After 18 months of lockdowns and restrictions, my family like most was desperate to get away for some much needed sun, sand and sangria.
We appreciated that travelling abroad during a global pandemic was going to be more complicated than booking, packing and boarding that flight.
But what we didn’t bargain for was the less-than-bargain costs of the tests required by the government to enable us to travel.
Spain allows fully vaccinated people to fly in as long as they can prove their vaccine status.
But to fly back to the UK even the doubled-jabbed have to pay for Covid tests from Government-approved suppliers two days before they return and two days after.
And the test providers have obviously spotted a lucrative market in sun-starved Brits desperate for a break away.
When I priced it up it cost more than £400 for my family of four to get the tests required - exactly the same cost as our flights to Ibiza.
Add to that the fact that my youngest daughter is only 15 so therefore ineligible for the vaccine, I had to pay another £100 for a pre-departure PCR test to comply with Spanish law.
For many families that is an added cost that is completely unaffordable. And the fact that the cost of staycations in the UK have rocketed means that many families just will not be able to afford a much-needed break anywhere this year.
Now I appreciate that it was our choice to take a holiday abroad, but travel experts are now saying that these testing firms are cashing in on our desperation for a sun-kissed break by hiking prices for these tests as they know we have no choice but to pay if we want to board a flight.
The government quite rightly has a responsibility to protect us from different variants of the virus being brought in from abroad.
But surely it also has a responsibility to help a travel industry that is on its knees and may never recover? I know flight attendants who haven’t worked for more than a year and have had to try to find work elsewhere.
The extortionate cost of these tests and the complicated form filling is putting many people off flying which means the airlines are struggling to survive.
And when we got to Ibiza it was so sad to see many of the little shops, bars and restaurants closed because they rely so heavily on the euros spent by the Brits abroad.
We all have a responsibility to help bring this pandemic to an end as soon as possible by getting the vaccine, wearing masks in crowded places, and sticking to the rules.
But the rules have to be fair - if the Government wants us to be tested for international travel they have to ensure it doesn’t hit us in the pocket - and that unscrupulous providers aren’t charging us over the odds and raking in the profits while the travel industry is struggling for survival.
