Traveling in Corona times: Tips for booking

Lisa Vogel studied departmental journalism with a focus on medicine and biosciences at Ansbach University and deepened her journalistic knowledge in the master's degree in multimedia information and communication. This was followed by a traineeship in the editorial team. Since September 2020 she has been writing as a freelance journalist for

More posts by Lisa Vogel All content is checked by medical journalists.

There is great uncertainty: from a German holidaymaker's point of view, the world is now divided into countries with or without travel warnings, and there are also risk areas. What do I need to know for my vacation?

Many holidays were canceled this year, but now the first countries are opening up to tourists again. Some of the travel warnings issued by the Federal Foreign Office due to the corona pandemic have been lifted, and others could follow at the end of August. Nonetheless, many travel enthusiasts remain unsure: When should you book a vacation now - and where is the best? An overview of important questions and answers.

What about traveling to countries with a travel warning?

On June 15, the AA lifted travel warnings for most European countries. However, the warnings have been extended to August 31, 2020 for more than 160 countries worldwide.

The following applies to these countries: A travel warning is a recommendation by the German Foreign Office - but it is "not a travel ban", as Julia Rehberg from the Hamburg Consumer Center clarifies. "If I still want to travel to the country, I can do that." This is possible for individual travelers who book all the components of such a trip, such as flights and accommodation, themselves. In contrast, tour operators usually do not offer package holidays for countries with a travel warning.

If you want to know what is currently valid for your holiday destination, you can read about it on the website of the Federal Foreign Office. There are also entry regulations for the planned country of travel listed, including information on upcoming tests or quarantine regulations.

What are the consequences of traveling to countries with a travel warning?

For example, there are effects on travel cancellation or international health insurance. The latter can then refuse to pay medical expenses in the country of travel. And the reimbursement of costs in the event of voluntary cancellation is limited.

Basically: "If I book with an existing travel warning, I have accepted it," explains travel law expert Sabine Fischer-Volk from the Karimi law firm in Berlin. If you then no longer want to travel, you cannot cancel free of charge by referring to the travel warning from the organizer.

The Federal Foreign Office currently wants to adhere to its travel warnings for many countries until August 31. What will apply after that cannot be predicted in view of the dynamic global situation - and so it remains to be seen what the consequences of having already booked a trip to Thailand or South Africa in October, for example, remain unanswered.

"According to case law, however, a 25 percent probability that the holiday destination cannot be visited after August 2020 due to Corona is sufficient to be able to cancel the trip free of charge," says Fischer-Volk.

So can you dare to make a booking?

Holidaymakers can now book for October, for example, in the hope that there will then no longer be a travel warning for their chosen holiday destination. If the travel warning continues to apply shortly before the start of the trip or if the planned trip would be significantly impaired by various restrictions, the experts say the chances are good that you will be able to withdraw free of charge.

If you want to be on the safe side, however, Fischer-Volk advises that in this special holiday year 2020, it is best to only book travel offers that have an express right to withdraw free of charge before or shortly before the start of the journey.

Many companies also give a return guarantee.

What happens if a new travel warning is issued?

A travel warning is binding for German tour operators. They cancel package tours as soon as the Federal Foreign Office issues a travel warning for a country. Holidaymakers can then also terminate the travel contract free of charge.

"If package tour guests are already vacationing in such an area, they will then be brought back at the organiser's expense," explains Torsten Schäfer from the German Travel Association (DRV). "Individual travelers, on the other hand, have to take care of a return trip themselves in the worst-case scenario and pay for it themselves."

Such travelers are also not protected by any travel cancellation insurance they may have taken out: travel warnings are generally not insured, according to the Association of Insureds (BdV).

What is the situation like for countries without a travel warning?

If there is no travel warning for the planned vacation country, tour operators usually offer package tours there. If you book it or have already booked it a long time ago, but later no longer want to travel due to growing concerns, you may have to pay cancellation costs.

The organizer only has the right to withdraw from a trip free of charge if the trip is significantly impaired due to exceptional circumstances. This can include major changes to the travel route or if the sights that have been booked have been removed from the program. Here it depends on the individual case.

Even travelers with cancellation insurance have bad cards for voluntary cancellations. Because the insurance only pays cancellation costs if the insured person becomes unexpectedly ill or is prevented by events such as the death of relatives, unemployment or short-time work, explains the Hamburg Consumer Center.

According to information provided by the Association of Insureds, none of the travel cancellation tariffs offered on the market bears the cancellation costs if vacationers terminate a travel contract purely out of fear.

What is the classification as a risk area about?

In addition to the list of travel warnings from the Federal Foreign Office, there is a second list of so-called risk areas. It records regions in the world where there is either an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus or where the number of cases is low, but there are too few test capacities or inadequate measures to contain the pandemic.

This list, which is reviewed weekly by the relevant ministries, also includes some popular vacation destinations. For the USA, a subdivision into states has been made. You can find out which countries are risky areas here.

The classification as a risk area and a travel warning are not automatically linked. "Changes in the classification as a risk area do not immediately mean that a travel warning for certain countries will be issued or lifted," explains a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office. It is therefore worth taking a look at the list of risk areas for your own safety before traveling.

Anyone who comes back to Germany from one of the countries or areas mentioned there must expect to be sent into quarantine. The website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior states that a 14-day quarantine obligation applies to "people who enter the Federal Republic of Germany from a risk area." Ultimately, however, this is again a decision of the respective federal state.

Who steps in if I get Covid-19 abroad?

Actually, there are insurance companies that cover medical expenses or pay for repatriation. But: If there is a travel warning for the country in question at the start of the journey, the tariffs of these private foreign health insurances usually exclude the assumption of treatment costs, as the Federation of Insureds explains.

If there is no travel warning, it is worth taking a look at the relevant contract. If pandemics are excluded, then there is no insurance cover in the event of Covid 19 disease. After all, a "medically necessary return transport" to home is often insured, according to the BdV. If you have concluded a better tariff, an unnecessary, but at least "medically sensible return transport" can be covered.

It can be worthwhile for those with statutory health insurance to ask the health insurance company. This can also bear treatment costs abroad: The federal government says that partial benefits could be paid - at least in other EU countries. (lv / dpa)

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