have been told that the CAA will tell people not to travel but that we should.......... bloody right I will!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going even if i have to swim there myself!!!!!!!!!!!

That's the spirit!

It's a situation I've never been in myself thankfully, although when opening up my flight-booking "favourites" in my browser last night, I was quite shocked by the number of companies in there that are no longer trading.

Most notable was Zoom, the no-frills transatlantic airline who went bust last summer leaving thousands stranded in Canada, and seriously out of pocket, because unless you can persuade your credit card company to reimburse you, you've got no comeback over airline bankruptcy if you book direct with the airline. I arrived home from Winnipeg on a Zoom flight only the week before, and my wife did the same literally the day before they ceased trading! It came as a total shock, because they'd always seemed a good airline, and had been expanding rapidly. In hindsight, probably too rapidly!

I'm not totally sure what happens in the situation of ATOL bonded package tour customers. It looks from the small print as if your flights are covered but that you might have to pay for your transfers and digs yourself and claim it back from them when you get home (up to the cost of your original booking minus the cost of the flights). Check ASAP with ATOL whether that is the case, and if it is and you still intend to travel, I'd e-mail the hotel sharpish to check firstly that they haven't already cancelled your booking, and secondly how much they intend to charge you if they honour it. Also, if the cost of your flights isn't itemised seperately on your invoice, check with ATOL how much they're going to charge for these if you go.

If it's either going to cost you a lot more money or your hotel has sold on your room, don't panic. There's a worldwide credit crunch on, and it may be peak season, but Caribbean tourism isn't immune from it. There will almost certainly be beds available at a relatively sensible price somewhere, and quite possibly at a lower price than you originally paid.

Alternatively, (and this may be the easier and cheaper option) just claim your full refund off ATOL and rebook it all yourself. I've had a quick look, and the likes of Opodo, Lastminute.com, and even Expedia have surprisingly cheap direct flights with Virgin Atlantic to Barbados. Flying out on the 24th February and back on the 4th March, for example, would set you back £578.60 return, which I'm guessing is probably less than some people paid for those dates who booked months ago. If you book with Expedia, they'll even put points on your Nectar card. I must admit to being pretty gobsmacked to find so many direct flights still available at this late stage!

Meanwhile, there are certainly hotels with vacancies. A cursory look at hotels.com reveals that one or two have even cut their prices! Admittedly I almost had kittens when I saw some of those prices, but I'm a guesthouse/backpacker hostel/budget hotel type myself, and most of the hotels they deal with are at the opposite end of the market!

Best of luck to anyone who's been left up the creek at this late stage.