Change in travel preferences

I was trying to be optimistic about our flights and trips abroad for the fall but I have mentally given up! I live in Florida and well, whatever the cause our cases are increasing like wildfire so I do no see me being allowed anywhere for a while lol!!! Originally I had just procrastinated the trip to Scotland thinking we could go in September but I think that is just reaching. We have turned our attention to a possible trip to the Cayman Islands which is suppose to open their border Sept 1st, but again the stipulations with additional travel bans. Now, I have reverted to nature! We are going north to Tennessee to rent a cabin and seclude ourselves. We will be enjoying the cooler weather and hopefully get some snow. As well we will support the local business there, go on hikes and enjoy some fresh air. As a nurse I am starting to go MAD wearing a mask and a face shield 40 hours a week. We also have the option to take the boat to Florida Keys and enjoy the water on our own as well....

Bram, l think that like many people here in the US who want to go to Europe, I'm not planning or thinking about planning anything travel-wise until things are more under control (here and abroad). I have a flexible priority list of places I want to visit, but that's about it. But you have the great advantage of already being over there. For most of us, its a multi-hour flight to get anywhere in Europe from here. So it would be more comparable to how you would plan a trip to North America - not as simple.

Well, I think some of what Bram says is still applicable to me, even if I can’t get to Europe now.

1. I have been looking for places to see closer to home that I have put off going to.
2. I am looking more for relaxing experiences, as opposed to sights.
3. I still feel reluctant to fly. Trains and busses aren’t really an option but driving is. Since I enjoy that, I am planning some trips that I can accomplish that way.
4. If I am booking ahead, everything has to be refundable. Previously, I did a mix and didn’t worry.
5. AND, I am becoming more at ease with the thought that every plan may change next week (or tomorrow).

When I was younger I tended to be more free spirited - I would get a room in advance but would plan anything further. On my (fingers crossed) possible upcoming trip to England I have done more planning ahead. After reading 2 of Ricks books I realized how much time I could waste not being prepared so I did actually create a complete itinerary - hotels and places to sightsee. Now I'm waiting to see what happens with London reopening to tourists.

Changes in travel preferences assume that the present is the new normal. At the present I don't accept that. Could be in the future but not now. If a vaccine and effective treatment is not developed within the next year to eighteen months, then the current situation could become the new normal and we would have to adopt changes in travel preferences. But -- at the moment -- we are staying put and will wait out the present situation. We have had 9/11, other pandemics, the British/Irish conflict, airline hijackings, etc., We all came through it and things returned to normal. Presently, I assume that will happen.

We are continuing with our annual summer plans, relocating to a cooler area from AZ.
However, we usually go to Europe right before or after our summer respite and have canceled those trips. We will be near family all summer which is wonderful.

Not really much has changed with me. Again, let’s see if this is a new normal or not. As of now, travel is off the table and I just have to deal with it. The recession will probably ruin a bunch of places I like, both at home and places I travel to.

I’ve always done a semi-planned kinda trip as an adult (post age 25). I doubt that’ll change. I’ll always have a list of absolutely must dos and nice to dos when I visit a place.

The only thing that’ll likely change is that I’ll push myself harder to get up earlier and cut back on the late nights. I have had some feelings of regret for places I didn’t get to on my itineraries because of sleeping in or just taking a long time to get going in the morning. Obviously, a year ago, I had the attitude that I’m sure to return. And, I’ve really enjoyed all the time I’ve spent having drinks with locals and other travelers. But, I’ll cut that down a bit next trip.

I concur by and large with the Bram. No point in making any solid plans for overseas travel until a vaccine is distributed, plain and simple. We're looking at more outdoors sights like Gettysburg and Valley Forge, among others. It is easy to socially distance at beaches we go to, along with hiking and so forth.

Anyplace can close at a moment's notice due to a COVID resurgence, so planning is definitely short-term. Driving means we won't be cooped up with potentially a lot of people in a small space. Flights have been everywhere from half-full to packed. It's a roll of the dice.

The Hot Wife and me have our 40th wedding anniversary in 2022, so we're hopeful a vaccine will be in place and we can travel internationally. Until then there's more than enough to see in country. Europe will still be there.

I have never been one to plan a year in advance for any travel. I might have looked at various options in advance (I always enjoyed the arrival of the RS Catalog) but I always waited until much closer to the actual time to finalize the plans and purchase anything. This is why I never went on a cruise I guess since they all seem to require booking that far in advance. My work schedule was never predictable that far in advance and I just never really knew what I would want to do once vacation time rolled around anyway. I also never found that great of deals on airfare that far in advance even when booking reward travel.

This means my future travel preferences won't be much impacted. I will still plan somewhat in advance but not purchase until close in to the dates picked.

My big change....face masks and hand sanitizer are now on my packing list.

You know how one of the forum mantras has been, “If you see a good airfare, book it”? We may not be so quick to do that in the future. We’ll at least be reading all the fine print on anything we book going forward. River cruise lines encourage booking way in advance, so now we wait for our refund on a cruise booked for mid-August. Today British Airways sent the email stating we could get a voucher for airfare on that trip. The voucher is fine as we plan to travel again as soon as it’s safe, but it’s been a few months of sweating how they would handle something that looked to be on the cusp of allowed travel.

I’ve been a long-term planner. I often know where I’m going and have a rough itinerary a year out. I often book flights with frequent flier miles, or find excellent deals 8-10 months before a trip. This lead to 3 trips (assuming I can’t go to Spain in October) being cancelled this year. March to Mexico, June to Portugal and probably October in Spain. I’ve gotten refunds but I still think I’ll plan much less ahead of time in the future.

I never was a rush around tourist, doing a long sequence of 1-2 night stays. I preferred staying 4-6+ nights. This won’t change and probably will intensify. Staying home for months is frustrating but I’m also enjoying slowness. In the future (once there’s a vaccine?) I see longer stays in a city or smaller town, cooking from the market, enjoying scenery, taking walks...kind of what I’m doing now, but in Europe. Preferably with a view of the Mediterranean!

In the shorter term at least I’m developing even more of an interest in nature destinations. Right now it’s much safer, but I’m also enjoying it. About 2 years ago I went to Iceland, rented a car, and spent each day driving then hiking in a different, beautiful location. I foresee keeping that interest!

I’m 40 years old. My club and party days were long gone well before coronavirus. But I’m even less interested in crowded bars. A glass or three of wine on a terrace, yes. But my days of hanging out inside cocktail bars are probably gone. Not worth the risk. Once it’s not risky, I don’t think I’ll be into it anymore.

@Mark, I too have never really understood the booking things a year in advance unless it’s an absolute must. I get that the travel bug bites hard, but for me at least, life is just too unpredictable to nail down plans a year in advance.

Now, I’m always kinda mentally kicking around ideas for a trip, that’s why I hang out here and other forums. I check travel vlogs on YouTube and many of my friends are travelers so I’ll live vicariously through their Instagram stories and pics. And, I’ll pick up ideas along the way, avoiding a city during a festival as hotel rates triple and it’s mobbed (unless I’m interested in the festival) or learning that certain areas are ghost towns out of season and should be avoided.

With my last job we were a very small group, so we had to schedule vacations around each other. We’d generally handle the large ones in January for the first half of the year and then around July for the second half, trying to be as flexible as we can. I’d usually do Europe in May, before the summer vacation season and I’d try to be back before Memorial Day in case someone wanted to go out of town then.

I was one to book international flights 8 months out, but not now. Willing to pay a premium for booking with a shorter lead-time. Even if a vaccine is developed for the current virus, I expect more outbreaks from other viruses to occur. And when booking flights, it will be with flexibility.

I am a planner and we hope to be able to travel to Europe June 2021 since we didn't make our plans this April, but I won't be booking as far out. I am waiting and watching to see if we will be able to do it safely. And of course anything I do book will need to be refundable.

Regarding @Dale's remark about booking a year in advance, well, I get what you're saying.

But even if you book 3 months in advance, anything can still happen. COVID-19, a close relative gets seriously ill, some international flare-up--the list goes on and on. I guess my question is does it matter whether one makes reservations one year or 3 months or 6 weeks in advance? I don't know.

As we saw with coronavirus everything looked fine in January (except for China); maybe into early February.

"But even if you book 3 months in advance, anything can still happen. . . "

Yep, nobody said life would be easy😐.

True, anything can happen if you book 3 months in advance. Covid going from a minor news story in China to a worldwide pandemic and complete shut down is certainly a bolt from the blue once in a lifetime event.

But, I think though that 3 months in advance is a good booking time for international travel. You’re still likely getting good airfares, decent hotel and train rates, and have your choice of tourist attractions tickets with very few exceptions.

The three month period is a good one because you’re reducing (not eliminating) the chances of a major life change that could throw a serious monkey wrench into your travel plans.

-Well, at least for now my opinion on trains versus driving has changed. I've taken public transit journeys for the last few weeks, but a longer-distance high speed train like ICE isn't something I'll be doing for a bit. Regional trains (with the windows that open for airflow!) for shorter trips, maybe, but we have a car, and we're using it.

-Meal planning. My personal risk level right now is fine with outdoor dining, we've done that a few times recently, but I'm still hesitant to be indoors mask-less with many strangers for an hour plus. So we'll be traveling with a cooler for picnics/car eating, road snacks like jerky and nuts, and hitting restaurants with outdoor seating when the weather permits, and staying in apartments with kitchens.

-Planning. We didn't start planning any trips when I returned to Germany in February because we knew the virus would be here shortly, and we're still not, although once we get the go-ahead from my husband's work, we will start planning probably a big road trip for late summer.

-As other have noted, the great outdoors is the focus for now. Many museums and indoor activities are open here, and cases are low enough that I'm starting to consider them, but will hold off a little bit longer, watching the new cases. Once new daily cases in my state are down to the dozens on the regular, I'll feel better.

-Group travel - some friends are planning a Lake Constance cycling trip in mid-July. I'm tempted to join them, but they have a higher risk tolerance than I do and they already think I'm too paranoid about the virus. I don't want to have to explain why I will or won't do something, and I've already had a serious argument with one of these people over not wanting to hang out in her house back during the peak here, with hundreds of new infections daily, while both of our partners are essential workers! So I'm going to wait a little bit and perhaps be a last-minute addition or not depending on what the virus is doing here at that time.

Nothing in the last few months. My travel preferences evolve as I'm traveling. I'm glad I was able to sail the British Virgin Islands (rented/chartered a sailboat and skippered our group of seven) in mid-February, before the shut down, or the year might be a total loss.

Years ago the evolution was in traveling light. Over the years I'm happier with less and less. Now I carry only a shoulder bag (about half of a regular carry on). Like shaving strokes off a golf game, I still find items I can go without or condense.

One major change in travel preference, in the last decade, I much prefer to keep a trip to one country now, usually in a circle flying in and out of one city. It's nice to prep for only one language. The biggest reason, however, is I like to keep my travel legs short.

I have touring days and travel days (not sure what other people call them?). A touring day is when you wake up and go to bed in the same lodging. A travel day is when you go to bed in a different place than you woke up.

I find long travel legs, on travel days, make a trip arduous. Travel days are always busy. Even with carry on only, packing and unpacking, checking out and checking in, getting to transportation, making connections or stopping for gas, getting meals, etc. all eat up your day. I've settled on four hours of travel as a limit (not hard and fast), which leaves me time for a day stop at an intermediate sight. I estimate travel times (train schedules, via michelin, etc.) as part of my planning process.

Maybe another rule that keeps evolving, never be in a hurry. Give yourself time to get where you're going, miss a connection, spend longer somewhere than you planned. Bad things happen when you're rushed, I find that's when I'll make mistakes that make things worse (e.g. going to the wrong train station in Paris). That may be a driver for short travel legs?

Our travel preferences have not changed due to the Coronavirus.

I lived overseas (Germany 4 years and Saudi Arabia 5 years) back in the 80s, early 90s. I have been to 78 countries not counting one that doesn't exist anymore.

When I took the Army job in Saudi Arabia, international travel opened up to me. International travel in the early 80s was relatively expensive compared to today. I was in my early 30s and the places I visited were historical and cultural. Places like Italy, Greece, France, Germany, London, Egypt, Israel, Spain as well as Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

Over time, after visiting scores of places, I found that I wanted to see more out of the way places, like Ukraine, Poland, Scandinavia, South America, Australia, NZ, and East Asian countries. While, historical and cultural interest was still a factor, scenic places with wildlife became much more a focus. Examples, loved the SE coast of Australia from Melbourne, called the Great Ocean Road, The Giant's Causeway in N. Ireland, Norwegian Fjords as well as the North Cape, an Alaska cruise with a tour of Denali, Hawaii, a cruise around the Horn of South America and a tour of the Canadian Rockies.

Our bucket list still has a few places for us like an East African safari that we had to postpone until next year and a couple of weeks in Umbria, Italy, as well as road trip of Ireland and tour of Basque region of Spain/ Bordeaux region of France.