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Elephant in the Room?
Have a Tauck trip planned at end of May to Germany. Haven't seen any comments about what the U.S. State Department warned about Europe travel through June. Any thoughts? Plan on going ahead with our trip, but was curious about other travelers' thoughts.
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We have two trips planned for the upcoming months- Classic Italy (w/flight change in CDG) and Best of Ireland. We have no intention to change our plans. A terrorist can strike anywhere, so your options are stay home, literally, in your house, or press on and live your life. Obviously, I would not travel to Iraq, Syria, Libya, or Egypt , but Tauck is currently not traveling to any of those (too bad, I really want to see Egypt again). Though there have been problems in Istanbul, I would even go to Turkey, just not the South East half near the Syrian and Iragi borders. Our daughter's husband works for the State Dept (we are currently visiting her family in Panama) and he keeps us advised on the latest- but it is nothing more than everyone can read on the State website.
I've noticed a fair amount of vacancies have opened up on certain tours, but don't know if that is because it is getting close to the time to pay the balance or cancel, or because of terrorist issues.
I'm still planning to go on the May 14 Taste of France, staying before and after in Lyon and Paris. I agree that the terrorist threat is everywhere, and one can't stay home because of it. Am I still a little scared? Yes, but if this trip is anything like last year's, Magical Music on the Danube, I'll soon forget any fears.
Happylady
As previous posters have indicated, travel has never really been "easy". You have always had to take precautions … about where exactly you go, walk, how you travel and with whom. Even Phileas Fogg had his issues! So perhaps this is the time for tourists to stay at home and for the travellers to exercise their brains … and their feet. "Lay on, Macduff … and damned be him who cries 'Hold! Enough!'"
Nancy
Yes, I certainly am an Aussie! Our version of your State Department is the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). They, too, have a website devoted to safe, world-wide travel ... Smart Traveller. I'm sure these sites are all developed on a similar theme. For Australians, how to travel "smart" when overseas, stuff you need to know before you travel (like conditions for entry, location of Australian consulates and embassies abroad, who to contact if you need help, etc.). I get all the Smart Traveller emails as they are issued and re-issued for all countries. (Who know's where I might want to go next!) Before I leave the country, I also register my travel itinerary and next of kin contacts with the service. If stuff happens, I want Big Brother to know how to find and help me. And probably bill be afterwards! :-0
As to the type of advice/travel warnings issued by various countries. Well, I can't answer this question without acknowledging that depending on which jurisdiction is issuing them and for which "foreign" jurisdiction and when ... well, the warnings are sometimes party politically motivated and sometimes they are not. That's where individual brains come in! And, to be fair, it also depends on all sorts of geo-political stuff that I as a mere intelligent, well-educated, internationally attuned mortal can only guess at. I do sometimes compare the travel advisories of the UK, the USA and Australia. (But that's because I'm a travel wonk, as distinct from a policy wonk.) They don't always align, which, to be honest, surprises me. The long and the short of it is ... it's very confusing and it's even more confusing when party politics messes with the actual message. Never confuse hard thought out and reasoned facts with a good story. (Or a bad one!) The thing to be aware of with these travel warnings is to keep up to date and do what they taught us at school. Compare and contrast. The people who write them work hard to make them the best they can be. Be aware of foreign countries' entry requirements (including health requirements) and your own country's re-entry (importantly including health) requirements. I don't want to be refused entry into my own country because I didn't get a yellow fever shot to visit "wherever" because someone on a travel blog told me I didn't need one. The bottom line is, you have to take responsibility for your own actions. So be well-informed.
There are some parts of the world I do not wish to travel to now, or in the near future. I have seen a great deal of one of those countries and ... perhaps I'll never visit again. There are some countries I do not think it would be prudent to travel to with a large group of loud, ill-informed tourists. Perhaps a Smithsonian group would be better for that place? I never took a Kon-Tiki tour for that same reason. That many loud drunken Aussies is too much for me. (But I'm showing my peccadilloes!) If I'm in a foreign country, I really try to fly under the radar. I don't want to draw attention to myself. I know I can never look as chic as a Parisian or San Franciscan matron, but I can look like a slightly eccentric one, rather than a loud, inappropriately dressed (in a cultural sense) ripe-for-the-pickin' tourist. And I know I could fall off a footpath and twist my foot just as well in Melbourne as in Timbuktu. I'm not sure Mali is the place for me just now, anyway.
Personally, simply because people with a different faith tradition to mine are more likely to live in a certain part of the world does not deter me from visiting. I'm the child of a boat person, of a family fleeing civil war on the other side of the world. That my father was Irish and it was the Irish civil war does stymie some people. What does deter me is the sure knowledge that people in a certain part of the world are ignorant and armed, or that it is a declared conflict zone and I thought I'd take a hiking holiday in the vicinity ... Well, I'm not going there! Not going to happen! I don't think I'm at all brave and I didn't inherit the Blitz spirit. (Although I admire those who did.) I think I'm a total wimp. Everyone has their own personal tolerance level. Perhaps finding that for yourself and sticking to it is the most important "travel warning" you can have. There are parts of the world I wouldn't go near with a ten foot pole well before I'd cancel my plans for northern Europe this June.
But heck, I am very nearly almost a life-long subscriber to National Geographic so my knowledge of world geography leaves plenty of options. If I don't have the personal knowledge, I look it up. Then decide. And all the while try to stay alert and well-informed. There is a lot of well-sourced and reputable information available ... and by that I don't mean news organisations. That's for after the fact (if then!) not for the preparation phase. There's a lot of the world to see, Sandman. Keep on seeing it!
Cheers,
Jan
The Tauck office must be getting inundated with calls at present. When they reduce their itineraries because of lack of demand, as they did around the 2008 depression, we real travellers will be lamenting. I hear there are a number of clients who book extra tours they never definitely intend to take for sure in the first place, it blocks so many dates for those who's vacation times are less flexible or have to be booked much nearer the departure. I' also noticing that there are more and more boat centered tours instead of land! Ahh hate the thought of not having the choice of a land tour.
Watch out for "vest" or burka-wearing meerkats in the Kalahari! : ~ )
But very funny.
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxdRZWCSN48
Further hours of hilarity promised!
Cheers,
Jan
I have no fear of terrorists or what they will do because I can't control their activities. I also feel as though no one gets out of here (life) alive and I will be no different. I will enjoy whatever is left as I desire and see the things I want.
I have made a lot of friends in London and plan on attending Wimbledon, fütball, (Go West H-amm), concerts (Simply Red, G-ordon L-ightfoot, LSO, etc), plays, cricket, touristy things, a side trip to other parts of Europe (Brussels, Paris or Rome, and Prague), pubs, pubs, and pubs.
I hope everyone goes on as they planned and enjoys their trips and travels safely.
The original trip was to travel from Amsterdam to Brussels. Tauck made the decision to cancel activities in Brussels and spend an extra day in Antwerp (for this entire season). It was wonderful. we did notice that there were fewer people but there was not one moment where we didn't feel safe. We were probably a bit more aware of our surroundings but did not let it hamper our time in the Netherlands or Belgium.
There was only one change to our trip - we opted to fly home from Amsterdam versus Brussels - not because we felt unsafe but rather the airport was not open when we left the US for our trip. Tauck was wonderful in making all the arrangements and adjustments. Some on our trip did end up stayign a few days in Brussels and even leaving from Brussels. There were several cancellations on our ship and I heard on the trip after ours as well. In general everyone agreed that we should move forward with our plans.
I was wondering how the weather was when you went and how the tulips were??
Hope you had a wonderful time and thanks for posting!
Kathy,
The weather was ever changing; some beautiful days , some rainy some mixed. It's a good idea to have an umbrella with you. Dressing in layers helped tremendously. When we did have rain, it wasn't usually for the whole day. It as a little bit cooler than expected . People on the tour with me had some hats and gloves, I didn't feel it was that cold. It can get windy as well.
The tulips were just beginning to pop at Keukenhof. The flowers were beautiful. We arrived an extra day early and there happened to be a flower show at the Sofitel so we got a great preview! Daffodils were everywhere. I have so many pictures of flowers and tulips.
Enjoy your trip. Ireland is just beautiful.
What time did you have to get off the ship? Sorry, forgot to ask when I called and figured I'd just post here.
I'll be going 2 days early to Amsterdam and am looking forward to the trip!
We really liked Antwerp. There are a lot of great things to see.
The transfer to Amsterdam was not too bad. We were all asked to be checked out of our rooms by 9:00am in order to help facilitate getting ready for the next group. This did not mean we had to leave the boat. You could hang out in the Lounge (which was lovely). I had a 3:00 flight back from Amsterdam. Initially the transfer was arranged to leave at 11. I requested an earlier transfer because I had some VAT stuff to take care. So I left the boat at 10. My mom and aunt, who I travelled with, left the boat at 11:30. Some passengers were looking to go see some more sites in Antwerp if they had later transfers.
I really do find that one should never rely on VAT return making an item seem a bargain but rather it is something unique, or for me, I always buy my husband's socks in England because they are offered in three sizes so they fit much better than the one size fits all socks here, and women's swimwear is much cheaper and easier to find in a large range of sizes, those kind of things. But now back to the elephant thread!