‘Anything to get away’: Britons face £1,000 testing bill for a winter holiday

Holly Willoughby performs impressive jump on family ski holiday

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The latest travel restrictions are adding hundreds of pounds to winter holidays’ prices. Between Europe’s passport rules and the new travel testing requirements, Britons wanting to go skiing this season face a hefty bill.

A ski holiday may have been a dream for many families this winter, but the reality of travel in Covid times is making it even more expensive than in previous years.

It has been reported British families with single-jabbed teens may face a bill of £1,000 on tests to go skiing this winter.

A ski holiday is already an expensive option, with ski passes and kit hire adding hundreds of pounds to the travel and accommodation budget.

This year, Britons have even more to contend with.

On Twitter, Marinaddb said: “I’ve just spent 600 pounds on tests to drive to France to Switzerland, and that doesn’t include the ones we need to do when we arrive. If we ever do. It’s bonkers.”

The latest travel rules require Britons to do a pre-departure test, self-isolate and do a Day 2 PCR test when coming home.

But there’s more.

Many European countries are requiring a Covid passport proving a full course of vaccination.

Britons under 18 have not been offered a second dose and families will therefore have to test every 24 hours to qualify for the French “pass sanitaire”.

On the slopes, the “gendarmes” are in full force to check holidaymakers’ passes, report French newspapers.

And interviewed gendarmes are adamant, they will fine anyone not wearing a mask or not having their pass.

For Britons, the cost of a ski holiday may seem exorbitant, but some are still willing to pay.

Twitter user SierraOscar said: “I’ll pay anything to get away.

“I’m just worried countries will lock up borders again.”

But others are not having it.

SimonTravel wrote: “It is shocking that we have let it get to this that to go on a family holiday people are having to pay these additional fees…

“I still can’t see why we can’t use NHS tests as the infrastructure is in place and then them charge a nominal fee to process travel related tests.”

Travel company battleface has looked at their data and found 90 percent of Britons who were planning a ski holiday this winter are reconsidering their plans.

They found 20 percent of people planned not to travel overseas at all and cancelled their holidays, while 30 percent were considering a winter sun getaway instead.

For families with children, the data is even more telling, with 60 percent of British families saying they’ll forgo an overseas trip this season.

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