✉ I took out a Staysure annual multi-trip travel policy in January for a trip to India in March. I was quoted £188.89 for a basic policy, with the option of a comprehensive policy for £244.80. Having no prior medical conditions whatsoever, I opted for the former. But at the end of February I suffered the sudden onset of a potentially serious medical condition and on the advice of both the hospital cardiac specialist and my own GP, I cancelled the trip. I contacted Staysure to make a claim for the £2,295 cost of the holiday but was then told the cancellation claim would be £500 because of the limit I selected. When taking out the policy I failed to wade through the 52 pages of documentation but I think it’s fair to assume that when one takes out a travel insurance policy with a reputable company that the insurer is providing financial coverage for any losses the insured may bear under certain circumstances. What do you think?
Jakki Crane
It’s sometimes tempting to scrimp on travel insurance but sadly, as you’ve discovered, it’s a false economy. Insurers, including Staysure, do clearly list the claim limits on their websites and to ensure you’re getting the right levels of cover in future it’s well worth consulting government-backed MoneyHelper (moneyhelper.org.uk), which spells out what a good policy looks like, with simple tables to check what features are a must-have, a should-have or a could-have: cancellation cover of £2,000 or more is a must-have.
✉ We went to Cornwall last summer where my 11-year-old discovered surfing and is desperate to go again. Given the unreliable British weather, I wondered if you could recommend a family surf camp in Europe with yoga options for me and my husband that takes place during the school summer holidays. Any ideas?
Sarah Jenkinson
Ericeira, about 50 minutes’ drive northwest from Lisbon, is one of Portugal’s top surfing spots with fabulous beaches to suit both seasoned and novice surfers. Stay at the friendly Ericeira Surf House which has family rooms and yoga lessons. A seven-night surf package including B&B plus two dinners, three-day surf course, photo analysis and rental bike starts at £624pp in the school summer holidays; add three yoga lessons and it’s £654pp (ericeirasurfhouse.com).
• ‘My daughter has a brain tumour but Ryanair refuses to refund our flights’
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✉ I have a significant birthday in 2026 and would love to celebrate it by visiting Spain to see the total solar eclipse. Could you suggest travel options and accommodation?
Sue Barnard
The next total solar eclipse in Europe is on August 12, 2026, and while it may only last a minute or so in Spain (it will also pass over coastal areas in Greenland and Iceland for slightly longer) there are plenty of companies planning trips for umbraphiles. The path of totality passes over beaches on Spain’s northern and southeastern coasts, as well as the Balearic Islands, notably Mallorca, where the sky is expected to be clear. The sun will be relatively low in the sky and a cruise could be a great way to get a prime viewing spot. Princess Cruises and Holland America have announced they’ll have ships in the area but haven’t yet released details. Cunard, however, is already taking bookings. A seven-night Spain & France cruise from Southampton on the Queen Anne starts at £1,106pp, while a week-long Western Mediterranean jaunt from Rome to Mallorca on the Queen Victoria starts at £746pp (cunard.com). If a cruise doesn’t appeal, the astronomer-owned and operated Sirius Travel is planning a four-night trip to Mallorca, based at a five-star beachfront hotel in Playa de Palma for £3,172pp, excluding flights (siriustravel.com).
✉ I fancy spending a week in the Scottish Borders in July. I’m travelling alone, don’t drive and most of the tours available seem to be for private groups. Where should I base myself? I’ve been to Edinburgh before but is it easier to stay there or are there tourist opportunities starting from Newcastle or Berwick?
Rosemary Pringle
Stay in Edinburgh and you have a choice of three day trips to the Borders and beyond with Rabbie’s Tours. One will give you the chance to explore the remarkable Rosslyn Chapel (made famous in The Da Vinci Code), to admire the gorgeous Tweed Valley from Scott’s View, and visit Melrose Abbey, the alleged burial site of Robert the Bruce’s heart; a second focuses on Jedburgh and Hadrian’s Wall, while the third visits Kelso and Alnwick Castle. Prices start from £46pp and travel is in a 16-seater mini-coach. Alternatively, explore the area by public transport. Take a train to Berwick-upon-Tweed and then a bus to St Abb’s (the 235 only takes about 30 minutes), one of Scotland’s prettiest seaside villages and brilliant for spotting dolphins, seals and the occasional minke whale. There’s great food and drink too at the Ebbcarrs Café on the harbour front. Also check out the Borders Railway, from Edinburgh Waverley station, stopping at Eskbank, Newtongrange and Gorebridge in Midlothian, and Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank, with good bus connections. A combined Borders Explorer ticket (including the Borders hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus) starts at £19pp and is available from any manned station (scotrail.co.uk).
• ‘Our £7,000 cruise was struck by sickness — can we get compensation?’
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✉ We arranged a trip to Canada for September 2023 and decided to book three nights at the Kimpton Saint George hotel in Toronto. We thought we were on the hotel’s official site but just as we pressed the “confirm booking” button we saw the address had changed from ihg.com to getaroom.com. We couldn’t prevent the booking from being made and didn’t receive any confirmation. We immediately checked our credit card account and realised we’d inadvertently booked through a third party and had been charged greatly inflated prices for “admin fees”. We asked our credit card company Virgin Money to stop the transaction, but were told it wasn’t possible but that we could seek recompense if the transaction was fraudulent at a later date. We rang the hotel and were told that a reservation had been made for us by booking.com. This proved impossible to cancel without losing our money so we did stay at the hotel, but think Virgin Money owes us a refund of the difference in the price because we feel a fraud was committed that could have been prevented. Can you help?
Tom and Ann Clayton
A Virgin Money spokesperson told me it was rejecting your claim because while you inadvertently used an online travel agent and paid a higher price than you intended for a stay you completed, this was not fraud. You certainly felt that you’d been had, however, and a large number of online reviews suggests other travellers have been caught out in the same way: believing they were on a hotel’s website only to discover they’d booked through getaroom, been charged hefty admin fees and then found it impossible to cancel. When I contacted getaroom (part of Priceline, which is part of Booking Holdings, which operates brands such as Kayak and Booking.com), it got in touch with you and offered a £581 refund (without explaining how this was calculated) but didn’t respond to my request for comment.
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