COVID strategy for upcoming France trip

Since you asked, I think you are overdoing it big time. I was in France in June. Took a few masks only because RS requires them on tour bus, a couple tests only because RS requires a pre tour negative test, no thermometer, no oximeter, no wipes, no Dayquil. Dined indoors and outside with large and small groups. Had a fun time like a “temporary local” as Rick suggests. Very few locals will be masking anywhere so you will be the oddity. I assume you are vaccinated as am I. Do what makes you comfortable, but your strategy would ruin the trip for me.

I think everything you've listed sounds within reason, But personally I wouldn't discount eating indoors, as long as it's not too crowded for my taste, by October might be a bit chilly to be eating outdoors depending on where you're at in France.

However you should do what makes you comfortable, I don't think anyone can give you a definitive yes or no answer.

@lnbsig I'm heading to France a week from Friday and am being extra cautious like you. Won't be testing quite as much, but I am planning to wear a mask constantly and use wipes/gel as much as possible. I also just got the fifth shot. I had covid in April and I don't want to risk getting kicked off the tour and be left in some random city to fend for myself.

It's when I started not masking in crowded public places that I caught covid in April--two different restaurants on my birthday. Plus, it had been since November since I had my last booster.

I wouldn't test extra unless I had symptoms or someone else had symptoms on the tour. I guess, I'm irresponsible. LOL.. I did test twice when I got home and negative both times: once we landed and again a few days later (since sometimes takes a few days to test positive). I wore a mask on the tour with Rick Steves and any time I went indoors. I ate indoors a lot (breakfast room at the hotel) and never wore a mask while eating. Nobody was wearing a mask in Prague except Rick Steve tour members. In Berlin and Vienna, most people wore them on public transpiration but elsewhere you didn't see that many wearing them. I did not take a thermometer or anything of that sort. Not even dayquil as it took up space in the luggage. I did not use any wipes any time on the trip. I did wash my hands when appropriate.

In the end you have to do what is comfortable for you.

Contrary to the first PP, I do not think you are overdoing it for the most part. COVID is still a fact of life, and you should do whatever you feel you need to do to minimize your risks. Wear your mask whenever you want. Whether the majority wear them or not, you wont be the only one. However I dont think you need to test at every destination. Perhaps before leaving and then only if you start to feel ill? I'm not sure how well the govt antigen tests detect the virus in anyone who is asymptomatic.

Your dining plans will only work if the weather holds for your entire trip, and IMO, that's asking a lot in October. Dining indoors may be your only option some days.

We just finished our third and fourth RS tours for this year. I think you are overdoing it. We wore our KN95 masks when on the bus, meeting with the group indoors and on public transport. We did not wear them when we were outdoors or at meals. We did bring the normal first aid stuff like bandaids, ibuprofen, antibiotic cream, thermometer, etc. but that is stuff we bring anyway not just because of covid. I also brought a few extra test kits but only used them at the outset of the tour as required and once because my throat was dry and scratchy and just wanted to make sure I was negative and didn’t infect anyone else. For non group lunches, we did picnics with sandwiches, crisps and drinks from a convenience store like SPAR or Pret a Manger or ate at a restaurant that wasn’t crowded. Our group members really wanted to go to the pubs for traditional music but stayed away as they were super crowded and too risky. Our tours had the musicians come to us or we went to smaller less risky venues to enjoy the local music. As someone else said, we were the only ones wearing masks. The locals weren’t but they didn’t have the risk of being kicked off a tour that they spend good money on. Try not to worry too much. The risk of covid is there but don’t let it spoil your trip.

Most of it makes a lot of sense. I'm not sure you need to test that frequently, but definitely masking is still a good idea, no matter what others are doing. Testing before departure, before return, and if you feel ill should be sufficient.

We've taken 2 trips to Europe in the past year, and we avoided getting sick even though we were "close contacts" of someone on one of our flights (we were informed afterwards, back when passenger locator forms were still required) because we wore KN95 masks the whole time. We avoided crowded restaurants and either ate outdoors or in our room/apartment. The first time we travelled, masks and tests were required, and we had to show proof of vaccination to enter museums and restaurants. The second time we travelled, these requirements no longer existed and many people weren't wearing masks, but we still did, and we stayed outdoors whenever possible. For example, on the ferry from Dubrovnik to Hvar, people weren't wearing masks, so we sat outside, even though it was a little bit cold.

We found it easy to eat outdoors most of the time--even in November in Amsterdam and Italy, and definitely in May in Croatia and Ireland.

To me it makes a lot of sense to avoid getting sick during an ongoing pandemic, when one has spent a lot of money to travel.

Enjoy your trip!

We took 2 month long European trips this summer (May and then July-August), our first since 2020. Like you, we were very careful. The first time we took extra tests to take before we changed locations. On the second trip we took fewer tests, mainly to have available if one of us us developed symptoms. Both strategies fit our comfort level at the time. We also took and wore kn95 masks to wear on public transportation and in buildings, rotating some but disposing daily if we were in close quarters with coughing/sneezing people. While very few people around us wore masks, no one gave us a second look with our mask wearing. The weather was very cooperative and we were able to eat outdoors 90% of the time. We had two great trips, even with the precautions we took. We took a first aid kit that contained a digital thermometer and small amounts of OTC meds we might use in the US for cold and flu symptoms. Each trip we took seemed easier and less stressful. Do what you need to do to enjoy your trip.

We are traveling to Italy in October and are quite comfortable taking no additional precautions. If required, we will have masks for public transit (the requirement for that is in force until September 30 last I saw.) Thermometer and pulse ox are really overkill- you’ll know if you’re sick. I’d take some ibuprofen and maybe some self tests for reassurance if you get the sniffles. The level of anxiety on this forum is incredible. The current variant is nowhere as severe as the initial one. Most people I know who’ve had it recently were barely sick. That’s assuming you are not obese or diabetic. I have occasionally been more sick on previous trips to Europe than I was with Omicron here.

I think it is reasonable to rely on your vaccinations to prevent severe disease and enjoy the trip.

Over doing it. We were in France in May and June, just wore masks when on public transportation and in caves in southern France. We chose to eat outside whenever possible, but if the weather is good we do that anyway. Take a few tests with you and of course sanitary wipes but otherwise just have a good time.

To me you are not overdoing...but people probably think I am too, lol!!

I traveled for a month in April/May 2 weeks on my own in France, and 2 weeks on a non-Rick tour in Belgium and Netherlands. I brought 32 masks and did not need them all. I did wind up giving them to other members on my tour as people kept forgetting them to enter locations that required them (where have they been for 2 years??) and one time because a tour member who's husband had just tested positive was wearing a vented mask and that was all she'd brought. She tested positive that night so I was glad I'd given her a better mask.

I tested a lot. It was April and I was having horrible allergy symptoms which of course I immediately thought was Covid. It was not. I also wound up testing daily at the end of my trip because 2 people in the group had tested positive and that company did not require masking on the bus or indoors at the lectures we had. I took 6 tests with me, bought 5 more in Paris and then had the official one needed for return at that time (no longer needed). I WOULD test after each time you've been on public transport but I'm not sure I would have tested as much toward the end as I was not having symptoms. I WAS worried about a positive test on the return test which is gone.

One of the people on my tour was a virologist and she'd brought about 10 masks for 2 weeks. She'd labeled masks Mon-Sunday and planned to wear each one 2-3 times before throwing it away. I'm leaving in less than 2 weeks for 22 days and will take fewer N95 masks this time. I will be on a Rick tour this trip.

Purchasing test kits at a French pharmacy is very easy. The pharmacist offered me a box of 1 or box of 5. I took the 5. It was slightly different than I was used to so I just did a search on Youtube for directions for that kit and presto!

BTW, you will probably see lots of people not wearing masks. You should do what is comfortable for you....no one is going to pressure you to take your mask off unlike a woman my age in the grocery store a few months ago who came up to me and asked me why I was masked. Insert big eye roll here!

Have a wonderful time!

Thanks for all the (varied) responses. FYI, I will be maximally vaxxed - getting the bivalent booster on Friday, so I feel confident about not getting horrendously sick. My planning has more to do with avoiding getting a mild or asymptomatic case and passing it on.

Did all of that on our 3.5 weeks trip to France in May. Didn’t get Covid thankfully but also thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Wearing the mask and eating outside and in our hotel room were well worth not getting sick. We also didn’t have housekeeping in our room.

We will go to Rome/Naples in mid November and will do it the same way.

As someone who has too often picked up colds when travelling along with one nasty bout of norovirus that lasted 12 days and also got Covid in London, England before the world knew what was coming, I enjoyed not getting sick in May.

I’m curious: how often you are testing yourself while you are at home going about normal life?

Those at home tests are very unreliable. Any doctor will tell you the same. You are likely to get a false negative, even when you have symptoms. I assume you want to test each time you change locations in the attempt to not spread illness. Just know that it can take several days between exposure and a positive test. So what really is the point, especially if you are moving every few days? You could have moved twice between exposure and symptoms or a positive test.

I’m not discounting the need to be careful. But I do think you are overdoing it.

If you’re comfortable with bringing all of it, and you have room in your suitcase, go for it!

I brought several KN95 masks with me to Italy in June and also a recent trip and was glad to not need to reuse any of them because they do get hot & moist when wearing them in hot & humid weather….or possibly a little rain for you.

Besides some of the home kits, I also brought two of the larger boxed proctored tests just-in-case. I never needed them, and they took a lot of room, but luckily they are very lightweight.

I love the Purell individual gel packs - the ones you bend in half to open! I will be using those for future trips, also. They have the perfect amount of gel, and it doesn’t turn sticky, etc. after applying.

Have a great time in France!

Only you know what you feel comfortable with. There is a huge spectrum of perspectives on this that range from “Covid, what Covid?-only wimps take precautions” to “Covid? No one better breathe near me, only fools travel right now.”

I can tell you what I bring and do. I bring enough masks to change everyday. I wear a mask inside buildings or outside if a crowd in a small space. I always mask on transportation. I tested before my trip and would test during my trip if I had symptoms or a known close contact. I brought 4 home tests and 1 proctored home test for a month long trip. I brought a thermometer,some cold medicine, and hand sanitizer..

The most important thing to bring is the realization that very few people will be masked or seemingly taking precautions around you. You need to just have a game plan for yourself and follow that game plan regardless of others, but without feeling upset their plan isn’t the same as yours.

I’m half way through my trip and things are going well so far. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit the lack of precautions by others doesn’t bother me at times, but I try to focus on my plan and just enjoy myself..

You do what makes you comfortable!

Come prepared, as we did (in Switzerland now) but perhaps you will feel comfortable slipping into local habits (as we have done) once in France. In Switzerland it feels very 2019 again. Getting the new multi variant inoculation must be comforting. It wasn’t available before we departed.

All precautions to avoid getting sick are fair, but I would be wary of testing even in the absence of symptoms. Personally, if I am asymptomatic (or near-asymptomatic) AND taking precautions (masking etc.) that also protect others, I would rather not know than risk feeling much worse due to the stress of having COVID.

However, you might not be able to eat outdoors all the time come October, especially for dinner. It will be down to luck!

I appreciate all the perspectives. Will probably double down on the mask-wearing but ease up a bit on the testing. Should remark that my favorite thing to do when traveling is to walk around outside and look at stuff, and I’m not that wild about eating in restaurants, so I really won’t feel deprived.

Travelling in October is going to be different to travelling in June, as it’s going to be cooler and probably wetter. As people start to move more indoors, Covid rates are likely to tick up.

Do whatever you feel comfortable doing - few people in France (and the U.K.) are wearing masks indoors and nobody outdoors.

I have been very cautious but I haven’t Covid tested for months. I haven’t used public transport since 2019 and only eat indoors if places aren’t busy and tables are well spaced. I haven’t been to the theatre or cinema since Covid struck. I haven’t worn a mask for months other than for medical appointments.

What would be interesting is to hear from Rick Steves tour members who got sick along the tour and what precautions they took ahead of getting sick.

Jill, you’re right. It would be very interesting to hear about that.

To the OP, I agree with those who said to do whatever makes you feel comfortable regardless of what others are or aren't doing.

I was literally the ONLY person wearing a mask in August 2022 on a full flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm & it didn't bother me a bit. Wear masks when and if you want. I haven't caught a single cold or flu bug since March 2020 after many transatlantic flights, how wonderful is that. I carry a very small first aid kit, including TheraFlu. Who wants to go hunt up a pharmacy while traveling, only to discover they don't stock exactly what you would take back home? Hope you have a wonderful, COVID-free trip!

Use the same strategy that you are comfortable with at home. Bring, or buy there, those items you have at home for you strategy at home.

I don't think you're overdoing it with the masking; I probably wouldn't bother to carry all those other medical supplies or too many extra tests. If I thought I needed a test, I'd just go to a pharmacy and buy one. I went to Copenhagen the last week of August and I was among the 5-10 percent of people on my flights, or anywhere for that matter, that had on a mask. I'll admit I wasn't as hypervigilant about masking as I have been in the past, especially in the city, where it was quite warm and A/C appeared to be non-existant. I was coming back from a day trip on a very crowded, hot train on a Friday afternoon, and I was already hot and sweaty when I got on for the trip back to Copenhagen and I just couldn't bring myself to mask.
I guess you can see where this is going...I had the beginnings of a cold by the time I boarded my early flight home. I masked diligently on the way (though few others did!) I tested when I got home and was positive. Basically it was a moderate head cold. I was recovered and testing negative within a week.
So it's out there still...not many other folks seem very concerned, but you won't stand out if you are wearing a mask everywhere you go.

The only overkill I see in your plan is testing each time you leave a French destination (I looked at your itinerary, lots of "leaving' in there). Seems excessive, I suggest you reserve testing for before leaving the US and prior to leaving France, plus if you feel sickly during the course of the trip.

I like your masking plan, exactly what I would do, too.

As for only eating outdoors and picnics in the park, seems a bit unrealistic for all meals, especially in the fall, and particularly in the evening. Be aware that many hotels in France frown upon or prohibit eating in your room - maybe Covid changed that, not sure, others can chime in here if it is kosher to eat takeout food in your hotel room.

Oximeter? Why bother with this? That isn't even a thing anymore, is it? That was pushed as a good idea early in 2020 when all of the extreme respiratory issues were putting people in the hospital, intubations, etc. I don't think the variants out there now warrant this kind of precaution, don't see any value in it.

Good luck.

JoJo regarding oximeters, we don’t take one with us but we have one at home purchased in the first few months of the onset of the pandemic. When we returned from a Hawaii trip in January 2022 my sister-in-law and I became ill a few days after flying home. Long story short, we both had different viruses, neither of which were Covid. I got better quickly but she kept getting worse and worse. At 3am one morning the only thing that could convince her that she needed to go to the ER was an 80s reading on our oximeter. She is so stubborn. She ended up hospitalized for over a week with pneumonia and took months to recover her strength and lung capacity.

I don't think you're overdoing it at all - best to be safe in this day and age. I'm going to Paris in Feb 2023 and am prepared for inclement weather, along with the usual COVID precautions. I think it'll make having picnics that much harder, but I'll be prepared all the same.

Yeah, I’m bringing the oximeter. It’s very small and light, doesn’t ‘break the bank’ in terms of luggage space, and would provide clear evidence of needing medical help should that transpire.

I think an oximeter is a good thing to have for illnesses other than Covid. In Aug 2021, my sister had a bad respiratory infection (bronchitis? but tested negative for Covid more than once) and when she went to the doctor , her oxygen level was really bad.

You are NOT "overdoing it." I traveled solo in 4 European countries in May & June. I took several KN-95 masks and wore them religiously. I didn't eat at a single indoor cafe or restaurant, with the exception of a late Sunday lunch in Munich during a torrential downpour. It was a large room, only about 7 tables were occupied, I sat near an open and breezy front door.

I took about 7 home tests and tested before seeing and staying with friends, then once weekly. The negative test was still required before I returned to the U.S. and I went to a lab in Vienna for that. I had those results and a print-out within 5 minutes.

An incredible number of people seem to think that covid is no longer a problem or dangerous. They're wrong. I had my booster last Sunday, along with a flu shot. I will be traveling domestically in October and want to be as fully protected as I can be. The precautions you outline seem completely sensible to me and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. We have the saying, 'better safe than sorry,' for a reason.

We ate take out in our hotel rooms in France. But as we didn’t have housekeeping each day we took responsibility for disposing of the garbage/recyclables. It was quite straightforward.

An oxImeter is useful in terms of heart rate and breathing issues and if one has any pre existing conditions this could be helpful as Covid can be more serious for those individuals.

“Be aware that many hotels in France frown upon or prohibit eating in your room - maybe Covid changed that, not sure, others can chime in here”

One of my “regular” Paris hotels used to have a sign in the elevator saying eating in rooms was prohibited. When I returned there in October 2021 that sign was gone. It was still gone in April 2022. None of the other hotels I’ve stayed in in Paris have had food forbidden signs. I believe the pandemic radically changed that.

I’ll add that I had chatted with the hotel desk staff about whether they would allow a person needing isolation to stay and they indicated no problem if they had room. I also took this to mean they would be OK with people eating in their rooms.

In my view, pulse oximeters are not a thing of the past. They are a personal healthcare tool just as a thermometer is. Yes, mine is in my charger cube.

Claire and Pam, thanks for your report on having takeout in one’s hotel room - if that’s possible where I’m staying, it would be really good. There are lots of interesting restaurants nearby that I want to try.