Will you travel? [Mod Note in Post #1 - Travel Discussion Only! Megathread]

LuasSimon

LuasSimon wrote: »

Even if there are flights this summer to Sun destinations , less well off familys will hardly be able to pay an extra for tests.
What will it cost a family of 4 ? 200 each , an extra 800 ??

Yes, that is going to be the thing that stops a lot of non essential travel. I am going to get out of here soon. To Valencia for a month. It only makes sense if you’re going somewhere for a long time.....not just for a weekend getaway, and not with a family

Tenzor07

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes, that is going to be the thing that stops a lot of non essential travel. I am going to get out of here soon. To Valencia for a month. It only makes sense if you’re going somewhere for a long time.....not just for a weekend getaway, and not with a family

Well that's it, you have to pick just one destination and go for like 2 or 3 weeks...if there's to be testing at every border you cross then this year will be a write off for people like me who Travel rather than go on holidays...

facehugger99

deathbomber wrote: »

sorry but disagree, hysteria is somewhat warranted, you must be blind, people dying, getting ill, people losing jobs (all of this world wide) but your concentrating on your summer holidays. Selfish and pathetic in a way!

The old finger-wagging didn't work on me last summer and it sure won't work on me this summer either.

Let the hysteria-brigade hide under their beds for another lost year - I'll be jetting off to the sun.

Tenzor07

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Well that's it, you have to pick just one destination and go for like 2 or 3 weeks...if there's to be testing at every border you cross then this year will be a write off for people like me who Travel rather than go on holidays...

yeh, I travel too.....for the last few years have been somewhere every month for varying amounts of time. Being trapped is making me crazy. But this year is obviously going to be about getting deeper into a single place, to make the cost and logistics worthwhile.

The upside is that because everywhere is so much cheaper, you can get wonderful accommodation, that would previously be unaffordable, in amazing locations (with very grateful property owners).

deathbomber

acequion wrote: »

You must be blind!!! You must have been living under a stone if you don't realise that thousands of Irish people have loved ones, partners, children, parents in other countries and vica versa and the prolonged enforced separation is causing major hardship. There are old people dying without saying goodbye to their children. People being buried without family being able to attend their funerals. And I'm well aware that there are people sick and dying of Covid but your sort of repressive nonsense is completely callous to all those separated by this and to the collateral hardship created by this.

And who are you to call a person "selfish" and "pathetic"! Clearly you haven't a clue about human psychology or you might realise that people need hopes, dreams, plans to get through this. And plans for a relatively safe holiday abroad is perfectly ok. I suppose you think staycationing in a packed Kerry or Mayo is grand out. Or do you propose banning all holidays? Fling people into prison maybe for even having the gall to suggest it! :rolleyes:

actually why bother! forget about it

dartboardio

Marty Bird wrote: »

Not a problem to be tested for the return of my journey at my destination I’d already checked this out prior to booking. Do some research I’m sure a lot of destination will offer this.

Exactly, it's very easy to find places testing.. I'm heading to dubai in 2 weeks and obviously need a test upon return to Ireland, 2 min google search and I found a testing centre in Dubai with a PCR test for €20! unlike the rip off prices we have here.. getting my test done in Boots for the way out, 140 flipping euro !:rolleyes:

monkeybutter

facehugger99 wrote: »

Yep, me too.

Some great deals out there at the moment. I'd be reasonably confident that by mid-August travel to Spain will be fine.

Had a couple of nice trips to both Italy and Spain last summer - it's great to be able to get away for a few weeks from the hysteria-merchants that this country seems to be saddled with.

have you put your money where your mouth is yet lockdown larry, have you booked id be reasonably confident you haven't

dartboardio

No one should be acting like they are better than anyone for not travelling.

IMO, travel abroad is perfectly safe right now as long as you adhere to guidelines, and get tested going to, and from the country....

This will be my 4th time travelling abroad in the last 6/7 months and yes I did not die or contract the virus, or pass on the virus....

deathbomber

josip wrote: »

Not going to happen deathbomber.
We skipped our summer trip last year, toed the party line, "next few weeks are crucial",...
This summer it will be 18 months since our kids' granny last hugged them.
She knew who they were the last time, but her dementia has worsened since.
Hopefully she will still be alive and remember them this summer when we travel.

sorry to hear but also the person you should be trying to protect most by not travelling. Unfortunate situation, i wish you all well.

deathbomber

acequion wrote: »

You must be blind!!! You must have been living under a stone if you don't realise that thousands of Irish people have loved ones, partners, children, parents in other countries and vica versa and the prolonged enforced separation is causing major hardship. There are old people dying without saying goodbye to their children. People being buried without family being able to attend their funerals. And I'm well aware that there are people sick and dying of Covid but your sort of repressive nonsense is completely callous to all those separated by this and to the collateral hardship created by this.

And who are you to call a person "selfish" and "pathetic"! Clearly you haven't a clue about human psychology or you might realise that people need hopes, dreams, plans to get through this. And plans for a relatively safe holiday abroad is perfectly ok. I suppose you think staycationing in a packed Kerry or Mayo is grand out. Or do you propose banning all holidays? Fling people into prison maybe for even having the gall to suggest it! :rolleyes:

my last post on this was heated because it is somewhat personal. All i say is, i know too well and question if you do (you don't). I stand by my words. Stay safe and well, regards

Tenzor07

Deleted User wrote: »

yeh, I travel too.....for the last few years have been somewhere every month for varying amounts of time. Being trapped is making me crazy. But this year is obviously going to be about getting deeper into a single place, to make the cost and logistics worthwhile.The upside is that because everywhere is so much cheaper, you can get wonderful accommodation, that would previously be unaffordable, in amazing locations (with very grateful property owners).

Got a couple of 5 * Star hotels last year, plus the flights were practically free! Plus having row(s) of seats to myself, not having to deal with massive crowds.. 2020 was a great year to Travel....
Just hope (late) 2021 will be even better...

josip

deathbomber wrote: »

sorry to hear but also the person you should be trying to protect most by not travelling. Unfortunate situation, i wish you all well.

Thanks.
Granny will get her first vaccination next week, so by July she will be as protected as anyone can be.
You mentioned war, I believe figuratively, in an earlier post.
She has lived through a couple of real ones.
Was forced to watch her grandfather getting his throat slit when she was 8.
She knows what war is really like.

FlubberJones

facehugger99 wrote: »

The old finger-wagging didn't work on me last summer and it sure won't work on me this summer either.

Let the hysteria-brigade hide under their beds for another lost year - I'll be jetting off to the sun.

As will I and yes travelled a few times last year with no issue.

I've done all the right thingd and obeyed all the "rules" so why shouldn't I travel??

I'm not sick, i don't know anyone else who is sick and I am not concerned about people I don't know or care for.

But I still do what is required.

acequion

deathbomber wrote: »

my last post on this was heated because it is somewhat personal. All i say is, i know too well and question if you do (you don't). I stand by my words. Stay safe and well, regards

Do you know me personally? Do you know my circumstances? Because if you don't and most likely you don't, how on earth do you know what I do and don't know??

So please stop with the finger wagging and patronising remarks. You're not achieving anything with them. Some people are laughing at you, more just ignore you and more [like me] find your attitude patronising and upsetting. But you're still achieving nothing. People are still sick and dying with Covid. And Covid is still heaping misery on people in all sorts of ways, most undocumented because they're not sensational like Covid. But every bit as harrowing.

You're entitled to your opinion and to your own personal story. But you're not entitled to lecture and belittle other people because you don't know their personal stories.

coffeepls

I’m off to Lanzarote (as long as the flight isn’t cancelled) next week. Looking forward to the sun, maybe a bit of swimming, definitely a load of walking. Not much different to here really - except that sun. Can’t wait for it. I know the restaurants are all closed at 6pm but that’s ok. Will enjoy nice lunches and cook dinner back at accommodation.

Marty Bird

LuasSimon wrote: »

Even if there are flights this summer to Sun destinations , less well off familys will hardly be able to pay an extra for tests.
What will it cost a family of 4 ? 200 each , an extra 800 ??

I agree it’s a lot of extra expensive from my situation I’ve saved on the hotel and flights so even with the testing costs its roughly the same what I would spend on a normal holiday.

RobitTV

The testing situation is expensive and it's frustrating for families, but I'm at the stage where I need to put my wellbeing first and try to ignore the cost. Getting out of this country for a break and heading to the airport will put a smile on your face.

The thought of going on the airplane and knowing you'll soon be able to sit outside in the sun and go for a meal and a few drinks is just amazing. You can also have some human interaction with social distancing of course. We don't have all of this luxury in Ireland.

Bring on Lanzarote in March!

faceman

A friend of mine for his mental health decided to leave Ireland and go to Cyprus a few months ago for a few weeks break on his own. He has no responsibilities in Ireland and his business moved online. Cyprus went in to lockdown but he decided not to panic and head home.

He’s still there months later.

He got to know his neighbours and chats with them for socialising. He said the weather trumps Ireland and comparing lockdown he is faring better.

His trip was non essential but he is contributing zero to the Irish or the Cypriot virus issue.

Yet here we are again with the travel issue being lauded like we have planes full or virus riddled naughty people entering our shores. No one is taking short breaks or holidays in the EU at the moment. Most countries are either in lockdown, have curfews or hospitality is closed. There are certainly pell anecdotally taking extended trips abroad and are working remotely.

On the 20th July 2020 our daily case number was 6. We had no pcr testing requirement, no passenger locator form and no tracking of travellers.

Today Holohan quoted a statistic about travel that contradicts HSE published figures on travel. They’re looking for mandatory quarantine yet we have never enforced isolation of domestic confirmed covid cases in Ireland. At least airport passengers are legally required to produce a test result.

There was a Prime Time show a few months ago, just as a lockdown was announced and after a video snippet the camera turned to Sam McConkey in the studio who had a massive smirk on his face. Claire Byrne asked him why he was smiling and he didn’t answer directly.

The look on his face spoke volumes to me about certain health experts and their so called expertise. Thankfully we don’t hear much from him anymore

We need to stop the blame game, the culture of shame and stop following fallacies of news. Once you leave your house your risks of catching or transmitting the virus increase. Different activities attract different risks.

All the focus on people fighting people takes away from some very concerning stats

* 1/3 of covid cases are acquired in hospitals
* The handling of care homes is scandalous
* There is no clear guidance on schools. (Front page of the times today quotes a health expert saying it’s not safe to open schools while another health expert on RTE Radio 1 claimed schools are safe

This is just getting tiresome

Golfman64

faceman wrote: »

A friend of mine for his mental health decided to leave Ireland and go to Cyprus a few months ago for a few weeks break on his own. He has no responsibilities in Ireland and his business moved online. Cyprus went in to lockdown but he decided not to panic and head home.

He’s still there months later.

He got to know his neighbours and chats with them for socialising. He said the weather trumps Ireland and comparing lockdown he is faring better.

His trip was non essential but he is contributing zero to the Irish or the Cypriot virus issue.

Yet here we are again with the travel issue being lauded like we have planes full or virus riddled naughty people entering our shores. No one is taking short breaks or holidays in the EU at the moment. Most countries are either in lockdown, have curfews or hospitality is closed. There are certainly pell anecdotally taking extended trips abroad and are working remotely.

On the 20th July 2020 our daily case number was 6. We had no pcr testing requirement, no passenger locator form and no tracking of travellers.

Today Holohan quoted a statistic about travel that contradicts HSE published figures on travel. They’re looking for mandatory quarantine yet we have never enforced isolation of domestic confirmed covid cases in Ireland. At least airport passengers are legally required to produce a test result.

There was a Prime Time show a few months ago, just as a lockdown was announced and after a video snippet the camera turned to Sam McConkey in the studio who had a massive smirk on his face. Claire Byrne asked him why he was smiling and he didn’t answer directly.

The look on his face spoke volumes to me about certain health experts and their so called expertise. Thankfully we don’t hear much from him anymore

We need to stop the blame game, the culture of shame and stop following fallacies of news. Once you leave your house your risks of catching or transmitting the virus increase. Different activities attract different risks.

All the focus on people fighting people takes away from some very concerning stats

* 1/3 of covid cases are acquired in hospitals
* The handling of care homes is scandalous
* There is no clear guidance on schools. (Front page of the times today quotes a health expert saying it’s not safe to open schools while another health expert on RTE Radio 1 claimed schools are safe

This is just getting tiresome

This should be pinned to the main thread, never mind this thread! The lunacy has reached an all time high. International travellers, people buying a takeaway coffee, runners (and their Covid plume!), the list of scapegoats for peoples own actions is endless.....the media have a lot to answer for in creating this type of mass hysteria but it can also be hard for many to see the bigger picture in stressful time like these and I get that. In reality, the answer to why this virus spreads is very simple and all anyone needs to do is walk to the nearest mirror to see why! If we all follow the simple basic principles of hand washing, cough etiquette, masks where required and a reduction of contacts, this thing will be halted in its tracks irrespective of anything else.

faceman

The EU won’t be closing internal borders

This is despite some Irish media sources reporting yesterday’s EU meeting as if it was a sure thing

https://www.euronews.com/2021/01/22/eu-travel-bans-bloc-leaders-agree-to-keep-borders-open-for-now

deathbomber

deathbomber wrote: »

sorry but disagree, hysteria is somewhat warranted, you must be blind, people dying, getting ill, people losing jobs (all of this world wide) but your concentrating on your summer holidays. Selfish and pathetic in a way!

All those things happen every single year. Have you never been on holiday?

Father Hernandez

faceman wrote: »

A friend of mine for his mental health decided to leave Ireland and go to Cyprus a few months ago for a few weeks break on his own. He has no responsibilities in Ireland and his business moved online. Cyprus went in to lockdown but he decided not to panic and head home.

He’s still there months later.

He got to know his neighbours and chats with them for socialising. He said the weather trumps Ireland and comparing lockdown he is faring better.

His trip was non essential but he is contributing zero to the Irish or the Cypriot virus issue.

Yet here we are again with the travel issue being lauded like we have planes full or virus riddled naughty people entering our shores. No one is taking short breaks or holidays in the EU at the moment. Most countries are either in lockdown, have curfews or hospitality is closed. There are certainly pell anecdotally taking extended trips abroad and are working remotely.

On the 20th July 2020 our daily case number was 6. We had no pcr testing requirement, no passenger locator form and no tracking of travellers.

Today Holohan quoted a statistic about travel that contradicts HSE published figures on travel. They’re looking for mandatory quarantine yet we have never enforced isolation of domestic confirmed covid cases in Ireland. At least airport passengers are legally required to produce a test result.

There was a Prime Time show a few months ago, just as a lockdown was announced and after a video snippet the camera turned to Sam McConkey in the studio who had a massive smirk on his face. Claire Byrne asked him why he was smiling and he didn’t answer directly.

The look on his face spoke volumes to me about certain health experts and their so called expertise. Thankfully we don’t hear much from him anymore

We need to stop the blame game, the culture of shame and stop following fallacies of news. Once you leave your house your risks of catching or transmitting the virus increase. Different activities attract different risks.

All the focus on people fighting people takes away from some very concerning stats

* 1/3 of covid cases are acquired in hospitals
* The handling of care homes is scandalous
* There is no clear guidance on schools. (Front page of the times today quotes a health expert saying it’s not safe to open schools while another health expert on RTE Radio 1 claimed schools are safe

This is just getting tiresome

Very well said, we are abroad at the moment like your friend - sunny location, in a lockdown but the quality of life is 10 times what an Ireland lockdown is like.

It's not ideal but we're getting on with it. Less time watching the local Irish news, less negativity, less doom and gloom, enjoying the sun with a few cheap local beers on a balcony and listening to a good podcast.

Plan is to stay for as long as possible, we don't interact with anyone bar at the shops or saying hello on a walk by the beach.

Most of the family at home are front line so one less pair for them to see and not feel guilty about it. No harm to anyone.

Excellent post and agree with others, should be a sticky.

TomSweeney

RobitTV wrote: »

The testing situation is expensive and it's frustrating for families, but I'm at the stage where I need to put my wellbeing first and try to ignore the cost. Getting out of this country for a break and heading to the airport will put a smile on your face.

The thought of going on the airplane and knowing you'll soon be able to sit outside in the sun and go for a meal and a few drinks is just amazing. You can also have some human interaction with social distancing of course. We don't have all of this luxury in Ireland.

Bring on Lanzarote in March!

I should appreciate living in Spain more!

God knows what restrictions are like in an Irish winter!
Having said that lately it's been no picnic on the mainland either.
Canaries another kettle of fish of course.

RobitTV

TomSweeney wrote: »

I should appreciate living in Spain more!

God knows what restrictions are like in an Irish winter!
Having said that lately it's been no picnic on the mainland either.
Canaries another kettle of fish of course.

It's been very tough here because of the constant stream of negativity and endless panic by the media and the government. There is no need to constantly scare people like they have done. Some people hang on every word and get really worried.

The restrictions and yo-yoing in and out of lockdown has been so terrible for the mental health of so many people. There is literally never any positive news!

bikeman1

I’ve said this before, last summer there was no ban on travel whatsoever and there was no “advice “ against travel to Green listed countries.

I know two workers in the health sector (both working in hospitals) who went to Greece. I was in Italy twice and enjoyed a visit to France as well. I had a brilliant time.

The same will happen again this year, it can be hard to see it in the middle of the mess at the moment, but things will improve, even if there was no vaccine (like last year) the numbers will fall and we know how to bring them down.

My friend travelled a lot with his job and family situation last year. No Covid. Visited a friend at home prior to Christmas and got the virus, 2km from his home. Travel in itself isn’t the problem it’s what happens on either end.

With there being so little to do at the moment here in Dublin, I’ve saved over €200 extra and put it into another account, it’s there for two PCR tests for my next trip away. Yes an added cost, but I’ve spent feck all the last while (excluding Christmas) I can now afford that extra cost.

fm

bikeman1 wrote: »

I’ve said this before, last summer there was no ban on travel whatsoever and there was no “advice “ against travel to Green listed countries.

I know two workers in the health sector (both working in hospitals) who went to Greece. I was in Italy twice and enjoyed a visit to France as well. I had a brilliant time.

The same will happen again this year, it can be hard to see it in the middle of the mess at the moment, but things will improve, even if there was no vaccine (like last year) the numbers will fall and we know how to bring them down.

My friend travelled a lot with his job and family situation last year. No Covid. Visited a friend at home prior to Christmas and got the virus, 2km from his home. Travel in itself isn’t the problem it’s what happens on either end.

With there being so little to do at the moment here in Dublin, I’ve saved over €200 extra and put it into another account, it’s there for two PCR tests for my next trip away. Yes an added cost, but I’ve spent feck all the last while (excluding Christmas) I can now afford that extra cost.

Yes extreme fear and hysteria atm, last summer people were shamed into staying at home, safer to go to kerry for a week apparently than go to Italy which had a lower rate per 100k,I will be going this year to Europe, just need to be a bit responsible about it and take some precautions.

fisgon

facehugger99 wrote: »

Yep, me too.

Some great deals out there at the moment. I'd be reasonably confident that by mid-August travel to Spain will be fine.

Had a couple of nice trips to both Italy and Spain last summer - it's great to be able to get away for a few weeks from the hysteria-merchants that this country seems to be saddled with.

Hysteria merchants?

Yeah, you're right of course, idiots getting worried about 50, 60, 80 people a day dying, our hospitals and ICUs full, our economy stalled, the threat of new variants of the virus that may not be responsive to a vaccine coming into the country via foreign travel. Bloody hysteria merchants.

fisgon

Golfman64 wrote: »

I’ve written off the next 3 months completely but after that is something we can only guess and let’s be honest everyone’s guess will generally have a tinge of vested interest from Zero coviders demanding no one in or out until at least 2022 as it won’t affect them while those in travel and tourism businesses pushing for a much sooner resumption.

There is a realistic prospect that the current vaccines may not be completely effective against the new strains of the virus, and may have to be redesigend. This will take months, and in the meantime we may need to keep lockdowns or partial lockdowns going.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/22/covid-vaccines-what-are-the-implications-of-new-variants-of-virus

I am as desperate as anyone else to travel again, but I wouldn't be putting all our hopes on vaccination that may not be as effective as we thought. The Zero Coviders are slowly being proved correct (though the real problem is Northern Ireland and the border, which makes the Zero Covid strategy difficult.)

fisgon

faceman wrote: »

There was a Prime Time show a few months ago, just as a lockdown was announced and after a video snippet the camera turned to Sam McConkey in the studio who had a massive smirk on his face. Claire Byrne asked him why he was smiling and he didn’t answer directly.

The look on his face spoke volumes to me about certain health experts and their so called expertise. Thankfully we don’t hear much from him anymore

You seem to be giving massive importance to a fleeting expression you glimpsed on someone's face for a second or two, though it is still not clear what point you are trying to make.

faceman wrote: »

We need to stop the blame game, the culture of shame and stop following fallacies of news. Once you leave your house your risks of catching or transmitting the virus increase. Different activities attract different risks.

You (and a lot of people on this thread) can try to deny reality as much as you want, but we are in a catastrophic situation at the moment in this country caused, at least partly, by tens of thousands of people coming back to this country in the weeks before Christmas. The British variant is now 60% of the cases reported at the moment.

Lots of things spread the virus, but travel is one of them. New Zealand is virus free and imposes a mandatory 14 day quarantine on visitors. Australia has largely controlled the virus and also imposes a 14 day quarantine. Pretending that travel into the country poses no risk is dishonest.

fisgon

RobitTV wrote: »

It's been very tough here because of the constant stream of negativity and endless panic by the media and the government. There is no need to constantly scare people like they have done. Some people hang on every word and get really worried.

The restrictions and yo-yoing in and out of lockdown has been so terrible for the mental health of so many people. There is literally never any positive news!

Seriously, what do you want the media to do, lie to us? To be honest, they are downplaying the catastrophe that our health service is going through at the moment. Most of us don't see it and so aren't really aware, but if practically all ICU capacity is being used to treat one illness, then that is a situation of extreme emergency.

Whinging about negativity in the media during this national disaster is like telling a terminal cancer patient to stop complaining about their pain.

No one likes lockdown (I hate it myself), but the alternative is the complete and utter collapse of our health system, and the deaths of hundreds of people a day.