In light of the war in Ukraine and the ramifications it is having and may have as it continues, the question I wish to have opinions on is both trivial and selfish: Is it wise to plan travel in Europe (including Turkey) this year?

Should the conflict spread into western Europe the question becomes immaterial. If it continues within the present boundaries of Ukraine, will travel become prohibitively expensive with ferry, fuel and food costs spiralling upwards combined with huge domestic increases for the same commodities?

Is it morally correct to travel (i.e. have a holiday) with a major war inflicting untold suffering on so many people so close to our own country? Has it caused anyone to postpone or cancel their own plans for travel in Europe this year?

I don´t think it will spread out of Ukraine.
I have made travel plans for may this year and I don´t cancel them. Sure things will get more expensive, especially fuel, but I don´t think anything else will affect my trip.
I feel sorry for the people living in a warzone and for the refugees but the countries in Europe will take care of them. The situation of those good people will not get worse nor better if you and I stop traveling. Sorry but I can´t change the world and I can´t save everyone.

I agree with Rognv. Some parts of the world will be undesirable or impossible to travel to in 2022 due to war or covid. Outside of that, do your homework and spread the joy.

I kinda get where u r coming from but......turning that on its head is is morally defenceable to ride around on a bike that costs 10 20 30 times more then people's annual salary Or to own a phone that costs so much it could feed a village for weeks.......and so it goes on . You won't change mankind on ur own but u can change some lives ,so if u don't do it already sponsor a child , it's a start . Slightly off topic there..

It feels wrong to do a lot if things in life.
People suffer all the time. But then should I be selfish or sit at home waiting for the world to be just right.
My time is running out and why should I postpone my plans again. Covid pffh, now war sorry but I'm going no matter what.

I have recently struggled with much the same questions, for a couple of reasons.

Yes of course the war in Ukraine, bloody awful and the west should squeeze Putin as much as possible and support the Ukrainians using all best possible methods and deals.

One of my main/best employee's may be leaving us due to illness, the terminal kind, and as health is way more important than money, I have told him to do what ever he has to do.......period, full stop.

My best friend just got hammered with divorce proceedings, a couple I have known for 27 years and him personally for almost 50! , If im not here (in town) how can I help him ?

My father had a stroke end of 2019, I have seem him go down hill since then,how do I help my mom if I am away?

There are 100's of additional reasons similar or worse than those listed here,

But I also agree that I cant keep postponing everything I want to do for exactly the same reasons posted above,it may never be the perfect time.And no one is getting any younger.

I "leave" for 30 days in a couple of weeks, and I can tell you I have not slept well for the last 2 weeks because of all these things jamming up my head, but I also realise I am at this point almost useless due to burn out and my patience level is dropping on a daily basis .

My "good thought" is ,when I come back I am hoping to be a "new"(newer?) person,a better employer,a better husband, a better father, a better son and a better friend. That what I will see through my own eye's and experiences will have played a part in that.

Maybe Im talking total rubbish, but if there is no point, then there is no point in going.

Cheers,

Paulo

If things become *prohibitively* expensive - i.e. outside of your travel budget - then of course, don't travel. However, the main problem with commodities is that it will hit poorer countries harder. We in the West can afford to pay double what we now pay for a loaf of bread because the wheat price has skyrocketed; there are people in the world who cannot.

But that does not affect your Eurotrip. If anything, if you're worried about the financial effect on the Balkans or Turkey... go travel there and spend your money there as a tourist.

Back in the day, I cancelled my travel plans to Japan because the great tsunami happened a few months before I was due to go there - and the country was still dealing with consequences. At that time, I did not want to use up resources for my hospitality that would be needed by locals.

On the other hand, my travel plans were not affected by the Syrian war. So... as long as you're traveling through areas that have not been affected directly and are not the immediate refugee staging areas, what moral difference is there between a war nearby and a war far away? Once again, the moral argument might be "go and spend your money in troubled economies".

In tangentially related matters - one pretty good way of direct support to people immediately affected by the Russian invasion has been to book AirBnBs in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa etc., and just leaving a note that you're not actually coming - you're just donating the money to the apartment owner. Apparently it's been a disproportionately positive thing.

I'd say it has already spread out of ukraine with 2 million refugees and 5-6.5 million expected.. with hate crimes, petty crime, overall load on neighboring countries and skyrocketing fuel prices.

Not that it is unadvisable to travel but at least you need to be mindful of environment and if not stay out of countries bordering ukraine at least avoid big cities and choose your routes carefully.

I have to wonder, in the cases of those who feel that it's morally inappropriate to take a holiday during a "major war", whether they refrained from taking holidays during other wars, The only period in my lifetime during which there was no major war going on was in 1954. There were wars in which many thousands lost their lives and many more were displaced in every year since 1950 until today.

I'm planning trip to southern Europe and don't expect problems.
I think conflict will end till summer.

A friend and I were planning to go to Sicily this summer. Sure, Sicily is a long ways from Ukraine, but I figure with millions of refugees fleeing the war, there could be issues in the rest of Europe with supply chain, delays at the airport, etc.

Maybe I'm worrying too much, but I've suggested to her that there are plenty of other interesting places in the world to visit. We're now looking at going to Peru, and maybe Sicily will be next year.

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I can't see any reason to defer travel in western Europe due to the Ukrainian conflict. Common sense suggests that it would be wise to avoid areas that border Ukraine. Turkey seems to be doing their best to remain neutral in this conflict and facilitate meetings between the combatants, so I don't see any war-related reason to avoid Turkey.
Not likely. Obviously fuel will be more expensive. Beyond that, I don't expect any significant increases in other costs.
Major wars have been inflicting untold suffering on many people elsewhere in the world on an almost continuous basis. For example, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, etc... I could go on. Did any of those wars cause you to ask the same question of yourself? If not, you might want to ask yourself why not, and why you consider the Ukrainian war to be worthy of moral consideration, but not all the other wars I mentioned.

This is my personal view.
And not stated as the "truth" . Or the correct view.
If you do not agree, that is fine with me. We all are free to think what we want.


If you travel in countries with bad conditions, with open eyes you can learn a lot. You begin to understand, and maybe start to support those that suffer. Or at least, you can describe what you see to others. In blogs, books, videos...

People riding bikes has the opportunity to leave the tourist paths and to get out to see the reality. And often do so. This is one major reason to travel by bike.

Many countries build up tourist areas. Resorts. Where you can live with all inclusive and see nothing of the real country. But with a bike, you don't go there.

E.g travelling South America with open eyes, can have a large impact on you. When you see the conditions people live under. And what US and western world have done/are doing. And the difference between gated communities and poor villages. Or the "favelas".... If you support it or see it as a problem... It is not a discussion to have here. But to see the reality is always good.

Examples of this are already from the trip of Ernesto Guevara and Alberto Granada did from 1952. That opened the eyes of Ernesto. And changed him a lot. (I recommend reading both books they wrote. And the movie. Whatever your opinion about Che is. Great travels stories.)

Another late example is Itchy Boot's videos from Bolivian and Nicaraguan mines. And what people have to do to survive.

I participated in a guided MC tour of Nepal. With a local guide. That spend two weeks to show us the country, describe the culture, the history, the nature, the religion. A two eek long journey with education. We really got into the normal life of people in Nepal. A learned a lot. (Big difference to just ride a bike from A to B.)

I do not see how sitting at home in our western world and avoid traveling, would benefit these people. (The opposite is true, If you spend your money in the "correct" way. You support these people)

But you can't travel in a 4x4 big jeep and look out the window. On a motorcycle or bicycle you can make yourself vulnerable. And get into the real life. And not just watch it.

Keep on travel. Keep your eyes open.
But a warning: It might have a large impact on you.
And tell what you see.

Even riding around in Europe (for us Europeans) is very exciting.
You do not have to go far to get adventures and see a lot.

Vaya Con Dios

It was my conclusion a while ago, that we have to pay a higher price, than later we want to start an extended trip in our lifespan. Because of career, income, pension saving and family planning, but too because we are more integrated/embedded in our environment.

That we may have got an important role in our family, taking care on parents, are more important to upgrowing kids (own or family related), friends who need backup - that is too an factor.

My mom has lung cancer in the end stage, did loss a leg because of spreading, did got a stroke last week - yeah- it is not a good timeframe to even consider classic 14 days holidays, for myself.

A war, nearby or far - is truely not the point to consider, as Alanymarce noticed, there was not many short timeframes in the past, where "no war" was on our world.

Yes, the fuel prices are higher at 2022, probably too everything else a bit because of inflation - but if you situation allows travelling - do it. You dont know - what will keep you at home in the future.

I can actually get a lot of strenght out of my already done trips, I dont "have to" think I have missed something in my live, what helps me currently to be patient.

Dont look at your journey`s as "yolo", but you should feed your dreams if they lead you on the road.

Surfy

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There are places where you should never go--active war zones. There are places where, unless you are there to help, you should avoid--famine area, dreaded disease zone. Other than that, its your choice. Spending time and money may actually help the locals.