danon

As the year ends, for many of us 2022 was the first year to travel after Covid restrictions were lifted.
Was your experience what you were hoping for ? Was Covid still an issue?
I will start .
My fist trip was a week stay in Paris in early June. I was waiting for wormer weather so eating outdoors would be an option.
The flights were packed, the passport and security control took a couple of hours.
Very few people wore a mask on public transit..or anyplace else. I spent only an hour at
d'Orsay.

My second trip was 10 days in Madrid in mid October. The weather was fantastic..Eating outdoors was a pleasure.
The taxi drivers were still required to wear a mask Many passenger did the same on public transit.
I only visited a couple of smaller museums this time. I also attended two theatre performances....again , a small number people wore a mask..most didn’t.
It was difficult not to be aware of Covid and its aftermath. : some stores and restaurants I knew were gone ( in Madrid)
Often mediocre food in bistros ( in Paris ) was probably a way the restaurants were trying to make up for Covid years losses.

I enjoyed both trips., Covid and all.

Vicky

I was waiting to go to Europe until rest to return was dropped but then I just couldn’t make a decision (something I was good at pre pandemic)
2 train trips to New York City with one night stay. May and Dec. no masks except at The Play That Goes Wrong in May. My friend who went with me in May only wanted to eat outside as she was visiting her family when we got back.

really hoping to travel more jn 2023

hetismij2

We sold our Covid safe capsule - the campervan, which we made use off both Covid summers early in the year. had to go, it was getting unreliable sadly. Oh how I miss it though.
We had a trip to Brittany late April. Excellent weather and we enjoyed ourselves. Not so fun were the long drives on motorways to get there and back even with overnight hotel/airbnbs. In the camper we'd never drive for many hours but would find a place to stop after a max of four hours driving.
We were supposed to do another trip later in the year but I couldn't get DH moving or interested in planning so we didn't do anything. I am not planning it all again like I did for the Brittany trip (with the exception of one awful hotel DH booked).
2022 was a worse year for us than the previous two. Frustrating.

I have put forward ideas for 2023 but again he doesn't want to do any of the research, plus we have some major house expenses coming up, so I can see it being another write off year. Clock's ticking and travelling days are wasting.

janisj

Lots of travel this year - but only two trips out of the country

• Feb and April a couple of short 'staycations' -- overnights at nearby casino hotels for wine dinners.

• Mid-May 2 nights in SLC

• Late May 4 nights in Incline Village Lake Tahoe

• Early July a week in London for the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. TR here Perfect week in London

• October Tacoma for Elton John Concert TR here Tacoma - Farewell Yellow Brick Road

• Mid Nov 3 days in NYC

• Early Dec London for my birthday and ABBA concert TR: My date with Benny, Björn, Agnetha & Frida

Weather was great for every trip and no covid issues. Every flight was 100% or nearly 100% full

KTtravel

We had a wonderful trip to Germany and Kenya. We couldn't book a non-stop flight to Kenya which was why we included Germany. Berlin had always been on our list of places to eventually visit and we had a great time there. Our grown kids joined us for our week-long safari in Kenya where we had a fabulous time. We can't stop talking about our safari when we get together.

The only downside to our travels was catching Covid at the end but, at least it was at the end of the trip. My husband and I ended up staying an extra 5 days cooped up in a hotel room in Frankfurt but we made good use of our Kindles and Netflix. Despite getting Covid, I'm glad we went.

danon

“The only downside to our travels was catching Covid at the end but, at least it was at the end of the trip. My husband and I ended up staying an extra 5 days cooped up in a hotel room in Frankfurt but we made good use of our Kindles and Netflix. Despite getting Covid, I'm glad we went. “

Too bad your trip ended on Covid “ note”. I traveled alone and feared being quarantined .
One can only protect oneself so much and still enjoy the trip.

Travel_Nerd

Some travel this year, but mostly due to my skating competitions and other skating related activities:

• January: Long Beach to attend a skating clinic by Olympic bronze medalist Ashley Wagner. Enjoyed spending some time in the downtown area. No plane issues (Southwest)
• March: day trip to San Francisco for competition
• April: Overnight on Peninsula (San Mateo) for another competition
• San Jose: overnighted to attend a skating show (Stars on Ice) and meet and greet with the cast
• June: just finished recovering from Covid* and had a competition in South Lake Tahoe over a weekend. Spent time hiking around the lake when I was not performing
• July: SF again for another clinic by Ashley Wagner. Overnighted in SF

*How I got Covid is still a mystery since I was pretty diligent and at the time had limited my time to the ice rink, grocery store and home since the NBA season (am a season ticket holder) was already over.

Non-skating trips:

• Reno: two trips, one in January and another in July. Spent time in various casinos, events, etc.
• The big one: month long trip for my sabbatical from Venice fo Sarajevo in Aug/Sep solo. Crowds, crowds, crowds. No plane issues heading over, flight from Sarajevo to connecting severely delayed (weather-related), made it on my flight back to SFO. My bag did not. It arrived 36 hours after I did. I considered this a win given the luggage drama everywhere else.

2023:
So far undetermined. But considering:

• Tahiti (solo - meh) in May.
• Slovenia in October for my first international competition (IF I meet the requirements). Will likely turn that into a longer trip if I can compete.

Melnq8

We took a 16 night road trip in January visiting several National Parks (and a few state parks) in Utah. Most of the hotels we stayed in had discontinued their breakfasts due to time of year and COVID, although the hotel in Bryce did offer a buffet breakfast where use of plastic gloves was required. We spent most of our time outdoors hiking, and self catered some meals, mostly because there just weren't many options out in the sticks in January. Utah never did have much of a mask policy, so the few restaurants we did visit were mask-free.

We spent three weeks in Portugal in late March/April - negative COVID tests were needed to enter the country and masks were still required on flights (going in) and public transport while there, but lifted a few days before we left to return to the US, although we still wore them. Hand sanitizer was everywhere from restaurant table tops to entrances into shops and one hotel required that we wear plastic gloves at the breakfast buffet. Masks were required in museums and some eating establishments. We had a few concerns in small restaurants that were very busy, and we avoided some very busy trams, but otherwise we ate both indoors and out. Portugal was damn busy though, so much so that we cancelled a trip to Austria and Germany we'd booked for June as we had concerns about all the 'revenge travel' and just didn't want to deal with the mobs.

My spouse spent three weeks in the Maldives in July which took four flights and two days to get there. He wore his mask religiously on all the flights and in the airports coming and going, but managed to get COVID on the return to the US after being seated next to a maskless hacking individual on the way home.

We spent over a month in Switzerland in Sept/Oct - we wore our masks on the flights into and out of the country, but other than on a train full of coughing kids and a busy bus here and there, we kept them off for the majority of the trip. We'd both received our 5th jab about a week before the trip as well as our flu jabs. Masks weren't required and few people wore them - we did take a train and a couple of buses into Italy, and masks were still required, although not enforced. We ate at an assortment of restaurants, inside and out, although none were particularly busy.

From Switzerland I flew to Spain for two weeks - masks were still required on public transport and in taxis while there and I wore mine on my flights, but otherwise there were no requirements. We ate in many restaurants - mostly indoors - and visited entirely too many churches and other indoor venues. Spain was flat out busy too, so much so that we cancelled a month long trip to Austria, Germany and Italy that was planned for Christmas as soon as I got home.

IME it's just too busy out there right now since the travel floodgates have re-opened. We'll give Europe another go in a few months.

And for those masks - I religiously wore mine here at home right up until we went to Switzerland. I haven't worn it since being home though, other than at a doctor's office.

geetika

We spent 5 weeks in Europe April-May 2022, almost three in Sicily and Naples/Amalfi, with the rest in Greece. Sicily was very strict about masking and checking vaccination certificates, but by the time we came to the Amalfi masking was optional. Greece was the same, though we continued to mask indoors and crowded areas.

Next was Paris for a week early August, followed by a couple of days in Amsterdam before taking a 7 nights fjords cruise. Luckily for us we made it back from both trips without testing positive.

Right now am in India on my annual year end trip back home, I was one of the very few masking on the flights here.

I think we’re now learning to live and travel with Covid, happy and safe travels to all!

bilboburgler

A week in the Canaries in March was interesting, all masking and phone app certificates but also sun, hiking, restaurants, exercise and people (including Russians keeping their heads down).

Then cycling in the Netherlands, no restrictions apart from Brexit ones and Dutch border guards trying to juggle masks, stamps, passports while standing in the sun out of their little huts. Only one guest house owner was still not handshaking.

Then Cornwall for Christmas with family from around the world. No restrictions but no border guards as they were on strike. Neighbours caught Covid, no worries.

Next year, going to try for Georgia this year before it gets swallowed by the Bear.

PatrickLondon

I found the lockdowns had rather taken away the taste for travel, within the UK or abroad. I managed a few days in Paris in April, and had occasional ideas about training it into Germany for some walking, but couldn't quite summon up enough enthusiasm to do anything about it. Maybe this year....

hetismij2

The Chinese can travel again so revenge travel will be ramped up to a whole new level in 2023.

crellston

Most of 2022 was split between London and Oxfordshire but with a couple of trips further afield.

The first was in January to California. A flying into San Francisco for a few days, a road trip down Highway One to LA and a couple of weeks staying in a friends house in Pasadena which included a side trip to Joshua Tree NP. Loved every second and started to wonder why Americans ever bother to leave their own country .

Our second trip was to visit our Australian family in September . A long awaited trip booked in the depths of covid in the evidently mistaken assumption that covid would be over by then. BC flights booked via Tokyo were exceptional good value. Sadly the Japanese refused to open up to foreigners so we had to cancel and rebook at the last minute going via Vietnam. Anyway got to see, son, DIL and 3 year old grandson we had only met the once at 3 month old. also met our new 5 mo grandson for the first time. An added bonus was that we were invited to stay by another Fodors member , Sartoric and her husband in their place in the rainforest of northern New South Wales and had a fantastic time. We got to see parts of Oz that we wouldn't otherwise have seen.

Covid was a concern on both of these trips, not for fear of catching it as we are both vaccinated as far as we can be, but the testing caused a few concerns - would we go, would we get back.. Masking was a PITA on the flights between London and West Coast USA. Apart from those issues I cant really say it had much impact (but maybe we just forget about these things. I guess I noticed it more in Vietnam. The country has re-opened completely , sadly many businesses have not survived. Hanoi and Saigon, cities we now very well were a lot less busy, closed shops and restaurants were everywhere. sadly some good friend who ran a homestay in Saigon went out of business. The traffic and crowds in Hanoi were probably less than half their normal level. it did seem eerily quiet though still busy by some measures.

No concrete plans for 2023and will mostly be splitting time between Oxford and London together with numerous pet/housesitting projects. I have a vague plan to take the train down through Europe, possibly to Istanbul, possibly to Scandinavia.

As far as I am concerned covid is now behind us, though with the Chinese now being released into the world, largely unvaccinated and possibly with all manner of new variants of the virus, I hope I am not proved wrong...

bilboburgler

I still fail to understand why the UK has to wait until Thursday to ensure Chinese visitors to the UK have to be tested

hetismij2

Here they have decided it is a waste of time and money since other EU countries around us aren't doing it an there are already a huge number of Chinese tourists in Europe.
Before Italy imposed their test requirement they had a voluntary scheme on arrival and half of all Chinese tested positive. Yikes. But I guess greed talks and Chinese money is more important than public health. Seems we never learn.

I forgot in my post up thread our surprise and unplanned two nights in an AirBnB all of 50Km from home.

Looking at this year, and avoiding flying I can't see us doing much. Trains are expensive to get where we thought of going and finding long distance bus routes is surprisingly tricky. Rome2Rio is not that helpful in real life - it just doesn't offer all the possible, or even logical routes.
If I can herd cats, I mean brothers, we may have a sibs meetup to mark three 75th birthdays somewhere, but probably not in France as I first suggested.

Damn I miss the camper .

danon

We were also wondering why Canada was procrastinating…but how effective the testing is remains a question.
“COVID-19’s incubation period lasts up to 14 days. If you have the virus, it takes time to build up in your system. Early testing can result in samples that don’t contain enough of the virus’ genetic material to show a positive result. A COVID-19 test is limited in that it represents only a snapshot in time. A negative PCR test for COVID-19 does not mean that an individual is free of infection, but rather that, at that particular moment, the sample did not contain viral levels at a high enough concentration to be measured as a positive.”

AnselmAdorne

We made several overnight trips to various places here in Nova Scotia, and spent a full week hiking in the Cape Breton highlands. Our only significant risk was while dining in restaurants, but we chose accommodations that allowed us to self-cater to a certain extent.

In September we flew to Ottawa to attend my brother's funeral, our first time on an airplane since March 2019. We felt comfortable enough that we decided to book two trips abroad in 2023. The first will be in February, to see the Vermeer exhibit in Amsterdam and to visit friends in Eindhoven; the second will be to the U.K. in May to hike part of Offa's Dyke Path and then the entirety of the Cumbrian Way. These trips may not be our wisest decisions, as we will be using public transportation and eating in restaurants and pubs. We will each have had our five Covid vaccinations by then, so we hope that we will have mild cases if we do contract Covid. Given the kilometres we plan to walk, sore feet will be a certainty.

raincitygirl

We spent the month of June in Italy in a few different locations. Mandatory masking on our flights- Vancouver-Montreal, then Montreal to Rome. There was mandatory masking on public transport while we were in Italy and on our first domestic flight and then the masking on domestic Italian flights was dropped. We masked when entering stores and I'd say about 70% of people did the same. Funnily I noticed that in pharmacies masking was nearly 100% and I got told off by an Italian nonna for not having one on - I had come out without my mask stupidly and was in there to buy some.

The weather was glorious so we ate outside most of the time and it was not super busy in any of our locations in Puglia, a little busier in Camogli and slammed in Rome.
We had no travel problems getting to Italy but Air Canada changed our departure flight by a whole day (we were lucky our hotel was able to find us a room for the extra night), Rome airport was busy, people were cutting lines and generally displaying all the bad behaviours but the security people and agents handled it all well. My suitcase was the only one off the connecting flight to arrive in Vancouver, people were mobbing the luggage desk, husbands was delivered a few days later. Unfortunately I started to feel ill on our flight from Toronto to Vancouver and yes, it was covid. So that meant I was sick the entire month of July as I got a secondary infection as well. (pneumonia) Same thing happened when I got covid last Christmas. Month of January - gone. Still worth it to have been in Italy!! It was absolute bliss to be travelling again.

We had a spur of the moment trip to Morocco with our son and his wife and her parents in August for 2 weeks. Her Dad is Moroccan so we were with his family and shown a very good time indeed, it was a fabulous trip. Same masking protocol on Air Canada on all flights. We masked on the bullet trains and in crowded situations. There was not a whole lot of masking there. Some luggage issues on the return flight but all good in the end.

This year we hope to get to NYC to see the kids and their new home, I want to go to London and see my cousins, also to Florence to visit friends. Plus possibly Nice, Spain, all kinds of ideas. Taking the kids to Maui for Christmas.
Husband is planning another crazy bike ride, this one through all the Central American countries starting in Costa Rica and ending in Tulum.

I hope the Chinese government keeps its citizens at home.

danon

I am sorry to hear several posters caught Covid or had a bad experience with flights / luggage.

In 2022 I chose to travel to Paris and Madrid partly because of direct flights from Toronto .
.It seemed a bit safer to spend less time in transit . In the end, who knows .
Of course it is not always possible, but I will stick to the same
plan in 2023.
Perhaps Barcelona .? or London ? Amsterdam ? Zurich ?
Once there , we can decide if it is “ safe” to travel further.

kleeblatt

I just booked a flight to Seattle from Zürich for this summer. I'm paying SFr. 1200 which includes the option of being flexible.