Welcome to the rabbit hole, Alice... Trip planning in the “age of COVID”

Diane, I'd be satisfied if I could plan a trip to Canada.

Definition: Especially in Canada, Toque is the common name for a knitted winter hat. In the USA and most other parts of the world, it is simply called Beanie. It is a type of hat with no any brim.

I learned something today.

Joe, a toque is what Kevin wore in Home Alone, and hereabouts it’s pronounced “too-k” (‘oo’ like moon).

Joe, I think Americans may be more familiar with the term "watch cap". Beanie is a new one to me. But they're the same thing as what Canadians call a toque (too k)

We mostly call them knit caps around here. Fleece caps if they're fleece. Stocking or wool caps in my childhood. This is the first time I've heard toque. Beanie is what we called the sewn cloth caps that schoolgirls used to wear - like a baseball cap without a brim. Interesting regional differences.

Diane, I have had four trips cancelled this year. One to Québec. And I still have a trip to Lyon olammed for Christmas that I booked right before the apocalypse. Of course I booked it at a time when I normally booked nonrefundable trips because they were so much cheaper. So I cannot cancel yet.

Also planning Paris for March correcting my mistakes from the past.

I must admit, DH and I have bed toques for the winter. We set our furnace low for winter nights, and it gets chilly! A warm head makes all the difference.

My friends and family laugh... until they try it.

Diane, if you aren't used to booking apartments for winter climates, a tip someone passed on to me is about heat. Ensure there is heat, and check with the host that it actually accessible 24/7. If you think there will be days you just stay in to relax or weather out the rain and grey or you need to isolate, you don't want a place that turns the heat off 9 - 6 during the day. Some places will also leave heating costs out of the picture and charge per consumption - which is expensive by North American standards. If that is the case, look whether they have a working fire place and that you can use it.

Toques...parkas...boots....just the thought is enough to make me cry....

I cannot bring myself to start planning a trip to anywhere. It all seems so feudal - for us vaccines are the key. My husband is over 65 so we are hoping we can be near the front of the line when we can get vaccines and then hope they are effective. Once vaccines available my thoughts are 1) a week cycling in France or Italy plus another 2 weeks visiting, 2) a week in Morocco - sitting home watching all kind of food and travel shows on Netflix has wet the Morocco whistle, 3) a week sailing some Greek islands (we did Croatia in 2019 and I liked it more then I thought I would). I'm sure more will be added to my list as the year drags on. Maybe back to New Zealand.

Diane, I'd be satisfied if I could plan a trip to Canada.

Same here! Being in New York City, I've had the opportunity to visit Montreal and the Eastern Townships several times over the last couple of years and I've really enjoyed it.

I had been hoping this year to do either a snowshoeing-themed trip in Charlevoix (in the winter) or a Saguenay fjord/Tadoussac whale-watching trip (in the summer), but for obvious reasons neither of these are going to happen!

Travel planning during an unprecedented worldwide pandemic seems like an oxymoron - how could it go smoothly or predictably when international border controls and requirements and other rules (for lodging, flights, etc) are constantly shifting? Unlike the OP's home country, roughly half of our country is living in an alternative universe where there is no pandemic (supposedly it's "under control" or conquered) and life is supposed to proceed "as normal". People seem flummoxed when their plans don't come to fruition.

Are you actively planning any future international travel right now?

I am not going to go any place that I am not going to enjoy. Fortunately there are a few places that, today, I can get into that I have been wanting to see or return to for some time. So, yes, I am planning. I have trip insurance that lets me cancel for no reason and medical insurance that does cover COVID once there. Might prove to be the best $300 I ever spent. The other thing I have done is book the RT to Europe independently of the connection to the final destination. That way I had some flexibility between 4 countries when the time comes.

If you know what you are getting into, are willing to take the financial and medical risk; then go for it. But make it a well informed decision.

I sure hope it all works out, Diane!