Apologies that this hasnt been published until now - it was in my drafts!
Hey everyone! Hope you have all had a good week.
We just returned from Tenerife and I thought I would write a blog post to give you all an idea of what its like to travel during the pandemic.
Originally, we should have been spending the week in the Maldives celebrating our first wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, due to Coronavirus we have had to push this holiday back as the hotel is currently not opening until later this year. So instead, when the FCO guidance was changed to allow travel to Spain, we booked a lovely week long stay at Gran Tacande – Costa Adeje.
As you may have seen on my stories, we had a bit of trouble with flights being cancelled and then the hotel pushing the re-opening date back a week meaning we had to get new flights and pick a new date, but it worked out for the better as the hotel gave us a great discount for the trouble as they didn’t want us to cancel. We were booked to stay in one of their best rooms – a Gold Level Swim Up Private Pool Suite. These normally cost around £300 a night but we managed to get the week for under a thousand due to the trouble we had and the offers they already had on to try and attract tourists back to them. The room itself was amazing, it was open plan and the balcony lead right out to our own private pool area. The Gold Level rooms also come with the added benefit of having access to the ‘San Sebastian Plaza’, a rooftop pool area where you can also get free drinks and snacks throughout the day. We pretty much spent our week up there; the bar staff were great and soon got used to us and were bringing over water and beer as soon as our glasses were empty without us even needing to ask. The infinity pool was gorgeous (and great for the gram), the sea views were beautiful, and the sun was always shining. I would highly recommend a trip here.
Regarding travelling itself, its pretty strange at the moment having to wear masks and social distance, but to be honest you get used to it after a day or two. Manchester airport was quiet and not many shops were open. However, the flight was quite full as people flocked to the islands for a much-needed break. It is difficult to keep masks on all the time, especially whilst over in Tenerife with the heat, but the good news is that once you are outdoors you can take that mask off and relax in the sun. You could also remove your masks whist sat in any restaurant or bar and even whilst playing pool in the hotel. Many places were still closed but there were more than enough bars and restaurants to choose from. The ones that were open seemed to be quite busy. It didn’t feel too strange or like a ghost town, there were many people out and about, just as if it were an off-peak time to travel.
Overall, I felt really safe over there, much safer than at home. COVID measures were in place everywhere you went and the cases over there are minimal compared to over here in the UK. Personally, I am glad we went somewhere like Tenerife rather than a staycation in the UK, as the beaches over here seem to be so busy whilst many of us flock to our local seaside town. I do wish we could have stayed longer and enjoyed a longer break - but work calls!
We have to quarantine now we are back so I will be very active on Instagram this week as we stay home. We travel to Turkey next for my dental treatment so keep an eye out for that if it is something you are interested in. If you have any more questions about my holiday, feel free to pop me a message or add a comment below and ill get back to you.
Much love,
Gem x