rmoore926

Hello and thanks for the advice.

Planning a family trip to London, Amsterdam, and various stops in France. Four of us, daughters 15 and 18, my wife, and myself. We are all fully vaccinated. This is likely to be the only trip the four of us take to Europe. We've been saving and were planning to go in the summer of 2022. We want to see all the major sights, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, British Museum, Ann Frank house, Van Gogh Museum, D'Orsay, etc.

With all the Covid numbers spiking and new restrictions would you still travel next summer? Like I mentioned earlier this is a once in a lifetime trip for our family (my wife and I have been to Europe before kids). I'm feeling a little stressed about this trip. Wondering if putting it off until summer 2023 would be a better plan.

I understand this is a very personal decision, but if you could put yourself in our shoes what choice do you think you'd make?
Thanks,
Robert

kerouac

Next summer is too far away right now to base your plans on covid rates.

memejs

If it were me (and I'm also looking at planning a trip for spring/summer 2022), I'd plan a trip to just one country. Things are up in the air as it is, trying to cross borders and deal with possible restrictions of multiple countries just feels too risky to me. That's my two cents! Good luck!

StuDudley

We are going to Paris next week. I'm a little on edge.

We have a Scotland trip planned for May and a France trip in Sept. Like memejs - I do not like to cross borders.

Stu Dudley

lavandula

Summer is six months away - this present spike may well be mostly over by then. How long do you have until you absolutely must cancel? I would wait for a while before cancelling and re-scheduling. There will still be cases, I think that is a given, but perhaps no severe spike in the summer. We have been seeing a pattern where winter has more cases, so you may have some luck by summer 2022. And a caveat - I have no medical training, I'm just someone who watches the news avidly. There is another thread here currently where people were about to visit Belgium in the next month (Seven Nights in Belgium, I have posted there, click on my name) and there is a link there to a good website where you can get statistics and compare countries so you can see if it's anything like your own country.

Lavandula

cdnyul

I would
Economically and socially this nonsense can't go on much longer.

AJPeabody

It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.

--Yogi Berra

TDudette

It's a tough call, Robert. I saw this advice from another Fodor site and think it's worthy: plan as much ahead as possible and make sure you can cancel without penalties at the last minute. Pay attention to each country's vax and testing requirements as the dates get closer.

Edited to add LOL, AJP. 😁

isabel

I agree with the advice to plan a trip to just one country, it lessens the chances that you'll run into different requirements, etc. going from country to country. Pre Covid I traveled to Europe every year, usually 2 trips a year, totaling about 7 weeks and almost always multiple countries. But now I'm planning Spring 2022 to just Italy. I figure, there's plenty to keep me busy in Italy, their numbers have been great since the beginning (when they were the original hot spot - but they got serious about things and have had lower Covid numbers than the US ever since). France has also usually been better than the US. However, given the ages of your family, if the following year is just as good for you you could wait (unlike the retired set who are "loosing" good travel years due to Covid). On the other hand, what if there's a new pandemic, or a new horrid variant. You just don't know. But I would simplify the trip was much as possible.

kureiff

My husband, daughter, and I leave on Thursday for Paris and then Barcelona. It's been stressful. I hope all goes well.

candidlymckenna

This is honestly the exact trip I have been tentatively planning for April 2022...and like others have said it is all so up in the air. Worried about traveling to multiple countries and who knows what the ever changing covid rules might be then...I would make sure that any bookings you make are refundable and perhaps go in with the mindset that there is a good chance this trip doesn't happen. Or just plan one country. I hope you and your family get to travel and have the best, stress free time.

mjs

There is no way to know. Delta hit Europe last summer. It is helpful to be very flexible although this can be expensive. Our June Cornwall trip morphed into a Portugal trip which changed 3 days prior to departure to a Basque Country and Bordeaux holiday. Airfare jumped from $500 to $1500 as we were changing plans. I would book things that can be canceled without penalty and cover yourselves with Trip insurance which can also cover much of your expenses if you have to quarantine in Europe

Tulips

I live in Europe, and we are not planning any long haul trips for next year. We only book where we can travel by car, and where we can cancel if necessary due to covid restrictions. We had a bad experience with a villa rental in Portugal, where the villa company kept insisting on full payment 2 months in advance while Portugal was still closed to foreign visitors. We'd paid a deposit pre-covid and would loose that unless we paid up in full.
So for anything you book, read the small print and make sure you can cancel without penalty if you cannot travel due to covid.

I think/hope that summer 22 will be fine, but I wouldn't put any money on it, at this stage.
The site for covid statistics is https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus

bilboburgler

I live in Europe and will be having a cross countries holiday in 2022. Partially because I'm sick of both this stuff and Brexit. I've been tripple jabbed and keeping up with rules across Europe is really not that hard, it just takes time and a bit of language care. I have "hope" that the coming winter will kill-off the anti-vaxxers (one way or another) and summer is when Covid seems to be the gentlest. So come on over.

geetika

bilbburgler, I’m of the same opinion as you. My sister and I are planning a multi country visit between April-June next year and I’ve been wondering how it’s going to pan out. We’ll be triple jabbed too and how long can one staycation? Am really sick to the gills with people who refuse to follow protocols!

halfapair

Yes, go!
Start in Britain, get over jet lag, see all the major things you want to see (5-6 nights). Take the Eurostar train to Paris. See all the sites you want in Paris (at least 4-5 nights). There is a morning train, so you can have a full afternoon of sites.

Then, take the train to Amsterdam. Stay in the middle of Amsterdam so you can easily walk to everything you want to see. Amsterdam is a bit expensive, but deals can be found. The NH Hotel group has some affordable rooms.

Don't put off the trip. Your eldest is already 18, and likely to have plans, work, school, etc. Don't put off life because of Covid. It's easy to get tests for traveling.

Live now.

rmoore926

Thank you for all the replies. So far we have made no travel plans (hotels, airfare, trains, etc.). Was thinking Dec/Jan would be the time for that, but now I'm not so sure. I do appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. Will take them into consideration.

WeisserTee

This past year we've kept our travel within the "home" borders of Switzerland and that's likely to continue next year. Fortunately, there is plenty to do here without crossing country lines and there are trains and buses serving every place we'd like to see. We do have a trip to Paris and Brussels planned for February, partly to take in a Suzanne Vega concert. Whether we still go -- or still can go -- is up in the air. We are definitely not planning any trips that involve flying. I have not been back to the U.S. since November 2019 and it looks like I won't be going there until November 2022 at the earliest.

IMO, keep the travel plans in your head and do some research but don't make any reservations anywhere that aren't 100% refundable.

Sarastro

Consider:

1. 88% of France has been vaccinated

2. Masks are worn everywhere indoors, with a high percentage of mask use out of doors.

3. People in Paris are very conscientious about antiCovid protocols and, for the great part, follow them.

You do not say where you are from, but it is very likely that you are safer from Covid infection in Paris, than you are in your own hometown.

StuDudley

I'm not so worried about getting Covid in Paris, but I am worried about "changing" regulations interfering with my stay.

1. Friends are joining us in Paris on Dec 4th and then on the 8th, they will take the train to Amsterdam & back. Curfews were just imposed in Netherlands. What will happen if they extend these curfews while our friends are in Amsterdam?

2. Covid is increasing in Germany. What happens if Germany imposes new/stricter restrictions and France follows suit?

3. One of our three most recent flights from CDG to SFO was cancelled due to to lightning striking the plane while in flight and knocking out some radar antenna. We departed 24 hours later. What happens if my negative 72 hour Covid test expires within this 24 hours?

4. France is adding the booster shot proof to the Passe Sanitaire. What happens if they implement this while we are in France and I don't know about it (we don't watch TV or follow news while we are on vacation)?

5. Getting the Passe Sanitaire was a royal PITA. What comes next???

Stu Dudley