I don’t know what’s still available for this season since we’re already here, but anyone wanting something likely to be “different” in the US should consider the 1000 Islands region of NY (Cape Vincent, Clayton, Alex Bay). Gorgeous river w/boat tours of a couple castles, scuba diving wrecks if one is certified, state parks for beaches + some have hiking, nearby Adirondacks, lots of flora and fauna, and very rural for peace and quiet. Should Canada open up, it’s right at your doorstep via bridges and a ferry.
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Oh no! Thanks for the information!
We had a trip planned for summer 2020 & assumed we’d bump it to 2022, but wow, so much pent up demand, I think I don’t want to go anywhere in 2022!
DW had the same thoughts as you. She primarily has always done the bulk of the planning and tickets and hotel reservations and said she could not bear to think of going through all of it just to have to cancel all again. I reminder he since DS is going off to college this could easily be the last time we all go on a vacation together for a while. Then I offered to help book, etc…she quickly said that it was fine, she would sort it out herself… )))
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Today there was an article about a couple on their honeymoon, postponed from last year, who had to quarantine in the Seychelles after she tested positive for covid. They had spent most of their first few days outside. Both were vaccinated (for several months as they are medical people). She thinks it was a contaminated sample as the facility took about 200 samples without changing gloves. She later tested negative, but that doesn’t matter. Once a person tests positive, the only release is 10 days after quarantining. Negative tests don’t help.
The couple was to spend a week in the Seychelles and then go to South Africa for another week. Their tour company couldn’t help. They had to move to the quarantine hotel ($250/night) and wait.
So be careful you know the rules of the country(s) you are traveling to and if they require testing and what happens if the test is positive.
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Seychelles is having outbreaks, including a significant number of cases among vaccinated people.
However, the vaccines in use there are Covishield (= AstraZeneca, which South Africa rejected due to low effectiveness against B.1.351 that is common there) and Sinopharm (a more traditional inactivated virus vaccine). There does not seem to be much information on what variants are circulating in Seychelles.
The vaccines available in the US do appear to have decent effectiveness against B.1.351 (including J&J whose trials included South Africa when B.1.351 was circulating).
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But these people are from the US and had Pfizer or Moderna (the woman is a medical resident so got hers in Jan).
The point is that they will not change the rules even if you prove it was a false positive or that you aren’t infectious. You have to know the rules of the country you are traveling to.
While I was standing in line to get my second shot, the guy behind me told me some friends of his had gotten the J&J. They wanted to travel to France and they could because the husband had French citizenship (at a time when France was shut down). However, the rule was they had to be vaccinated and the French wouldn’t accept the J&J. This was Easter Sunday, so very soon after J&J was approved and maybe things are different in France now, but you have to check.
We are cancelling our October 2021 trip to Italy this week (had everything originally planned for 2020). I will push out to May 2022.
I just came back from Charleston and it was such a pain with the masks on vacation for just 3 days. I don’t want to spend all that money for 4 people and deal with it. EU is so far behind with their vaccinations, they might have another surge. I just don’t want the experience of Italy with all of us behind masks, not being able to see and communicate freely with the Italian waiters, tour guides and people. I want the whole experience and I think it’s worth waiting some more.
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That seems like a wise decision. Sad but wise
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I absolutely agree I had a vacation planned to Spain for July 2021 but I already returned the tickets and lost 30% of the money because even if Spain opens up I would hate being among millions of tourists from all over the world who are desperately travelling wherever after almost 2 years of quarantine. Popular European destinations will be for sure overpacked, I would recommend better choosing some unusual countries that still have a lot of to offer, like for example Scandinavian area ones or Albania, Macedonia, Croatia etc.
I think international travel will still be sufficiently complex this July that there absolutely won’t be any close to the usual (tens of) “millions of tourists” in Spain. For example the UK is warning people not to book overseas holidays in most of Europe this summer and Ireland is saying not to expect overseas holidays before September.
I’d be much more worried about next year being overcrowded as travel finally gets back to normal. OTOH concerns about things still being disrupted or closed this summer are definitely valid.
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We have booked a vacation in Sicily in October 2021. The airfare was not that high. If we have to cancel the trip, I will get a credit on BA, which I have flown oodles in the past so will not have a problem using the credit.
We have a house in Canada that we have not been able to visit since we did a complete renovation (knocked it down and rebuilt). We would normally spend much of the summer there, but I don’t know if we will be able to go this summer. We can drive, but not sure about the quarantine requirements and it would not be considered necessary travel.
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Currently, I think Canada still requires a 14 day quarantine once you arrive.
I think they are trying to get that changed. They aren’t even sure if the hockey team that wins can come to the US to play for the cup. They are hoping to change the rules by mid June.
I’m off to England and Spain in November. The trip has already been postponed twice. Last year I postponed to April 2021 thinking “that’s a whole year, the modern world surely isn’t going to take a whole year to get this COVID cleaned up”. Obviously I was very wrong😟
I’m fine with the risk of having to cancel or postpone
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We also have a property in Canada that we have not set foot on since October 2019. Having a property or crossing the border for any leisure trip is not allowed even with quarantine. We would have definitely managed to quarantine in our place for 14 days if that’s what it took to get there. It’s a no go. I don’t know if eventually provinces will be able to set their own rules? With the slow vaccinations in Canada and some posts even here on CC that they are spacing out for months shot 1 and 2, I’m not holding my breath.
My friends I. Ananda report that it’s getting easier to get the first shot, but yes, the second one is delayed for months. Ugh. That’s got to be frustrating.
My DD (recent college grad) is off on her study abroad trip to South America that was arranged through a third-party provider and postponed from last summer (non-refundable). There were extra hoops to jump through to get there. She needed to have a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of arriving, complete some additional documentation, and they gave everyone face shields to wear at the airport upon arriving. She is fully vaccinated and has plenty of masks with her for when it’s required. The school seems to have plenty of foreign students, though not as many as pre-pandemic. Tours seem to be running normally and she has a lot of outdoor weekend trips booked. Keeping fingers crossed for a safe and fun trip.
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The CDC requires ALL passengers returning to the US have a negative Covid test taken within 3 days of departure for US. Wherever you go, make sure there’s a testing site able to perform valid testing and reporting before your return.
This requirement alone discourages me from international travel this year.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html
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That requirement would not discourage me from travelling. We have our trip planned and ready to go but going maskless almost 100% of the time here lately and seeing many of the locations abroad still requiring masks is definitely discouraging.
Friend of mine was completely vaccinated in February. She still wears her mask everywhere and tested Covid positive last month. That is a risk I would not take unless one has alternate plans to pay for treatment and quarantine overseas.
I am vaccinated but still wear mask indoors while going out, except when I am having a meal.