How to have peace of mind about your holiday

If the news headlines are making you feel unsure about travelling, it can be reassuring to know the facts. When world events shift so quickly, travel can suddenly feel more complicated than it did when you booked. For your peace of mind, we’ve put together the answers to the big questions that might be troubling you. Here’s what you need to know.

While events in parts of the Middle East are causing disruption, the vast majority of holiday and cruise destinations – including in Spain, South Africa, and South America – are unaffected and there are plenty more places to choose from, including within the EU and of course the UK. In fact tour operators have seen a trend developing for UK and no-fly holidays.

Reputable travel companies will not accept bookings for a holiday or cruise to a destination that the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advises against travelling to, so if it’s available to book, you should be able do so with confidence.

A good tip is to look out for a “no surcharge guarantee”, meaning the price confirmed at the time of booking is the final price. It offers a safeguard against unexpected charges.

First of all, contact the holiday company you booked with. If you have booked through a trusted cruise or holiday company, they will have a team of experts monitoring the situation, ready to update their customers if anything changes.

For the latest advice on a destination, the FCDO website provides objective information and advice for more than 225 countries and it’s frequently updated according to the latest developments. You can also sign up for FCDO email alerts for specific countries.

It is also sensible to check with your tour operator before heading to the airport and to keep an eye on emails in case they have already been in touch.

One important point is not to rush to cancel. If your airline, holiday company or cruise operator cancels the booking, you may be entitled to a refund or rebooking. If you cancel first, you could lose those rights and face standard cancellation charges instead, unless the rules for your booking allow a refund in the circumstances.

Of course, the majority of destinations we all fly to on holiday remain unaffected. However, for a number of Middle Eastern countries The UK Foreign Office continues to advise against “all but essential travel”.

If your flight has been cancelled, you may be entitled to a refund or replacement flight under UK passenger rights rules, depending on where your flight departs from and which airline you’re flying with.

Contact your airline directly for the latest options as many, including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, are offering free rebooking or refunds. For full details on your rights, visit the Civil Aviation Authority’s website.

Scammers are already exploiting the situation, so it’s worth knowing what to look out for. Fake airline support accounts have been spotted on social media asking for personal details, phishing emails are offering bogus refunds for cancelled flights, while fraudsters are posing as travel agencies selling “emergency” tickets that don’t exist.

The simplest rule? If something feels urgent or pressured, pause. Always use contact details from your booking confirmation or the company’s official website and never share personal or payment details in response to an unsolicited message. If you think you’ve been targeted, report it at reportfraud.police.uk.

For more on how to spot scams and protect yourself, read our guide.

Holidays both at home and abroad are the things that we look forward to all year round – and there’s no reason for this to change. With a few sensible precautions we can book a holiday with confidence and carry on enjoying the pleasures of travel as much as ever. So, keep calm and travel on!