Vacation in the Plague Era
March 10, 2021 9:25 PM Subscribe
I want to travel from the US to Prague in October 2021. Is this a pipe dream?
There is a phenomenal show coming to Prague in October the day after my birthday, which also gives an opportunity to travel to Kutna Hora and see the Sedlec Ossuary, and I want to know if it's even possible to make that happen. Finances aren't a problem, but the concept of travelling overseas seems like a complete fantasy right now, even if it's seven months away.
I should (fingers crossed) be vaccinated by then, but what is the current state of international travel and what would it theoretically look like in Autumn - barring another massive resurgence of the rona? The Prague Covid info summary here sounds like things are still on general extreme lockdown. However this tour was announced after the fact - is there word that restrictions should be lifting by then, or is it just astoundingly optimistic projections from the tour management? Would I need to arrive two weeks prior and quarantine somewhere? Is there any EU guidance on what to plan for? I know last year there was a lot of struggle with airfare/hotel refunds - is there travel insurance that would allow for cancellation with less hassle should the disease landscape change suddenly? Of course I'd be taking all the personal safety cautions possible re: masking, sanitation, etc - everything available to deal with the risks involved in still going to a public event.
Basically, is this a stupid idea, or are there preparations that could be made to mitigate the risks somewhat?
There is a phenomenal show coming to Prague in October the day after my birthday, which also gives an opportunity to travel to Kutna Hora and see the Sedlec Ossuary, and I want to know if it's even possible to make that happen. Finances aren't a problem, but the concept of travelling overseas seems like a complete fantasy right now, even if it's seven months away.
I should (fingers crossed) be vaccinated by then, but what is the current state of international travel and what would it theoretically look like in Autumn - barring another massive resurgence of the rona? The Prague Covid info summary here sounds like things are still on general extreme lockdown. However this tour was announced after the fact - is there word that restrictions should be lifting by then, or is it just astoundingly optimistic projections from the tour management? Would I need to arrive two weeks prior and quarantine somewhere? Is there any EU guidance on what to plan for? I know last year there was a lot of struggle with airfare/hotel refunds - is there travel insurance that would allow for cancellation with less hassle should the disease landscape change suddenly? Of course I'd be taking all the personal safety cautions possible re: masking, sanitation, etc - everything available to deal with the risks involved in still going to a public event.
Basically, is this a stupid idea, or are there preparations that could be made to mitigate the risks somewhat?
If you can afford the tickets and a little more, spring for travel insurance and see what happens. Having something exciting to look forward to will be good for your spirits, whatever the travel situation in October.
posted by Scram at 11:06 PM on March 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Scram at 11:06 PM on March 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'd wait. In the UK we are still in lockdown and 100+ days away until 'normality'. Travel may be possible with talk of vaccine passports but nothing is confirmed. Also, working in the music industry myself I'm concerned that any venues/festivals you purchase tickets for may go under by then.
As a rule of thumb you should have travel insurance regardless — however however check any policy you're looking at does cover Corona cancellations, many no longer include it.
posted by socky_puppy at 12:22 AM on March 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
As a rule of thumb you should have travel insurance regardless — however however check any policy you're looking at does cover Corona cancellations, many no longer include it.
posted by socky_puppy at 12:22 AM on March 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
I think international travel may be possible but Czech’s numbers according to this article from last week are not great. I spot a few issues- 1. Vaccine rollout has been slow (but by the fall might be fine) 2. Vaccine hesitancy (a bigger problem of people not getting vaccinated) and 3. Not having great numbers anyway.
It’s likely international travel will be possible to Iceland, NZ, AUS, African countries with low numbers, etc but it doesn’t look good for Czech for a festival.
posted by raccoon409 at 4:23 AM on March 11, 2021
It’s likely international travel will be possible to Iceland, NZ, AUS, African countries with low numbers, etc but it doesn’t look good for Czech for a festival.
posted by raccoon409 at 4:23 AM on March 11, 2021
Yeah, the numbers here in Czech are stubbornly high (the government refuses to shut down manufacturing plants which is the basis of the economy and also of transmission) so the only way out is vaccines. The vaccine roll out here is very slow (compared to US and UK) but given that this is 6 months away then it is not completely implausible that the majority will be vaccinated by then and we may be as close to normal as we are going to get in the medium term
There are a few unknowns still in my mind-
Will the US be better/equivalently vaccinated and therefore be on any EU safe list? (Almost certainly given current trends as the US is outstripping the EU handily here.)
Will any variants pop up in either the EU and/or the US that change the game in terms of getting around current vaccines? (No-one knows.)
In terms of mitigation strategies- read the insurance policies carefully as some have moved to exclude pandemics. Try to make sure that if you are vaccinated it is recorded somewhere (in the hope of parlaying that into a "Covid passport" as and when those things become a reality). I'd also suggest assessing your appetite for the gig being cancelled, but the flights not being cancelled by the airline (would you still want to travel over, or would you be happy to cancel your flight and eat whatever cost that would be).
Good luck deciding, it's a difficult one in my view.
posted by Gratishades at 4:54 AM on March 11, 2021
There are a few unknowns still in my mind-
Will the US be better/equivalently vaccinated and therefore be on any EU safe list? (Almost certainly given current trends as the US is outstripping the EU handily here.)
Will any variants pop up in either the EU and/or the US that change the game in terms of getting around current vaccines? (No-one knows.)
In terms of mitigation strategies- read the insurance policies carefully as some have moved to exclude pandemics. Try to make sure that if you are vaccinated it is recorded somewhere (in the hope of parlaying that into a "Covid passport" as and when those things become a reality). I'd also suggest assessing your appetite for the gig being cancelled, but the flights not being cancelled by the airline (would you still want to travel over, or would you be happy to cancel your flight and eat whatever cost that would be).
Good luck deciding, it's a difficult one in my view.
posted by Gratishades at 4:54 AM on March 11, 2021
You can book flights mostly without paying cancel/change fee.
I personally would expect to go: 1) you'll be vaccinated 2) it's before winter 3) if you think there's pandemic fatigue now, wait till the fall- countries are going to be wanting to open up to vaccinated people (maybe a test would be required still)
posted by sandmanwv at 6:41 AM on March 11, 2021
I personally would expect to go: 1) you'll be vaccinated 2) it's before winter 3) if you think there's pandemic fatigue now, wait till the fall- countries are going to be wanting to open up to vaccinated people (maybe a test would be required still)
posted by sandmanwv at 6:41 AM on March 11, 2021
Yes, considering the utter shambles that is the EU vaccine rollout, there is no way to know.
posted by dame at 7:58 AM on March 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by dame at 7:58 AM on March 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
It's hard to believe that the shambling, shambolic rollout in the US is one of the better ones, but it's true. The federal government locked down a lot of production (not enough, but a lot) and most other countries are playing catchup. So I think by the fall it's reasonably likely that the US is more or less fully vaccinated (in terms of the percentage of people who will ever get the vaccine) but not all countries in the EU will be. So maybe a 50% chance that the concert goes on as scheduled. But the travel restrictions are a separate thing. Under the regime before the travel ban, visitors were allowed from countries where the rate was the same+25% or less than the EU, so that suggests that travel from the US will be allowed. The EU certainly gets a lot of money from US tourism, so they have a strong incentive. But the variants throw a big wrench into all this. If the US suddenly has a low case rate due to vaccination, and Europe has a bunch of scary variants, you can see the border closing in the opposite direction. To get back into the US today you need a negative test, and if you test positive, surprise, you're in 14 day isolation in a foreign country! In theory the airline is required to refund your money if the flight is cancelled but some European airlines are just... not.
Overall, I think there's a reasonable chance this trip would work and be safe-ish. I think it's more likely that it won't be possible or that it will be possible but unsafe, though. I don't recommend travel insurance here because the policy probably doesn't cover what hope it covers. The "any reason" policies not only don't cover any reason, just most reasons, but they are 20% of the cost of the trip, and under many scenarios you'll get your "nonrefundable" airfare back. If you do go, I would book a codeshare on a US carrier (easier to get the Department of Transportation involved), refundable hotel, and expect the timing of the concert, your flights, or both to change between now and then.
posted by wnissen at 9:40 AM on March 11, 2021
Overall, I think there's a reasonable chance this trip would work and be safe-ish. I think it's more likely that it won't be possible or that it will be possible but unsafe, though. I don't recommend travel insurance here because the policy probably doesn't cover what hope it covers. The "any reason" policies not only don't cover any reason, just most reasons, but they are 20% of the cost of the trip, and under many scenarios you'll get your "nonrefundable" airfare back. If you do go, I would book a codeshare on a US carrier (easier to get the Department of Transportation involved), refundable hotel, and expect the timing of the concert, your flights, or both to change between now and then.
posted by wnissen at 9:40 AM on March 11, 2021
I wouldn't spend any money right now I couldn't afford to lose. For example, depending on the price I might buy a ticket to the show but wait and see about the flights/hotels situation, in the knowledge that I could be eating the cost of the ticket if the situation did not improve substantially in Europe.
posted by plonkee at 10:39 AM on March 11, 2021
posted by plonkee at 10:39 AM on March 11, 2021
Dreaming of better times is supposed to be very good for us, so I'd book this trip with these caveats: 1) I would only book things that are fully refundable; 2) I would book things that weren't refundable only if I could afford to lose the money; and 3) I would look deep in my heart to try to understand if booking this and not knowing if it would happen would be more anxiety-producing than exciting.
Is the show inside? Large, indoor events seem like the last thing that will come back.
The flights should be fine (flying turns out to be surprisingly non-too-Covidy), but this article gives a good overview of all the considerations for traveling.
Also, if it looks like the US might be ahead of Prague with vaccinations, I'd also think about the ethics of traveling for leisure in that situation. (For me, I think it makes sense to try to stay within the US for right now, until it's clearer what is happening outside our borders. I also don't want to get stuck someplace outside US borders.)
posted by bluedaisy at 4:02 PM on March 11, 2021
Is the show inside? Large, indoor events seem like the last thing that will come back.
The flights should be fine (flying turns out to be surprisingly non-too-Covidy), but this article gives a good overview of all the considerations for traveling.
Also, if it looks like the US might be ahead of Prague with vaccinations, I'd also think about the ethics of traveling for leisure in that situation. (For me, I think it makes sense to try to stay within the US for right now, until it's clearer what is happening outside our borders. I also don't want to get stuck someplace outside US borders.)
posted by bluedaisy at 4:02 PM on March 11, 2021
Oh! And most travel insurance will likely not cover a Covid cancellation! Read your policy quite carefully and don't buy it without knowing exactly what you are paying for, because generic travel insurance has definitely not covered lots of things travel-related this past year.
posted by bluedaisy at 4:03 PM on March 11, 2021
posted by bluedaisy at 4:03 PM on March 11, 2021
Response by poster: I might buy a ticket to the show but wait and see about the flights/hotels situation, in the knowledge that I could be eating the cost of the ticket if the situation did not improve substantially in Europe.
That's exactly what I did a few weeks ago actually - been holding out on the pricier elements until I could better determine just what the landscape might look like.
Thanks everyone for the information - seems like a whole lot of 'it's a mess, who can say', but it's great to see the actual reasoning behind that rather than decisionmaking in a total black box. I'll check what things look like in a month or two.. hopefully the situation will start trending one way or another by then.
posted by FatherDagon at 10:34 PM on March 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
That's exactly what I did a few weeks ago actually - been holding out on the pricier elements until I could better determine just what the landscape might look like.
Thanks everyone for the information - seems like a whole lot of 'it's a mess, who can say', but it's great to see the actual reasoning behind that rather than decisionmaking in a total black box. I'll check what things look like in a month or two.. hopefully the situation will start trending one way or another by then.
posted by FatherDagon at 10:34 PM on March 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
To be honest, nobody knows. I'm sitting in Germany, and our restrictions just get extended each month, with maybe some small relaxations. A lot will also depend on how the vaccination role out goes in the EU, which for various reasons has not been as fast as desired.
The EU is working on some sort of vaccination passporting system, that they hope to have in place in Juneish the last I checked. However, there are no details yet as to what it will allow you to do or not do, and how/whether it will integrate non-EU vaccinated people. It's possible for example, that the show will take place, but only for people who have been provably vaccinated, but no-one knows right now.
Right now, Czechia is banning all non-essential travel. It's again not clear what will have changed by October. It's possible that the EU has a similar policy to last year - travel within the block permitted, but only very limited from outside.
Basically, I suppose I'm saying that I can see different ways that the show will take place, but that you still would not be able to attend.
posted by scorbet at 10:25 PM on March 10, 2021