Have You Decided to Go or Not to Go to France in Coming Days & Weeks???

You’ll see threads pretty high up here on the French page where at least two people do exactly that and explain their reasoning.

Delta didn't keep us from Berlin in August or Paris for Thanksgiving. It was and still is worth the risk. As long as the borders are open and no one requires an arrival quarantine, we'll be in Nice on Christmas Eve. Life's too short to cancel any more trips.

I’m headed to Strasbourg, Dijon and Paris in a few days. I’ve been in Germany for a week where the numbers are high. People are respectful and careful - always wearing a mask (preferably FFP2). I needed a negative Covid test to board a river cruise tomorrow. Cost 19 Euro and I’ll need one to enter France. Happy to do it. Happy to wear a mask. Happy to be here.

Wash your hands, wear your mask, and practice good judgement. You can just as easily get sick here in the US doing a mundaine routine as you can visiting the greatness of France. Just have a backup idea in mind in case you test positive before you go home.

We have a Paris trip planned end of January and at this time, have no plans to cancel. We are triple-vaxxed and (so far) what seems to be the case is that the rise in cases is largely among those who are unvaccinated. I do not think I am bullet proof LOL, but if this continues to be the case, I see no reason to change plans.

It’s early days yet, but over half the Omicron variant cases in the U.K. are double vaccinated people.

I felt safer in the Canary Islands last month than in the U.K., but it was a beach holiday and we rent a cottage, hire a car and don’t eat out much other than sitting outside. I wouldn’t do a city break in a hotel or use public transport at present.

Precautions aside, and I am really impressed with how France has handled COVID tracking... we are supposed to leave on the 16th and are right on the edge of cancelling. My husbands art is being displayed on a town in Italy and we were traveling to see that and also visit family France who will accompany us to the Italy event, BUT we can't manage a Plan B. There are 5 of us traveling and my 3 kids are 13 and younger and of course in school...and my husbands job needs him back here in January so we can't be flexible about returning. We are all vaxxed, boosted, even the 10 year olds but there are too many buts right now...

We also are planning on going in just a couple weeks. Although today’s announcement (https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/covid-4/coronavirus-france) from the CDC certainly gives me pause, right now we’re cautiously continuing with our plans. After postponing the trip twice now, the “wait until things get better” approach seems irrelevant… because who’s to say it’ll be better a month or even a year from now. We’ve taken all the precautions (vaxxed, boostered, med grade masks, etc.) and are prepared to do all the testing and jump through all the hoops. It will be worth it!

Shane,
We are going in 11 days. We are have our boosters. I have our rapid PCR tests scheduled. I just received my International DL today at the local AAA. We look at the rates of vaccination there and it is better than our area. At this point, we are going to move forward and live our lives to the best and safest we can. The wife and I have postponed this trip 3 times now and we will soon be empty nesters. It is now or never for our family of 5. I noticed the recent Level 4 warning for France. We are not deterred by this. I hope you can make a decision that you are comfortable with. Best wishes.

.....over half the Omicron variant cases in the U.K. are double vaccinated people<<.

I hadn't heard that. Interesting. I wonder if those cases are those who were vaccinated early on and had not yet gotten the third shot. It will be interesting to see how this progresses. I'll certainly be paying attention! As I am not leaving till end of January, I have a little more time to see how it develops.

We are heading out the 15th!! As long as they let us in, plans aren’t changing!

We are leaving on Tuesday come hell or high water! My son and daughter in law live in France and if we cancel it could be a year before we see them in person again...we both work and it would be very difficult to reschedule the time off. We are both fully vaccinated and boosted and wear our masks in risky situations. And honestly, the vaccination rate is higher in France than in our state, so....

The hardest part is the chance that things may close down while we're there. We were in France in 2019 when everything was initially shutting down and it was a bummer. We didn't regret going because we were thankful to be with our son when the world was going crazy. I would have been out of my mind with worry had we not seen him in person during all that.

The news this morning has me thinking the Omicron is more transmissible, but not more deadly, so I'm hoping as long as the hospitals remain functional, the lockdowns will not be triggered....fingers crossed!

We were in France in 2019 when everything was initially shutting down

I think you are confusing the December 2019 train strikes with the pandemic. France didn’t shut anything for the pandemic until Saturday, March 14, 2020, when the prime minister came on TV and announced that all restaurants would have to close at midnight. (The President had previously appeared on tv the Thursday prior and announced that a lockdown would start on Monday March 16).

Yeah, I'm leaning heavily now toward going! I've already put off this vacation for over a year and a half, it's paid for (except for food), and as I may have said, I'm not concerned much about COVID (we're all vacinated, and I've had three doses), just the bureaucracy of getting tested before returning to the U.S.

I don't know if someone else mentioned this, but here's a helpful site for finding pharmacies in Paris that are open late or even 24/7:

https://en.parisinfo.com/discovering-paris/themed-guides/paris-by-night/practical-guide/open-very-late-or-all-night-in-paris/night-pharmacy

Shane

the bureaucracy of getting tested before returning to the U.S.

That is only a matter of paying 25€ for the test which is offered everywhere in Paris; at almost any pharmacy, even at many street corners. Look for the blue tents with the word dépistage.

Thanks for correcting me Kim - haha! Time has lost all meaning! Yes, I meant to say during COVID lockdowns in 2020...

Nothing easier than getting tested before the return to the US -- we did it in November. 25 Euro and there are test sites with no wait at all all over Paris -- it is much harder getting the tests in the US at a reasonable price.

We are planning to go in April but I have put off buying the tickets for a month or so to see how this plays out. Triple vaxxed and traveling with a vaxxed 12 year old. If we get sick; we get sick and at least we are in Paris. If I thought we had a good chance of getting ICU sick, I would cancel.

I'm in France. Have been 4 nights in Paris, tonight is 4th night in Colmar. Heading to Lyon tomorrow then Chamonix. Masks are mandatory everywhere, pass sanitaire is checked every restaurant and cafe. There is not much distancing though, if that freaks you out. Subways and Christmas markets are crowded but, again, everyone wears masks. Security reminds about masks and there are announcements continuously. I have been careful and we have had a very good time. Hasn't hindered it at all really. I don't know that I'd want to be here in summer because masks would be tough, but right now it's not bad at all.

I just cancelled a 10 day trip to Paris, leaving December 28. Vaxxed and boosted, and not particularly fearful, but really don't want to get there and have more restrictions kick in on museums and restaurants. Had a trip to German Christmas markets and Salzburg planned, leaving Nov 24, and less than a week before, Bavarian markets cancelled and Salzburg went into lockdown. I quickly rearranged that trip and went to Italy instead, but too much is going on in December to have to make all new plans if Paris gets sticky. Decided to defer for a few months rather than chancing a diminished experience.

Just left Paris yesterday, now in Prague. It is true that everything about the “getting to the destination” takes longer and is more of a headache. But once there (here, Paris, Croatia in September, or Greece in July), it is almost normal travel except for paperwork at airports. And masks. I am triple vaccinated with no underlying conditions and decided I don’t want to see any more of my travel years disappear up in smoke, if tourism is open and tourists are welcome.

I canceled the Paris portion of an upcoming trip, only because Paris is what would have made it a multi-country trip, with all of the additional testing hurdles and hassle that would have involved. Had the trip been about Paris alone (or Paris and other parts of France alone), I would not have canceled it and would still be planning on forging ahead for a NYE departure.

Really, the additional testing it would have required was the only reason. Since we fly in to and spend some time in the UK and Paris would have fallen in the middle of our trip (with a return to the UK after), it would have meant additional pre-departure tests and an additional UK Day 2 PCR test and isolation period. If it was a France-only trip, we would have been more than ok with one round of France's testing/health pass requirements (and return to the US, of course). But c'est la vie!

Perhaps Paris will be in the cards later in 2022, or even 2023!

We are leaving for Paris on Dec. 19 for two weeks. Six persons and have no plans to cancel. Thanks for the post. The replies have great info as we finalize our trip.

We have a trip planned for end of January/beginning of February. We'll be going from Seattle - Boston and staying a few nights, then Boston to Paris with 4 nights in Paris, then Paris to London with 6 nights in London, then to NYC for 3 nights and back to Seattle. Short of a lockdown in any of those places we have absolutely no intention of canceling/postponing. Whatever "minor" inconveniences that come with it all, we'll deal with.

That said, a few questions for anyone that might be able and answer:

We have a layover at Heathrow on the Boston - Paris trip...from what I have read, it doesn't sound like we'll need to do anything special for transiting/changing planes there...just get off plane and go to new terminal, get on new plane...is that accurate?

Any concerns with getting the Chunnel train from Paris to London we should be aware of?

Anything else we should be concerned with, paying attention to?

Best to all for the holidays, safe travels and thanks in advance for anyone that can assist with the questions.

Oh...and Shane...GO ON THE TRIP!

Tony

@walborna1970

Thanks, Tony. My group of four is definitely going. My only concern is getting out of France at the end of the trip, as the last 24 hours of our visit mainly falls on Christmas Day, with the plan leaving for the U.S. early on the 26th. The problem being, to find a pharmacy open on Christmas Day so we can get tested in that 24-hour window in order to get on the plane! Fortunately, I have found a pharmacy in Paris that will be open all-day on Christmas. (I see there are a number of 24/7 pharmacies in Paris, as one would expect in a major city.)

Actually, I just found three pharmacies open on Christmas Day that provide rapid COVID testing, so that's all I needed to know.

@walborna1970 - while you may get a reply or so here, might be a good idea to post your questions in a new thread :-). Sounds like a great trip. I did London-to-Paris on the chunnel once but it was prepandemic so I can't answer specifics now :-). PS - I am also planning to be in Paris end of January/early February!

Shane,
Check with your hotel. I emailed them and they told me the closest pharmacy. I also emailed several pharmacies close by the hotel and they all responded. One pharmacy does not do testing but told me where the next closest pharmacy that does testing is. We have to be tested 12/31.

Aimee, I am so sorry you were that ill with COVID. I really appreciate your taking the time to describe your experience. It's important that we all understand how rough it can get even if we don't end up in the hospital. It's really easy to make the leap from "most people who get significantly ill have underlying conditions and/or are very old" (which seems to be true) to "I'm healthy so if I get COVID it definitely won't be worse than a bad cold" (which clearly isn't true). What you went through would certainly have been more miserable if you'd been away from home.

I went! And it was awesome! Yes, dealing with the bureucracy was often nerve-wrentching, but everything fell into place nicely and we had a great time in Paris and Provence. Just got back home yesterday (having been in France from December 18 to 26) -- and don't want to be here! I want to be back in France!

Great. I felt and feel the same way upon my return on 8 December.