The Imponderables of Travel to Switzerland in December, 2020

First off, first class on BA is pretty awesome (depending on the type of metal you’re flying, of course). Which is entirely separate from whether or not one should travel in the near future. But if you don’t go this time, get those miles back and book another 1st class flight when you can.

I have an RS tour to Spain booked for Oct that I’m going on if it isn’t cancelled. As for traveling in December, I’d probably also do it as long as the Xmas markets/sites/restaurants are open. I’d follow whatever rules the US or other countries impose on me and I’d go. I have a higher acceptance of the risk of doing certain things. That’s my comfort level.

My husband & I have discussed this at length as we have a bucket list trip set for September to England. My feeling is that if the country is allowing tourists to fly in, the main tourist sites are open, and the virus statistics are lower then lets go but bring masks & gloves with us for traveling. As a doctor on TV put it - this virus isn't going anywhere and we will have to live with it.

Your thoughts make sense. Cancelling for this year is probably wise. Here's something you did not mention - quarantining. In many places, quarantines are possible. What about starting your trip confined to your hotel room for 14 days? I'm holding off on any plans.

December is a long way off.

Unless you have preexisting medical conditions or have concerns regarding your financial status during this I personally would not cancel my plans.

I'm still planning on going to Switzerland in September as long as the country is open, the airlines are in business and they are allowing travelers in and out.

We are in the “as long as they let us in we will go” crowd. Plans are for Aug 31 departure. Might have to delay that but will wait and see what the airline does with the flight. We are hikers so will be in less-peopled areas of Switzerland. Had planned on Italy’s Dolomites as well, but guessing that won’t happens. We will also avoid cities as much as possible this time.

Will you be one of the first to travel once borders are reopened

Nope, I won't. I have no pre-existing conditions, am healthy and physically active, and am in my 40s. But I can't afford to put my Mom with diabetes at risk as an asymptomatic carrier, and frankly I don't want to have anyone else get sick on my account. And I doubt that other countries will open their borders to potentially have US passengers seed the virus in their country.

I have not cancelled my Sept. 1 departure for eastern and central Europe. We're traveling on our own, no public transportation other than the airplane over and we're just a group of two. If each of our 5 countries is accepting US travelers, we plan to travel. As of now, I am watching and waiting. I can easily re-route us - anywhere, really - change to Bulgaria or Greece - or I can omit a country if need be. I have a list of sites for each city and I'll be checking to see if they're actually open and could re-route based on closures as well. Likewise, if our Lufthansa flights need changing, I can do it. That's probably our biggest issue for us traveling - will Lufthansa have flight alternatives. I doubt the Seattle-Frankfurt nonstop will be up and running on Sept. 1 so we've resigned ourselves to having to go in and out of Chicago, which is a route that Lufthansa is flying even right now.

as long as the country is open, the airlines are in business and they are allowing travelers in and out.

Those are three pretty big unknowable “if”s at this point.

We too have a Sep tour to Switzerland booked. So far neither tour nor flights canceled by the companies. So much depends on how reopening goes in Switzerland and surrounding countries. If it goes well and things open to the point where US travelers can enter. Sites, restaurants and transport functioning close to normal I think it will be a go. If not, I suspect the tour com to cancel the tour by Jun or July. We've already made a deposit on the same tour, same time for 2021 (it's fully refundable until two weeks after prices are listed -about July). If 2020 gets canceled we'll just move the money already paid to the new tour.

Standing by and staying flexible.

The primary objectives being some select Christmas markets and a great deal of scenic train travel.

Baring an miracle this virus is going to be with us. Your main objectives involve a lot of close contact with others. Even with an improvement in case rate I have a hard time believing Christmas markets will be held. We love to travel but for us traveling with severe restrictions would just spoil the fun, so we are deferring for the foreseeable future. Plus we are in our 70’s with some health issues.

My daughter and I traveled to the xmas markets in Switzerland, France, & Germany last year, and if you click on my name, you can review our Trip Reports. We had an incredible adventure.
Now- fast-forwarding to Dec 2020- with the basic assumptions that the countries involved are allowing travel without quarantines, and the risk is considered acceptable, [whatever that may mean].....speculating here.....reasonable modifications...

You would wear a mask on the plane, and with First Class, have an amount of social distancing.
Likewise, on trains/stations, you would wear a mask. We did not find the trains/stations in Switzerland or France crowded, but the Frankfurt S-trains were shoulder-shoulder.
At the markets, which are outdoors, you could not only wear masks but add scarves wrapped around your faces, since it's cold. We usually ate at the markets, so avoided crowded restaurants, just because the food at the xmas markets was so good and such a part of the experience.
Our hotels all offered breakfast , but you could take that to your room.
We basically spent the majority of our time outdoors. Most of our hotels were located in the old town areas, so we rarely needed to ride public transportation within a town, as we walked.
Not sure my reflections will offer any help; it will all depend on the status of the virus and the infections rates at the time.
Good luck and safe/healthy travels.

Thank you all for your well-considered thoughts. My wife and I considered each and every one of them last night. In the end, for us at least, we will likely forego our December trip, barring some significant positive improvements in the containment, treatment, etc. of the virus. I think the necessity of wearing masks in public settings, the likely limitations with respect to large gatherings, and other potential restrictions as a result of the virus would lessen our enjoyment considerably, especially considering the overall cost of the trip. We live in Austin and I'm not even sure that British Air will continue the Austin to London (and then on to Zurich) route after the inevitable restructuring that will occur in the next few months as airlines struggle to regain their footing. Though it may become routine and I'll have to accept it if I want to travel, wearing a mask on an eight hour flight over and ten hour return would not be a pleasant experience. And only heaven knows how onboard service and the flying experience overall will change. Our vacations are designed around comfort and relaxation and that doesn't look a combination likely to return in the near future. It kills us to think our next European trip might be in late 2021 or even 2022. Thanks again and safe travels to you all.

Dave

Popping in to say there is zero reason to cancel now. Airlines haven’t released policies for December yet so if you cancel now you’ll have to pay the miles reinstatement fees. If you do end up canceling it makes sense to wait until the airline has a policy in place that may work to your advantage. Also December is a long way away - much can change by then.

We won't physically cancel our flight as there isn't any need to yet. We've just set our parameters for putting off the trip until more favorable conditions return.

Well let me throw out two things I’m hearing locally here:

Most people involved in the tourist industry see little point in opening up under social distancing rules as it is not economically viable to do so. They also have staffing issues as they relied heavily on staff from Eastern Europe and they will not get permits now.

And the other issue is that with everything we have seen and heard we have no confidence in the US when it comes to managing this virus and that is why we are starting to see the demand for a 14 days quarantine period applied. Our plans right now into September does not even envisage lifting restrictions on the borders with the neighboring countries never mind intercontinental travel.

The plan is for schools to reopen next week, but opposition is rapidly growing to that idea. People are scared and I think it is going to be some time before open up the borders will be on the agenda.

I’m working on the assumption that 2020 is canceled and minimizing the costs is the objective.

It's possible that the approach being used here in B.C. could be adopted by other countries, including Switzerland or others in Europe. Our health authorities are adopting a four phase plan, and this is what it states about international tourism....

"Phase 4 would only begin under specific conditions, which include the development of a vaccine and widespread vaccination, the implementation of effective treatments, and evidence of community immunity."

Given these conditions, I don't expect to see any international tourism here for the remainder of this year, and perhaps longer.