My thoughts on Covid and our travel plans. 

Very important- Check your passport. It must be valid for 6 months after your return from travel. If you don’t meet this criteria I suggest you renew your passport immediately. Note that they are up to 3 to 4 months behind in issuing new passports.  Don’t delay, do it today!!!

If you are vaccinated, then you are much safer than if you are not. Statistics prove this without a doubt. While this latest variant has raised its’ ugly head, it is affecting those that are  unvaccinated the most.  If you are still in doubt, then think about the last time you heard of someone getting Polio or Smallpox. It just doesn’t happen anymore, thanks to vaccines. I fully expect to see a decline in the infection rate within the next month or so. No I am not a doctor or scientist but I do feel that we are on the verge of defeating Covid. Will it be completely eliminated? Probably not, but the world will once again become a safer place. Remember the club tries to follow CDC guidelines regarding Covid. 

Now to actual travel plans….Once again I am publishing this website for those of you that want to stay up on the latest travel rules and regulations.  Go to https://www.tripsite.com/travel/travel-updates/

Click on the Covid Icon on the right side. That graphic shows the rise in cases but the death rate is virtually nil in both Italy and Croatia. On the left side are the travel restrictions that someone traveling today needs to meet. That info changes periodically. It has been slowly loosening up and that is a good thing.  I will post this letter on our club website under both the Italy and the Croatia headings so you can find it in the future if you need it. 

Travel ideas for you to consider.

Italy trip – Cinque Terre and Lake Como are both high on my list.  After discussion with Diane and some traveling friends we have settled on going to Lake Como, but there are dozens of alternatives to visit in Italy.  Check out some videos below. 

You can fly into either Milan or Venice for the trip. We are flying into Milan as it is close to Lake Como. We will stay one day in Milan to regroup from the flight and two days in Lake Como via the train. Then it is an easy jaunt by train to Mantova (Mantua) for the beginning of our bike and boat trip.  Note that the direction of travel for our bike and boat is from Mantova to Venice.   

Croatia trip -  I intend to arrive in Croatia at least 4 days ahead of time so I can get to know Split in a leisurely manner. A lot of travelers like to cram in as much sightseeing in a country as possible, but I like to get to know an area so I can soak in more of the culture.  So I will stay in Split most of the time with maybe one quick side trip up to Zadar which is a couple hours away. Mostly I will be wandering the streets and back alleyways of Split trying out coffee shops, restaurants and bars along the way.

I am thinking of joining an inexpensive walking tour one evening, so if you are interested, send me an email. If we have enough people we can get a guide all to ourselves. Most likely it will be 2 days before the start of our trip, so Thursday night.

Good things to bring. Add to your list- masks and handwipes.  Masks are still required on public transportation in most countries, including the USA.  

Videos to watch – YouTube is a great resource for travelers, I highly recommend it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksJFLPDG22o

What cycling a half hour every day does to your body….benefits.

Croatia videos - 

Rick Steve’s visits Croatia -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVxZxOaEuF4

General overview from the New York Times - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WO675-YmXs

Travel Vlog -What to do and where to eat  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW8dpd0Mv1g

Italy videos – 

Rick Steve’s visits Italy – Milan and LakeComo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgFInCmXrPw

Lake Como- Gotta love this guys hat!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE9Gi4j1jdQ

Cinque Terre 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DqEgbEC2dk

Cinque Terre by train – Good transportation resource. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eW8WaFvLJw

General Italy overview – Great views of the Dolomites and other locations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS4AP0Q8L8g

Train travel through Italy 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyka13AGP4Y

As usual, if you have questions or concerns then reach out to me via email or phone. 

mfskier@comcast.net or 774-392-2567

August 17, 2021