From time to time travel conditions in the countries we operate in can and do change. The safety and well being of our clients and staff is always of paramount importance to us and there are times when we are called upon to consider either cancelling trips or making changes to our itineraries to avoid problem areas.
• Peregrine makes these decisions based on information obtained from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT) travel advisory and our own Local Operators, who are able to provide us with up to the minute information on the mood and feel within Country. Other important sources of information we consider include travel advisories from other foreign government websites including:
- Britain
- Canada
- New Zealand
- United States
- World Health Organisation
• Peregrine will not operate tours when the Australian Government travel advisory reaches level 5 ‘Do Not Travel’.
• Where possible and safe to do so, Peregrine will reroute itineraries to avoid the areas concerned and additional costs may be incurred.
• Decisions to cancel or re-route upcoming tours are made on a rolling basis, as situations and DFAT advice can change at any time. Where the advice is temporarily at ‘Do Not Travel’, we will review the status of our tours approximately 2 weeks prior to departure.
Last updated 10:50am 24 January 2012
China
The situation has been a bit unstable in China due to the Chinese/Japanese tension. Xian saw some particularly violent protests and the government closed down the centre of the city and blocked entry into the old quarter. This has made it impossible to reach our hotel and altered some of our walking tours. We have found an alternative hotel not far from the train station and as our main activity is to visit the terracotta warriors our trips have not been badly affected.
Last updated: 2:40pm 18 September 2012
Egypt
The situation in most of Egypt is currently stable, and our groups are all having a wonderful time. The runoff elections are set for 16-17 June. There has been some tension on the streets and demonstrations around Tahrir Square in Cairo, and while no animosity is directed towards tourists we continue to advise all groups to stay away from demonstrations. The tour leaders are locals who know what is going on and any places that may need to be avoided.
There has been a spate of security incidents in the St Catherine's Monastery area and St Catherine's/Mount Sinai are to be avoided until further notice. We are monitoring the situation closely and will return groups to this area when it is safe to do so.
There is one road on the peninsula on which tourists are permitted to travel. We will be using this road - from Suez, to the tip of the peninsula, to Sharm el Sheikh and then on to Dahab. All tours will spend the night in Dahab instead of St Catherine's area.
While it is possible to visit St Catherine's from Dahab, our view is that it is not safe, even during daylight hours, and we strongly advise against doing this on your own volition during free time.
Last updated: 10:06am 7 June 2012
Nepal
We expect another day or two of bad weather and flight delays in Lukla. We have choppers on standby and are doing our best to get our trekkers to/from Lukla. It is highly unlikely that trips will be delayed or affected.
Status of Peregrine tours to Nepal:
No trips affected.
Last updated 3:50pm 14 November 2011
South East Asia
Tsunami Warning 11 April 2012
The warning has been downgraded slightly, although Phuket is still on high alert. All of our groups are safe, some have moved to higher ground as a precautionary measure. We are in regular contact with our offices in various South East Asian cities.
Last updated 11:16am 12 April 2012
Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
The latest British government Travel Advice for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is “DO NOT TRAVEL”.
British citizens should familiarise themselves with the FCO travel advice. Other nationalities should familiarise themselves with their own government’s travel advisory website.
Status of Peregrine tours to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan:
Peregrine is not accepting British citizens to travel to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan up until further notice. We will continue to monitor and review the situation and will update this information accordingly.
If you have any queries, please contact your travel agent or Peregrine.
South and Central America
Hurricane Rina
Hurricane Rina is due to hit Cancun and the east coast of Mexico on the afternoon of Thursday 27 October local time. The hurricane is currently category 2, however it is expected to be upgraded to category 3 by the time it hits the Mexican coast.
Status of Peregrine tours in Mexico:
All Peregrine tours currently in this area will have moved inland prior to the hurricane reaching land.
For information regarding hurricanes in this region the best website to visit the National Hurricane Website
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Last updated 11:10am 26 October 2011
Flooding in Central America
Heavy seasonal rains in Central America have triggered flooding in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Status of Peregrine tours in Central America:
No Peregrine tours have been affected.
Bariloche, Argentina
There are ongoing issues with Bariloche Airport, the airport has been closed regularly due to Ash from the Puyehue Volcano since it first erupted in early June 2011.
Status of Peregrine tours in Argentina:
The airport is expected to be closed until 20 December 2011 and we are rerouting clients’ flights from the closest airports at Esquel and Neuquen. The airlines are providing a bus service between these airports and Bariloche.
Last updated 11:35am 24 October 2011
Middle East and North Africa
Libya
The latest government Travel Advice for Libya is "DO NOT TRAVEL”.
Australians should familiarise themselves with the Australian Government travel advice. Other nationalities should familiarise themselves with their own government’s travel advisory website.
Status of Peregrine tours to Libya:
Peregrine has cancelled all tours to Libya. We will continue to monitor and review the situation and will update this information accordingly.
If you have any queries, please contact your travel agent or Peregrine.
Last updated at 4:05pm 20 October 2011
Syria
The latest government Travel Advice for Syria is "DO NOT TRAVEL”.
Australians should familiarise themselves with the Australian Government travel advice. Other nationalities should familiarise themselves with their own government’s travel advisory website.
Status of Peregrine's tours to Syria:
Peregrine has cancelled all travel to Syria. We will continue to monitor and review the situation and will update this information accordingly.
Last updated at 10:08am 7th June 2012
Turkey
An update on the demonstrations that have been occurring in Turkey:
The protests have now been going for about three weeks, and Peregrine’s local office advises that there has been little change to the situation.
Localised to the Taksim, Beyoglu and Sisli areas of the city, the protests are far from where our groups stay, and they generally occur in the evenings and at night. There are now security checks to reach Taksim square in an attempt to avoid gatherings by protestors.
Status of Peregrine’s tours in Turkey:
The main tourist area, Sultanahmet (Old City), is still totally unaffected by the protests. All Peregrine groups are continuing to operate as per normal and are unaffected by the protests.
We are keeping groups well away from the Taksim area, (typically not an area visited on our tours anyway) so there is no risk to clients’ safety. Confrontations between Police and protestors are isolated and are easily avoided.
Last updated at 10:52am 19 June 2013
