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Post by karenlou on Mar 10, 2022 22:16:08 GMT
We are considering Greece in September to celebrate our 25th Anniversary!!! We are also going for our 25th anniversary in September and priced Greece packages yesterday! Where are you located??? We are using Go Ahead Tours out of Boston... Athens, Mykonos and Santorini 😊😊
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Post by tallgirl on Mar 11, 2022 3:44:07 GMT
tallgirl I'd love to see your videos of your trips when you get back - they're always amazing! Aw, thanks! Hoping we’ll have the opportunity to make several videos this year. In the meantime, here is the latest, from last summer. We made the best of being stuck in Canada by going north to see the polar bears, belugas and northern lights.
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Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,984
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Mar 11, 2022 3:49:24 GMT
We are also going for our 25th anniversary in September and priced Greece packages yesterday! Where are you located??? We are using Go Ahead Tours out of Boston... Athens, Mykonos and Santorini 😊😊 We're in Pittsburgh. We are leaning towards planning our own trip rather than using a tour company but we're still in the investigative phase.
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Post by smasonnc on Mar 11, 2022 12:47:14 GMT
We're spending a month in Spain to help our daughter buy an apartment and then we're going to Octoberfest in Munich in September. We'll definitely buy insurance.
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Post by apmom on Mar 11, 2022 13:31:19 GMT
I’m in Ireland and travelled to the US last week, I was quite worried as the invasion of Ukraine had just started and I was afraid of Putin hitting that big red button. In July we are going to Western Canada and have no concerns about that right now. I also would travel anywhere in Western Europe now, absolutely no concerns about it. If I had any money left after my two transatlantic holidays I would go to France for a week-10 days as it’s my favourite country to visit.
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,368
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Mar 12, 2022 3:52:08 GMT
We have an Alaskan cruise planned for august. Still debating what we’ll do. Not cause of pandemic, but Russia’s aggression is a worry. I’m also doing an Alaskan cruise in August.
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Post by paulao on Mar 12, 2022 14:23:03 GMT
I’m leaving for the UK at the end of May. The trip has been postponed twice. I’m retiring in 55 days and plan on spending my 65th birthday in York. Come he’ll or high water….
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artbabe
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,079
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:10 GMT
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Post by artbabe on Mar 12, 2022 16:41:59 GMT
I have an Explorica trip planned that I've been paying for for over 2 years. I booked it pre-covid. It is for England, France, and Spain. Every time in my life I've planned on going to Europe it has been cancelled for one reason or another. I'm not counting on this one going through, either. I'm supposed to go June 6th. Covid doesn't bother me as much as the Ukraine. I'll have to see what the situation is when May comes around.
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Post by mom on Mar 12, 2022 16:51:37 GMT
Im back as of yesterday from traveling internationally. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised how many precautions were taken for Covid while I was traveling. For reference, I went to Mexico and was in three airports and 1 large resort, numerous restaurants and shopping.
Masks were worn, hand (and shoe) sanitizer was everywhere. I don't know that much social distancing was done but I also didn't see a bunch of people coughing, etc. People were respectable of personal space but not the full 6ft.
I flew American the entire trip and felt like they were on top of things. I was in the front of the plane and when the flight attendant took our meal order she also gave us a wipe to wipe our lap trays down with as well. This happened going + coming back. I appriciated that. I saw employees wiping down pool chairs and tables poolside as well as our cabana.
Overall, I felt safe enough. In the next few weeks it will be spring break. The area we were at is popular for Spring travel & they are expecting 3 million travelers. I am not sure I would be thrilled being there then. But for being there at the end of off season, I would happily go back and travel internationally again.
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Post by smalltowngirlie on Sept 23, 2022 20:26:57 GMT
I am bumping this to hear about the trips people had planned. I hope everyone had fun.
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Post by ntsf on Sept 23, 2022 21:07:37 GMT
we are going to new zealand next april.. planning our activities now.
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Post by littlemama on Sept 23, 2022 21:29:20 GMT
We leave 4 weeks from tomorrow! Starting to get things together this weekend since our weather went from 86 to 61 in one day. All the summer stuff is available for gathering now!
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Post by ~summer~ on Sept 23, 2022 21:51:30 GMT
My 21yo has been in France for almost 2 weeks with his girlfriend- they fly back tomorrow then the next day fly back to college for their senior year. No issues so far! I’m hoping to go to Rome in early December but I have not yet bought tickets.
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Post by Basket1lady on Sept 23, 2022 22:08:17 GMT
We just spent 2 1/2 weeks in the UK before flying back to the US. You still see some people masking, but it’s optional. Crowds seem to be back and I never saw any restrictions. There were still a lot of signs saying that masks were required, but then no one actually was masking. I took my cues from the employees and never wore a mask the entire time. (We had boosters in July, so felt fairly safe not masking.)
There are a few tour busses, more than I saw in Belgium or Germany, but it’s manageable. There are a lot of places now where you need to book ahead and only online. That’s really convenient and I liked that option. Most tourist sites weren’t fully booked. We did make some last minute changes and there was availability to do so. Edinburgh Castle was the only place that we didn’t get in to the time slot planned (changed plans due to weather, but did get in an hour later.
The weather was really good and in the 12 days we were in Scotland, we only got rained on once. The midges were out, but only at dusk, and we only noticed them when we were on Skye. It did rain in London, but only sporadically. I’d say I wore my raincoat less than 30 minutes total.
It was a great trip. We did really well with all of our accommodations and were happy to have a car. We did use taxis in Edinburgh and the trains/underground for London.
We took the car ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle, spent a few days in Edinburgh, swung through St Andrew’s on the way to Inverness, drown down Loch Ness to the Isle of Skye, then Glen Coe, and Glasgow. We toured St Paul’s and Buckingham Palace (the day the Queen died), saw Cursed Child (all 6 hours!) and toured Warner Brother’s Leavesden Studios, went to Canterbury, the white cliffs of Dover, and came back on the car train through the Chunnel. It was a great trip!
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sueg
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,103
Location: Munich
Apr 12, 2016 12:51:01 GMT
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Post by sueg on Sept 24, 2022 8:23:29 GMT
I've done two international trips since this thread started, both Germany to Australia for family visits. There was a huge difference between the March and August trips - first one required a PCR test before travel, as well as showing a vax certificate, and then a Rapid test done within 24 hours of arrival. August - none of that necessary; it was like pre-covid times. I flew Emirates both trips, and they were still requiring masks on board when I returned on Sept 9th.
I am living in Munich and Oktoberfest started here last weekend. DH has been to the wiesn grounds twice this week, and felt crowd numbers were way down on pre-covid levels. Our weather has also been pretty awful, which could be impacting local visits, but I guess if you had come from overseas you'd still be out! I was in the city Thursday and there were many more people around than I have seen for a while, and quite obviously a lot of 'not Germans' from hearing people speak, but still not the crowd levels we'd normally see here at this time of year.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Sept 24, 2022 13:11:56 GMT
We are currently in Croatia, heading to Slovenia tomorrow. Some places are crowded because of cruse ships. Not many people masking. One of our group of 30 tested positive 2 days ago and had to be left behind for 10 days. The trip had been amazing.
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Post by guzismom on Sept 24, 2022 13:28:56 GMT
A trip after Thanksgiving is becoming an annual thing for us, it seems. Hubby has a conference in Milan the second week of December; we will visit a few places (including Amsterdam) before that.
It will be our first trip using our Global Entry pass; interesting to see how that goes.
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iluvpink
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,298
Location: Michigan
Jul 13, 2014 12:40:31 GMT
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Post by iluvpink on Sept 24, 2022 15:06:31 GMT
We have a trip to Italy planned for early May. I hope things aren't too crazy with both COVID and Ukraine. It will be our first trip overseas and we are so looking forward to it!
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Post by katlady on Sept 24, 2022 15:11:57 GMT
Japan FINALLY opens up on Oct 11th!! No more VISA requirements, no more tour group requirement, no more cap on tourist allowed in. I told SO to start planning!!
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Post by mom on Sept 24, 2022 17:31:04 GMT
A trip after Thanksgiving is becoming an annual thing for us, it seems. Hubby has a conference in Milan the second week of December; we will visit a few places (including Amsterdam) before that. It will be our first trip using our Global Entry pass; interesting to see how that goes.
You will love it! So easy and worth the cost.
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Post by mom on Sept 24, 2022 17:34:27 GMT
I haven't gone international since this thread started, but we've been to a few states. All were good trips but not really vacations. Our last international trip was in early March to Unico in Mexico.
We are going to Cabo for Thanksgiving this year, so that will be our second vacation. 11 days of not dealing with extended family will be heaven! We also just booked a trip to Puerto Rico for next February.
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peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,632
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Sept 24, 2022 18:03:13 GMT
as mentioned on page 1, we went to Ireland in July. It was a terrific trip!
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rickmer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,127
Jul 1, 2014 20:20:18 GMT
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Post by rickmer on Sept 24, 2022 20:45:50 GMT
i went to spain to visit DD studying for 6 months - i took her bros for 2 weeks in march. it was a bit of a pain, still covid restrictions in place in terms of passenger locator forms, testing 48 hrs prior to travel and back home, having to show documentation every time we travelled. everything was open and it was totally fine being there (we went to 4 different cities but i specifically chose to stay in spain in case any NEW travel restrictions if we decided to do 3 days in amsterdam and fly home from there... hoped to avoid any last minute wrenches in the plan. DD is going to germany next month, flying into dublin and then 8 days in germany.... fall is an amazing time to go to europe, more reasonable pricing usually, less people, not hot as haiti.... i would go!!!! if covid taught us nothing it should be "strike while the iron is hot", who knows what is coming down the pipe next - we could have another pandemic that shuts down the world for 5 yrs next time... go for it.
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Post by monklady123 on Sept 24, 2022 22:17:04 GMT
Sadly for me, I've only been to Georgia (the US state, not the country!), Delaware, and southern Virginia since this thread started. But, all were fun trips so no real complaints. Dh's part of the State Department is starting up their overseas travel again which I am so happy about! hahaha I just love when my dh travels because I don't cook the entire time he's gone, and I plan big projects for that time such as pulling everything out of closets and reorganizing. The next international trip I want to make is to Scotland. After seeing the absolutely gorgeous scenery when the Queen's coffin traveled from Balmoral I really want to see it for myself.
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mich5481
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,616
Oct 2, 2017 23:20:46 GMT
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Post by mich5481 on Sept 24, 2022 22:53:07 GMT
A trip after Thanksgiving is becoming an annual thing for us, it seems. Hubby has a conference in Milan the second week of December; we will visit a few places (including Amsterdam) before that. It will be our first trip using our Global Entry pass; interesting to see how that goes.
You will love it! So easy and worth the cost. Global entry is AMAZING! My dad and I went to Europe for nearly 3 weeks, and when we got back to Charlotte September 11th, I breezed through customs, got our bags, met my brother with the car, and then waited for my dad. He did not have Global entry, and it took him more than an hour to get through customs. As for traveling, it was definitely crowded at times, but it wasn't anything to worry about. My dad was concerned about Russia/Ukraine, especially when we went to Prague. I had to show him the map, and how Kyiv is 15+ hours away from Prague! 🤣
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Post by Really Red on Sept 25, 2022 2:37:39 GMT
I've done two international trips since this thread started, both Germany to Australia for family visits. There was a huge difference between the March and August trips - first one required a PCR test before travel, as well as showing a vax certificate, and then a Rapid test done within 24 hours of arrival. August - none of that necessary; it was like pre-covid times. I flew Emirates both trips, and they were still requiring masks on board when I returned on Sept 9th. I am living in Munich and Oktoberfest started here last weekend. DH has been to the wiesn grounds twice this week, and felt crowd numbers were way down on pre-covid levels. Our weather has also been pretty awful, which could be impacting local visits, but I guess if you had come from overseas you'd still be out! I was in the city Thursday and there were many more people around than I have seen for a while, and quite obviously a lot of 'not Germans' from hearing people speak, but still not the crowd levels we'd normally see here at this time of year. I know the numbers down at the Oktoberfest isn't good news for Germany, but I am happy to hear it. My girls will be there next weekend. I was in France, Croatia and Switzerland in May and travel was easy breezy. I say that even though my flight home was cancelled twice and I ended up leaving at the break of dawn and it took about 6 more hours than it should have. It was still relatively without issues. The flights on Easy Jet were fabulous! That said, both my girls came home over the summer. One in July and one just a couple weeks ago. Both trips were awful. The first because that DD lives in London and Heathrow is a nightmare. She still got her bags!! My daughter who lives in Switzerland should have had an easy trip. It was such a nightmare, but she took it like a champ. Not one complaint. It was cancelled last minute and rebooked into 3 flights. Then her flight had a flat tire (!) and she was going to miss her third flight so she booked a later (and latest flight out). That flight sat on the tarmac for 5.5 hours. I thought they stopped that! They did not. She got in at 4:30in the morning, about 36 hours after she left her home. She's at a wedding now and due to flight back home Monday. I hope that will go well. So the flights? Not so nice. Once you get there? Perfect!! I'm headed over to London in October. I hope it is not too busy!
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Post by Really Red on Sept 25, 2022 2:41:41 GMT
You will love it! So easy and worth the cost. Global entry is AMAZING! My dad and I went to Europe for nearly 3 weeks, and when we got back to Charlotte September 11th, I breezed through customs, got our bags, met my brother with the car, and then waited for my dad. He did not have Global entry, and it took him more than an hour to get through customs. As for traveling, it was definitely crowded at times, but it wasn't anything to worry about. My dad was concerned about Russia/Ukraine, especially when we went to Prague. I had to show him the map, and how Kyiv is 15+ hours away from Prague! 🤣 KTR, Global Entry and Clear Eye (I think that's the name). I have them all. My Amex paid for them and I think my United card would have as well. Those things make travel so nice. For some reason United cannot put my KTR on their boarding pass, but with the Clear Eye, I go through another line and get through quickly. Love it. When I got home in May to Dulles, it took 35 mns to get off the flight, get through customs, get my bags and get outside. 35 minutes!!!! I didn't think that was humanly possible, but it happened. Of course I told my ride not to get there for at least one hour, so I had to wait in the 100 degree heat of May, but it was outside and I was good!
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sueg
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,103
Location: Munich
Apr 12, 2016 12:51:01 GMT
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Post by sueg on Sept 25, 2022 10:46:07 GMT
I know the numbers down at the Oktoberfest isn't good news for Germany, but I am happy to hear it. My girls will be there next weekend. The weekends are still very busy - it is mainly the weekday visitors that are down. Next weekend I expect to be quite busy, as it is a long weekend in Germany. And ‘fewer’ visitors is relative. In previous years, just prior to covid, we were getting 6.7 - 7 million visitors over the two weeks of the Fest. The figures I have seen for the first week say that there have been 3 million visitors, down from 3.3 million in the first week of 2019. It is still A LOT of people .
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Post by tallgirl on Sept 25, 2022 14:44:49 GMT
We had two trips this summer and both went very well. We had an Alaskan cruise that sailed round trip from Vancouver. After the stress of obtaining negative Covid tests for all 18 of us (YAY) we flew from Toronto to Vancouver uneventfully and set sail on an almost-full ship. We had a lovely time despite some temperamental (but typical for the area) weather. After we got home, 2 of our 18 tested positive for Covid - from a household that hadn’t had it before. Those of us who’d already had it all were fine. I felt pretty safe on the ship but the amount of coughing at the Vancouver airport before our flight home was definitely concerning.
Then in mid-August we left for 2 weeks in Italy. We travelled around by train and had the most marvellous time, feeling very safe everywhere we went. Our only extended indoor attraction we visited was the Vatican museum; most everything else was outdoors. Masks were required on public transit and the rule was enforced on the high speed long distance trains, but not on shorter commuter trains or ferries. I was prepared for it to feel terribly crowded at that time of year, and it was busy, but not as bad as I’d feared.
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Post by epeanymous on Sept 25, 2022 14:56:49 GMT
I had said when this thread posted that I was not making international travel plans at that time, which was true. I ended up, once summer hit and it seemed things were going to be open and running, making a solo trip to Copenhagen with a 24-hour stop in Iceland. The whole trip was great, and highly recommended. I'm not an outdoorsy person, and 24 hours in Iceland was enough to take a Golden Circle tour and check out Reykjavik; I'd like to see the Northern Lights some time, so may return for that at a future date. Copenhagen is a perfect city for solo travel -- easy to navigate in every respect, good museums and parks, great food, pretty views, and you can see a ton in a few days (I even ended up briefly taking a train across the border into Malmo).
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