Dream Package or Packaged Nightmare?

It’s a cold wet day in June & the warm end of May has rapidly been replaced with stuffy wet days back indoors. Summer sport plans have been scuppered with Wimbledon cancelled & the excitement of watching England’s anticipated Euro 2020 victory live at Wembley having to wait another year... ok, maybe a step too far there.

Then in late June, a ray of hope. Rumours start circulating around the possibility of quarantined-free trips to Europe from the UK starting in early July. Jackpot. With our annual June holiday cancelled, this offered a chance to escape the four walls we’d been confined in since March and rediscover the sun that had gone missing since May. With the uncertainty of travelling during Covid, we opted for the easy option of a package holiday instead of our usual DIY strategy. A quick browse and we chose a week on the Greek island of Kos.

15th July (Day 1 for direct flights to Greece from the UK). The date that both I and 150 or so other holidaymakers had been waiting for. With plenty of disposable masks to hand we made our first trip on public transport since March and it was eerily quiet. After a 45 min journey on the tram and then train we arrived at Gatwick. With all flights temporarily leaving from the North Terminal, we made our way via the handy shuttle. As we stood socially distant in the check-in queue, confusion spread after the Greek government had changed the passenger entry form overnight meaning that all passengers including children had to have their own QR code to enter. Thankfully this didn’t affect us but the stress on the faces of anxious families waiting for confirmation from the airport staff was evident. A few quick phone calls later and all was good, and we made our way swiftly through security with no issues. With a limited number of flights leaving everyday, there were plenty of bargains to be had in duty free with the already low airport prices reduced even further. A few bottles grabbed; we made our way into departures. As expected, not a lot was open with all restaurants, cafes (except Starbucks) closed and only a handful of shops open. With Gatwick running at a significantly reduced capacity, there was adequate seating available, so we sat and waited for our gate to be announced. With face coverings mandatory throughout the whole airport, we witnessed a few rebels disregarding the rules. There does need to be better policing by the airport staff though especially as flights numbers begin to increase.

1 hour to go and we made our way to the gate. Boarding started from the back row and row by row we smoothly boarded with little hassle. With the flight being nearly 4 hours, we chose the extra leg room seats which due to Covid were reduced to 2 seats per row leaving the aisle seat empty. The plane was about 80% full and we departed Gatwick on time for Kos. There were a few small changes due to Covid on the flight with masks compulsory, passengers were only allowed to use the back toilet with the front reserved for staff and the drinks services only allowed once through the flight to reduce the time staff spend in the aisles. The flight was mainly hassle free however there was an announcement to remind passengers to keep masks on at all time however on the whole, the majority of the plane adhered to the rules.

Arriving as the last flight of the day we made our way through passport control and before collecting our baggage we were split into two queues – one to be tested and the other to carry onto claim the waiting baggage. It was clear the intention by the Greek authorities was to test at least one person from each household and the situation was handled very well. A quick swab of the mouth matched with the pre-prepared passenger QR code meant that the process was over fairly quickly. If the test returned as positive, the next day the authorities would get in contact with the guest's place of stay and the individual and any traveller accompanying them would need to self-isolate for at least 7 days. Once we collected our baggage it was straight out of the airport and onto the waiting coach. 40 mins later and we arrived our hotel ready to check-in. 12 hours of wearing a face covering were over and we were free to breath in the Mediterranean air.

Throughout the week there were obvious signs of Covid measures in place however guests were free to roam the grounds as normal with no requirements for face coverings in any areas. Screens had been placed at reception similar to those seen in many supermarkets and shops in the UK. Hand sanitiser was placed all over the hotel and all staff are required to wear face coverings whether this is a visor or standard masks that most wear. Guests were required to reserve slots for breakfast, lunch and dinner and in the buffet style restaurant, staff now dish out the food instead of guests self-serving. It was apparent that the hotel was running on reduced staff as some bar opening hours were reduced and the same friendly faces would serve you in different places at different times of the day. Despite the changes there was a sense of normality and none of the above really effected the holiday in a way that made you feel uncomfortable.

Being on the first UK flight meant being some of the first UK travellers to stay at the hotel this summer and it was evident that the majority of the guests already enjoying the Kos summer were from mainland Europe, taking advantage of the quiet atmosphere before the influx of British sun-seekers. For the first three days we were able to pick and choose where to stay throughout the day whether this was by the main pool, the beach or our ultimate socially distanced upgrade – the room with a private pool. Our strategy was to follow the sun!

By day four it was all change with the expected influx of guests incoming due to the increased number of flights now arriving. Overnight 100+ new guests had arrived, and we spent most of the remaining time at our private pool. This increase was inevitable and in comparison to what you’d expect of a normal late July holiday, the numbers of guests were still relatively low. The main concern now was the lack of social distancing in the restaurant area. The fact that people are tested coming into Greece goes some way to alleviate the covid concerns however despite adequate signs around the hotel, some guests still felt the need to queue 30cm behind you at the breakfast/dinner buffet.

So after seven days in the sun it was time to return to the UK. With everyone now desperate to just get the return leg over with, social distancing went out the window and in truth the airport experience and boarding of the flight was poorly handled with no row by row boarding and passengers clearly wanting to just board the plane. It turned out that all the literal pushing and shoving by some rule breakers wasn’t worth the effort with the 190 capacity 747-800 less than 50% full with only 90 passengers on board. A quick snooze later and we were back where we started. On arrival at Gatwick it was business as usual with the only noticeable change being the closure of the automatic passport gates so it was back to seductively sharing 3am glances with the not-so-friendly passport control workers whilst they match your face to your 5 year old passport photo (masks temporarily removed at a social distance of course).

On the whole, the trip exceeded expectations with a few adjustments here and there. It is obvious to see that some travellers are still complacent despite these being early days for travel. It’s on all of us to maintain our social responsibilities to control the spread of the virus and let's not forget the part that travel has played in ultimately aiding the spread. The ability to travel so freely is something we all take for granted and even on this trip I was grateful to be even given the opportunity to get away so soon after lockdown restrictions were lifted. We’re a long way off from normality but the seeds have been planted and I for one can't wait to don the mask again and continue seeing what the world had to offer.