Travel hopes 2021

Maidensong said:
We just made the final payment for a world cruise on the Viking Star leaving LA in January 2022. The cruise line offered us a $5000 reduction in our fare if we paid 6 months before the usual due date, which we considered good value as the money wouldn't have earned spit sitting in our savings account for that same amount of time.

I have to believe a safe effective vaccine will be widely available by then and the world will start to resemble something we recognize.
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That trip sounded so tempting, for me it was more tempting due to the feeling of missing out on traveling.

I decided to not book it, as I'm frankly afraid of various cruise companies going bankrupt, and that much money would be painful to lose.

Hopefully Viking will survive and you have a great trip.
 
We had a Sandals South Coast Jamaica trip (our third annual) planned/paid for for Dec 5-12, but had to reschedule for November 2021 due to my work demanding me to quarantine for 14 days upon my return. This would have been unpaid/unexcused time off which could have jeopardized my job status (55 years old prototype engineer).

Needless to say, my wife and I are mad at the world right now that NOTHING has gone our way in 2020 with very little to look forward to through a long NW Ohio Winter.
 
Living in northern Europe I think I might take my motorhome down south this summer provided the vaccinations go well. That is - I'm vaccinated and a reasonable amount of the general population where I am going.
 
ckelly78z said:
We had a Sandals South Coast Jamaica trip (our third annual) planned/paid for for Dec 5-12, but had to reschedule for November 2021 due to my work demanding me to quarantine for 14 days upon my return. This would have been unpaid/unexcused time off which could have jeopardized my job status (55 years old prototype engineer).

Needless to say, my wife and I are mad at the world right now that NOTHING has gone our way in 2020 with very little to look forward to through a long NW Ohio Winter.
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Can you take a winter driving trip somewhere warmer in the US and still avoid the quarantine? Maybe the South Carolina coast? We are planning to spend the months of Jan and Feb in the Pawleys Island area of SC. We have out a rental deposit on a house there for those months. It will not be warm like Jamaica but it would be much warmer than Ohio--good for walking on the beach, biking, playing golf, etc.
 
braumeister said:
Thanks, but we were there a couple of years ago with National Geographic/Lindblad and it was one of the two greatest trips of our lives.

The other was Antarctica last year. So we've touched those bases.
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Well you’re lucky you got those biggies out of the way already.

We’re OK with group tours now, although we hadn’t used them for years. I’ve probably exhausted myself planning long independent overseas travel. What works well for us is a combo - use a very high quality overseas group tour as an anchor, then many days weeks of independent travel around it. Even in the independent travel we take advantage of key small group day tours from local operators every few days.
 
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MuirWannabe said:
Hiking tour through Mac’s Adventures planned for next July. Will be doing a 14 day hike on the Tour du Mount Blanc. Passing through France, Italy, and Switzerland. Following that up with a week traveling through Switzerland and Germany on our way to Salzburg for a few days. Stops likely in Munich, Zurich, and Innsbruck. Probably tour Berchtesgaden while in Salzburg, as well as the Sound of Music house to keep DW happy. Returning to fly out of Geneva. DW and I, plus my brother and his DW. Very excited, hope it comes to pass. Counting on vaccine to open things up by then. Even without vaccine, if countries are open we will likely be going.
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Salzburg is a delight and we look forward to returning for a longer stay. Schloss Hellbrunn - beautiful summer palace gardens with trick fountains out in the country - is well worth visiting. Easy convenient bus ride from Salzburg. Tell your wife that the famous Sound of Music gazebo is there.
 
We just cancelled an Airbnb condo rental for Jan/Feb in Mazatlán. It was booked back in February before Covid became an issue but we had to wait until yesterday to get inside the 45 day cancellation window to get a full refund (rather than lose the deposit). Thankfully they accepted our cancellation request and will be issuing a full deposit.

So...we're not going at this time. But if things improve we might consider something last minute, although that doesn't seem likely.
 
Not planning anything just yet for 2021, as we wish to see what plays out with the vaccines first.
 
harllee said:
Can you take a winter driving trip somewhere warmer in the US and still avoid the quarantine? Maybe the South Carolina coast? We are planning to spend the months of Jan and Feb in the Pawleys Island area of SC. We have out a rental deposit on a house there for those months. It will not be warm like Jamaica but it would be much warmer than Ohio--good for walking on the beach, biking, playing golf, etc.
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We haven't spoken too much about a replacement vacation yet, still too sore of a subject. I do like the idea of getting away in Jan/Feb to some place warmer, thanks.
 
ckelly78z said:
We haven't spoken too much about a replacement vacation yet, still too sore of a subject. I do like the idea of getting away in Jan/Feb to some place warmer, thanks.
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If you have any interest in the SC beach area for this winter, private message me and I can give you some suggestions
 
audreyh1 said:
Salzburg is a delight and we look forward to returning for a longer stay. Schloss Hellbrunn - beautiful summer palace gardens with trick fountains out in the country - is well worth visiting. Easy convenient bus ride from Salzburg. Tell your wife that the famous Sound of Music gazebo is there.
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I had a stay planned in Salzburg in August, with day trips out. The whole region is great for natural beauty as well as all the historic places.

Would absolutely replan as many of the 2020 trips which got canceled as soon as I'm able to.
 
1. Camping in the spring when/if available...
2. Day trips skiing, snowshow, biking and hiking, canoe/kayak with fam.
3. Mackinac island on a boat largely isolated.
4. A lodge getaway with the family over holiday weekend (large enough with doors to separate 5 families)

wish I could fly on a plane to access more without time 'on the road again'. 3 little ones so too much time in a car doesn't work but we made it 8hrs to Mackinac during the pandemic and survived so I look fwd to that again in 2021 kids made incredible lifelong memories.
 
Mackinac island is really beautiful. Enjoy!
 
We had a 2020 trip all planned to the Netherlands and ending in the UK with a short Rabbie's tour plus some hiking in the Cotswolds. It was planned to start in mid-August 2020.

With the latest vaccine news maybe August-September 2021 is a possibility. Looks like by then we could be vaccinated and so many in the US and Europe too. Would still be time to try to book in the spring for August ... perhaps?
 
There was a report in the news that some international carriers will require proof of getting a vaccine or boarding will be denied.
 
Nemo2 said:
Just don't try and drive a Yugo across the bridge.
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Lol, I take it you have some experience with this?

I've sailed the length of the bridge at sunset but we usually put in St Ignace. One of the most memorable things I've done in my life...even better my son was aboard on his first "overnight" trip when we accomplished this.
 
Teacher Terry said:
Mackinac island is really beautiful. Enjoy!
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Thank you Teacher T! We did this when I was a boy and I still have fond memories.

I always cringe when you engage, as a Teacher I know my posts absolutely destroy your hope for the future lol; I am such a lazy shorthand poster with largely terrible grammar, punctuation, capitalization and word usage...and generally butchering it lol. For that, my apologies. I swear I will try harder! I am educated I promise, i just tend to turn it off sometimes :rolleyes:
 
i just finished cancelling all our arrangements for an 18 day stay on Kauai in March, including First Class flight, rental car, limo pickup, etc.
The vaccine will not be widely available by that time, and Hawaii has got restrictions on visitors.

I also have about $10K in future cruise credits, and may never be able to use them.
 
Lsbcal said:
With the latest vaccine news maybe August-September 2021 is a possibility. Looks like by then we could be vaccinated and so many in the US and Europe too. Would still be time to try to book in the spring for August ... perhaps?
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Rick Steves has just notified previous customers that his first tours will be no earlier than August.

Out of an abundance of caution — and to ensure our tours will be as reliably smooth and rewarding as always — we've made the decision to hold off on running tours until August 2021.
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Personally, I think that makes sense. While we may be able to hop a plane to France or Germany or Belgium, will all the sites be open, will we be able to travel freely on trains and buses? Will our favorite gelato stores be open? :confused:
 
Feeling much better today. All of a sudden our Sept/Oct, Xmas, and winter 2022 travel plans look doable and safe. As long as we we are permitted to enter our destinations.
 
I spent a bit of time doing research for a long 2-month trip through the Scandinavian countries, but have put that aside as that does not look viable until 2022.

I will be doing a long cross-country RV trip instead in 2021.
 
We're headed to Tucson for 10 days in January to visit DW sisters and warm up a bit! We will also be making our yearly trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota in July. We canceled an Amtrak trip to New Orleans this year and could possibly take that Fall 2021.
 
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