The Holiday Guru helps a reader desperate to visit Ireland

I’m desperate to visit Ireland – but will the Covid rules permit a break there? The Holiday Guru answers readers’ travel questions

The Holiday Guru is always on hand to answer your questions.

This week issues tackled include entry requirements for Ireland and what to do if your outbound flight is cancelled but not your return.

Q. Could you give me information on travel to the Republic of Ireland? I can’t seem to find anything about it online and am desperate to go.

Tommy Jones, via email.

Rugged: Here’s hoping we can visit the Irish coast in July without quarantining

A. UK Visitors must have a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before travel, complete a Passenger Locator Form (gov.ie) and quarantine for 14 days (with a ‘test to release’ possibility on day five). For information, go to gov.uk/foreign- travel-advice/ireland/entry-requirements.

However, from July 19, rules are set to change. Ireland plans to welcome British visitors who are double-vaccinated and have a negative PCR test or proof they have had the virus. No quarantine or further test will then be required.

Q. Our easyJet flight to Kefalonia, Greece, in July has been cancelled, but our return flight has not. What can we do about it?

Colin Colbrook, via email.

The Holiday Guru helps a reader with a query about their easyJ

A. Easyjet says that if one flight is cancelled, you can claim a refund or a voucher to the value of the whole booking — or transfer flights to a later date.

Q. In 2019, I won tickets in the Wimbledon draw and booked two nights at the Antoinette Hotel (£324). When the tournament was cancelled in 2020, I rang the hotel and asked to move the booking to this year. Now, due to number restrictions at Wimbledon, my tickets have again been postponed. I asked the hotel for a refund, which it has refused. Instead, it has moved my reservation to next year. But am I due my money back?

Deborah Phillips, via email.

A. The Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s competition regulator with an eye on consumer rights, states that consumers should be treated ‘fairly and responsibly’ when lockdown laws — such as restrictions to the number of Wimbledon visitors — cause a cancellation. However, this language is open to interpretation, and in disputes courts must adjudicate. The hotel switching your stay to next year would seem ‘fair and reasonable’. However, after being contacted by us, it is now offering a refund as a gesture of goodwill.