Dear fellow travelers,
My final tour payment isn't due until November and I can shift my deposit to another destination for that month. Are any of you in similar circumstances or with connections long- planned in Dubai, etc and reconsidering in light of the situation in the Middle East?
I have been to Israel (just as the Second Intifadah was underway) and have always wanted to go to Egypt and Jordan. As I begin my 70s I am so fortunate to currently have the financial resources and the good health to get to places requiring longer flights and etc vs something like a river cruise :) to save for "later" (assuming the rivers still have water).
There will always be something. And of course, natural disasters anywhere including my home state, currently.
So, what would you do or what are you doing? I'm thinking New Zealand because the flight is so long (I have been to Australia, though, so it's shorter than that!)...
Jordan and Egypt would be a dream trip and I don't want to be anxious about the airports closing, air space closing, etc. etc
Thank you in advance for sharing!
Posted by
101 posts
I signed up for a March 2027 tour to Dubai and Abu Dhabi two weeks before everything started. I’m watchfully waiting. If my tour company cancels I will get my whole security deposit back, if I bail first I will lose some of it. I’m really not sure what I am hoping for. The deposit wasn’t so large that I can’t afford to lose it, but I would rather not. Last I checked with the tour group, the verdict was “it probably won’t last much longer so we’ll decide later,” but that was several months ago. I haven’t gotten any information on when the full payment is due or when they might decide anything.
From all reports I’ve heard, Dubai is desperate for tourists to come back. I am getting closer to the time where I would need to buy airfare. I have looked at prices and may still buy them in a month or so, but only if they’re fully refundable. If things go completely south, I can always apply that money towards a flight for an RS tour instead.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
7479 posts
We have flights to/from Egypt booked for February 2027. Of course, our flights go via Doha both ways (on Qatar Airways in business class - so it'll be lovely, if we get to go). Naturally, I have been following events and will continue to do so.
I see no reason to avoid this entire region - at least not yet. It's a big place. Now, flying through Doha specifically - yeah, that's the sticky bit. But there are plenty of ways to get to Egypt that don't get anywhere near Doha (Cairo is well connected to London, Paris, Rome, and many other major hubs across Europe).
I already have booked fully refundable backup flights via European cities (London, Rome/Munich instead of Doha) that would avoid the connections in Doha (the backup flights wouldn't be quite as comfy and luxe as our original flights, but certainly good enough, if slightly more inconvenient schedules - and they have the advantage of being well outside the sphere of conflict).
I can cancel our original flights through Doha for (IIRC) just a $50/ticket fee. Out backup flights can be cancelled for a 100% refund. So I just need to make the decisions about which flights to take, and that can wait until just a few days before travel. I'm comfortable with that. My wife wants the Qatar pajamas so is lobbying for Peace in Our Time. We discuss the trip often. (We will do Jordan on a subsequent trip - when I'm sure all the troubles in the Middle East will have been worked out to everyone's satisfaction.)
I have no serious concerns about the war's potential impact on Egypt itself (if drones or missiles are falling on the Pyramids, we will all have bigger troubles to worry about). It's the Persian Gulf transit airports that are most risky (and Doha in particular was attacked on the war's first days). But it seems transiting there now is routine. Sure, anything could happen between now and when we hope to fly though there (I've heard rumors that Iran and the Qataris have quietly reached some understanding and accommodations so another attack on the Doha airport itself is allegedly unlikely - but I'm no expert in Gulf politics).
For us, the trickiest bit will be making to go/no-go decision a couple days before the actual flights (need to decide before the day-of for our airport ride).
There are many options, and none of them are right or wrong, just right or wrong for you.
The pandemic taught me multiple lessons. One is to go when you can (even if everything isn't perfect), because occasionally, you won't be able to. But of course there's more that goes into it.
Why not do (more or less) what I'm doing? Plan your trip, book you flights, and book backup flights so you have a workable Plan B in your back pocket? There may be some cost to doing that...but there's always a cost in NOT going, too. And in some parts of the world, things may never be "perfect", you may have to settle for "good enough" or be prepared to wait for a very long time.
Might be worth a look at your options.
الله يحميك