What to do when a virus cancels your plans
Does traveling plus Corona equal headache? Not in our books! We’ve got your back. Not knowing what to do about something, can often be a bigger cause of stress & anxiety than what is actually happening. With these tips for traveling, we want to share some useful information that could help you manage your planned or current trip if these have been affected by the coronavirus-cancellations.
5. Train ticket refunds
Many train companies are offering to change or refund customer tickets free of charge. Deutsche Bahn has changed their policy so that your ticket is not tied to a single train but, in their statement published earlier this week, they announced that up until the 30th of June 2020, customers may travel at any given time, on any given date, with the ticket they had previously purchased. Customers that do not want to travel, can turn their tickets into travel vouchers which can be used for any future trip. See the train company’s change of policy for many European countries.
4. Airfare refunds
Most airlines have announced that they have changed their policies to not charge customers when they want to change their date of travel. This is easily done on their website, usually found in the ‘manage my booking’ section. If you have to cancel a flight due to the country’s borders being closed, we recommend getting in touch with the airline directly using their hotline numbers (make sure to be patient, long lines are awaiting). Make sure to check if your flight is scheduled to depart as a lot of airlines have announced cancellations. Many airlines have already created coronavirus specific websites, answering common questions.
3. Contacting your embassy
If you are worried about not being able to return to your home country due to border closures, we recommend ringing the national embassy of the country in which you hold citizenship. These numbers can be found on their homepage and they will be happy to help you. Remember, being a citizen means the country’s main priority is to protect you so the last thing they will do is just leave you stranded somewhere. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has announced that they are starting to fly Germans, who have been affected by flight cancellations, back home. The urgency has been called out for people who are currently in Morocco, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the Maldives, and Egypt. This will also be adopted by many other countries and their citizens.
Here’s a tip for traveling, simply search on Google for > *your home country* embassy in *current location country* < and ring the number that is provided.
Here is a list of German embassies in foreign countries.
2. Facebook groups
If you have any open questions, looking for some general information, need some tips for traveling or just want to get in touch with people that may be in similar situations, we recommend checking out Facebook groups that exist for the country that you find yourself in or were planning to travel to. You can find lots of posts regarding coronavirus specific questions or post your own question that you might have. People in these groups are always happy to help.
Here are some examples, but there are many more. Just search for the country in the >Groups< section.
Bali & Lombok, Mexico, Australia, Thailand, Germans in Spain
If you want to get in contact with other travelers and exchange common experiences, here are two groups: Traveller Group in German & Traveller Group international
1. Be informed
The most important tip for traveling during corona which we want to share with you is that if you are planning on going ahead with your trip, please be sure to check the current situation regarding coronavirus in the specific country. Each country is currently dealing with the spread differently and things change quickly. Search online and make sure to do this right up until your departure and while you are on your trip. You can check the current outbreak for individual countries here. This will help you in making an informed decision on whether you should travel or not. Please comply with all of the country’s health advice.
Here are some links for general information about Coronavirus. Please make sure that wherever you get your facts from, they are from a reputable source.
We understand you may be worried about loved ones and yourself but if it’s a valid option, please postpone rather than cancel your travel plans. Please also be patient with airlines, tour operators, train companies and the like. They are experiencing high levels of calls and will deal with your issue as soon as possible. Remember, traveling may not be the most stress-free it could be right now, but let’s stay positive; it doesn’t mean your trip won’t happen, it just means it will happen a little later. For now, let’s dream of our holiday in the winter sun! We hope this article can offer you a bit of help in such trying times. All the best & stay healthy!
PS: #keepcalm and #keepdreaming.
If you are looking for some more important information around the topic of Corona, make sure to visit our page on Covid-19 guidelines.
Be sure to check out our other blog posts:
- Coronavirus: 10 Things to do Under Lockdown
- Exciting Places in Germany Where You Can Travel to Now
- Why people are already booking Spring 2021 vacations
- 5 Reasons Why Traveling in a Group is More Important than Ever