September Planning

I am due to travel to France from the U.K. in 27 days. I have my pass sanitaire with my U.K. vaccination details logged.

As you will note from similar posts to yours over the weekend, there is speculation that France will crack down on rising Covid numbers at the end of August/early September when the schools return by imposing new restrictions.

We put the chances of our trip happening at 50/50 as we won’t go if the U.K. government advises against travel there which would invalidate our car insurance or if France goes onto our red list, meaning we would have to pay £3,500 (c $5,000) to quarantine in an official hotel for 10 nights.

What has happened over the last few weeks is irrelevant to the situation going forward, as Covid infection numbers are starting to increase and France’s vaccination rate is low (53% vs 73% in the U.K. have had both jabs).

Whatever feedback before August 9 seems like it will be a moot point. Moving forward, everything is up in the air. We were also supposed to go in September but have luckily held off buying our plane tickets. Our itinerary is lined out, but the chances of us actually going are slim. If you don't have a French health pass, how will you travel around, much less get from the airport to the embassy? We highly doubt the embassy is in on this plan to verify CDC cards. Can't imagine them calling my local HEB pharmacy to verify. We just don't want the hassle of canceling all our hotels, tickets, plane, etc. last minute after hours and hours of planning. As many have said, we are taking our chances, knowingly, that things can change with a snap of our fingers. We are in "wait and see" mode with knowing the chances are getting slimmer by the day.

Thank you JR and Jennifer for your feedback, it is very helpful in taking into consideration all the moving pieces at play here. I really appreciate your insight.
And you are right - travel expierence from July is not much help for late Aug / Sept. I sure was hopeful when I booked in June!
I do think it probable that a workable policy for the CDC card to Pass Saintaire will be implemented, as there is incentives for both sides to find a working solution (not to say it will be perfect!)
The possibility of the lockdown seems most worrisome at this point. Am I correct in recalling that previous lockdowns were announced without much notice?

JR if you are comfortable sharing - what will be the final straw to make the decision for you? (For me - it is navigating the lockdown news ..)

I am supposed to leave 8/28. Really doubtful. My big concern is another "Lockdown"

I was reading today that Covid infection rates are very high in the south of France... and guess where everyone in France is right now.. On Vacation and a LOT of them are in the south of France. So when they get back I am very much afraid that Paris goes into "lockdown". I am fine with getting covid tested every 48 hours but..... I'm afraid I won't be able to do anything while I am there.

It is all speculative at this point. I leave in mid-September and I am continuing to plan as though we will be able to travel. We will just need to see how all this plays out.

Hello, william509, I'll add an optimistic response. We are booked for departure on 9/3, heading to Germany and France for a little over four weeks. Our airline tickets are bought, but can be cancelled. Our hotels are booked, not paid for, and can be cancelled with sufficient notice. Rental car booked, but cancelable. And, the self-drive "barge" our family will use for one week on the Charente River can be rescheduled without penalty if there's a shutdown. I made all these plans back in May, after an announcement had been made by France of their intention to open. We are all counting down the weeks that remain until departure, and are very much looking forward to our trip.

We are all fully vaccinated, and willing to jump through the hoops. I have been keeping myself as up to date on the changes as possible, mainly via this forum (thanks everyone!). I will say that if this were my first trip to Europe, I would probably be too intimidated to tackle it all, but we are very fortunate in our vast European travel experience, and semi-fluent knowledge of both French and German. I also will say that if our trip were much shorter, and we hadn't been there as many times as we had, that I probably wouldn't be willing to spend so much time during my trip jumping through the hoops.

Yes, from what I've seen, the pass sanitaire and the test for re-entry into the US are the primary legal considerations as of now. I'll be continuing to haunt the forum here for first hand experiences through August, and links to official sites with the latest requirements.

Love the optimistic response :) and the feedback on perhaps pivoting destinations within France is helpful. Our flights are able to changed, and all lodging refundable (up until Aug 20 one one place so maybe that is our drop dead decision date). I did prebook two train tickets that I assume are nonrefundable but not a big deal. We've been to France several times before and this trip is planned to be more on the relaxing side than visiting all the sites we've previously done, so we will be fine being flexible.

I suppose I am just trying to figure out what will make the final decision for me ... (lockdown news?).
Does anyone recall how much in advance the previous lock down notice was given?

Lockdown notice: usually a couple of days, but you know at least a week before that it's coming because the news anchor starts talking about lockdown, getting people into condition. In fact, it's in conversations one or two months before. For example, everyone expected to be locked down in January after the holidays. It didn't happen until March. No one can predict when a lockdown will be, and the government absolutely wants to avoid one

The key is ICU occupancy. Once it gets toward 90%, it's considered critical and that's when lockdowns happen. Right now it's way below that, at 22%. By the way, the Tousanti-covid app also says vaccinations were at 60.3% four days ago.

We are just carrying on as normal: blue surgical masks,
hand sanitizer. But we don't have expensive vacation decisions to make.

william509, you asked what factors we consider to not go - there are two. One is getting the health pass problems worked out, which I would think will become clearer in the coming weeks. The other consideration, as AshleyMIA has pointed out, are the rising cases of covid. We too are vaccinated, yet we also have several vaccinated friends who have recently contracted the Delta variant and become quite sick. All but one had no health issues and worked out regularly. Two have developed into full pneumonia. Several cases were contracted from traveling elsewhere in the States. I was most optimistic until I heard this.

And, in fairness to the French citizens, they want their cases to drop so they can go back to business as usual. We totally understand that. These are, as they say, trying times.

Definitely NOT trying to be a naysayer. This is just what we are doing for the moment. We just have to look at what is best for us to spend the $$ on a vacay and not have to worry about the "what next". But that is where we are at, which doesn't mean others aren't willing to move forward. As long as you can go with the punches, be ready to change plans last minute, and not stress over it, go for it! Sounds like all your tickets are bought and plans made. You still have some time to see how things will play out. We are most hopeful you will be able to make your trip. As Bets pointed out, bring on the masks, hand sanitizer, etc., and travel in areas that do not have rising cases. If those areas are of interest, there you go. I believe Ashley MIA posted a map.

Many here on the boards are willing to forge onward, and that's great. We are well seasoned European travelers, and just not taking this situation lightly. We will definitely continue to monitor the situation, read updates here, and if it looks like the opportunity arises, we will move forward with our plans. For now, we are in a wait-and-see. Who knows what September will bring, and think the first two weeks of August will give us all a glimpse of things to come. Here's hoping for a great outcome!

The other consideration, as AshleyMIA has pointed out, are the rising cases of covid.

This was our primary concern when we cancelled our mid August trip. And it has only gotten worse...but most people seem to be focusing solely on the pass sanitaire for US travelers as the linchpin to their "go / no go" decision - sure, that is important and was also a factor in our decision - but for many people here it seems to be the only factor.

Hi folks. My wife and I have had a rolling set of bookings and cancellations on and off since last August and are finally committed to traveling this time. We are traveling from Spokane to Paris via Seattle and London on 8/27.

Our first challenge is that our connection in London to Paris connection is via the Eurostar so we'll be arriving from Seattle at LHR and then will travel to London St. Pancras to catch the train to Paris. At this point we believe we should be OK to transit through the UK and also arrive in Paris without difficulty since we both have been vaccinated. I also understand that there is some online documentation we'll need to fill out in advance for transiting through the UK.

I'm hoping that by the end of August they'll have worked out the "best practice" for Americans wanting to convert their CDC cards into the Pass Sanitaire so we are not restricted in terms of the venues we can visit. I'm also hoping that there is reciprocity in Italy with the French Pass Sanitiaire since we'll be leaving France near the end of September and spending a few days in Italy before returning to Spokane on Oct 1.

Ashley - thank you for the info on SCNF refund possibility! And thank you JR and others for sharing your feedback - outside of the "legal" requirements - everyone has their own considerations and I truly find it helpful to hear other's perspectives. This forum has helped me plan SO many wonderful trips in the past and how great it is to have as a resource navigating travel in the Covid-era.
At this juncture my plan is to continue the wait & see -- be hopeful for the situation to improve in the weeks to come and continue to closely follow updates on Pass Saintaire and possible lockdowns.

Williams 5, we really hope it works out for you. Good luck!

Hi -- We're in a similar situation (leaving early in Sept), but at this point it's still too early to worry about it. We have zero control over whatever decisions are made between now and early Sept. Since the hotels can be cancelled, and the airfare can be pushed -- we'll start being more intent about a week before departure. Overall, I'm pretty positive about going -- so hopefully it'll happen.

If train travel isn't clear before departure, you can usually ask SNCF for clarification...they've been (surprisingly) helpful via email on previous trips. One note, looking at SNCF's OUIGO tool, it says the SNCF cancellation offer must be utilized 3-days prior to your train depart. It also says this policy is currently only in effect until the end of August.

But then ... even that may be changing as I write this....

Hope your trip happens and you have a great time.

The only thing I will add is about enjoying your time away.

We were in Sri Lanka in February/March 2020, when there hadn’t been any Covid cases there, so we felt safe, but due to rising numbers elsewhere and the concerns about flying home, we curtailed the trip. The only conversation for the last 10 days of the trip was about Covid numbers, flight availability and the situation in the U.K.

We went to the Canary Islands in October/November and had our return flight changed 7 times, mostly when we were out there. We had to extend this holiday by 4 days as our midweek flight disappeared and again, the Covid situation and getting home dominated the conversation.

Neither trip was as enjoyable or relaxing as it should have been.

Hi all. I love reading these forums for all the excellent information on European travel. We've rebooked our France trip from last year and are scheduled to leave the US on September 27th. We are five adults (Hubby and I have gone before, but the three 30 plus year old children have never been) and have everything booked except timed museum visits or winery reservations. So far we're excited about sharing Paris and the Champagne region with the kids. Our plans mostly revolve around visiting WWI battlefields as my Grandfather participated in the conflict and I want to see the areas he fought in. Since we've reserved apartments in each place we're visiting (Reims, Amiens and Paris), we can cook if we can not visit restaurants. We'll be sad, but will happily manage. If we need to abandon our visits to Champagne cellars, so be it, we'll purchase our own bottles and have a tasting in the apartment. We've been to several of the top museums in Paris, so if we're no longer allowed in museums, well, we'd be unhappy, but ok. Travel always involves risk and some folks are able to go with the flow and adapt and for others its just too stressful. Now, if they stop me from SHOPPING, that's the last straw!

Seriously though, we're in a wait and see mode and will make a decision by the end of August on whether this will be an enjoyable, relaxing, informative holiday or if we'll be sitting in apartments staring at each other for 15 days. Thanks to everyone for keeping us all updated on the ever shifting requirements for proof of vaccines or test requirements for US re-entry.

We are set to fly to France 8/19-9/6. Fully vaccinated for the purpose of travel, we are not so much concerned about Covid - except the possibility of infection to delay our return trip to the States. We will use our CDC cards and/or the email confirmations from the CDC on our 2nd jabs and hope they will continue to be accepted. If they come up with a better solution in the next 2 weeks we will do that.
Our trip is planned, but can be flexible as only a little has been paid up front, and most hotels can be canceled within 3 days - though it may be hard to procure good accommodations at last minute in August. We will start in in the Loire Valley, then through Lyon to Provence where we will spend 2 days in Nice and 2 in Bonnieux. We may need to rethink Nice if the numbers keep going up. From there up through Burgundy to the Alsace Wine Region then over to Paris. Hopefully the protests and riots will have calmed down by 9/1.

For our US return we will have to travel to Amsterdam as this trip was planned for last May along with a river cruise (which we pushed off until next May) and we didn't change the plane tickets. So hopefully the Netherlands will not impose and restrictions during that time. We are watching the ICU numbers (currently .27%) vs the infection numbers as this is most probably what they will use if they are to lockdown again - and if so while we are there we will just have to try to get to the Netherlands sooner and hope to not run into any problems. Keeping positive and looking forward to traveling abroad again!

I gave up and cancelled my September trip (with a credit from Delta that I can use up to Dec 2022). Covid is taking off in France right now (29,000 cases today) and may be peaking in late August/September. Even though I'm vaccinated there are too many breakthrough cases with delta. I suppose if you're retired it may not be a big deal but I cant imagine being stuck in a one bedroom hotel for 10 days with the potential if your spouse gets sick you may have additional days in hotel jail. It's just not worth taking the risk at this time. I hope next spring will be better!

I canceled my trip for early September as well. It really seems like the breakthrough rate is high and I don’t want to spend the whole trip worrying if we would end up testing positive.

I am set to travel on 9/12-9/29 solo in France. This trip, as many others have said, is all booked with the ability to cancel. Fully vaccinated. I figure being on my own I am much less at risk as I can be diligent about my masking, distancing, activity choices.

I modified this trip extensively based on COVID numbers, spending 11 of the 18 days in the Loire Valley and just a week between Fontainebleau and Paris.

If things tank in terms of numbers, I won't go.

However, I think this will be a wonderful time for me to travel in France as the crowds will be low.

We'll see.

I have plans to go to France in September, flying into Frankfurt, taking the Lufthansa bus to Strasbourg and the train to Paris. I will be staying in Strasbourg (Sept 3-10) and Paris (Sept 10-24). I am fully vaccinated but had my last shot February 17 which may be a bit of a red flag... I am a healthy 78 year old, but I am 78... I had originally planned this trip for Spring, but changed it to Fall.

I was supposed to fly San Diego - Frankfurt non-stop on Lufthansa but the San Diego flight was rerouted to LAX so now I have a United flight to LAX and a 3 1/2 hour layover - not a great way to start due to high volume of Covid cases in that area and also no domestic vaccination/test flight requirements.

I have been planning with Covid in mind... I have been to Paris before and have been to many "indoor" attractions, and anyway, I really prefer neighborhood walking which I have planned for extensively on this trip. The room at my hotel has a small balcony overlooking the Pantheon so with some take out, meals will be in a delightful setting. I have looked into a few (small group-8 max) day trips from Strasbourg with Get Your Guide - the tours I am planning, require masks (I have N95), vaccination certificate or proof of negative test within 48 hours - Yay! I haven't decided which day trips from Paris at this point.

France is more cautionary than the US, but is that enough with how very contagious this variant is and so many people coming back from EU August vacations. I go back and forth on a daily basis - heart/head heart/head heart/head - I think I have put a trip in place for the least amount of exposure, decide to go, but then read again how extraordinarily contagious this variant is - how it is completely airborne - how far droplets from a cough or sneeze travel - and then think what are you thinking!!! With the rate the cases are escalating in the US, France may raise our level and the decision will be made for me...

But I digress... What I really want to know is if anyone has tested positive and had to quarantine. How/where did you quarantine for 10 days? How did the logistics play out? I know you can travel with two tests, so if one is positive, you can retest. But in the event that happens, how long before the second test and did you have to quarantine between tests? I have not been able to find any information on line, except to say you need to isolate/quarantine. I sent my hotel an email asking their policy but haven't heard back. I do have $250,000 in sickness and accident travel insurance coverage which includes Covid, but am going to look at it very closely. The fine print for travel coverage always seems to less than transparent and the Covid coverage requirements are extremely extensive and nebulous.

I have been reading the forum updates and am very appreciative of all of the insiteful information posted here. Thank you all for taking the time to share your experiences.

@Sharon - I can’t help on the quarantine question. But I’m going through the same back and forth for a late September scheduled trip.
Like you, I’ve been to Paris several times and walking/outdoor scenery is my favorite thing to do anyway. Because I’m dithering so much I haven’t even booked a place to stay yet. But my general plan is to book an apartment (or at least a hotel that’s ok with me eating in room), eat lunch at places where I can dine outside, then cook supper or do takeaway.
Not too far from where you’re staying is a delicious little grilled chicken place - Nossa.
Fingers crossed for both of us.

We were supposed to leave for France on August 19, and decided to cancel our trip last week.

The primary consideration was that we had planned to rely on TGV trains. Between the uncertainty about obtaining a health pass to board trains, the railway unions threatening to strike if there is a health pass travel mandate, plus the Delta variant, now doesn’t seem like an ideal time to visit France.

Safer to stick to one country only.

I agree with and have thought the above from the beginning of this summer "reopening", that if one is determined to travel anywhere in Europe this summer, that the wisest decision is to stick to a single country. Yet so many of the itineraries posted on this forum are multi country, tightly planned with no room for error, and in my mind, overly complex with added risk of interruption or border crossing issues, airport transit issues, etc. Keep it simple.

Paris>Lourdes>Toulouse>Rocamodour>Paris in early September. I’m guessing the trip is 50/50 at this point, but I’m hopeful…. I really have until August 24 to cancel the big things without penalties. Let’s say the trip starts the first week of September… when is it most likely that I’d know if travel were still open?

We have an upcoming September trip, and here is another dose of optimism! Our trip was postponed because of the pandemic. After looking forward to it for two years, as long as France will have us, we are determined to go and make the best of it. Time's a wasting!!! Our trip is to Paris only, staying 17 days starting mid-September. We will take every precaution we can to keep ourselves and our fellow travelers safe: high quality masks, long strolls, avoiding crowds, and dining outdoors whenever we can. When outdoor dining isn't possible, then we will pick up food for picnics or dine back at the apartment. We have planned our timed entries into some of the museums. If throngs of tourists are absent it will be all the better. We are doing our best to stay informed about the ever-changing process for getting the necessary QR code. Even though this trip requires more careful planning and won't be like the carefree trips of the past, it will be glorious just to be there!

I'm going in October, even if my sister cancels, as long as Paris will have me, and I will enjoy every minute of it.

My kids, mother-in-law, and husband will be departing from the US on 9/12, so long as borders are open between France & the US. We've recently had two of our connecting flights (both stateside) canceled by Delta, however, making me nervous about other potential disruptions closer to ETD. My biggest concern obviously is that the kids will not have the same protections from Covid we will have while traveling. Our plan is also to wait and see and make a final decision about a week before we are meant to leave. I would advise anyone here who has not recently checked their flight status (particularly those with connecting flights in the US) to double check your reservations! Also williams5, someone else posted in the forum today about France releasing more information for. tourists seeking the pass sanitaire! https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/pass-sanitaire-finally

We head for Geneva to Chamonix on sept 20 --- if that is not looking feasible we may still head for Paris on Oct 1 as we have a rental for 5 weeks there -- we feel pretty confident of managing the trip in Paris even if we should get sick -- but are nervous about our trip moving from place to place in the south.

We are/were planning to leave for Pari day after tomorrow - August 12th. But then came the CDC downgrade. And one horror story from another poster on this site but a different forum (CDC Level 4). The poster talked about all fully vaccinated family members going to France, taking all precautions, and three of them ending up sick with Covid, one seriously.

That has given us pause, and we are leaning towards postponing the trip.

We visit Paris every year but haven't in the last two years, so were totally looking forward. Paris has always been easy - it's heartbreaking to have to cancel a trip that we were really looking forward to. All of us are fully vaccinated.

Wondering who else has changed their plans based on the CDC downgrade?

Thanks!

I echo your thoughts. We have an Oct 1 trip to France planned. Hard to see this level 4 upgrade. I have had a concern about either getting a poss diagnosis while vaccinated and being careful or have some other need for hospital care. Like here in some of US a problem if there are shortages of beds or medical care. One wants to be our upbeat optimistic self but yet not be unrealistic or have the regret that the family that posted is having. That is sad! I will still wait a bit and see if things improve. Best wishes for your very difficult decision in nxt couple days!

In the news today (Washington Post) is that the EU is likely to re-impose restrictions on American travelers in 2 weeks time absent reciprocity from the USA. They just voted to keep it as is until the next vote in two weeks time while they negotiate with the US government. Whatever restrictions they do vote on in two weeks time is going to depend on what the case situation looks like in the USA. Also whether individual countries decide to follow along will depend on that. In any case, there might be a return to confusion and travel restrictions.

The EU reopened to American tourists a while ago now with the expectation that the USA would reciprocate. That hasn't happened. Now that the USA has a covid case load that's far above the 'safe' or 'green' level that the EU uses for other countries, it's very likely going to happen at the end of the summer holidays.

1. The WAPO article also mentioned the possibility of staying open but to vaccinated Americans only.

2. The short timeline of the family with the two who tested positive, makes it likely the two were exposed before they even left the States. Too bad tracing in the US is stymied.

It continues to be so helpful to read other's considerations and decisions on this ever evolving situation.

Still undecided for our Sept trip. Have our documents ready to submit for Pass Sanitaire, which does not look to be a difficult task to acquire. For a handful of reasons, the CDC moving France to level 4 does not significantly change my view -- only France deciding to impose restrictions on US travelers would obviously change things.
Has anyone seen reliable, informed data on the delta curve in France? Are things cases expected to plateau in the coming weeks like some areas in the US are seeing?

The EU's decision is non binding on its members....

The EU's decision is non binding on its members....

And earlier this week Belgium raised the US to "red" and is imposing quarantine restrictions, so 'non-binding' cuts two ways.

You can see France's daily case count on a graph here: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/france/. It's the second graph.

As for the timing of the two infections reported yesterday, it wasn't clear to me on which day of the trip the tests were taken. I'd normally assume the group tested to meet the requirement for flying home, so possibly two or three days before the return flight. However, one of the infected is hospitalized, so perhaps the illness was evident earlier and testing was done at that point. In any case, one of the differences in Delta seems to be that people become infectious earlier. I read (sorry, no citation because it was over a week ago) that at least some people apparently can start spreading Delta about 2 days after exposure, much earlier than with other versions of the virus. Assuming that is accurate, it seems possible the two victims got infected in France, purely from the standpoint of timing. I'm certainly not saying they did; the activities, as described, sound fairly low-risk. I wonder about airport or in-flight infection.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/france. FRANCE: Level 4: COVID-19 Very High