Travel Alerts

A warning for Americans who own guns…or ammunition…. traveling to other countries:

Many countries have much stricter gun control laws than the U.S.  We encourage those of you who own guns…especially hunters..to double check, and triple check your baggage before leaving the country.  Even one overlooked bullet or shotgun shell can cause a great deal of trouble.  And (hopefully) it goes without saying….leave any weapons you own at home.

A warning for Americans traveling to the Turks & Caicos:

The territory of Turks and Caicos has enacted strict new laws, with a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 12 years for carrying guns or ammunition.  Here is an example of how a simple mistake can land someone in prison for a very long time:

Article courtesy of Fox News:

Ryan Watson from Oklahoma is behind bars there and has a bail hearing on April 25. The Oklahoma man was arrested when airport security found bullets in his luggage, which he says he brought by mistake.  He is now facing up to 12 years in prison for having ammunition in his carry-on bag at a Turks and Caicos airport, according to a GoFundMe page for his family.

Ryan and Valerie Watson, the parents of two young children, were flying home from their island vacation, where they were celebrating a friend’s 40th birthday, on April 12 when they were arrested at the airport.

“They had their lives turned upside down when they tried to return home, as local airport security found four rounds of ammunition unknowingly left in a duff[le]bag from a deer hunting trip,” a description on the family’s GoFundMe page states. “It was not noticed by TSA when leaving America. Now, they are facing a legal system that is unfamiliar, daunting, and expensive that operates differently than the American Justice System.”

The U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas issued a travel alert in September 2023 telling Americans not to bring ammunition to the islands.

One tip for U.S. gun owners traveling abroad that we like:

For hunters and shooters in general….have a separate bag for guns and ammunition….and be sure to leave that bag at home! That way you are unlikely to end up in the situation described above.

With the current war (we’re not calling it “unrest” any more) in Israel, most tour companies have postponed their trips to Israel for at least the next few weeks…..while others have cancelled all scheduled trips remaining in 2023.

We do not expect a quick resolution to this conflict, so we certainly agree with those decisions.  Here is what we have been able to find out so far….but you need to check with the tour operator for exact terms and conditions.

Will I get a refund if I cancel my trip to Israel?

If the tour company cancels the tour to Israel, then you should be entitled to a full refund in most cases.  Postponement is something different, you are not likely to  be offered a refund, even if the dates are not convenient for you.  Most of the tour companies we have looked at will offer to transfer the funds you have paid and apply them to a trip to a different destination or to Israel on a different date in the future.

If you cancel, you probably won’t get all your money Back.    The situation there is so volatile that we are not sure how things will develop.  If you do decide to cancel, will you get a refund of what you have paid?

Most tour companies have cancellation policies that go in to effect almost immediately after you make your first payment and get steeper the closer you get to your departure date.  Let’s face it, most people don’t read the fine print regarding cancellation policies.  So, if you decide to cancel, you may get a partial refund depending upon that companies cancellation policy, and whether you have paid a deposit or the full amount.  You will need to check with your tour company for the exact terms and conditions.

This is not because the tour companies are greedy, but they have to put deposits down with various suppliers that are likewise subject to cancellation fees.

What about travel insurance….won’t that cover my cancellation?

Some time ago, we put a page on our website titled “Travel Insurance….don’t leave home without it!”

That is still good advice…..but not all travel insurance policies are the same.  There are various terms and conditions that must be met in order to get a refund, and, (the cost of the insurance itself will not be refunded).

Even if you have travel insurance, you still might not get a full refund if you decide to cancel.

Under most travel insurance policies, war, acts of war, and political unrest are excluded from cancellation coverage, meaning any resulting claims likely will not be paid.  The problem is that most travel insurance policies typically do not have specific definitions for war.  These are very vague terms, and give the insurance companies plenty of latitude to deny a claim.  We’re not beating up on travel insurance companies….just stating our observations.  Certainly what is going on in Israel right now would be considered a war by most people, but that doesn’t mean that the insurance companies will look at it that way.

There is a type of travel insurance that will cover this…..”Cancel for Any Reason“.  But hold on….you have to meet certain conditions and some of you may have already lost the opportunity.

In order for a traveler to be eligible for Cancel For Any Reason, many travel insurance companies require that certain conditions must be met. 

According to Traveldefenders.com, there are typically three conditions that must be met to purchase a Cancel For Any Reason Rider:

1.   Purchase the policy within 10 – 21 days of First Trip Payment
2.   Insure ALL prepaid and non-refundable travel expenses prior to departure;
3.   Trip arrangements must be canceled more than 48 -72 hours prior to the departure date.

If you have already passed that first date, then you will most likely not be eligible to purchase a “Cancel for any Reason” insurance policy.  Again, you should check with your insurance provider, since companies may vary in their terms and conditions.

Not long ago we wrote a blog article pointing out how safe it was for pilgrims to travel to Israel. At the time, that was true….pilgrims found, to their surprise, that they were perfectly safe.  Although there have been long-simmering calls for the elimination of Israel by Hamas, there was did not appear any imminent threat.

But now, everything has changed….and perhaps permanently.   We seem to have reached a tipping point.  Obviously this will go down as one Israel’s rare intelligence failures.  Mossad, Israel’s Intelligence agency, has had a reputation as perhaps the premiere intelligence agency in the world.  Apparently they were not prepared for a wide ranging attack by Hamas within the borders of Israel, even though this attack took place not only on the Jewish Sabbath, but also on the Festival of Sukkot, which is one of the major feast days and often a time when militants have been known to attack, it would have called for the highest alert on the part of Israeli defense forces….and yet, they were caught by surprise. Our guess is that there will be a lot of second-guessing amongst the intelligence staff of Mossad.

This situation is too complicated to cover in depth in this blog post….there are many parties involved and many moving parts.  Some progress was recently reported in the effort to get Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel…something that would have changed the dynamics in the region significantly. And that may be why Hamas schedule this attack at this time…to disrupt these talks.  And, Iran has been known to fund activities of both Hezzbollah and Hamas….but little is known specifically about the Iran’s involvement in these attacks.

The Israeli military response will undoubtedly result in civilian casualties in the occupied territories, which of course will be held against them…..despite the fact that they were attacked in the first place.  And so the cycle of violence will continue.

The danger of this spreading in what is a volatile region (to say the least) is worrisome.  Already, in Egypt, two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian tour guide were shot dead in Alexandria, apparently by a policeman.

Israel is at War

When you have armed militants in your country kidnapping innocent civilians, executing them at will, then this is now more than just a brief incursion, and must be considered an act of war. as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday October 8.  Just how far things will go we cannot say, but the outlook as of today (October 9) does not look good.  Israel has issued a complete blockade of the West Bank, cutting off water and electricity as well.

Meantime….rockets continue to be launched not only from the West Bank, but…even more worrying….from Lebanon.  The latter threatens to expand the hostilities further than just Israel, Hezbollah (consisting mainly of Sunni Muslims aligned with Iran) controls most of Lebanon and Iran provides Hezbollah with most of its funding, training, and weapons.

And….there are still some fighting going on within Israel between the Israeli Defence Force and Hamas in occupied towns and buildings.

Status of pilgrims scheduled to travel to or return from Israel:

So far as we can tell, all tour companies have cancelled their scheduled trips to Israel through the end of 2023, and have worked feverishly to bring any pilgrims already in Israel home as quickly as possible.  You can read one such response here from Select International Tours.

As a side note, many people on various blogs were talking about something happening in October. We cannot say…only time will tell.  In the meantime, please pray for peace in the Middle East.  Events like this have been known to spiral out of control beyond what we see now.

One of the most visited shrines in the world, the grotto at Lourdes, France was closed during much of the last two years due to the pandemic.  As of February 11, 2022 it is now open again.