Travel hopes 2021

No tentative plans. We'll wait and see. I daydream about going here and there, but those thoughts will just stay in my head until things start opening up and traveling looks safer.
 
Our June 2020 river cruise to France was cancelled of course. We took a voucher and moved it to May of 2022. We still have a deposit for a Med / Adriatic cruise in May of 2021. Everyday I feel less sure that the cruise will happen.
 
Normally I would be planning future trips. Currently, I am so unsure as to when we will be able to travel again, I have nothing planned. Not only do I miss travel...I miss the joy of planning a trip.

I know this is a small first world problem, but the longer this drags on, the more concerned I am that we will be too old to travel by the time things really open up. I do feel that we are missing out on a good health for travel year this year. I am not sure how many of those years we have left. Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful that we are able to stay home and avoid the pandemic, but I do love to travel. I guess for now our best bet is to try to stay healthy so that when things open up we can travel.
 
We also miss travel and planning travel terribly. Hoping that we can go in Sept/Oct 2021. Not much hope before that.

Instead, we are now turning to making some of our favorite foods when travelling. Penang Curry this weekend, next will be Masaman Curry, then Pad Thai.
 
We cancelled our trip to Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Madrid and Lisbon for late September, including the boat trip on the Duoro River.

We returned for PV MX july 17th and are hopeful to return sometime this late fall depending on available flights and Covid in PV.
 
brett said:
We also miss travel and planning travel terribly. Hoping that we can go in Sept/Oct 2021. Not much hope before that.

Instead, we are now turning to making some of our favorite foods when travelling. Penang Curry this weekend, next will be Masaman Curry, then Pad Thai.
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Great idea. I'm going to look around for some takeout Thai food here.

I don't want to be a party pooper but my current guess is 2021 is too early for international travel. Being on the West Coast we have to consider an 11 hour flight time.
 
We suspect the same. Greece is a 12 hour flight for us. Thailand, where we have spent winters in the past is 21-23 hours.

So if not Greece/Cyprus in fall of 2021, perhaps Thailand in Jan-March 2022. We are trying to be optimistic and realistic.
 
Not 2021 but currently in Vegas. 100 degrees poolside maybe 15 people here. Flight 2/3rds full. Blackjack was a nickel a hand (slot machine). So far 2 20 ounce IPA’a total loss 30 cents.
 
Normally we would be booking in September for travel next spring. However given what we just went though to get a refund for flights cancelled by the airlines for our trip scheduled May - July 2020, I'm not booking until things are more stable with respect to air travel. It's not clear to me which airlines will survive into next year once the bailout funds run out.
 
Came to Costa Rica last fall to try on for long term. Plan was Europe for the entire summer. Obviously didn't happen. Just rented another house here for the next year. Playing it by ear and see what happens. For certain we like here for the moment as a location to ride everything out. They haven't been perfect but we think they have done an admirable job here all things considered.
 
I travel every other year or so with a group of friends who share a hobby. Everyone had expressed interest verbally in considering some 2021 travel. Yet when I raised the issue (I am frequently the coordinator - not the leader, but the coordinator - of our travels), very gently, no one was willing to put words into electrons yet. I had put it out there in the most unthreatening way I could think of - said this was not even planning, just thinking, that of course no one was ready to fly yet, that responding did not commit one to anything - and still I couldn't find any willingness to even think about it, even though all had previously said they were interested. They just weren't ready. Alas, as the coordinator, I know the kind of timetable required to pull off a trip like this, so I doubt it happens in 2021.

I myself have requested space on a commercial tour in early 2022. No commitment required until next March, so I figured might as well.

And I still am registered for a trip to Puerto Rico in December, previously postponed. I have my doubts about whether that one will go off.
 
We haven't rebooked anything yet, this was going to be a fun summer of travel in Europe. We are on our first trip away from home since March right now, we've driven from SF to Clear Lake for a few days. Pro: It is gorgeous here as always and my wife is having fun fishing, and getting out of the house was REALLY important for her mental health. Con: Hot, very smoky because the really big fire is just over the hills nearby. I'm balancing running the AC in the cabin we are renting, against how bad it gets the air inside, brought our air filters with it, so it is a balancing game of letting it get to the edge of how hot I can stand, then running it for as long as I'm willing to let the dog breathe the extra particles.

We are going to hold off on booking any overseas travel for a while. Maybe we can do it next summer and hit the goth/industrial music festivals we wanted to attend this year that my wife has been missing, but we'll need a vaccine or really good epidemiological studies showing that travel will be safe before we are going to make hard plans. :(
 
DW and I just returned from Florida, our first flight in almost a year. In terms of the airport, airline, rental car, and hotel we felt very comfortable with the sanitary and social distance efforts that were in place. Of course, the sad thing is a lot of the comfortable social distancing is due to business being down so much for those industries. At current activity levels we would be comfortable taking a flight vacation to a destination that also was not crowded. Maybe a golf-themed vacation.
 
I have 3 major trips booked for 2021. I’m able to cancel all 3 with minimal costs should that become necessary. The first two are re-do’s from 2020.

1. 3 weeks in Ireland and Scotland starting in late April.
2. 1 week in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in June.
3. 2 back-to-back cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean (16 days + a few before and after) in October

Fingers crossed that we will have a viable vaccine by April.
 
Hoping the masks go away by then

I am just hoping they get it under control enough to eliminate the need for some of the precautions.

I have low platelets, low RBC, controlled diabetes, so staying away from crowds and airports to maybe 2022 or even 2023. We are just taking day trips around here, in the Pacific Northwest there is plenty of natural beauty to take in. I would like to buy a cabin cruiser but people say boats are more work than fun.
 
Take Me South

Lucie said:
We will be going to Costa Rica this winter. They have done an outstanding job containing Covid.
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I would like to go to Costa Rica also. I really like central and south America, mainly for affordability and proximity to the USA. I really like the people of Mexico. I hope to find Costa Ricans to be likable also.
 
We have greatly enjoyed Costa Rica. Two trips in the last 3 years and one planned for late Jan/early Feb. We have found the people to be very friendly, the wildlife amazing, the land beautiful (mountains, forests, beaches). The food is great and tourists are very welcome in local/Tico restaurants. Driving is part of the adventure and fun, and with 4WD and GPS you are good to go anywhere. I highly recommend a visit, Pura Vida!
 
In 2021, we hope to take 6 members of our family on the Alaska cruise that was cancelled this year, but we haven't booked it yet. Still waiting for a vaccine. We have, however, booked a 2022 World cruise on Viking for us and will be paying for it in full this November. The cruise line offers a $5000 reduction in our fare, plus another 3.3% break for paying by e-check instead of credit card.
 
We are booked at Sandals South Coast in Jamaica for the week before Christmas, and are hoping everything will be open. The resort is currently closed until October 1, and the country doesn't have any restrictions on travel from my state, so fingers crossed !
 
We took off for a few weeks in WY and MT during the worst of the heat, but we pull an travel trailer, so we weren’t really getting exposed, or exposing anyone to the virus..
Weve also rolled the dice, somewhat, by booking 3 weeks in Mexico in Jan/Feb to get away from the cold. I went ahead and spent $200 for trip insurance just in case. My biggest fear is flying as far as virus exposure is concerned, but I’ve been hearing they are really cleaning between flights. We will see.
 
It's looking like things will improve tremendously in 2021 based on the reported progress of several COVID vaccines, however the timeline is still to loose to give me enough confidence to make 'hard' plans. So in 2021 our plan is to RV extensively, including a long trip up into the Pacific NW. Would love to continue up into Canada if the border reopens by then.

A return to normalcy by 2022 is looking increasingly likely, in which case we'll be returning to Europe to check off a couple more countries.

Cruising may make it's way back onto our list in 2023.
 
Rick Steves has just published his 'Best Case' 2021 Tour catalog.

https://d3dqioy2sca31t.cloudfront.n...a4c8f94fbe7/rick-steves-tour-catalog-2021.pdf

However, he is still not taking reservations and a few things such as their cancellation and refund policy is still in the works. It looks like he is not willing to be the first to jump back into the pool.

When will that be? As CEO of Rick Steves' Europe, before I give the green light, I'll need to see a proven track record that organized tourism in Europe is back up and running — safely, responsibly, and without risky and frustrating false starts. While we'll wish all the best to tour companies who are first out of the gate, we're determined to be conservative and patient.

When we do begin booking, the theme for our 2021 tours will be flexibility. Our deposit conditions will be modified to provide the time you need to finalize the travel decision that's right for you.
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I have my own plans for more independent travel when things get close to normal. If I do take a tour it in Europe it would be with RS. His 2020 record of no hassle refunds is a huge plus.
 
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Maidensong said:
.... We have, however, booked a 2022 World cruise on Viking for us and will be paying for it in full this November. The cruise line offers a $5000 reduction in our fare, plus another 3.3% break for paying by e-check instead of credit card.
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Just trying to get clarity, is the $5K reduction separate from payment method?

I've seen the 3.3% break for paying by e-check instead of credit card, but for me, my CC pays 3.5% plus I get some travel protections, so it's definitely not worth it for me to pay by e-check. The other issue at these times is, if Viking goes bankrupt, paying by CC may offer a refund.
 
If we go anywhere outside our province, it will be to our condo in PV MX. Hoping for December but not looking good.
 
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