‘I tore my husband’s passport before a £14k trip and lost all our money’ - The Times

✉ My husband and I had a two-week, £14,000 holiday booked to Japan with Riviera Travel in September. The day before, while photocopying our passports as a precaution, I tore a page slightly from the spine of my husband’s passport. No wording or photographs were torn and the page was still attached to the passport. We checked with the Passport Office and a relative who works at Gatwick and both told us the passport was now invalid.

My husband tried to apply for an emergency passport but it proved impossible in such a short time (he could only get an appointment five days later), so, numb with shock and disappointment, we had to ring Riviera to cancel the holiday and it issued a cancellation invoice for £14,000. But our insurance company has since refused my claim for a refund because only lost or stolen passports were covered, not damaged ones. Surely this can’t be correct?Celia Tucker

I can only imagine your distress: this small accident on the eve of a £14,000 holiday turned out to be devastating. Even if the tear is small or the page is still mostly attached, immigration officials and airlines view any structural damage near the binding or spine of a passport as a security risk because it could mask “fraudulent tampering”. And unfortunately, as Allianz Assistance confirmed, insurers generally don’t provide cover for cancellation because a passport has been accidentally damaged before travel. Riviera has, however, agreed to refund the £212 air passenger duty you paid on your flights. It’s (slightly) better than nothing, but your terrible experience is a reminder to the rest of us to take great care when handling passports, particularly just before a trip when there’s next to no chance of getting a replacement in time to travel.

✉ I’ll be in Patagonia in Argentina with my family at the end of the year and booked flights from Ushuaia to Iguazu (Argentina, not Brazil) with Aerolineas Argentinas via Kiwi.com, originally routing through Buenos Aires and Rosario. Kiwi then sent me a revised itinerary: Ushuaia–Buenos Aires–Rosario–Buenos Aires–Iguazu, with just 30 minutes in Rosario, presumably staying on the same plane. This adds a completely unnecessary detour, delays our arrival and leaves only an hour to connect in Buenos Aires, increasing the risk of missing our onward flight. Surely it makes more sense to remain in Buenos Aires and fly directly to Iguazu?

Aerolineas Argentinas directed me to Kiwi, which has been useless. It says I can accept the revised itinerary or request cancellation of the Rosario flights, but refunds aren’t guaranteed and a £25 fee per passenger, per flight applies. Cancellation is immediate and irreversible. To fly directly to Iguazu, I’d need to buy another ticket. Kiwi refuses to contact the airline to cancel only the Rosario return leg, leaving the other flights intact. If I cancel myself, I risk losing some or all of my money. I feel trapped between the airline and the agent. Can you help?Alison Moore

Your revised flight itinerary was, of course, absurd. It’s disappointing neither Aerolineas Argentinas nor Kiwi would acknowledge this Kafkaesque situation and delete the unnecessary flights to Rosario and back, but it illustrates yet again the downside of booking through one of the big online agents where customer service rarely seems to be the priority. (I feel the problem would have been easily solved by a more user-friendly agent like Trailfinders.)

After I got involved, Kiwi quickly reissued the tickets without the side trip. A spokesperson said: “We were sorry to learn that our customer did not receive the level of support we aim to provide following an automated schedule change which resulted in an illogical routing for a replacement leg in their itinerary. We have found that this was incorrectly issued due to a system error and are in contact with our customer to offer our sincere apologies for the inconvenience.” It has also offered you £50 in flight credits that can be used with any airline as a gesture of goodwill. But you told me you wouldn’t use Kiwi.com again.

✉ My husband and I are planning a special trip to Canada for my milestone birthday in early May next year. Neither of us has visited before and we’d particularly like to explore Vancouver Island and some of the country’s beautiful cycle trails on ebikes. Can you recommend a company that could organise a self-guided road trip by car or RV with just two or three comfortable bases, good restaurants and perhaps a whale-watching trip? Our budget is up to £10,000 for us both, including flights, for about ten nights. Daryl Anne Smeddle

Alberta and British Columbia tick every box on your Canadian wishlist. The North America specialist Bon Voyage suggests you hire a car rather than an RV if you’ve only got ten nights to play with because travel will be faster, and it can tailor-make a trip with stays in three comfortable hotels en route. Fly to Calgary and head to Banff, where three nights would give you plenty of time to rent bikes to explore the trails around glorious Lake Louise, known as the Jewel of the Rockies, and Moraine Lake. Then buckle up for one of Canada’s classic drives along the spectacular Icefields Parkway. You won’t want to miss the epic view from the glass-floored, cantilevered Columbia Icefield Skywalk.

After three nights in Jasper, where you could take an ebike tour and a cruise on Maligne Lake, ditch the car and hop on VIA Rail’s The Canadian sleeper service to Vancouver. Exploring the city’s fantastic food scene and trying to spot orcas, minkes and humpbacks on a whale-watching tour from Vancouver Island would be a fine way to end your trip. The ten-night tour would cost about £3,500pp, including flights, car hire, room-only hotel stays and a night in a sleeper cabin (bon-voyage.co.uk).

✉ Next May my husband and I plan to visit Bath for several nights. We’d like to stay somewhere not too busy, with off-street parking, that’s within walking distance of the centre. We’re happy to eat at restaurants in the evenings so the accommodation doesn’t need to have on-site dinner options. What can you suggest?Helen Molony

The Bird, with its quirky, maximalist avian-themed decor, is perched on Pulteney Road, a ten-minute walk from the centre of Bath. Its 31 high-ceilinged rooms have Hypnos beds and vintage decor, plus views of Bath Abbey and the Recreation Ground, and while it does have its own restaurant, staff will happily point you in the direction of excellent local places including the Beckford Bottle Shop and Bistro (sharing plates from £8; beckfordbottleshop.com). B&B doubles in May start at £197; parking costs £20 per night (thebirdbath.co.uk). Or try Chestnuts House, a top-notch B&B in a peaceful spot that’s also an easy ten-minute stroll (across the river) to the city centre. There’s free parking and its breakfasts get rave reviews. B&B in a classic double in May starts at £230 (there are no bargains in Bath in May) and there’s a two-night minimum stay (chestnutshouse.co.uk).

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