How are you handling summer vacation plans?

[Lathum]

At the risk of starting another Covid thread I am curious how everyone is going about this.

I just wrote a check today for the final payment on our summer vacation. Two weeks in Nantucket. We rent a house every year going on about 25 years running. Had I not paid in full I would have lost the deposit unless they were able to rent the same week. In than case I would have lost 15%. We go half and half with my parents who also go. My mom is working with the property management company. I told her to ask for some assurances that if we aren't comfortable going there is a path to a refund, but the reality is the contract is written and signed and we are at the mercy of the owners. I would imagine if there are still travel restrictions we would get a full refund. It makes me a bit nervous.

We also were supposed to do a Disney cruise in November. We have already decided to cancel that. Waiting to see if Disney offers any incentive to roll over the deposit into a rebooking before requesting a refund.

Anyway, how are you all handling this?

[albionmoonlight]

We have an Air B&B scheduled for June. We haven’t canceled yet, but we are 99% likely to.

[NobodyHere]

I finally get paid vacation for the first time in ten years and I really have no Idea what to do with it. I was thinking of taking a train (I've never ridden one) and visiting DC but it seems it would be a hassle at this point.

[Flasch186]

Me and 4 other families including about 20 kids rent a mansion on the beach in Destin. I'm nervous AF and I may throw a veto on it for our family and eat the $3K. I don't have to decide til end of June because I'll eat the monies anyways but without some serious changes to the environment (treatments etc) we may not be going.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

Me and 4 other families including about 20 kids rent a mansion on the beach in Destin. I'm nervous AF and I may throw a veto on it for our family and eat the $3K. I don't have to decide til end of June because I'll eat the monies anyways but without some serious changes to the environment (treatments etc) we may not be going.

That sounds like a petri dish.

We go first 2 weeks of august/ I suspect by then things will be calmer and we can go. Beaches will likely be workable. I hate that we may have limitations on restaurants, etc...

[sterlingice]

I was behind the curve with my vacation planning this year, which turned out to be a good thing. At worst, I'm going to be out the $700 credit I have from United right now.

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

At this point it's pretty much "what vacation?"

Right now it looks like our "big trip" will be to pick up all the kid's stuff from the apartment in Mississippi, sometime between now & the end of July.

That's a bit of step down from the mom-and-kid-take-Paris plans they had. Luckily nothing was booked

[PilotMan]

After spring break, we're done. Nothing planned, no Mexico trip for the wife and I. We got an inflatable hot tub for the deck. That's our vacation.

[Edward64]

Went to Hawaii last Christmas so we weren't planning anything big this summer (and pretty much used up all my SkyMiles & Marriott points). I do want to visit Disney's Galaxy's Edge sometime so maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas time.

[cuervo72]

Yeah, we didn't really have any vacation plans either. I don't get as many off days in my current position (15 vs 25 previously), so I tend to sit on them to save for trips to/from college at this point. My rollover date is in August and will probably lie right in the middle of having to drop off at Purdue, then VT. I'll probably have some extra to burn before then, but maybe for a pre-move in visit to VT or just a weekend here or there. If nothing's open, I'll just take some days off at home.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Went to Hawaii last Christmas so we weren't planning anything big this summer (and pretty much used up all my SkyMiles & Marriott points). I do want to visit Disney's Galaxy's Edge sometime so maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas time.

We went in Feb. So awesome.

[rjolley]

My wife and I had a Disney cruise scheduled for the family in September that we cancelled back in March. Once this started, neither one of us wanted to be stuck on a ship in quarantine. We decided to push it out for at least a year.

We also had the kids signed up for summer programs through the city that were cancelled. Saves us a lot of money, but also means we're all home together for the foreseeable future.

[tarcone]

We did our last family vacation for awhile last Summer. And it sucked. We made no pans this Summer. I may drive to Florida to see my Dad. Or not. Its flexible as I dont work in the Summer.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Went to Hawaii last Christmas so we weren't planning anything big this summer (and pretty much used up all my SkyMiles & Marriott points). I do want to visit Disney's Galaxy's Edge sometime so maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas time.

We were supposed to fly out to Florida today and would have been there this week.

SI

[RendeR]

We're planning to co camping and to a Ren-Fest in July, but even if they open things up I'm hesitant to travel 4 hours away and mox whatever we may be carrying with whatever they are carrying there.

Probably just stay home.

[GrantDawg]

What is this summer vacation you are talking about?

[Butter]

We were supposed to take a spring trip to England and France with my HS graduating senior at the beginning of April. We cancelled the flight and re-booked for beginning of July. France has already come out and said they are not re-opening anything before Bastille Day (July 14). So we are rescheduling that trip for May 2021. We had EVERYTHING booked, and it has been a pain in the ass getting all those refunds, but really haven't had any trouble on that front.

June, my wife's family owns a condo in Myrtle Beach area and we usually take a trip down there. Those people are acting like mask wearing=fascism, so I don't feel like we're going to try to pack in any restaurants. That one will just be cancelled and we're just out half a yearly fee of a couple hundred bucks, not too bad.

August, we scheduled a condo about a year ago to go to Disney World. We have also booked flights (via Southwest), so if we don't go to that, we're out timeshare points and a couple hundred dollars. I feel like even if Disney does re-open, it'll be at limited capacity and probably only for on-site guests and annual pass holders. But we'll see. If they require masks, we'll definitely be wearing them, even in August heat.

My wife and I just booked a Viking River Cruise to Switzerland, Germany, France the first 2 weeks of December. 180 passenger max, with generally an old clientele. Yeah, it's a cruise, but it is much smaller than a big ocean liner. Plus I honestly trust Europe to have this figured out by then more than I think we will. And if they don't, they are allowing you to change your cruise for anytime in the next 2 years with only 24 hours notice with zero fees, so that was hard to pass up. I feel confident in our ability to be able to do this trip by December 2022.

[tarcone]

Speaking of Viking cruises. They have one now that does the Mississippi.

Several options available, Including the whole river. Thought that sounding like a good time.

[Arles]

Most of our vacations involved going and seeing the wife's twin cousins pitch (one in SF and the other for the Twins). However, with baseball being shut down (and no fans when it eventually re-opens), we had to cancel both trips in April.

The biggest bummer was cancelling our family's end of May trip to San Diego to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. We went up north to a remote cabin for last weekend and that may be our last trip of any kind for a while.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Speaking of Viking cruises. They have one now that does the Mississippi.

Several options available, Including the whole river. Thought that sounding like a good time.

Yeah, I tend to not be big on cruises but a river cruise does sound appealing.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Speaking of Viking cruises. They have one now that does the Mississippi.

Several options available, Including the whole river. Thought that sounding like a good time.

I saw that, but I don't think it even starts sailing until 2022. Which might be right about on time the way things are going.

[JPhillips]

We haven't yet canceled our St. Augustine beach week. If we can get there, we should be able to distance and isolate pretty well as long as we largely forego the pool area. The big worry would be the condo, but I expect there will be some sort of disinfecting routine.

[MrBug708]

Back in early April, I booked a trip to England in late July for dirt cheap. If it gets cancelled, Im not out anything. Probably going to visit my sister in Virginia in mid July. Have a camping trip locally planned in June. If all get cancelled or I dont feel comfortable, no worries, we just don't go.

[bob]

With yesterday's announcement that Broadway is shut down for the summer, the last bit of our summer plans have been cancelled. Now comes the struggle of attempting to get a refund on the hotel (we used points and it was considered non-refundable and as of yesterday they were only refunding stays prior to May 30th).

All camps for the kids have been cancelled or postponed with the option to apply for refunds instead. We have requested refunds. Hopefully we actually see them.

At best we will go camping in the backyard.

[panerd]

Had a trip to Los Angeles planned with a lot of stuff like Disney, a beach resort, Hollywood etc involved. The Airbnb house also had a pool. Everything thankfully was fully refundable (except airbnb which was a credit but we will definitely use it).

Was thinking about taking a trip to a house with a pool as our neighborhood pool looks unlikely to reopen this summer and our boys love to swim. Or a cabin in the Smokys or something with hiking and campfires etc. My main worry is the getting there. I wasn't big on random gas station bathrooms in Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky before COVID since my kids really have no sense about touching the toilet seat etc. Now it adds a new dimension. Also the cleanliness of the airbnb means a lot more than a dirty house. Will probably wait until last minute and see how this virus plays out in the summer months. Airplanes won't be in our plans for this year for sure.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

We have an Air B&B scheduled for June. We haven’t canceled yet, but we are 99% likely to.

Canceled today. We talked it over with the others we were sharing the house with.

We decided that a beach trip probably wouldn't be fun (or at least not worth the expense of taking it) if we were all spending that time worried about being close to other people.

And, hey, if things are so good by late June that we regret not going, then overall I will still be super happy b/c that will mean that we all got through this.

So no summer vacation this year.

[Brian Swartz]

I don't do summer vacations in general anyway, so it's a non-issue personally.

[miked]

I usually teach in Ireland over the summer and bring everyone for about 5-6 weeks, but that program was canceled. Kids camps were canceled and our pool is doubtful. Nothing like spending the summer in the 90+ degree heat and humidity of Atlanta, let alone a restless Atlanta. We may try and get a lake/river house around Lake Burton or somewhere near Elijay. We had been talking about buying some land up in Elijay area for camping and eventual vacation house, so may try and rent something while looking around.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by corbes

Any sense of whether tourist trips from U.S. to Canada (Quebec) will be permitted by late July? We have a camping trip booked for then, but need to start making some decisions.

I doubt it. Our relations with the rest of the world are horrible. I don't see other countries opening up to us anytime soon.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by corbes

Any sense of whether tourist trips from U.S. to Canada (Quebec) will be permitted by late July? We have a camping trip booked for then, but need to start making some decisions.

Considering how the US is handling this, I fully expect us to be one of the countries that when visitors come from here they'll have to quarantine for 14 days.

SI

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by miked

We may try and get a lake/river house around Lake Burton or somewhere near Elijay. We had been talking about buying some land up in Elijay area for camping and eventual vacation house, so may try and rent something while looking around.

The Pink Pig!

[bob]

Originally Posted by miked

I usually teach in Ireland over the summer and bring everyone for about 5-6 weeks, but that program was canceled. Kids camps were canceled and our pool is doubtful. Nothing like spending the summer in the 90+ degree heat and humidity of Atlanta, let alone a restless Atlanta. We may try and get a lake/river house around Lake Burton or somewhere near Elijay. We had been talking about buying some land up in Elijay area for camping and eventual vacation house, so may try and rent something while looking around.

This is my exact plan, except near Blue Ridge.

[spleen1015]

My summer consists of travel some where for a softball tournament every weekend of June and July except 1. I don't think much of that is happening now.

The first tournament is the first weekend in June in Chattanooga. The tournament folks say the tournament is still going to happen. We'll see about that.

[QuikSand]

we're not doing that

[molson]

I'm really looking forward to my trip with the dog up to the Sawtooth mountains in a couple of weeks. I've rarely been within 500 feet from anyone on those trips, so there shouldn't be many changes from usual.

Still planning on going to New England to visit family in October. How low-key the trip is, or if it happens, depends on what the world's like then. But I'm assuming we'll do it.

We were planning on going to Disneyland in March, I'm intrigued about how they've re-opened in China and the plans in Florida for Disney World. California will take longer to re-open, but I'd love to be there relatively close to the start - when they're limiting entry, virtual lines only, space between everyone on rides, etc.

I'm sitting on the loyalty points I used, and got refunded, for our April Denmark/Estonia trip. I'm going to book that pretty soon for the week before Christmas (it's not as cold as you'd think there then, and my girlfriend loves the Christmas markets and shit like that). I'm much less confident that will happen, but, I can get the points back with no penalty if it doesn't work out. Might as well lock it in.

We never officially planned our Oregon Coast trip that we usually take around this time of year. We will probably do that soon after out-of-state quarantine restrictions are lifted, hopefully within a few months. In normal times, that's an AirBNB, takeout food, brewery, walks on uncrowded beaches, sitting on the porch, hiking kind of trip, so we should also be able to do that at some point soon with a few adjustments.

My general sense of well-being and mental health is always enhanced by having things like this to look forward to. So I'm OK with being out there a little earlier than some of my friends and family would be. Travel always involves calculated risks.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by molson

My general sense of well-being and mental health is always enhanced by having things like this to look forward to.

That was something my wife noted a week or so into quarantine - it's basically stripped away all the stuff we like to look forward to and that's a hugely underrated impact of this. We've been relegated to looking forward to weekly takeout or maybe a driving trip where we don't even really get out of the car.

SI

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

That was something my wife noted a week or so into quarantine - it's basically stripped away all the stuff we like to look forward to and that's a hugely underrated impact of this. We've been relegated to looking forward to weekly takeout or maybe a driving trip where we don't even really get out of the car.

SI

Its a brilliant point. I just sent a check for our vacation house in August and part of me is questioning if it was an exercise in futility. We are also supposed to go to Cancun in November, doubt that is happening.

[Qwikshot]

Parents always plan a Sea Isle City trip in August which we join.

We're all going to Disney World in December.

[RendeR]

We have officially rescheduled our july 2020 camping vacation until july 2021.


Just going to take a long week off this year, sit back and do nothing for awhile and recharge.

[molson]

Just booked a Boise-Boston, New York-Boise trip for October. No risk, fully changeable and refundable, but it was a huge boost to my mood to see that confirmation page. Hopefully at least I can at least see my family, but it would also be super-emotional and celebratory if the back-end part of the trip in New York can work out. $500 for two people using my Alaska Air companion fare.

Also tentatively planning mid-June to the Oregon coast. Lots of cheaper-than-normal lodging options and most places there seem to be opening up at the end of this month. There's a lot of Oregon coast businesses in the poorer towns that aren't going to survive the summer with no visitors, so I've definitely seen a change in tone in the various facebook town pages I've been researching. If there's no quarantine rules and restaurants are open at least for take-out by then, we'll do it and be around fewer people than we are here with girlfriend's job at the grocery store.