Americans:if the E.U. opens this summer will you go?
 

News from E.U. is that vaccinated Americans may be allowed this summer. Will you go and where?

im desperate to get to the remaining trips in my list but would wait till September. High on list is Menton and Beaulieu sur Mer and the Italian Riviera.

Not this summer, but, I will surely be there in the early Fall...........yes!

Possibly in the fall. It would depend on the levels of Covid in the area(s) I wished to visit, rate of vaccination of the population, and whether cultural sites, restaurants etc are open. It's very tempting and I have been doing a bit of research on Greece, looking at hotels/villas mainly, but I am nowhere near putting money down and booking anything. And anything I do book would have to be refundable. It never hurts to look and plan, and I have been doing "fantasy" planning and booking for over a year in order to keep myself sane, but so far, I haven't even taken as much as a road trip other than driving between my city apartment and my house in the NYS capital district.

No to mainland Europe, but I’m still toying with Iceland for August. My big Europe yearning is for Scotland and early Spring is the best time for weather and hiking so I’ve basically missed that window until ‘22.

We have tickets to fly to Paris Thanksgiving day and then we're planning on taking the train to Barcelona. I don't know if it will work out, but it's fun to plan.

Yes, in September, inshallah.
Absolutely no plans even begun, barely even explored possibilities. I've always been a last-minute traveler (i.e., no plans made more than 2 months ahead of time, except for Africa), and it works for me.

I’m ready but I’m not sure Europe is. Many of the activities I love will still be closed.

No!

It would have to be totally safe where I was going.

I do not want to go to another country and then quarantine.

Restriction level can change quickly.

There is no place I am dying to go that I would have to have a mental risk factor on my back.

I might as I really miss it, maybe September. The problem is Europe is so much worse than the US now, but if vaccination rates increase a lot by then, I'll feel better. I'm not as cavalier as some people who think they are totally immune because they are vaccinated, because you aren't. Efficacy rates for seniors were a lot lower than the overall 95 pct, also, which people seem to ignore, if you are in that groups. So maybe if the infection rate really drops and vaccination rates increase. I would like to go to Spain and I suspect they will open up, but their infection rates are one of the highest right now. I'm in a high risk category, unfortunately, for a couple reasons, so even though I'm vaccinated, I'm not that loosey goosey as some people who are running out to restaurants, etc. I don't really care much about dining in a restaurant, anyway.

They didn't really say this was a done deal, it was very tentative and said everything depended on stats etc. But sounds like maybe next Fall it will open up. I actually wouldn't mind going to Canada to get some travel itch scratched this summer as I can drive there in a day or a little more. It's not that exciting to me having been there several times, but at least is a little change from all the places I know pretty well in the US within a 8 hr drive.

An article in the local Belgian paper today that Brugge is looking forward to welcoming tourists again.
Here is a photo of a Saturday in March. At least the museums were open, and the sun was shining.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...05a7469c4e.jpg

Not this summer. Not because I'm particularly worried about catching the virus, but because I don't want to keep to the protocols when on vacation. When masks disappear and stores, restaurants and museums are open I'll be there, but not before. I'll also be a lot happier here.

Portugal, baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We cancelled our Verona plans for August?September but hoping to visit Germany in early December. If we have to wear masks while there then forget it.

No, not until vaccination catches up. I'm not eager to be the first in the deluge. I'm still catching up on time with family in the states. I skipped one year, I can skip a second.
If my husband travels internationally for work in the fall and things seem okay, I would accompany him.

Yes absolutely. I’ll wear masks if need be. If the EU is serious about tourism, then they will have a plan for opening restaurants, shops, museums, etc. All this noise about “we’re in lockdown now,” is just that...current noise.

First choice is to complete the non-Croatia part of my Eastern Europe trip from spring 2020 that I had to cancel. Prague, Budapest and Bosnia & Herzegovina
Second choice is Italy - Venezia e La Sicilia
Third choice is a return to my favorite city in the world, Istanbul, along with Crete and perhaps Thessaloniki/Meteora.

You're making more noise about this than anyone in Europe is right now, MinnBeef. There are compelling reasons many of us are still in lockdown. We just want to stay safe, like everyone else.

Vaccination immunity may be waning, if not disappearing, at some point this year, so I'm waiting to hear results of on-going studies on immunity, vaccine effectiveness against emerging variants, etc., and watching vaccination rates in other countries.

The EU think they'll achieve herd immunity by summer, but I'm not so sure. Some epidemiologists feel a country needs to reach 75-85% vaccination rates to have herd immunity. The U.S. isn't there yet (67% v. Europe at 27%), and the U.S. vaccination rate is actually slowing, including people not showing up for the second dose.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...nty-worldwide/

We'll be taking a few in-state driving trips this year. No long plane rides likely until '22.

Yeah, I don't plan very far ahead either (except for safari).

As to waiting until November/December, I had sort of stopped traveling in late fall and winter anyway, because I had a few trips where I caught a bad cold during my vacation. It put a damper on things, and this was pre-pandemic. Also, given the horrible surges this past December and January in the U.S., with so many deaths following holiday travel and get togethers, I'm hesitant to travel during that season. Plus we will probably need boosters. I may wait until next spring when--I hope--Covid is truly receding globally.

Absolutely. I need to see the Countess de Billy in Paris. She is in very bad health.

Thin,aristocrat 🦌

We're scheduled for the UK in July (obviously not part of the EU any longer, but I'm hoping this is an indicator of the way things are going). As of right now, we're still planning to make that trip, although we may have to pull the plug eventually. We've been toying with various European "Plan B"s, so if a significant amount of the EU is open and the UK is still not a practical option, we may well go.