Good article Leely2.

Having just returned from a month in Mexico, I had nothing else booked at the moment. Car travel is sounding a whole lot better than flying or sailing anywhere.

<<I’m off to Bangkok and Vietnam March 26. My concern is that Thailand will not allow a plane coming from Japan to land (we transit through Haneda) or that we will be forced into quarantine if Japan doesn’t get its act together. I have no concerns of catching the virus.>>

You have such bad luck with flights, Laurieco, I can only hope that this time the Gods of the air are smiling upon you.

Had I firm plans to travel imminently, [and for the first time ever I'm feeling relieved that I don't] my main concern would be that I would get caught up in some quarantine or shut down somewhere and be unable to get home.

Thanks for posting that article, Leely2 - very interesting.

Thanks, Percy! We'll spend about 2 weeks in Patagonia (first 8 nights doing a Backroads tour around El Chaltén and then we return with a different tour company for 4 nights on a small ship and 3 nights in Torres NP); 5 nights in Iguazu Falls and Mendoza; 4 nights in BA; and 2 nights in Santiago. Tango and dinner while in BA. Looking forward to the beef! And the wines! And the beautiful scenery!!!

I was planning to go to Airolo, a village just south of the Swiss alps located not far from the Gotthard tunnel, to celebrate fasnacht (carnival.) As of today, Tessin, our Italian canton, has cancelled all public events including carnival and hockey matches due to the Coronavirus. I had already bought my train ticket so I'm not sure if that will be reimbursed or not.

We just got back from a wonderful trip to the Middle East. I have more vacation time coming up in October and was planning to start scheduling something (I like to plan in advance) but I am now going to wait and see what happens.

Supposed to be on a cruise from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal in mid March. We will likely cancel as DH has COPD. I, too, don't want to end up quarantined somewhere, and most of the countries we are visiting aren't at the forefront of medical care. Also, I can't seem to find out from Holland America, how it deals with its crew members who may be returning to to work after having had their time off back home, if "home" is an affected area.. Not thrilled with flying right now either. Fortunately we have cancellation insurance, and will likely get an air credit to be used within a year.

Leaving a week from Friday for A Coruña, Spain for 8 days, changing planes in Barcelona. Doesn't sound like coronavirus is a big concern yet in Galicia, so we're going ahead as planned. I think we have the option for a few more days to cancel our Airbnb, if something dramatic happens. Hoping that nothing happens that would result in a quarantine while we're there or when we try to return to the US.

Japan in November, no plans to cancel unless things take a major turn for the worse.

It’s a serious issue and people need to be aware and careful, but some of what I hear from people I know seems an extreme overreaction at this point.

bife de lomo (tenderloin)

On my last day in BA I had bife de lomo for lunch. I had bife de lomo for dinner. I had bife de lomo that night after a tango show.
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For those with or considering buying airline tix, check the change/cancellation terms and conditions. You might only lose $200 - $500. It is probably not a use-it or lose-it.

If you decide to return home earlier then your return ticket likely will be a loss, but last minute fares sh/could be low.

If you were in Tokyo now you could buy a one-way nonstop ticket to LAX for $817 on Delta in economy. Less than $700 for a connecting flight.

That fare is available 9 hours before departure.

From Vienna on the 27th the fare is as low as $662 with two stops.Today, I could buy a one-way ticket from Vienna to LAX for April 9, a day that I hope to actually be in Vienna, inshallah, for only $415. Yeah, it would be on Aeroflot but only one stop.

Buying a one-way ticket on a different airline could be cheaper than changing an existing ticket.

Leaving for Spain in 11 days and just heard about 10 cases of the virus there today. Have a three week trip to Portugal booked for early May.

I have insurance though Expedia, but it only covers the flight and hotel booked through them, doesn't cover the two Air BNBs we've booked in Spain or the pre-paid admissions.

I plan to sit tight unless something dramatic happens in the next week or so.

Disregard this post as I was posting it on The Lounge as there's now the same topic there, but it ended up posting here.

Happy Travels!

We've had the same discussion on the Asia forum since Jan 29th as there are a lot of posts there. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not traveling anywhere in the near future and especially having recently come out of a Wuhan Virus-infected region of the world (Thailand, Malaysia, and the last 2 weeks of 6 weeks in Singapore). Plus, 13 out of 14 days of self-imposed quarantine when I got back this month. So, I'm staying put for now although I have made my hotel reservations for the same part of the world, but that trip won't be until 10 months from now.

Happy Travels!

Self-deleted.

Happy Travels!

Yes. The Coronavirus has changed my travel plans. I had planned to go to China twice this year, including to Wuhan. Those trips are delayed indefinitely.

Other than that, no changes so far. I guess it was good timing that we chose a road trip for this summer - camping on the north coast of CA and the southern Oregon coast - less likely to be affected than international travel. I still have work trips planned - Raleigh next week, then trips to Chattanooga, New Orleans, and Denver later in the year - and probably others that just haven't popped up yet. I have a potential work trip to Madrid, which could be impacted.

We just spent all day flying across the US. I did think about being in the plane with a possible disease carrier but the trip was necessary, family funeral. The next trip is in June, Iceland, so not worried about it yet. This time last year we were heading to Japan; glad it isn’t this year. And I wonder about the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.The only masks I saw today while traveling were on TSA staff.

I just got an email that the University I work for is bringing home all the students studying in Florence. I was kind of surprised - it seemed a pretty strong measure - so a bit unsettling. Those students will now need academic accommodations for a semester that we are 1/2 way through.

We were supposed to start the Camino Frances in Spain in April but a family health emergency caused us to change our plans. Thinking about it, if the virus takes hold in Spain, those albergues/hostels would be petri dishes and I imagine they would have to close. We have moved our plans to the Fall, but I am now seeing other people anticipating issues and switching to the Fall too. Likely to be crowded.

After canceling our trip to China, I booked a trip to northern Spain and Portugal, starting at the end of March. I'm now watching what is happening in Spain and wondering if we're going to have to cancel this trip, too! I'm not planning on canceling, but I am watching things carefully.

I was able to get most of my money back for our China trip, and would lose some money on this one (AirBnB cancellations, ticket cancellation charges), but would certainly cancel if the virus spreads.