This would be a question to ask both HOs and sitters, but unfortunately I cannot list the query on both categories…
I wonder if there is anyone concerned about the last war attacks, for sure we all are, but in this case mostly regarding travel plans? Either because sitters or HOs are supposed to travel to some risky Countries or to surrounding areas?
For example, I am due to do a long sitting starting in three months. The Country is safe, but the HOs will be travelling to Turkey. Turkey being beside Iran and considering some attacks took place in Dubai, I personally wouldn’t feel safe to travel there at this time. I am not going to contact them now just yet, but I’ll probably will in the next few days or weeks asking what are their thoughts.
Another example, there is another sitting for which I have been invited but have not formally accepted yet as they haven’t finalized their flights. They’re looking for prices to reduce and I’ve been waiting for more than a month. In the meantime, I’m looking for another opportunity, but I keep this option as well.
I can see now that for their destination prices have just come much lower, but no word from them yet. I wonder if they are now concerned about travelling abroad considering the current critical situation.
As far as I am concerned, I have a flexible ticket so I should be ok in moving dates in case necessary. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it to the trip anyway even if with some adjustments.
Just a few thoughts for the moment that I wanted to share with you guys and see if you have any similar experience or opinion.
Airlines are ALL rerouting tbh so there’s pretty much an exclusion zone in the war zone airspace. I’m not worried. It’s inconvenient for some but there’s always a way around these things.
A friend and I had plans to revisit Egypt in April, but we canceled.
She works in news (where we met) and pays close attention to troop movements and such and she called out the increasing risks weeks before the current volatility.
She’s a former war correspondent and doesn’t scare easily. (She covered war zones and embedded with military for long stretches, sometimes sleeping fully clothed under beds during intense times of warfare, in case they were bombed directly.) So when she suggested that we cancel and travel elsewhere instead, I agreed.
Tangentially, I’ve always believed in not holding off and having bucket lists – if you have such places in mind, visit ASAP when it’s safe, because that might not remain the case. Like I wouldn’t go to Russia now, but am glad I did years ago. Likewise with Egypt for me.
BTW, if you do travel to risky places and/or go at risky times, consider paying for subscriptions to companies that promise extra help (potentially including evacuation/extraction from emergencies) if needed.
When I worked in news, some employers would extend such coverage to us even when we were traveling off work, so I’ve never paid for them, but know about them.
This is an example (I’ve never used this one, so am not recommending them specifically): https://www.globalrescue.com.
Sadly the world is being turned upside down at the moment after what seemed to be a safe hiatus in history. We all have different “risk profiles” and the only person that can make that final choice is yourself taking into account a ton of due diligence. “If” we had a trip planned for Turkey we would still go but that’s because our flights wouldn’t hub through countries that are currently coming under fire, and we have a fairly high “risk tolerance “ but that’s just us. Good luck with your decision.
I’m glad you started this topic. I was just thinking that I had active searches for Cyprus and United Arab Emirates right before I decided to let my membership expire. I could be in one of those places now.
Maybe I have to be thankful for THS shittification process
Hi @Mokina I couldn’t really advise on Egypt right now. I think relevant foreign embassy websites for the best current advice plus someone who’s been recently (probably 10 years for us). Turkey is stuck in the middle (& we are here now albeit far down south) so we can only wait and watch. @ziggy is an Egypt aficionado more than us. Ultimately only you can gauge risk, don’t take more than you need with all this craziness and stay safe. #takecare
Im a U.S. Homeowner with my Housesit located in Sonora, Mexico. We have a scheduled sit for mid-April (sitter already chosen and confirmed a week ago). The Mexican government took out a high profile cartel leader about a week ago in an area 4 states away from my house. Things got pretty bad locally there and in some areas states away. The potential for more fallout is present. Because the sitter we chose (they are from the U.S.) is driving to our house and has a lot of experience in Mexico (their daughter lives in Mexico City), and there has not been issues in our particular area, I am not personally worried. We are also now sitters and are confirmed sitters at same time at a home in New Mexico (meaning we have to drive from here in Sonora, Mexico to U.S.). We are not worried for ourselves either to drive from our home in Mexico to the U.S. location sit. We have lived here for 8 years, feel comfortable driving through the area we need to to get to the U.S. sit, and we follow the known rules of travel through Mexico. This is a very personal decision and depends highly on the location, how to get there, what exactly is occurring in the world, what is your risk tolerance, level of experience and comfort for the areas. So many things to consider. My hubby and I have definitely been talking about this subject lately.
I was considering going to Turkey in May. I’ve been debating between Turkey and Spain because I haven’t been to either. I’ve been watching flight prices for both. I’m going to go ahead and plan for Spain and possibly go back to Morocco too. I’ll wait to go to Turkey some other time.
My house sit in the UK last week was for people to who had been in Thailand and their hub for changing planes was Doha they had only been back a couple of days before everything started but it would have been a very different story had it been this week. Many airlines route through the middle east and at the moment this is of course all cancelled. I know of quite a lot of people stuck around the world not just in the war zone. The pet owner and I of course had a back up plan and I could have stayed a few extra days but not a week. She rang me yesterday thankful that they had just escaped the chaos. Very scary times. It’s worth remembering that a lot of people will have booked Easter Holiday trips that may or may not now be happening
In just the past few weeks, I’ve traveled through Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. I was actually supposed to be in Dubai right now, but rather unexpectedly ended up in Croatia instead. I’ll be flying again in a couple of weeks.
Do I have concerns about traveling? Not really. (Not yet) While I’d avoid places like Iran, Irak, srael, or Lebanon at the moment, I feel comfortable traveling through the Gulf countries. As for the rest of the world? I might also avoid traveling to the US and possibly Mexico.
Wherever we’re traveling, global volatility could end up messing with our plans, whether directly or indirectly. Flight delays and cancellations can easily happen – we see that even with severe weather or natural disasters at times, because flights have to come from somewhere and can be diverted, delayed or canceled.
I mention the above, because there are some sitters for example who get jammed, because they have few financial resources and can end up with nowhere to stay and stranded. We see that even during “normal” times and it’s more likely when things are volatile. And for acts of war, terrorism and such, airlines are not typically liable for helping travelers.
I had definetly not realized that my hosts will fly back via Dubai. Or more likely will not. Without this tread I would have been just la-di-da-ing and getting my follow up train tickets bought. Now I realized to check - I can stay few extra nights, but if I bought a train ticket already, it would not be returnable.
Yes that’s right you can’t assume. My cousin in Australia has let some German people who can’t get home to Munich use her holiday home as they are young stranded and don’t have much money. Travel insurance companies mostly exempt war situations from cover. Most long haul flights use the Middle East as stopovers. I have had good times in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and I was very sad to see it at the weekend
