August holiday in Carvoeiro

Please use this forum for general discussions or questions related to Carvoeiro life ONLY
Tony Knight
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August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by Tony Knight »

Hi.

We have been coming to Carvoeiro for a number of years, and had planned to return in early August. Unfortunately, due to the UK travel restrictions imposed by the UK government during the current Coronavirus epidemic and the cancellation of BA flights from Gatwick, this now looks highly unlikely.

However, ever the optimist, I'm enquiring about the situation in Carvoeiro should we still be able to come regarding local restrictions etc. One of our concerns would be shopping at supermarkets, particularly Intermarche (which always seems pretty chaotic).

Any suggestions or other information would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Tony
sue2215
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by sue2215 »

Regarding supermarkets Apolonia have excellent hygiene & safety measures in place. Hand sanitisers for entry & exit. The trolleys & baskets are disinfectanted on return, they're constantly cleaning the store & the payment machine is wiped after each use. Intermarche provide sanitiser but Im not sure they're disinfecting trolleys. Masks to be worn whilst shopping. You can also place an online order with Intermarche & collect from their drive through.
Tony Knight
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by Tony Knight »

Hi Sue,

Many thanks for your response to my posting regarding Coronavirus in Carvoeiro.. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll be able to make the trip to our favourite resort in August.

Kind regards.

Keep safe.

Tony
PTBUXTON
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by PTBUXTON »

Let's hope our Government changes it's mind real quick,a rather strange decision as Portugal seemed to me to have handled the situation reasonable well. Although I would imagine handling 10.3 million people is always easier than managing 66.6 million,that a side Portugal is our oldest ally under the Treaty of Windsor 1386. Portugal may have missed the bullet, without realising they were being shot at.
Tony Knight
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by Tony Knight »

Hi PTBuxton,

Yes, we were very surprised to see that Portugal were not on the list for exemption from quarantine on returning to UK from our holiday next month. Because of the situation regarding flying by BA from Gatwick we had resigned ourselves to the fact that our holiday would have to be cancelled. However, a couple of days ago my wife had a text from BA to confirm that our flights would be cancelled, only to receive another one about half an hour later to say that our flight had been transferred to Heathrow, same time and flight no. Imagine the joy in the Knight household when that arrived. The news today that Portugal had been excluded has left the family gutted!!!

Regards.

Tony
PTBUXTON
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by PTBUXTON »

I would be pretty confident that the situation will change within the next week.
smudger
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by smudger »

A friend just back from CVO. Intermarche very good with control measures, comment from my friend was much better than some UK supermarkets. Customers very observant of social distancing and use of face masks.

Given Spain now has 2 lock down areas, wonder how long before UK government change Spain’s category for quarantine? Not holding my breath.
Tony Knight
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by Tony Knight »

Hi,

I'd like to thank BTBuxton and Smudged for their comments regarding my posting about the restrictions in Carvoeiro, particularly the arrangements in supermarkets, during the coronavirus pandemic. My wife noticed in today's press that the listing of countries named by DfT totalled 74, whereas the FCO showed 67 destinations and a consumer research agency found that only 25 locations do not have border controls that stop English visitors entering. Sounds like another misleading shambles to me.The FCO state that there is health screening on arrival in Portugal. Does anybody know what this entails ie temperature checks, swabs etc?

Tony
cnljscott
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by cnljscott »

Hi, the following was taken from the FCO website (updated today) - basically a temp check.

“You will be subject to health screening on arrival. Your temperature will be checked and if it is high or you show signs of being unwell, you will be referred to the health authorities”.

Hope this is helpful.
carolyn
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by carolyn »

We arrived here last week ( accepting that we will quarantine on return)
If a temperature check was done, at Faro airport we were not aware of it - assume they could be using heat sensitive cameras or similar.
We were given a sheet of dos and donts by Ryanair as we left the plane
Basically its masks on whenever you go inside shops or restaurants. But can be removed once sitting down.
All beaches have an electronic sensor and traffic light system to limit numbers. This can be seen on the app "info praia" that can be downloaded.
Social distancing is 2m.
We feel perfectly safe here - and learnt from a hairdresser that they have had only 13 case in total in Lagoa Camara area - if that is correct.
Tony Knight
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by Tony Knight »

Hi Carolyn,

Many thanks for your response to my query regarding what checks are in force on entering Portugal.

For some time we have been holding forlorn hopes that we would still be holidaying in Carvoreiro early next month, especially when were told by BA that our flights had been rescheduled from Gatwick to Heathrow. Unfortunately, these hopes were dashed when the UK were unable to arrange an air bridge with Portugal because of the number of current confirmed cases there, a lot more than in the UK.

In as much as the FCO are advising against non-essential travel to Portugal we are wondering whether BA will now cancel our rescheduled flight. Hopefully so, since it should make it easier to claim refunds for our party of 7.

Kind regards.

Tony
Tony Knight
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by Tony Knight »

Hi enljscott and Carolyn,

How embarrassing, it would appear that my tablet was having problems with the responses that you both sent regarding the above.

As a result, my recent reply to Carolyn should actually have been addressed to enljscott. All very confusing I'm afraid. I think that trying to sort out the holiday is taking an effect on me!!!!

My apologies.

Kind regards.

Tony
Geoff
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by Geoff »

We arrived here last week ( accepting that we will quarantine on return)
We don't mind the quarantine on return ...been locked down for a long time.... our concern is lack of valid Travel Insurance if Portugal remains on the FCO banned list. We are currently booked for end of August, so hope the FCO changes it's mind soon!
widge
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by widge »

We have been here for 3 weeks, driving from Santander after pleasant ferry crossing. Rules applying to Covid prevention are simple and almost unanimously adopted.
With regard to insurance you need to assess your personal risks. Are you concerned about flight cancellation, lost luggage, loss of accommodation , health or accident cover. We took the view that only health & accident were potentially significant risks but that the EHIC card cover would largely protect us in the event of hospitalisation.
So pleased we came, a break from UK lockdown confusion, riots and 24 hour pessimistic news coverage, very welcome.
Geoff
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Re: August holiday in Carvoeiro

Post by Geoff »

We took the view that only health & accident were potentially significant risks but that the EHIC card cover would largely protect us in the event of hospitalisation.
Tend to agree with your assessment Widge, with the possible addition of repatriation......we have used EHIC before (dog bite, broken wrist) & found the Portuguese Health Service good.
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