ITALIA 2020
Trip Update | August 07, 2020



Dear 10th Mountain Fellow Travelers,

As we mentioned back in May, we wanted to wait until August 2020 to make any decisions regarding rescheduling the Italy trip for 2021. Unfortunately, we do not feel that we know much more now than we did back then in terms of travel regulations/restrictions, availability of vaccines, and health risks.

Any decision we make now will run the risk of being the wrong decision, and potentially costly. After consulting with InterTrav on some alternatives, we decided to “kick the can” down the road a bit farther for the moment. Specifically, we talked about three alternatives: reschedule to next June 2021; reschedule to the Fall of 2021 (Sept./Oct.); and reschedule to 2022. In each case we would need to give InterTrav the green light 8-9 months out to secure space, and other travel arrangements. This translates to the following new proposed trip schedule:

  • Alt 1 - June 2021 travel - decide by 1 October 2020
Note: This alternative is looking increasingly unlikely given current the virus trajectory and vaccine status.

  • Alt 2 - September/October 2021 travel – decide by 1 January 2021 

  • Alt 3 - June 2022 travel – decide by 1 October 2021

We also have the complication of airfare credits that may be expiring for some travelers. This also needs to be taken into consideration.  We do not want to make a decision that jeopardizes such airline credits, potentially costing travelers dollars. While InterTrav works on this aspect for tickets, they wrote, please review your own situation to know how long your credit is valid.  

We hope that everyone will bear with us as we delay this decision and hoping for better information in the coming months. In the meantime, InterTrav will begin processing deposit refunds ($400 per person) to everyone so that the funds are not kept in limbo. With the high volume of cancelled tours, we all appreciate your patience as the refund process can take up to 6-8 weeks.

Respectfully,

Italy Trip Committee