Travel hopes for 2022

[Freedom56]

DW and I have decided to become SCUBA certified. We've booked a trip to Key Largo in early February and have open water certification courses booked! Hopefully our flight from Atlanta to Miami will be a lot more pleasant than this, but with Covid continually mutating and father time not standing still it's worth the risk .

Flights to Miami have different kinds of issues like fighting on the plane. But that's usually on the return flights from Miami. You should be okay to travel to the Keys. I personally would stay in a place like Hawks Kay as a base and visit various dive sites around the Keys.

 

[2017ish]

It's the stop light system they have been using for a while now. Most of Quintana Roo is now in yellow which means a 60% max occupancy for most activities. Most of the municipalities do their own thing so what you see in Cozumel may not mirror what they are doing in PDC, Akumal or Cancun. When we were there (a few months ago), Cozumel (and the ferry to PDC) was the most restrictive and threated jail/fine for those that didn't mask.
...

Ah, thanks! We were entirely unaware of that system. Cozumel is still relatively tight. At times, we feel like we are visiting our son in San Francisco! Lots of divers now though, and seems like 5-6 cruise ships most days.

 

[Palmtree]

We had planned on a big trip to Europe in 2020. That got postponed to 2021, and then again to May/June of 2022. We planned to visit Venice, Croatia, Rome, and Tuscany. After spending months making detailed travel plans, including flights, reservations and connections, we realized that with all the Covid restrictions and tests needed to get into and out of countries, our original plan was way too complex. We are determined to go this year but something had to give. So I spent most of Sunday and also most of Monday morning completely unwinding and rearranging our trip. That included changing our dates, our flights, the cities we plan on visiting and some VRBO accommodations. This also had me juggling different travel award points to get the new flights we needed to make it happen. The new plan is a week in Croatia, on a island hopping small ship cruise up the coast from Dubrovinick to Split. Then fly into Rome and drive up to Tuscany where we have reservations at our favorite agriturismo for a week. After a week of unwinding in the Val De Orca area, it’s back to Rome where I’ll drop the car downtown and we’ll spend a few days in Rome before flying home.
Fingers crossed all this happens.

 

[explanade]

We had planned on a big trip to Europe in 2020. That got postponed to 2021, and then again to May/June of 2022. We planned to visit Venice, Croatia, Rome, and Tuscany. After spending months making detailed travel plans, including flights, reservations and connections, we realized that with all the Covid restrictions and tests needed to get into and out of countries, our original plan was way too complex. We are determined to go this year but something had to give. So I spent most of Sunday and also most of Monday morning completely unwinding and rearranging our trip. That included changing our dates, our flights, the cities we plan on visiting and some VRBO accommodations. This also had me juggling different travel award points to get the new flights we needed to make it happen. The new plan is a week in Croatia, on a island hopping small ship cruise up the coast from Dubrovinick to Split. Then fly into Rome and drive up to Tuscany where we have reservations at our favorite agriturismo for a week. After a week of unwinding in the Val De Orca area, it’s back to Rome where I’ll drop the car downtown and we’ll spend a few days in Rome before flying home.
Fingers crossed all this happens.

Sounds like a great trip.

Hope those ships in Croatia let you stand outside, though people will probably bunch up boarding and de-boarding.

In Venice, those vaporetti get packed too during peak season. But I heard last year, Venice was almost empty.

 

[fosterscik]

We had planned on a big trip to Europe in 2020. That got postponed to 2021, and then again to May/June of 2022. We planned to visit Venice, Croatia, Rome, and Tuscany. After spending months making detailed travel plans, including flights, reservations and connections, we realized that with all the Covid restrictions and tests needed to get into and out of countries, our original plan was way too complex. We are determined to go this year but something had to give. So I spent most of Sunday and also most of Monday morning completely unwinding and rearranging our trip. That included changing our dates, our flights, the cities we plan on visiting and some VRBO accommodations. This also had me juggling different travel award points to get the new flights we needed to make it happen. The new plan is a week in Croatia, on a island hopping small ship cruise up the coast from Dubrovinick to Split. Then fly into Rome and drive up to Tuscany where we have reservations at our favorite agriturismo for a week. After a week of unwinding in the Val De Orca area, it’s back to Rome where I’ll drop the car downtown and we’ll spend a few days in Rome before flying home.
Fingers crossed all this happens.

Sounds really nice. We loved island hopping in Croatia and our limited experience with agritourismos (in Croatia near Krka national park) was a highlight of our trip. Can you tell us which agriturismo is your favorite? If you have any knowledge about them in Sicily? That's where we plan to visit next.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When we went to Tuscany we stayed in Sienna and then each day drove to a different town. It was such a great area.

 

[Helen]

We leave in the morning for a three-day drive to Palm Springs. We booked motel rooms with outdoor access to avoid lobbies and elevators. We will be down there until early May.

We adopted an eight-year-old Maltese in August; she has more luggage than the rest of us combined

We went through TrustedHouseSitters.com to find people to live here and take care of our two cats. It's been a lot of work to empty out closets, dressers and a desk, plus declutter and deep clean. We are ready to get on the road.

 

[Palmtree]

Sounds really nice. We loved island hopping in Croatia and our limited experience with agritourismos (in Croatia near Krka national park) was a highlight of our trip. Can you tell us which agriturismo is your favorite?

We've never been to Croatia before but we did visit Slovenia a few years ago. Everyone said that if you LIKE Slovenia, you will LOVE Croatia. So that's why we are looking forward to seeing it.
Our favorite agritourismo is "Cretaiole", just outside of Pienza. I will warn you that it's a Rick Steves Travel favorite and tends to be booked way in advance.

 

[Pellice]

Sounds like fun. Where in Colombia are you going? (Colombia was my last pre-Covid trip in late Feb 2020. Just got home in the nick of time).

Areas around and to the south and east of Bogota, including the eastern savanna (llanos) and some national parks in the high Andes. Going to be a challenge to pack for, as the llanos are extremely hot and humid, and the high Andes are cold, and we are asked to limit our luggage.

 

[Palmtree]

Sounds like a great trip.

Hope those ships in Croatia let you stand outside, though people will probably bunch up boarding and de-boarding.

In Venice, those vaporetti get packed too during peak season. But I heard last year, Venice was almost empty.

We are on a small coastal cruiser, with a maximum of 38 passengers, and our own stateroom, so I'm thinking we'll be OK.
We've been to Venice several times before. This trip I was looking forward to exploring it without a sea of tourists, but it was not to be.

 

[gattara]

My trip to Colombia is ON next week! I'm fairly confident the plane trip will be ok (direct flight, United swears its air filtration is good). Once there, my birding tour will be a small, fully vaccinated group of participants and staff, and we'll be outdoors the great majority of the time.

A birding tour - how interesting! I'm curious, what tour company are you using?

 

[Scuba]

DW and I have decided to become SCUBA certified. We've booked a trip to Key Largo in early February and have open water certification courses booked! Hopefully our flight from Atlanta to Miami will be a lot more pleasant than this, but with Covid continually mutating and father time not standing still it's worth the risk .

Best wishes for your SCUBA certification! I’ve been a certified diver since 1991 and still love it!

 

[Scuba]

We leave in the morning for a three-day drive to Palm Springs. We booked motel rooms with outdoor access to avoid lobbies and elevators. We will be down there until early May.



We adopted an eight-year-old Maltese in August; she has more luggage than the rest of us combined



We went through TrustedHouseSitters.com to find people to live here and take care of our two cats. It's been a lot of work to empty out closets, dressers and a desk, plus declutter and deep clean. We are ready to get on the road.

As you know there are many outdoor restaurants and activities in Palm Springs. Enjoy your visit! I run a social group for women here that has turned out to be very fun. PM me if you’d like more information.

 

[fosterscik]

Best wishes for your SCUBA certification! I’ve been a certified diver since 1991 and still love it!

Really looking forward to it! First time for DW; was certified when I was mid twenties then jobs life got in the way (and being land locked with little money!).
Our kids are both certified so we hope to have some family scuba trips

 

[donheff]

Really looking forward to it! First time for DW; was certified when I was mid twenties then jobs life got in the way (and being land locked with little money!).
Our kids are both certified so we hope to have some family scuba trips

Enjoy. I got certified in the early 70s (by Padi Master #2). It's a great sport.

 

[madsquopper]

I'm hoping to fly to England in mid April to play in some World and English Championsip tiddlywinks events. Long story on that. Mostly hoping that the covid testing requirements ease up by then if you're boosted. The rules are a moving target. Recently, England removed the prefer test going there, but I still need to do the once you land test and the return home test. Hoping not to have to deal with the risk of not getting the fly home result back in time, or getting a false positive. Not to mention actually getting covid abroad.

 

[Surewhitey]

Just returned from Isla Mujeres and DW got Covid (just a nasty cough, thankfully). We just got our booster 3 weeks prior...

Half masked, half not (foreigners). Almost all locals masked, even outside...

 

[audreyh1]

Yeah - being around other tourists is the trickiest thing during covid.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Just returned from Isla Mujeres and DW got Covid (just a nasty cough, thankfully). We just got our booster 3 weeks prior...

Half masked, half not (foreigners). Almost all locals masked, even outside...

I assume she found out after getting back to the states? With our last two trips to MX, we made sure we could keep our rental houses in case we tested positive. I have heard that it's been spreading like wildfire in Isla (as reported by a business owner we know there) and they closed their business a few days ago because of staff getting it (Madera Food and Art). Doesn't help that you were there during high season.

 

[Pellice]

My Colombia trip just got canceled today. Due to start next week. Very disappointed, but I think I can get credits for everything.

 

[foxfirev5]

Flights to Miami have different kinds of issues like fighting on the plane. But that's usually on the return flights from Miami. You should be okay to travel to the Keys. I personally would stay in a place like Hawks Kay as a base and visit various dive sites around the Keys.

The Keys are still good if you've already made reservations. I personally wouldn't change my plans at this point. And I haven't so far. KW in 22 days.

 

[gayl]

My DD told me yesterday that she might stay here during the week when I travel in April. Koda should go to SF with DGS. We'll see if ship still sails. Covid in waste water is rapidly going down

 

[tulak]

I've booked tickets to London for May. We'll immediately fly out of London to Finland, but I'm hoping to spend a few days in London before returning to the US.

After Finland, we're debating if we should go to Stockholm -> Copenhagen -> Berlin or Tallinn -> Riga -> Vilnius. Both are appealing and right now, I'm leaning towards the Nordic countries/Germany over the Baltic states, even though we might skip Stockholm depending on how much time we have and go straight to Copenhagen.

 

[Lagniappe]

I just used miles to book a flight to Lisbon in March. Hoping to spend spring and summer in Europe, with Portugal as a base.

[emoji1696] Fingers crossed!

 

[Aerides]

Ok well I booked my trip to the Tucson gem shows for the first week of Feb. First flight since I got back from the 2020 show. I go solo, and each day go and buy beads all morning and then hike all afternoon.

DH is a bit nervous about me going, but I really really don't want to wait a whole extra year, when there's no guarantee things will be better then than now.