Can't believe I'm asking this!!!
 

My wife and I have traveled quite alot without any problems. However, thanks to the potential upcoming war, along with the idea that the UK and USA are in this alone. My wife and I are a bit nervous about travel to and from London next month. Yeah,yeah--it's illogical but still, someone talk me into this. Again, I can't believe I'm asking this!

I just had to give up a trip to Malta/Sicily due to my travel companion's health problems and I'm so disappointed. My kids said they were sorry but at least they didn't have to worry about me traveling during a possible war. But....I would not have given it up. I'm still chiding myself that I didn't take an earlier trip to Egypt but would not do so now. Hey, life's too short to worry about wars - there are so many of them (unless, of course, you're traveling to a war zone). It's not illogical to worry but you're not in the war zone. Please go for it.

I am not among the groups that say either to stay away or to go with no regards to the current situation.<BR><BR>Some areas of the world are at extremely high risk for terrorism or danger. These include Afghanistan and parts of Colombia. Even the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel. Other countries have warnings for all except essential travel.<BR><BR>I belive the chance for catastrophic attack on London is not extremely small. I think it is only somewhat small. It is possible that there will be nuclear or chemical attacks on London. It's more likely that a truck bomb will be exploded.<BR><BR>Do what you think is right for you. However, I don't think the chance of terrorism will be less in 5 years so waiting will not help. Of course, Colombia is so dangerous and will be in 5 years that I'll never go there.

Oh, I was just in London earlier this month so don't interpret my post as a warning to stay away.

I am glad you are asking this so I do not have to!!<BR><BR> We are leaving 3/4/03 to Paris/Rome. Pleaseeeeeeeee reasure me too!<BR><BR> Well xanax here I come! I try to stay in the pragmatic, intellectual side of my brain. We are not going into a warzone ect. <BR> But really, it will be safe, less crowds, stretch out in the plane! PJ

These questions keep coming up. All I can think about is a friend of mine who was in France on 9/11 with her son and his wife who are working and living there. They cut short their stay thinking they needed to get home to the US. The week they got home, she crossed a street and was hit and killed by a bus.<BR>I'm still going to London, Germany, and to Paris for two months in June and July.

Oh, Patrick, what a sad story. But what a lesson to learn--carpe diem! Buerkle, I understand your anxiety, 'cause I have some, too. I'm going to London in July, and hey, let's face it, it's a target. But I *do* think we all need to go, and live our lives anyway. If I can offer some practical advice....please wear some ID, with your hotel information, and emergency numbers from home. If you're injured, you can be identified. Also, take some e-mail addresses with you, in case the phones are overburdened by some disaster. Reaching home by e-mail may be the only possibility. We've seen something we couldn't have imagined on 9/11, so now our minds are running wild. I handle my anxiety by planning ahead, so I always like to travel with phone numbers, food and water, a change of clothes, and a credit card that hasn't been maxed out. Odds are, you might not be injured, just stranded at an airport somewhere, wishing you were home in your own bed. I use London as my model on this one--if they can survive the Blitz, I know I can handle a few weeks in Europe. Soldier on!!!!!

I hope this will tell you that you can be anywhere at any time and strike it lucky or unlucky. In 1995, the IRA planted a bomb at the bus stop in London that I used to catch the bus home from work. I had just left to return to NZ. I was once on a coach tour and we arrived in Paris to find a bomb had gone off the day before in a metro station. The place was swarming with riot police. I arrived in Lyon some months later to find a bomb had been planted in the city the day before. I was in a mall in Manchester just prior to another bomb going off and wrecking the entire complex. I'm not trying to be over dramatic but it is not possible for us to remain entirely safe anywhere any more, at least not in these times and I believe we must get on with it as best we can. I have just spent three months in Europe and I know what the mood was, it was not one of gaiety but people were still just - getting on with it. The interesting thing is that I felt perfectly safe everywhere I went. Don't spoil your plans and holidays by constantly worrying about something that hopefully will never happen.

I would go, but if you feel uncomfortable about being away from home while a war is going on, don't make any plane reservations. We did not send 200,000+ troops to the Mideast just to bring them home without a fight, satisfied with an Iraqi compliance which will be at best reluctant.

I can't believe you are asking this either. If there is a war, it will be on another continent, so the UK is hardly on the front line. Of course there is a threat of terrorism, but that is just as likely in the USA. In fact, now that the IRA is inactive, the threat of terrorism in London is probably lower than at any time since the 60s. As an American who has lived in the UK for over 30 years, I feel perfectly safe here. Come on over, and have a good time.

I think Heimdall underplays the dangers considering the recent terror alerts at Haethrow and Gatwick. However, I wouldn't stop travelling on the extremely remote chance of a bomb going off in my vicinity. <BR><BR>Having said that, I think we'd all appreciate it if KathyNZ could post her future travel plans so we can all avoid wherever she's heading. That girl's a liability!!

The very real threat has long since past - The various Irsih terrorists. They did set off some huge bombs (destroyed the Baltic exchange for example). <BR><BR>In all honesty London is as safe now as it's ever been, especially with the increased police presence, soldiers at heathrow etc.<BR><BR>Remember we've had decades of experience in anti-terrorism. America still hasn't begun to get to grips with the necessary security measures.<BR><BR>I live here and feel totally safe.

Yeah, well, I can believe you´re asking this. With us it´s similar: Only that we´re traveling from GERMANY TO the US on March, 1st. <BR>Friends and family have asked us whether this is a good idea. They must be thinking about flight safety, biochemical threats and also hostile feelings towards us being German. <BR>And to be honest, I have moments when I´m a bit unsure about it, too. <BR> But then again: No, we will catch that plane and return in good health!

I can relate to how you feel but personally I would rather be killed in London or Paris than in the boring little city I live in! We will not cancel our trip to Europe in May unless

Sorry, I hit SEND by mistake...unless the flights are all cancelled! I hope that you continue with your plans and have a wonderful time.

Of all the places to go in Europe, I would feel the safest in London. After years of dealing with Irish terrorists, they have hidden cameras in every nook and cranny to keep an eye on what is going on. Go and don't worry about it.

I feel your pain! but,I am still going to Paris. Not too worried at all. European airlines are supposed to be less likely to get hijacked. My only fear is something bad happens and we can't get home,much like after 9/11.

I feel the same way, and I wish Fodor's would stop deleting these posts about &quot;the effect of war on traveling&quot; issue. It IS a VERY legitimate travel question. Rick Steve's site addresses this both in an aricle, and the Graffiti wall. I think I would feel safest in London however. Kashcka: FYI, our next door neighbors Elsa and Reinhart from Cologne, live here in their lovely home in SW Fl for 6 months out of the year, and feel very safe here in the US. Judy

European airlines are not less likely to be hijacked. Look at the Air France hijackings to Entebbe, Uganda and Marseilles, France where there were spectacular raids to take back the plane. A Lufthansa plane was successful raided by troops in Somalia. These are just 3 that come to mind.<BR><BR>A few weeks ago, there was a TV programme in London about Arab terrorists exploding a low tech, but catastrophic nuclear bomb in Trafalgar Square. The conclusion was that not too many people would be killed immediately, some more people would get cancer, but millions scared and Trafalgar Square sealed off for 200 years. So even in the worst scenario, most people, including you, would not be killed.<BR><BR>If al-Qaeda tries to blow up a large building or a stadium, more will die. However, you will probably visit small restaurants, small shops, some large museums, etc.

Kascha912: Come to the U.S. and enjoy your stay! I would hope that no one would treat you badly because of your government's position regarding war; just as I hope I won't be treated badly because of my government's position when I go to Europe later this year. Citizens should not be punished for something they have no control over.

I'm looking for similar solace for upcoming travel to Italy in April. We're taking our kid and although we want to show him the world, different cultures, history, etc., I can't decide whether its irresponsible to be traveling at this time. But then again, will it be different in 6 months, or next year?

My husband &amp; I just returned from London Monday night after a short 4 day &quot;let's go to the theater in London&quot;on a whim trip.We were there in time for the Gatewick incident and to see the million person peace march.All in all we did not feel uneasy or compromised in any way.Security was tight all over the city but not constraining. I hope you decide to go as London is truly a great city.

There's well-informed prudence, and then there's unfounded hysteria (and no, they are not the British sisters living upstairs).<BR><BR>I don't like flying--never have--and of course since 9/11 have been even more of a basket case. But then, I commute more than 70 miles a day on a major interstate where the probability of being killed is much higher than in a plane, whether due to terroristic acts or an accident of type. I take some comfort in this when I'm at the airport (but not when I'm on the road.)<BR><BR>We have travel plans for May and I suspect we will keep them, but if at the last minute I see something at the airport that I don't like or there is a credible air threat (and I mean really credible), I will lose the $$ and cancel the trip. <BR><BR>I'm not too worried about the actual trip, as we will not be in too many major tourist centers, and even when we're in Paris, we'll be well off the beaten tourist track. We tend to stay in small hotels, not in places where there would be a high density of targets. <BR><BR>All the same, I am planning our time in Paris to avoid the metro. As yesterday's attack in Korea demonstrates, all it takes is one madman, not necessarily a global terrorism operation. Fortunately, I love to walk and Paris is such a walkable city.<BR><BR>I also tend to avoid the area around the American embassy.<BR><BR>I used to ride horses, in particular hunter-jumpers. After Christopher Reeve had his accident, people started to ask me if I was afraid to ride. Well, I was always afraid to ride (just like I am afraid to fly) but the benefits of doing so are amazing and I felt so incredibly fulfilled when I was on the back of a 1,500 pound animal, jumping over a two-and-a-half -foot fence that I told my friends that if I died while I was riding, at least I died happy. I feel the same way about traveling, which doesn't lessen my fears, but somehow or other, with each trip--like each fence--it gets easier.<BR><BR>

Apparently a lot of people are having the same feelings as you regarding travel overseas. My &quot;guaranteed departure&quot; for a trip to Italy we were planning has been cancelled because we are the only ones signed up for the tour mid May! We're taking another, longer tour (same company) of Italy in it's place. I consider it like this, we're much safer over there then we are here, and anyways, if I'm gonna go I'd rather go having no regrets of places I'd wished I'd visited. As many say, life is short. I'd rather go doing something I love than sitting at home and being afraid. Go, and have a wonderful time.

You can't get close to the US embassy in london. There is a Ring of British steel around it, with an american cordon inside that.<BR><BR>I imagine something similar occurs elsewhere

I was reading an article recently--maybe it was that Frommer's article about budget restaurants--that described a place located directly behind the American Embassy in Paris. It sounded like such a nice place, but I really could not dine there comfortably right now. My fears tend to be idiosyncratic, however, so I suspect other travelers will not feel the same and the restaurant will be packed with people who saw the article. . .

I asked this same question last week and it turned into a nasty Blair/Bush political debate and I believe the Fodors police removed it. We are also going to London in March. 5 weeks &amp; counting! It is scary to be traveling with war in our near future but we must continue to live life to the fullest. I don't feel that London is any less safe than the U.S. but being an American puts you a little on edge. You never know how people will respond to you. I've been to London several times and have only encountered the nicest of people. I think my biggest fear now is, will United still fly me to LHR in March or with impending war will they liquidate? That may be silly but I don't want any last minute surprises. <BR>

I consider myself duly chastised.<BR><BR>Go for it. Travel wherever you want. Don't be afraid. Life is too short...<BR><BR>MM

If your passport is lost or stolen don't you have to get into the American Embassy to get another? [I actually did this with a tour member in Paris in 1980].

That's very funny Kate and on my latest trip none of these things happened of course, the fact of the matter is that is the way it was then and people there lived with these things going on. Just because you were in safe in the ol' US of A presuming you were and you did not have to live with these dangers you cannot appreciate how it for the people of the UK and Europe. I may add that this is why they are loathe to be included in a war because they have already been thru it on home ground which is something you and I have not had to do - yet. Personally I am still very happy to travel to the UK and Europe.

Thanks to all for the many responses. I suppose I didn't specify enough: my primary concern is security at the airports and during the flights (especially from the UK to the USA). And in regards to the many folks that (more or less) said &quot;seize the day&quot;, I couldn't agree more--you see, my wife has metastatic breast cancer. Despite that, we've enjoyed numerous trips abroad. Thanks again for your encouraging words. Any additional thoughts on my revised question would be appreciated.

Don´t worry about the airports in UK. They really search you. That type from Venezuela (the one with the hand granade) was caught in UK – why wasn´t he caught in Venezuela (if that is where he departed)?<BR><BR>Last time I was in both Heathrow and Gatwick, I was pulled aside. I felt really stupid. A middle-aged Finnish woman having her bags searched through and through. And my husband laughing on the other side. The reason for all that fuss was my inhalator. On both airports I had to describe why I have it in my hand luggage.<BR><BR>And remember Richard Reid, the &quot;shoe-bomber&quot;. he was caught.<BR><BR>But I wish somebody would tell those security people about people´s diseases. Although it was sort of funny, I felt a little bit embarrased. But not to the extent I felt 30 years ago on the border to Switzerland. I had a full body search because I looked &quot;too hippy&quot; for their taste.

Buerkle, you have nailed it on the head when you say it is an illogical fear, because those are the toughest fears to confront. Logic probably won't help you, nor will any anecdotes about how other people have never had any ill result from traveling, because one of the things about fear is that it convinces you that YOU will be the exception, the one-in-ten-million casualty.<BR><BR>You may be waiting to 'feel better about things' before you travel, but in my own experience this a recipe for failure. I am afraid of a lot of things, so much so that I have resigned myself to leaving space in my suitcase for my fears. : - ) Oddly enough, not putting demands on myself to feel at ease everywhere all of the time makes it easier to cope. So, pack those bags (apprehensively), board the plane (with trepidation) and find out what happens. Going on your trip will be the equivalent of opening that mysterious closet door - you just gotta find out if the monster is in there, or not.