Hi there!
Here we go again with travel restrictions due to the newest outbreak of covid - mostly the Delta variant.
If you are traveling now (and lots of people are!) be sure to set yourself up to meet the travel restrictions and requirements for:
- Airlines
- Your tour company or cruise line
- The country (or countries) you are entering
- Testing for getting back into the United States at the end of your journey.
The most accurate and up-to-date information will always be on that country's tourist website and on the US State Department website for travel alerts. This information changes almost daily, so be sure to keep up with it!
If you are going be sure to have the right mask - many airlines and countries are requiring surgical grade N95 or similar masks. And be willing to be flexible because you are traveling in an uncertain environment with changing rules.
Now let's talk travel in 2022 and 2023.
Prices for flights and for tours and cruises are starting to rise sharply due to pent up demand, staffing shortages, and higher costs for tour operators. My suggestion is to pick right now what you want to do in the next two years (I know, it sounds crazy!) and lock in those trips with a deposit now, which locks in your pricing.
Most of the time (depending on the company or cruise line) you then will not have to pay for the remainder of the trip cost until 3 or 4 months before you travel, but the price will not go up on you. I'll see to that!
Here are a few solid deals I see, but this pricing is good only until the end of August (there will be more decent deals but maybe not quite as good).
- If you live in Florida and want to travel over Thanksgiving 2022 you can grab a Carnival cruise right out of Tampa that heads off to the Western Caribbean for 5 days AND get a top-of-the-ship junior suite for not much money. I think Bill and I are going to do this. Let me know if you are interested because the pricing DOES go up August 31st.
- If you want to venture out of the country let me help you with two Azamara cruises in November of 2023. One is 7 nights on the Med from Rome to Barcelona, followed by a second cruise from Barcelona to the Canary Islands. Both are priced very nicely with veranda plus staterooms starting at about $2700 per person. You could do a back to back double cruise and have 2 weeks in Europe!
- A third option is a Globus land tour, one that I feel like is priced decently is May of 2022 in Switzerland. Globus takes good care of you and has options for almost any country you might want to visit.
As you know I am ALWAYS scanning pricing and features of trips, and believe me I will tell you to stay away from certain travel suppliers and certain dates of travel. Tell me what you are thinking about and let's see the best options for you for '22 and '23. You'll be glad you locked it in price-wise. Bill and I are doing that right now for ourselves.
You can reach me at [email protected] or text me at 941-720-1842. Stay safe and healthy right now and let's look forward to easier travel in the coming years. (That sounds so weird, doesn't it?)
Let's plan something! At the least it gives you something to look forward to!
Sue Painter
Travel Changes Life
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