When will climate change start affecting how much we can travel and where will be inaccessible soon?

[ohwhatafunday]

I have not done half the travelling I wanted to do, mostly due to illness during my twenties. But always hoped I could do more travelling over the years as and when I could manage, that there wouldn't be a hard stop.

With climate change I think some places will be unavailable to visit as a tourist relatively soon, like Fiji.

Where would you prioritise seeing in the next 10 or so years?

And when will air travel become prohibitively expensive or otherwise inaccessible to the average joe?

Obviously, this is very much a first world problem (actually not even a problem, just a consideration in terms of thinking and planning) and it clearly doesn't actually matter if I don't get to see other places in the world.

Not sure that's equivalent to jetting off to gawp and places that are facing being wiped off the face of the earth. Dark tourism is not something I'd feel good about personally.

Genuinely fascinated that that is how you interpreted the thread.

Such acceptance isn’t there that the planet is fucked and the only thing to do is rush to get some holidays in 🤦‍♀️

Even taking out travelling for fun, adventure, volunteering etc, most people have to travel somewhere for family or work. We live in a far more globally connected world than we used to.

I have family on the other side of the world to me and in the Carribean. Should I just never see them again?

Bizarre thread !

I have family on the other side of the world to me and in the Carribean. Should I just never see them again?

This is clearly different from the premise in the OP.

I think the OP having been ill for much of her youth and wanting to travel, as many have done before her, is a good premise.

Whilst I’m sure you’re not alone, this is a bizarre attitude.

No necessarily.

I live on a different continent to my family.

When we plan to visit home, we look at the journey as a whole and what places we could visit along the way, breaking up the journey by rail or sea, that don't incur an extra long haul flight.

I did say upthread that we limited flights where possible, and this is what I meant.

So it is not always black and white as "family visits" VS "holiday". Some people will combine.

Earth is warming it is a fact. The effect of human activity is debateable. The earth has heated enough to melt glaciers before. I have seen photographs of valleys in northern Canada showing moraines and debris from retreating glaciers over millions of years. Well before humans. BTW the photographs were taken by a local man who is 3rd generation in that area near Whitehorse.
This time we know there has been a rapid increase in temperature. We do not know the time scale of these previous events.

Good luck with the travel plans OP, enjoy and be compassionate to those who will suffer whatever any of us do.

Thanks for this @JamSandle

I wonder how many people on this thread travelled a fair bit in their youth and then had a couple of kids, all conveniently before starting to hand wring about the environment and other people's travelling choices.

But different from your situation.

I will keep travelling as long as it's affordable

yeah I mean I’m fucked off that I missed the period when we could smoke in public places. I didn’t get to do it so I’m going to do it now. It’s my right. Might also get me a couple of servants and send the kids down the mines.

I haven’t read the full thread but I don’t think climate change is the only thing to consider.

I’m so glad I went to St Petersburg about 10 years ago, so beautiful and so interesting! I’m quite sad I’ll probably never get to do the trans Siberia railway trip.

Maybe add Taiwan and China to your list!

@RoyKentFanclub

So you haven't ever flown long haul and you are having no kids then?

If they are your choices, I am pleased for you.

However, I will plan to travel as long as it is legal and economically viable.

@PinkPlantCase I am really sad I never got to St Petersburg!

Good point - I wish I'd gone to Lviv. Admittedly that is much less affected by the war in Ukraine than other cities, but I don't think it would be top of my list at the moment.

My DH went to Syria in the 1990s and is very glad that he did.

I also saw a programme several years ago about the World's Most Dangerous Roads and one of them was the Kolyma Highway in Siberia. I was fascinated by Yakutz being the coldest city in the world - and it had a parkrun too. I would have loved to have gone there, but I think Putin has put paid to that.

Let’s add to the destruction of the special places of the earth by visiting them all en masse before our behaviour destroys them.

No point in changing your travelling behaviour then.

This is what’s wrong with the human ra e in a nutshell.

This. The mind boggles!

I wonder how many people on this thread travelled a fair bit in their youth and then had a couple of kids, all conveniently before starting to hand wring about the environment and other people's travelling choices

Not that much - and I only have one child. I've had precisely one holiday outside Europe which was to visit friends and family in Australia (and I am 51 now). I have travelled a lot in Europe - admittedly mostly by plane but then use public transport once there. I don't do business travel, either. Not done a business flight since 2008.

Yes, I wish I had seen the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan as well. Obviously that will never happen now.

I like many other people, am trying to reduce my impact, reduce my travelling, we’ve cut out red meat completely and massively reduced white meat, we’ve installed solar panels, we’ve cleared down all our email accounts due to server energy and deleted all subscriptions to mailing lists etc, we’ve changed our car to an ev and done plenty of other things.

your post is objectionable because you’re actively trying to increase your travel, rather than reduce it and for purely selfish reasons.

Or those who say "Well at least I didn't add kids to this world or don't eat meat, so I can do whatever the fuck I like." Wonder who they think will keep the economy going and look after them in their old age as well.

People have children for selfish reasons, too.

I understand that people will make choices that suit them, whether that is having kids or travelling or whatever.

Don't delude yourself that having children is a selfless choice that you undertake for the good of humanity or somesuch. You did it because you wanted to, and that's awesome. I love kids and I love seeing people enjoying their kids out and about!

I can't have children, so I will travel if I can, when it is a legal activity and if I can financially.