What I learned about travel during the pandemic
I haven’t written for a while. I was all ready to start telling you about my proposed trip to Italy and Greece, the excitement of booking everything and the places I was going to visit. Some were new, others I had revisited and of course, no trip is complete without a week in Mykonos. My post sits sadly in my draft box just waiting…
As soon as we booked and paid for all of our accommodation, we started hearing whispers about a deadly virus sweeping China. At first, we thought, no way, we will be fine we won’t cancel our trip, its too early, we will wait until Greek Easter (April) and then we will make a call. Well, the call was made for us, the Australian government wouldn’t let anyone travel from March 23rd, our trip was gone. I was shattered, to say the least. Apart from the obvious, feeling for the people and families immediately affected by this, we were feeling stunned.
I guess as humans we learn, we adapt, we grow.
I have learned a lot of lessons during this time, but as this is a travel blog, I will only share my travel learnings.
Book your airfares with a travel agent - It may cost you a little bit more but in events like these, it’s always good to have someone else that will represent you correctly. I have heard many situations where different providers have been asking for exorbitant amounts for changes or cancellations. Our travel agent advised us what are our best options (cancel) and for a small airline cancellation fee, we got our airfare money back immediately.
Book directly with hotels - Book directly with the hotels. Do your homework of where you want to stay, figure out your location, accommodation type, and book with them directly. Third-party providers take 30% from the accommodation and some don’t pay the hotels until the day you are to check-in, so if you paid months prior they hold that money. I would strongly suggest you have confirmation of what the hotel’s cancellation policy is also.
After this whole situation, I would not be booking with third-party providers, like Expedia. The accommodation we have booked through them has been the hardest to get vouchers or credits for. The small business operators are the ones suffering.
Travel Insurance - I never travel without travel insurance, and although no-one foresees a pandemic, it’s always safer to have protection. I am sure that insurance companies will change their policies to reflect the pandemic.
Booking tours/museums/galleries - I would be booking most extra activities, as close to the dates you are to do them as possible. While canceling airfares and accommodation has been arduous, imagine trying to get refunds from galleries and restaurants.
There is always next year - Like I said earlier, these are unprecedented times so, for now, we go with the flow and we wait for next year and better times.
I haven’t canceled my accommodation as such, I have only postponed it til next year so I guess I have something to look forward to and hope that things will go back to some normality and I can enjoy my trip!
Take care and stay safe
