Concerns traveling to Europe due to War

I strongly suggest you contact Rick Steves Europe Tour office directly with your concerns.

I am on the Sicily Tour (4/19) and have no additional security worries at this time. It would be a major escalation for Iran to attack a NATO country in Europe.

Reach out to the RS office and ask about how they make determinations on revising plans or safety protocols. Nobody can fully predict anything. Everyone is going to have their own litmus test and fears. Ultimately you'll have to decide what your own comfort level is on whether you go. You aren't going to get a response that says, OK, if you are afraid to be near a US Navy base in Italy, we'll rearrange the tour itinerary.

Its bad for business for Rick if his clients get ... well, you know. If there is any risk at all I am sure you will be canceled.

There was a recent discussion on the same topic, the RS tour office offered a response. TLDR:

Hi, Marta here from the Rick Steves' Europe customer support team. Our
leadership, including Rick, is monitoring the situation carefully with
input from our local partners on the ground, as well as guidance from
the US State Department and trusted international authorities. As of
now, based on the information that's available, we plan to continue
all 2026 tours as scheduled, including in Turkey. We're happy to
discuss your specific tour scenario if you reach out to our team in
Edmonds, WA at [email protected].

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/traveling-to-turkey-right-now-2026

My in-laws live very near a US base in Germany, and from what I know from them and see on the German news, people are not worried about the war reaching over here. For what it's worth.

The US is a much more dangerous place than Europe on an RS tour.

My son lives on a US base in Germany, and from what I know from him and see on the European news, people are not worried about the war reaching over there. For what it's worth.

But I think the emphasis for attacks, maybe in order, is Jews and Americans anywhere in the world. Then American and Israeli military assets. And the highest risk locations will be where there are residents who believe the Iranian government is a good thing and the US and Israel are satan.

hey hey pb
this subject gets mentioned every day or other day about concerns traveling to europe. my own opinion is that if you are so concerned, cancel & rebook your trip. why be stressed out with worries when you can be unstressed in your own home and wait till things calm down, only you can decide.
aloha

https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-missile-europe-threat/33712889.html

Recent developments indicate Iranian missiles have a longer range than previous believed.

Whether they would actually target somewhere in NATO territory, who knows. To date NATO allies have declined to be involved but that would certainly change if Iran lobs a missile on Europe.

One would like to think that whoever is running Iran has the IQ of a cabbage and not go out of their way to invite all the NATO air forces to start deploying their munitions on them.

Stay informed and make an informed decision that fits your comfort zone.

Fear, worry and “concern” are all subjective traits that vary from person to person and are rarely rational but very real. No one can decide whether it is “safe” for someone else. I will be on a RS tour in Spain next month and feel safer there than in USA. If safety concerns will negatively impact your enjoyment of the tour, then don’t go. But don’t expect a refund as most tour operators do not list “worry” as a reason to cancel.

Up until about a week ago, we had April 2026 plans for 3 weeks split between Turkey and Georgia. Despite no addiitonal or increased travel warning about either of these countires from Global Affairs Canada, UK Government or US State Department, wifey became increasingly concerned about Turkey so I swapped it out for Italy. So, now it's Italy and Georgia and she's comfortable with that. Go figure.

"Whether they would actually target somewhere in NATO territory"

Already happened, and NATO is still staying out of this conflict.

Several missiles have already been fired at Türkiye, which is a NATO member (and is in Europe as well, for what it's worth). And a drone attack on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, which is an EU member.

As for safety, perception is very important. If you FEEL unsafe, your'e probably not going to enjoy your holiday.

I'm telling myself that it was a good thing I held off on booking flights to Cyprus b/c as demand goes down the prices will improve, hopefully. There's always a silver lining.

I'm telling myself that it was a good thing I held off on booking flights to Cyprus b/c as demand goes down the prices will improve, hopefully. There's always a silver lining.

I wouldn't count on it. With the dramatic increase in the price of jet fuel cheap airfares are unlikely to happen.

avirosemail, i just looked at a round trip out of EWR to Larnaca for a week in September. The starting price on British Air was $710. Google flights puts that at the low end of average for the route. A few days ago I checked Budapest to D.C. in July and it was also at the low end of average. So the prices havent impacted all the routes yet.

I would not be very keen to book a trip at the moment. The global situation is extremely uncertain. Even if there no direct attacks on Europe there are potential huge issues with fuel shortages. I would only book if you are prepared to accept that your trip might not happen and you might not get your money back either.

If your risk tolerance demands it, you book refundable flights and hotels. I can’t see why the war would change the odds of refunds except is some cataclysmic scenario. Then, who cares.

There are more travel considerations than there have been in the recent past. But the Iran War isn’t the first Middle Eastern War in my lifetime, and the Ukraine War isn’t the first European war in my lifetime. Neither will be the last if I live a few more years. So, we have been here before.

It is sort of interesting that the fears escalate now and not when russian news media broadcast AI simulations of a nuclear attack on London? For years russian munitions have fallen on NATO countries, drones have buzzed EU airports, undersea cables have been cut and russian bombers are turned away from NATO airspace daily; and the fear among tourists wasn’t there to the same degree as now with the Iran war. Maybe it is because the US media is handling the war in Iran “differently”.

For travel in Europe different groups have different worries. The folks from California visiting a European city are worried about long range Iranian missiles hitting them at the new restaurant by Wolfgang Puck, while the folks from Tel Aviv are worried about being attacked during lunch in a Kosher deli. Which do you think is likely? Plan accordingly. Charles may want to leave his “America Love it or Leave It” T-shirt at home.

Maybe the annual 4th of July picnic in Paris that is sponsored by the Embassy isn’t such a good idea this year? Maybe yes!! There might be European cities where your research would make you want to consider the risk of visiting Synagogues (did you notice the armed guard, why?), Kosher restaurants and possibly whole neighborhoods. You might discover that many years ago, the rabbis in one major tourist city in Europe suggested, for safety, that Jews try and not look Jewish when on the streets. But it didn’t get much news coverage (because ?), so, without a lot of research, the tourists can’t evaluate the risks they are taking; or ask the question if it were X bad 3 years ago, is the risk even greater today?

But there are also locations in Europe where research might reveal that you should have no second thoughts of walking the streets wearing a kippah or renting an AirBnb next door to a Synagogue. You will just have to do more homework and balance the results against your risk tolerances. I think there are a lot of really great destinations with no more risk today than 5 years ago. But you need to determine that for yourself. Some things are personal tolerance and some are belief systems and some are off limits for discussion.

In one city that I think is safe from the madness of both wars (but I am not the expert of your tolerance on the subject) I recently sat and drank with an Iranian bartender and an Israeli refugee (she finally got a repatriation flight today). Never in my life would I think I would hear both a Persian and a Jew refer Netanyahu as Bibi Joon. These are special travel moments.

Anyone who says they know what is going to happen in this present situation is frankly delusional and I am saying that as someone who has worked on global threats for 20years, off and on.

This conflict is not like those we have experienced previously. Putting the ‘personalities’ involved to one side ( and boy are they not helping!) simple matters of technology change the nature and level of threat, as well as perceptions of the threat shaped by ( often government) dissemination of disinformation on both sides.
It’s less about the threat of physical attacks on people, although they are still a real threat, and more about the threat from attacks on infrastructure, cyber attacks etc.

From a traveler’s point of view you need to be more prepared in case things go wrong. What will you do if communication and banking systems go down? Do you have access to enough funds to pay for accommodation for a length of time and to buy, probably seriously over priced, tickets home? What happens if your flights are cancelled before you go (it’s increasingly possible with oil price fluctuations) can you rearrange booked accommodation? Can you afford to take the hit when travel insurance won’t cover any of it?

Hopefully and probably none of this will happen but it IS a lot more likely than it has been at any point in the past. Personally I would not be planning a trip for the next six months but other people’s attitudes and opinions will be different.

I experienced the need for money to pay for additional hotel nights(a week at Heathrow) and a more expensive flight(because it had to be uncoupled from my husband's flight when he flew home alone) in June 2022 due to a positive Covid test-a ridiculous requirement of the US government that did nothing to prevent the spread of the disease. (My husband had been in close contact with me the entire time and didn't get it). Those kind of disruptions can happen at any time for any reason. If I were traveling right now, I would be more concerned about missing my plane due to the TSA situation, which again was caused by our inept government.

Your concerns are legitimate. No argument. I guess that the current threats are many and we do no service by conflating them.

1. Military attack in Europe from Iran
2. Military attack in Europe from russia
3. Terrorism in Europe and the US, sate sponsored by Iran
4. Terrorism in Europe and the US, state sponsored by russia
5. Terrorism in the world, sponsored by AI
6. Manipulation of the world economy by russia or iran or any brilliant hacker or by AI
7. Manipulation of computer systems used by businesses, including airlines by russia or iran or any brilliant hacker, or by AI

You may think of some others

Emma, you had an excellent post on this previous thread around the same subject. While largely an expanded version of your latest post on this thread, it's still well worth the read, IMHO.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/ny-times-survey-how-are-you-feeling-about-traveling-right-now

I think it's fair to say that sects of all of the "big three" Abrahamic religions have extremely violent elements, either at their centre or at their fringes. Some are "terrorists", some are in governance of sovereign nations, some are both. Violence in the name of faith, imperialism or capital is a scourge that affects many innocents globally. It's important not to lose sight of that imho.

Thanks Kate
I did try to find that post so I could link to it, and avoid repeating myself, but I couldn't find it.