people within them, but there is good news! As we emerge from the worst of the pandemic the world is opening back up, and so are the borders. We are now at a point where you can book the trip you’ve been planning for years, a spontaneous holiday or a well-deserved break, so here is an easy guide to help you book risk-free:

1. Flexi – Tickets!

An easy and obvious number one tip. Scared to splurge £500 on a plane ticket that might be cancelled or rearranged due to changing restrictions? Easy solution: buy a flexi ticket. Often for long-haul flights the flexible policies are automatically applied to your ticket, for shorter flights it’s normally just an extra £20 add on, well worth the price for full flexibility and so you can book risk-free. Here are a few examples of the big airlines, short haul and long haul, and their current policies:

• British Airways
  ‘Our book with confidence policy means you can change your dates, destination or even cancel if you need to, with no additional fees.’
  After a brief look into this policy you can cancel the booking (and receive a voucher of the amount to rebook in the future), you can rearrange the date (for no additional fees, just the difference in ticket price) and you can even change destination (free of charge).
• Qatar Airways
  Qatar’s flexible policy means your ticket is valid for two years so you can use it whenever you please, they allow unlimited changes to date and destination with no fees, and you can claim a full refund of an unused ticket.
  
• Ryan Air
  Offer a ‘flexi-plus’ ticket option, normally for around £20.
  

2. Good Insurance

Insurance is a must have! There are plenty of insurance options out there that specifically cover Covid-19 related scenarios. Depending on your trip (where you are going, the length of time you need cover for, how many people are being covered… ETC) good insurance can range in price, but often a £20 – £150 policy will provide plenty of cover. The Majority of Insurance companies are offering a similar policy regarding Covid 19, here is an example:

The Post Office Travel Insurance
This insurance is affordable and covers the following scenarios related to Covid 19:

• Cancellation within 14 days of your trip should you test positive 
• Cancellation if a close relative passes away after testing positive for Covid-19 
• Curtailment if you test positive for Covid-19 at your outward departure point and are not allowed to go on your trip 
• Missed departure while waiting for test results* (negative result included, you must arrive at your departure point within the time stated, and the testing is to take place at your departure point).

This insurance, combined with your flexible ticket, will mean that for the majority of scenarios you will be able to either claim your money back or receive flight credit to fly at a later date.

3. Check Travel Restrictions

Surprisingly, the restrictions are not as tough as you think. The majority of countries are now on the UK’s Green List, and with the newest set of rules it is very easy to fly out and return to the UK, making it easier to book risk-free.

Returning to England requires only a lateral flow test before day 2 of being back in the country which is cheap and easy.
Flying out to countries depends on their own restrictions, however the majority of countries rely on tourism for their economy and so are lifting their restrictions, for a lot of the countries we cover they just require a negative Covid test!

Tui have a great easy-to-read guide on every country and their entry requirements, find this here:

https://www.tui.co.uk/holidays/where-can-i-go-on-holiday/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Entry-requirements-for-our-holiday-destinations-101121-1.pdf

4. Book With a Tour

The Dragon Trip are currently offering full refunds for all bookings. This means you can plan the trip you’ve always wanted without any undue stress or worry.

The Dragon Trip acted morally throughout the pandemic, offering everyone who had booked a full refund. This is rare as you probably know after reading headline after headline of travel companies and airlines refusing to help out customers. We have always and will always put our dragons at the top of our priority, you have trusted us to plan your perfect trip and we will continue to prove our loyalty to you. We also have a no fee change of date policy if the date no longer works for you, meaning we are fully flexible. We understand circumstances change, lives are busy and we won’t penalise you for that.

The world is encouraging travel right now and every part of the industry is making it as easy and risk-free as possible for you to go ahead and book your trip, including incredible discounts and flexible fares. 2022 is looking like the year to travel!

If you want to chat to us to make sure you feel safe and comfortable booking one of our tours just drop us an email at trips@thedragontrip.com and we will talk you through the whole process, alternatively drop us a message in the chat box to find out more!