Supposed to be on a three-week road trip in California, Laura and her partner fall back on a week shared between Charente and Haute-Savoie. From a month in Brazil, Maïlys goes to a week in Narbonne. He should have gone to Asia for eight months at the beginning of April, and now Félix clings to the hope of leaving in September. Long-distance travel enthusiasts tell of their disappointments.
- Many travelers have been forced to abandon their plans in distant lands
- Some have decided to fall back on “made in France” holidays
The holidays will be French. This is at least what Édouard Philippe had suggested in mid-May when he announced: “The French will be able to go on vacation in France in July and August”. If European countries are gradually announcing the reopening of their borders for the summer, the other continents seem, for the time being, out of reach.
Thus, some have no choice but to fall back on France: this is the case of Laura and her spouse. On May 24, they should have been on the plane, heading to the United States, for a three-week road trip to California. “It’s been almost a year since we had everything stalled. I had offered the plane ticket to my boyfriend for Christmas”, remembers the 28-year-old journalist. The couple should have made Paris-Los Angeles then San Francisco-Paris with Air France.
“We were impatiently awaiting the departure, we had prepared the route ourselves”
“My companion had managed to take three weeks off, which is huge: in seven years, he had never been able to do it. Being freelance, I took very little vacation this year and last yearsays Laura. For us, it was quite incredible, especially since we never went on Erasmus or on a big trip”. Everything was booked: hotels, car. “We were impatiently awaiting the departure. We had prepared the route ourselves, and drawn up a very successful Excel table to list everything”lists the young woman
When the health crisis began to be publicized, the couple first thought that their trip could be maintained. “Then, seeing D-Day approaching, we thought it was going to be complicatedsays the journalist. On this, we received an email at the end of March, saying that 95% of the flights had been canceled in May, including ours. We knew, clearly, that we would not leave”. After long steps, the car and all the hotels were able to be reimbursed to them. For the plane, they got a credit note.
“We have family in Charente, we are going to do a little road trip there”
“With the crisis, my companion’s salary will drop a lot next yearlaments the journalist. As it is a trip that is very expensive, we will go less far at first”. This summer, the couple plans to take at least a week’s vacation in the west of France. “We have family in Charente; we’re going to do a little road trip there in my mother’s car; wow!Laura laughs. We are also thinking of going to the chalet of a friend’s parents in Haute-Savoie”.
The journalist relativizes as much as possible. “We are a little sad; the worst was the day we canceled the hotels one by one. Nevertheless, we do not see it as a tragedy: the most important thing is that we are in good health,” she said.
“I always had hope”
Maïlys also had to make up her mind. Right now, she should be preparing for her 5 weeks in Brazil with her sister. They should have gone there at the end of June. “It’s a trip I’ve been looking forward to since last year.blows the 19-year-old student. A kitty had been offered to me for my 18 years, then I saved all year for that. I worked last summer, and I planned all my vacations around this trip. Since I started my first year in engineering school in September 2019, that was my motivation. I’m so disappointed”.
Like Laura, Maïlys still believed in maintaining her departure at the start of the crisis. Then the borders closed. “I still kept hope. I didn’t think it was going to last so long and impact everything. In fact, I understood that it was over when the Prime Minister said that the holidays would be French”remembers the student.
“Friends from school are going to Narbonne in June: I decided to come with them”
It was by asking for the reimbursement of her Air France reservation that the young woman saw that the outward flight was canceled. “For the moment I just have a credit note, which is annoying because I don’t know if I will be able to leave next year.regrets Maïlys. It will depend on my course dates, and, above all, on the duration of the internships that I will have to do”. Far from being discouraged, she decided to work all summer to save more for the trip to Brazil, so that one day she could stay longer and enjoy it as much as possible.
“Finally, friends from school are going to Narbonne in June: I decided to come with them for a week to have a little respite during the year.reports Maïlys. I don’t know Occitania at all, so it’s an opportunity to discover the region, and, above all, to have a vacation”. If she has planned to swim and jet ski, the young woman is dependent on government announcements concerning authorizations related to beaches.
“If I leave in September, I’m not planning a vacation in France”
Félix, 24, is also waiting. “If my project is canceled, I will go with friends to the South for a week. But, if I leave in September, I will not plan a vacation in France. I will make my decision at the end of June according to new government decisions”, he says. Originally, this marketing student should have left at the beginning of April for an eight-month trip between Turkey, Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan. “I had planned it for a good year, even if I had been thinking about it for a long time”explains Felix.
After finishing his studies last September, he worked for six months to finance his trip. At the beginning of March, he saw that it would be impossible for him to leave and postponed his departure to September. “I force myself to remain optimistic on this date.he assures. I tell myself if I don’t make this trip now, at the end of my studies, I won’t do it, or much later: I prefer to continue preparing for it”. Fortunately, he had planned to buy his plane tickets at the last minute.
“I remain optimistic”
As he leaves alone, Félix is free to rethink his itinerary as he wishes. “I have reduced the number of countries in which I will go to four: I have removed China”, he says. The objective remains the same as for his initial project: to find people he had met in London through his university network. “Nevertheless, I’m thinking of leaving for seven months now: from September to Marchhe says. If I can leave a bit earlier that would be great, but I’m really not sure that’s possible. I remain optimistic”.