Howdy,

Planning on going to the UK for the first time next year, mostly for the F1 Grand Prix, but want to spend a little bit more time to see other things such as the Harry Potter tour and other landmarks. I've never been to Europe, so it would be the first time for me. Assuming the calendar stays the same, the race should be in mid-July, and I would be departing out of Austin if possible.

I live here right now. The UK is not the same as Europe anymore. It is way more difficult to travel to the UK then Germany for instance than it is to go to France then Germany because the former are playing by different rule sets and the ladder broadly aren't. The travel rules are completely separate relative to the EU and more restrictive to Americans than the EU is currently. Hopefully that changes soon, but I would not book anything even a year out to the UK until they've definitively completely opened travel up. The rules are wildly confusing and are fairly volatile currently in the UK.

Good advice.

I desperately want to go to the F1 in Jeddah, KSA. But, trying to figure out what the rules are and/or if it will even be open by then is just not worth doing. I'll probably wait for 2022. Maybe the Singapore F1 will be back by then too.

For the OP, as a general rule, I'd try to book 90-180 days out if your schedule is rock solid, or if there is an event happening on a particular date that you want to be 100% sure you're there.

Also, when traveling overseas, always plan to arrive at least 1 day in advance. That way, if there are any flight problems, you should still be able to arrive the next day, in time for your event. Of course if there's something like an Icelandic Volcano that shuts down air travel, there's not much you can do.

I live in KSA. Unfortunately they aren't accepting tourist visas at the moment. And also you must be vaccinated to enter without 7 day institutional quarantine and to pretty much enter any business.

Yeah, I had a tourist visa that was good from Oct. 2019 - theoretically Oct. 2020 but, sometime after Covid started, I got an Email saying that they weren't honoring tourist visas. And I've never gotten any other follow up so I assume they haven't restarted tourist visas.

Out of curiosity, where you do live?
I grew up on the east coast about 2 hours north of Dhahran.

Coming to Europe to see F1 and Harry Potter something. Incredible.

I also live in the UK and can echo the nuttiness of travel at the moment. We have UK visas and NHS app to prove vaccine status so we can travel to US and back relatively hassle free. Making the round trip in August so we will see how it goes soon.

I'd wait until at least Christmas to even think about booking. Should know a lot more about next summer situation by then.

What Harry Potter tour? We took our kids on the Jacobite steam train ride from Mallaig to Fort William a couple months ago as part of a Scottish Highlands tour. Had a great time.

Travel is relatively easy here within the UK by train once you get here. Check out seat61.com for tons of info.

I think British Airways typically has a daily direct to and from Heathrow and Austin in the summer or at least 3-5 days a week. They have been cancelling lately though. I had one booked for next Saturday that I had to change to DFW. At least they included connecting and flying into CS as part of the change. The BA and American alliance is handy so I'd book through one of those instead of United. Used both many times.

Feel free to AMA. Happy to help.

The Warner Bros Studio Tour. They have one in Hollywood but the one in London is their famous one and the one HP fans want to go to, they have sets and props from the films.

Quick question, to go into the UK do you only need a US passport or also some kind of visa?

On Arrival Visa for the UK.
As a general rule, most countries we have on arrival agreements with, allow you to stay for 90-180 days.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Yeah, I had a tourist visa that was good from Oct. 2019 - theoretically Oct. 2020 but, sometime after Covid started, I got an Email saying that they weren't honoring tourist visas. And I've never gotten any other follow up so I assume they haven't restarted tourist visas.

Out of curiosity, where you do live?
I grew up on the east coast about 2 hours north of Dhahran.

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I'm basically right there... in Jubail.

FlowCtlr said:

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HollywoodBQ said:

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Yeah, I had a tourist visa that was good from Oct. 2019 - theoretically Oct. 2020 but, sometime after Covid started, I got an Email saying that they weren't honoring tourist visas. And I've never gotten any other follow up so I assume they haven't restarted tourist visas.

Out of curiosity, where you do live?
I grew up on the east coast about 2 hours north of Dhahran.

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I'm basically right there... in Jubail.

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Can't believe I missed this earlier.
I used to live in Camp 11. I think they just call it Al-Huwaylat now.

I just got an Email today from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs letting me know that they have decided to extend my tourist visa from 2019 into early 2022.

So, I'm not sure what the travel restrictions are, or if they've been listed but, if all goes to plan, I'm coming to visit sometime in the next 6-7 months.