It is a personal decision but it seems so unfair to those of us who love to travel that our decisions may be compromised due to this impending and, in my opinion, unwarranted war.

Oh, by all means GO!!! Travel of any kind is great, but be warned - if this is your first time to Europe, it will be a life-altering experience. And in a good way, too! Even a simple stroll through London or Paris is a great learning experience. Savor it!<BR><BR>I wouldn't worry too much about travel right now. After all, you're not exactly going to Iraq, eh?<BR><BR>Just remember to relax, be super flexible, and enjoy Europe!

I'm booked for Ireland in mid-April (my first solo trip - renting a car &amp; meandering around the countryside), and if the planes are flying, I intend to go. My husband is staying home, but we have no children - I don't know how I'd feel in that circumstance. My two biggest concerns are encountering hostility because I'm an American, and causing my parents to worry because I won't cancel. I live about 40 miles from NYC, so I figure I'm safer traveling than staying at home anyway...

We have reservations in Paris 5/5-5/14 We are going&gt;

I have been in Europe (from NYC) four times since 9/11 and just bought a ticket for Paris the last week in April. If the plane goes, I go!!! Have a wonderful trip!!<BR>Mara<BR>ps I live at one end of a supposed terrorist target - the Brooklyn Bridge - so what else is there to worry about???

When I posted 24 hours ago I couldn't quite work out what the original poster's concern was , and so I added my personal viewpoint.<BR>By now I think that we have a different point of view according to whether you are American or not. I'm not completely sure about this as it's no longer so easy to work out exactly where people are from so forgive me if I'm making unwarranted assumptions!<BR>The concerns of Americans are about being stranded away from your family-which no doubt arise from the airline shut down after 9/11.Those of you who are leaving your children with family must accept that if they are good enough to care for them for the duration of your trip then they are really well placed to carry on doing so if there is an unlikely delay and it is unlikely isn't it?<BR>Presumably the same people looked after you for about 18 odd years through thick and thin?<BR>In reality if you weren't happy about leaving them in the first place you wouldn't have booked.<BR>Happy2travel's point is a little different and a bit closer to my own.My 16 year old daughter will remain at home whilst my husband and I travel for our Silver wedding.We will need to leave for the airport at about 6a.m. and she is o.k. to rmain here alone and then make her own way to school.I notice though that if I am awake at 6a.m. I am checking whether it's light already and hoping it will be by the 27th.That night she will stay with a friend and then the next evening my parents will come and stay for the rest of our time away. I have in place fall-back arrangements in case one of my parents is ill and can't travel although the likelihood of this is remote(They live 140 miles away.)Having sorted that I'm not worried about being delayed abroad.<BR>Neither am I concerned about a terrorist attack away although the chances of it happening to me at home are very remote as we live well away from a centre of population in the U.K.(nevertheless we are very close to a nuclear power station.)On the other hand my husband willspend three days in London this week and next,My eldest daughter is at university in Cardiff and we shall spend next week there with her-London and Cardiff both being potetial terrorist targets as far as I can tell.<BR>My concern is of a terrorist attack on the plane and that is probably born out of a long standing fear of flying.I am going though- although not on an American airline which was originally the cheapest option.<BR>Straight after 9/11 we cancelled a trip to Hawaii on Delta which involved changing in Atlanta but we still went away at the same time to India with a British charter .<BR>Who knows?

thanks to all for your concern and input about this issue. It really does help to hear what others in similar situations are thinking. I think we will go as long as the airlines are flying. I'm a physician, and alot of times at work the best thing i have to offer a patient is talking with them, and reassurance regarding their fears of an illness. I also see many people who as one of the replies has pointed out already, is taken away by cancer or another illness without a cure at a young age. It makes a first time trip to london and paris something that I know we will remember forever, and I would rather remember it, maybe even moreso due to the circumstances, than not go and regret it later on. To all who replied, feel free to send me a bill for a psychologist consultation! I will post a recap of our trip when we get back safely. Thanks again

It seems that most people on this site travel independently. Although my husband and I enjoy independent travel, we also, at times, opt for tours, especially when we have a limited amount of time to travel, or if it is a country we are visiting for the first time. <BR><BR>Although I have been to Paris before, and we have both been to Nice for a very brief visit, we have not otherwise experienced France. So, this time we decided on a 16 night tour taking us to several regions of France, and which also affords us several days on our own so that we may seek out our own places of interest.<BR><BR>I am wondering if any of you feel that traveling with a tour group is significantly more of a risk than traveling independently. I noticed one poster on another thread stating that she would definitely cancel a group tour but not an independent trip. What do you think?