Will your travel plans change in the wake of Paris attacks?

[mich1]

We leave for Paris in a little less than a month. Nothing has changed.

[mdgirl]

Our only current international travel plans are Mexico and Costa Rica, so no. However I will probably start registering our trips with STEP. If something happened I'd want to make it as easy as possible for our families to be notified.

[mrsukyankee]

Nope. I know people asking about London. I'm living there with both my H and I going into Central London for jobs..and we're not stopping that, nor going out, nor being in tourist areas (cause, shopping & work). Life continues.  Plus, honestly, every time there is a terrorist attack, big cities up their games, so it's probably more safe than any other time.

[tres3]

I'm a little nervous but we leave for Kenya tomorrow. We registered with STEP which we've never done before.

[GilliC]

Yes -- We added an extra half hour at the airport before a flight yesterday, in case there was additional screening at other European airports because of the attack.

(They did do additional checks on the laptop, but the overall security line was short, so it wasn't a problem.)

[iammalcolmx]

Nov 16, 2015 7:57:35 GMT -5 @mx said:

No. I live in DC. I'm currently stuck on the street two blocks from my office due to a live shooter barricade. You can never know when or where there will be a problem and trying to predict it is not for people at my pay grade.

WHAT??

[Wanderista]

I was in Canada during the attacks. I did wonder a bit whether security would be any different when flying back into the US but it really wasn't. I don't think this will impact my travel plans much. As others have said, I wouldn't plan any Middle Eastern trips right now but I wasn't planning on that anyway. No Egyptian beach holidays for a while. I have no hesitation about continuing to visit Europe. There are other places that are higher on my list than Paris to visit as I have been there before.

Pretty much, life goes on.

[mrsd2006]

Next trip is a cruise to the Caribbean so I'm not too concerned about terrorist attacks, more concerned about all these people falling off the boat lately LOL.

If you were in a city where an attack happened, WWYD? There was an ATL couple, pregnant wife, in Paris and they went to the American embassy and they would not let them in. Where else do you think would be a safe place to go in a foreign country?

[frlcb]

Nov 16, 2015 9:33:22 GMT -5 mrsd2006 said:

Next trip is a cruise to the Caribbean so I'm not too concerned about terrorist attacks, more concerned about all these people falling off the boat lately LOL.

If you were in a city where an attack happened, WWYD? There was an ATL couple, pregnant wife, in Paris and they went to the American embassy and they would not let them in. Where else do you think would be a safe place to go in a foreign country?

I think the embassy doesn't let anyone in for shelter unless it is during an act of war. I am not sure I would feel safest at the American embassy, to be honest. I would go to a hotel I think? 

[emilyinchile]

@mx basically just gave personal experience to go my answer, which is that if you live in the US, you are probably more likely to be killed (either as a random crime or a terrorist plot) at home than abroad. (mx, obviously I hope you stay safe!)

I wouldn't go to a particularly dangerous place, but I evaluate those one by one - like I'm not going to go touristing around Ciudad Juarez by myself, but there are plenty of places in Mexico I wouldn't think twice about - and the recent Paris and Beruit attacks don't change my evaluation of anywhere in the world.

mrsd2006 I am surprised the Embassy wouldn't let US citizens in, I thought they kind of had to do that. But to answer your question, I think a safe place would be to stay in my hotel room until I knew what was going on and what areas to avoid. Honestly, your anonymous hotel room is probably safer than the blazing target that is the US Embassy!

[emilyinchile]

Nov 16, 2015 9:57:49 GMT -5 frlcb said:

I think the embassy doesn't let anyone in for shelter unless it is during an act of war. I am not sure I would feel safest at the American embassy, to be honest. I would go to a hotel I think? 

Ah I guess if it was outside operating hours maybe that's true? I have no idea, really, and I wasn't thinking about the fact that the attacks were at night, I was just thinking that during the day when they're open I would have thought they had to receive US citizens.

[mrsd2006]

Nov 16, 2015 10:00:10 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

@mx basically just gave personal experience to go my answer, which is that if you live in the US, you are probably more likely to be killed (either as a random crime or a terrorist plot) at home than abroad. (mx, obviously I hope you stay safe!)

I wouldn't go to a particularly dangerous place, but I evaluate those one by one - like I'm not going to go touristing around Ciudad Juarez by myself, but there are plenty of places in Mexico I wouldn't think twice about - and the recent Paris and Beruit attacks don't change my evaluation of anywhere in the world.

mrsd2006 I am surprised the Embassy wouldn't let US citizens in, I thought they kind of had to do that. But to answer your question, I think a safe place would be to stay in my hotel room until I knew what was going on and what areas to avoid. Honestly, your anonymous hotel room is probably safer than the blazing target that is the US Embassy!

That's what I was thinking too. 

[emilyinchile]

Nov 16, 2015 10:09:28 GMT -5 @mx said:

Even as an American you have to go through extreme security to enter a U.S. Embassy and you can't bring anything with you other than any paperwork related to your visit--no phone nothing. I am not at all surprised that random Americans without an appt would be turned away when not in imminent danger.

Interesting. I have definitely been in the US Embassy here somewhat randomly (accompanying someone), and while they do make you leave your phone, the rest of your purse is fine to go in. Maybe they're more relaxed because Santiago probably gets less traffic and is also less of a danger zone than many other places?

[frlcb]

Nov 16, 2015 10:13:19 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Nov 16, 2015 10:09:28 GMT -5 @mx said:

Even as an American you have to go through extreme security to enter a U.S. Embassy and you can't bring anything with you other than any paperwork related to your visit--no phone nothing. I am not at all surprised that random Americans without an appt would be turned away when not in imminent danger.

Interesting. I have definitely been in the US Embassy here somewhat randomly (accompanying someone), and while they do make you leave your phone, the rest of your purse is fine to go in. Maybe they're more relaxed because Santiago probably gets less traffic and is also less of a danger zone than many other places?

In London there are two sides - for american services you can bring things in that you can't bring in on the visa/non american services side. 

Also with regards to that specific couple in Paris I read that they likely didn't have their passports on them so that is another reason they weren't allowed in.

[emilyinchile]

Oh, well then yeah, you can't just waltz into the Embassy without your passport! Thanks for the clarification, frlcb.

[mrsd2006]

Nov 16, 2015 10:25:23 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Nov 16, 2015 10:13:19 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Interesting. I have definitely been in the US Embassy here somewhat randomly (accompanying someone), and while they do make you leave your phone, the rest of your purse is fine to go in. Maybe they're more relaxed because Santiago probably gets less traffic and is also less of a danger zone than many other places?

In London there are two sides - for american services you can bring things in that you can't bring in on the visa/non american services side. 

Also with regards to that specific couple in Paris I read that they likely didn't have their passports on them so that is another reason they weren't allowed in.

I haven't seen this reported in the local news. Makes sense. 

[kwynn]

Nov 16, 2015 10:25:23 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Nov 16, 2015 10:13:19 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Interesting. I have definitely been in the US Embassy here somewhat randomly (accompanying someone), and while they do make you leave your phone, the rest of your purse is fine to go in. Maybe they're more relaxed because Santiago probably gets less traffic and is also less of a danger zone than many other places?

In London there are two sides - for american services you can bring things in that you can't bring in on the visa/non american services side. 

Also with regards to that specific couple in Paris I read that they likely didn't have their passports on them so that is another reason they weren't allowed in.

I read of another American woman (or two, I think) who called the Embassy as they were trying to get their guests/friends visiting them back to their AirBnB and the embassy told HER not to come for fear of an attack there and instead, go to the nearest hotel. Which she did, but then just walked home, I believe.

Not sure I am comfortable with telling all these random ppl to go to hotels - that isn't really the hotel's responsibility and they have to worry about security there too. I guess the best option is just shelter in place/get off the street, but do not go somewhere you can easily be trapped. I would say probably a private home would be best if you could get to there?? Just people trying to take care of their fellow man/woman.

[frlcb]

Nov 16, 2015 10:53:02 GMT -5 mrsd2006 said:

Nov 16, 2015 10:25:23 GMT -5 frlcb said:

In London there are two sides - for american services you can bring things in that you can't bring in on the visa/non american services side. 

Also with regards to that specific couple in Paris I read that they likely didn't have their passports on them so that is another reason they weren't allowed in.

I haven't seen this reported in the local news. Makes sense. 

Do you live in Atlanta? They are actually from Macon. I haven't even heard much than the original report on (I live in Atl)

[mrsd2006]

Nov 16, 2015 12:56:19 GMT -5 @sfgal530 said:

Nov 16, 2015 9:33:22 GMT -5 mrsd2006 said:

Next trip is a cruise to the Caribbean so I'm not too concerned about terrorist attacks, more concerned about all these people falling off the boat lately LOL.

If you were in a city where an attack happened, WWYD? There was an ATL couple, pregnant wife, in Paris and they went to the American embassy and they would not let them in. Where else do you think would be a safe place to go in a foreign country?

We were in Nairobi the day that the attack happened at Westgate Mall in 2013. At the time it was all unfolding, the Kenyan government / security forces seemed to know very little about the attackers and it wasn't clear that everyone had been caught / the situation was contained until a day or two after. We had no real plans to go anywhere that was interesting (we were at Giraffe Manor and we were going to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage), but we decided to scrap going out to dinner in Nairobi that night and just stay at the hotel since it wasn't clear if the attackers were still on the loose and if Westgate was going to be the only target. 

I think in general the safest thing to do is probably to retreat to your hotel room if you're really concerned. The US government always recommends avoiding public gatherings, protests, marches, etc., so if I was really scared I'd go back to the hotel and order room service and wait out the situation until it was clear that any threat had passed. 

Scary! Did you ever make it to the elephant orphanage? Always wanted to go there. 

[mrsGreeko]

We booked tickets to London and Edinburgh the day before the attacks. We aren't changing our plans. I'm still flying in an airplane (which have been hit before in other attacks), going to London (which has been hit before).

[mrsd2006]

Nov 16, 2015 12:55:06 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Nov 16, 2015 10:53:02 GMT -5 mrsd2006 said:

I haven't seen this reported in the local news. Makes sense. 

Do you live in Atlanta? They are actually from Macon. I haven't even heard much than the original report on (I live in Atl)

Yes. I've seen a few reports but nothing has mentioned no passports. 

[GilliC]

Nov 16, 2015 10:13:19 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Nov 16, 2015 10:09:28 GMT -5 @mx said:

Even as an American you have to go through extreme security to enter a U.S. Embassy and you can't bring anything with you other than any paperwork related to your visit--no phone nothing. I am not at all surprised that random Americans without an appt would be turned away when not in imminent danger.

Interesting. I have definitely been in the US Embassy here somewhat randomly (accompanying someone), and while they do make you leave your phone, the rest of your purse is fine to go in. Maybe they're more relaxed because Santiago probably gets less traffic and is also less of a danger zone than many other places?

I could go to the US embassy in Beijing randomly (never tried outside office hours), but the embassy here requires an advance appointment. You can't get in even with a US passport if you don't have an appointment.

...And I once got turned away even though I had a passport and and an appointment, because I talked back too much to the obnoxious non-American gate security guards. (I was just there to pick something up, and after I called and complained the embassy just mailed it to me.)

[Deleted]

No, my travel plans will not change. My companies headquarters is in Paris, so business travel there over the next few months will be managed accordingly, but it's not stopping me from making any personal travel plans.

[sporky]

We've planned for months to visit Paris in the fall of next year. Those plans haven't changed.

[udscoobychick]

We weren't planning on going to Europe, but if we had been, this would not stop me.

We were talking about going back to Sharm el Sheikh (we were there 7 months ago), but that will not be happening after the attack on the Russian plane. We'll probably still go back sometime in the future, but not until things have stabilized a bit.

[Deleted]

We won't be changing our travel plans.

But I hate to admit that I did have fleeting thoughts of "what if?". We're going to 3 major European cities next summer. It's a little scary to think about what COULD happen, but I agree it could happen anywhere at any time so there is not really any point in worrying about it. If I happen to have the bad luck to be in the wrong place when a terrorist attack happens - here in the US or elsewhere - there isn't really a whole lot I can do, so I'm not going to spend my life living in fear of it.

With all the mass shootings that happen these days I feel like if I started to worry about safety everywhere I went, I might never go to a crowded place again. Probably the chances of being gunned down when I'm in a crowd in Chicago next weekend are great than a terrorist attack hitting Berlin when I'm there next summer.

[sicilygirl]

We have a trip planned to Paris next Thursday. We are reconsidering our travel plans, but haven't made a decision one way or another yet. I am a little concerned about safety, but mostly concerned about the trip just not being the fun, romantic trip we had planned. So... we may cancel and rebook another trip in a few weeks. I'm honestly not sure what to do, but it's my husband's first trip to Paris and I don't know if I want to spend thousands of dollars on what was supposed to be our anniversary trip in a somber mood. I know that sounds selfish, but it's the truth. We'll lose about $900 of we don't go, so not too too much.

[v]

Nov 16, 2015 17:14:06 GMT -5 sicilygirl said:

We have a trip planned to Paris next Thursday. We are reconsidering our travel plans, but haven't made a decision one way or another yet. I am a little concerned about safety, but mostly concerned about the trip just not being the fun, romantic trip we had planned. So... we may cancel and rebook another trip in a few weeks. I'm honestly not sure what to do, but it's my husband's first trip to Paris and I don't know if I want to spend thousands of dollars on what was supposed to be our anniversary trip in a somber mood. I know that sounds selfish, but it's the truth. We'll lose about $900 of we don't go, so not too too much.

I totally understand you're reasoning here and I don't find it selfish at all.

Note: I wouldn't be surprised if you would be able to get a decent amount of that money back if you call the airline, credit card company, hotel, or whoever else is non-refundable and plead your case.  Sometimes they're more lenient than they have to be.

[wise_rita]

OP if you want to postpone 2016 plans you might as well give up hope of going overseas again in your lifetime.

I hear Branson is nice (but still not immune to terrorist attacks).

[osumelissa]

My travel plans will not change. I do register with STEP though.