travel

'To hell with it' – Quarantine is a farce but it won't ruin my holiday

Sitting outside the Hotel du Commerce this morning in the little hamlet of Bar-Sur-Seine, we sipped café and munched croissants in morning sunshine. I really did wonder what all the fuss was about.

Spanish Grand Prix

Am I missing something? Why does everyone want to go to Mars?

Are we all getting a little loose in the brain thanks to this lockdown business? One minute we can’t visit the local boozer, the next everybody is off to Heathrow, enduring misery and contagion in order to drink sweet alcoholic goo at a beach bar in Magaluf.

75th anniversary of VJ Day

'We’re heading to Switzerland' – how quarantine altered my family's Grand European Tour

Once upon a time, my ready-to-go, sling-on travel bag used to hold a passport, a credit card, a toothbrush and a spare pair of knickers. If I forgot everything else it didn’t really matter.

'I welcome a quarantine that will protect my French village from infected Britons'

When I heard that Boris Johnson had introduced a two-week quarantine period for those returning from France, I was pleased. When Macron followed suit and reciprocated, I was overjoyed.

Princess Anne

The future of travel? It looks a lot like the past

Have you found that any discussion of holiday plans this summer is accompanied by an eerie sense of deja-vu? All the trips I hear about are thoroughly retro affairs. Some belong squarely in the 1980s, like a cheap-and-cheerful family camping trip to Brittany by ferry, my first taste of European travel as a child, when even a baguette seemed thrillingly sophisticated (they’d only just started selling these strange tubular loaves at our local Tesco). Other plans are all a bit 1920s Jazz Age, like decamping en masse to a fancy hotel on the French riviera, the sort of vacation F Scott Fitzgerald considered passe and worth lampooning by the time Tender Is The Night was published in 1934. A travel editor friend who typically found reviewing shiny new Aman spas in exotic spots like Bhutan, is instead driving with her family to Lake Constance in Germany, to stay at a holiday home owned by relatives, much as Swiss, English, Austrian and German aristocrats did in the 18th and 19th centuries. As a lover of all things vintage – fashion, wine, my parents – this sudden revival of retro holidays holds a lot of charm for me. This summer, travellers have been liberated from our thirst for ‘newness’ – new hotels, new destinations, new transport routes – and we’ve fallen back, gratefully, on the old tried-and-tested classics. We’re rekindling our relationship with our closest European neighbours, like France, Germany, Portugal and Italy. We’ve rediscovered ferry routes, and no-fly driving holidays. British holidaymakers have always been fond of a glampsite – and arguably we do glamping better than any other nation on the planet – but travel this summer is an even more nature-oriented affair, with spaced-out individual lodges, cabins and yurts appearing infinitely more appealing than jam-packed resorts and busy cities. As well as our holiday plans being significantly simpler, they’re also more intimate affairs, with a greater focus on good company, family and friends. I’ve never heard so many people gushing about the other family they’re decamping to a villa in Tuscany with, or enthusing about taking their parents to Normandy. During the long weeks of lockdown, I could virtually hear the clunking of machinery in my soul, as my priorities reshuffled and rearranged themselves. Suddenly I saw who my most precious friends were: the funny, the kind, the wise ones. I realised that – other than human connection – nature was my greatest treasure, and it was the beach here in my hometown of Margate that would see me through the strict days of lockdown, and keep me sane when the world felt crazy. The pandemic changed my tastes in culture, with so many books, TV shows, films and albums seeming hopelessly irrelevant or unbearably depressing. Almost overnight, I stopped being remotely attracted to ‘misunderstood artist’ types, and the only men I was interested in were the ones working the wards, producing or delivering food, or building chicken coops in their gardens. I’m sure I’m not alone in observing how much my tastes have changed during lockdown – and so we shouldn’t be surprised that our travel tastes have similarly turned radically retro. Some of this, of course, is down to sheer practicality; travel insurance, quarantine regulations, flight routes. But during these still-strange days, we’re all finding comfort in the familiar, the classics. And, perhaps, there’s an acceptance that the old way of travelling might actually have been better – for travellers, for destinations, and for the planet. This summer, when friends tell me about their travel plans, there are no strange, unfamiliar place names that I need to pretend to recognise, because Todos Santos is apparently the “New Tulum”. Nobody is namedropping glossy, newly opened boutique hotels, tutting if I don’t already follow them on Instagram. There is no talk of “bucket-list” destination events like Burning Man festival in Nevada, or New Orleans Jazz Festival, requiring a dutiful display of regret at having not snagged a ticket myself. No, this year, the pressure is well and truly off holidays. They don’t need to be anything other than a perfectly pleasant way to spend a few days, and frankly, even Devon sounds stupendously exotic to lockdown-wearied Londoners. I suspect most British holidaymakers have accepted that the travel landscape is going to look fairly different for the next few months. But this doesn’t need to be a bleak picture. This is the time to rediscover forgotten classic destinations and itineraries, to celebrate the tourism destinations we have on our doorstep. If you can just apply a sepia tint to the future, a retro Instagram filter, the future of travel looks pretty charming. Because it looks rather like the past.

Bayern humiliate Barcelona

France quarantine: Day of travel chaos as Britons race to beat 4am deadline

As tens of thousands of British holidaymakers raced to beat the quarantine deadline, a ferry captain planned a record-breaking Channel crossing and demand for private jets soared.At 10pm on Thursday, the transport secretary announced that travellers arriving from France, the Netherlands and Malta after 4am on Saturday would need to go home and self-isolate for two weeks.

Thunder and rain set to continue over the weekend

Thunderstorms and heavy rain are set to continue, leaving parts of Britain a total washout for many this weekend. After a week of scorching temperatures, the tropical sun has been replaced with downpours and flash flooding that has brought

Students demonstrate after A-level results downgraded

France travel: Latest updates and advice amid chaos at ports as thousands of tourists try to return to UK before quarantine deadline

The race is on: British holidaymakers in France, Malta and the Netherlands, among other places, have until 4am on 15 August to return to the UK if they're to avoid two weeks of mandatory quarantine.In another devastating blow to the travel industry, the government announced that these countries, along with Monaco, Turks & Caicos and Aruba, have been taken off its list of travel corridors from where arrivals are exempt from the blanket 14-day self-isolation policy.

Annabelle Wallis

Curfews and crackdowns: what you need to know about Covid-19 measures in Greece

With only a handful of hotels open, the three kilometre-long main street in the Cretan resort town of Hersonissos which is usually jam packed in August, is almost deserted and the few shops that are open announce ‘mega sales’ and ‘50% off everything inside’. “There are only about 20 per cent of tourists compared to last year and also tourists are scared – they are staying inside their hotels,” one business owner tells me. In a queue for the ATM I meet Evangelia Zervakis. Like more than half of Cretans who depend on seasonal work to survive, Evangelia, who made 1000euros a month during the 2019 summer season from May to November, was eager - if not desperate - for the hotels to open again. Now, however, the 45 year old divorcee who works in one of the region’s luxury hotels is scared of being ostracised. “Most of the guests are from Sweden, so my neighbours are terrified of catching Covid,” she says. Like Evangelia, many of Greece’s seasonal workers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. “I have two children and really need to work, but I’m also worried about getting ill,” says Dimitris Papadopulos who turned down a hotel job in Athens because of the recent spike of Covid-19 cases in Greece’s capital city. According to recent statistics from Greece’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the pandemic has taken a huge toll on seasonal employment: with only 43,394 jobs available this year, compared to 296,466 in 2019, there’s just not enough work to go round. Vicky Maltabe, Human Resources manager for a well known luxury hotel chain says that the situation is heartbreaking. “I advertised a cleaning job and received 280 CVs in a single day – I had to take the phone off the hook because people were calling me all day long and pleading with me to give them the job.” Hotel owners are worried, too: a recent study by the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels states that as many as 65 per cent of hotels in Greece could be bankrupt by the end of the disastrous 2020 season. “We opened because someone had to be the first to make a move and support the government’s initiative, but it has not been an easy job,” says Georgios Kaloutsakis owner of Abaton Island, a luxurious spa resort near Hersonissos. With only some 40 cases, however, Crete is still perceived as a safe destination, and stars - including Jennifer Lopez – have flocked to relax on the uncrowded beaches of Greece’s largest island. A spike in cases elsewhere in Greece, however - from around 2,000 at the end of lockdown to 5,623 cases currently – have brought a flood of new protective measures, including the mandatory wearing of masks in all indoor spaces and the banning of large gatherings. The recent introduction of a midnight curfew for bars and nightclubs at the approach of the August 15 Panagia festival – Greece’s biggest celebration after Easter - has caused anger amongst young people. “I’m not taking any risks, but I have friends on Mykonos who say that they’ll go out and party anyway - they just don’t care anymore," says one Athens teenager. Business owners are angry, too. In the high-flung mountain village of Armeni, near Sitia in the island’s remote region of East Crete, two taverns which are a lifeline for locals have been told they must now close at 10.30pm, despite the fact that there have been no cases in the surrounding villages since the start of the pandemic. “Now cafes like this one must close early, even though August 15th is one of our biggest celebrations when everyone is out on the streets until dawn – how will they survive?” asks village mayor Giannis Portorakis. “We’re not worried about the virus here, we’re worried for our businesses and for the future of our young people who run them,” he says. Despite the doom and gloom, however, business owners are encouraged by the Greek government’s promise that another lockdown is not on the cards. “There won’t be a new lockdown in Greece – we are doing everything to avoid it,” says Professor Giorgos Sourvinos, head of Crete’s Laboratory of Clinical Virology and one of the medical professionals spearheading Greece’s team of Covid specialists. “We are monitoring the situation closely and constantly introducing new measures, including testing at all the major Covid-19 hotspots - we are currently carrying out more than 10,000 tests a day throughout Greece."

Travel corridors: All the countries UK holidaymakers can visit this summer

The list of countries that Britons can travel to without having to quarantine for 14 days on return is sadly diminishing week by week.France, Malta and the Netherlands were removed from the exemption list last night, alongside Monaco, Turks & Caicos and Aruba.

France quarantine news - live: Latest updates as countdown to exodus begins with holidaymakers racing home to avoid quarantine

The race is on: British holidaymakers in France, Malta and the Netherlands, among other places, have until 4am on 15 August to return to the UK if they're to avoid two weeks of mandatory quarantine.In another devastating blow to the travel industry, the government announced that these countries, along with Monaco, Turks & Caicos and Aruba, have been taken off its list of travel corridors from where arrivals are exempt from the blanket 14-day self-isolation policy.

Glass door shatters after delivery man forces it open in China

An impatient delivery man in China got his comeuppance when a glass door he was attempting to force open shattered, leaving just the handle in his hand. According to local reports, an entry card needs to be scanned to open the glass door.

Santa Barbara: Eight family-friendly things to do in Meghan and Harry’s new home town

With the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, all eyes are on Santa Barbara.The city's long had a royal connection, though. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went to a polo match here. And the Queen rode with Ronald Reagan at his ranch, Rancho del Cielo.

Coronavirus quarantine: Is your travel booking now a lottery ticket?

“A year ago you couldn’t move in here,” said the young worker at one of the pubs at London St Pancras station.“Some days we’d take £10,000. Now we don’t take half that in a week.”

A postcard from Woolacombe, where the beach is less busy than officials suggest

Wednesday night’s thunderstorms had delivered long-awaited rain to North Devon but as we turned into the mist-dampened valley behind Woolacombe beach, blue skies awaited us. We had come to try some bodyboarding at one of the country’s favourite beaches, loved for its pounding waves, heroic cliffs, piles of golden sand, rockpools and river paddling.

Why there's never been a better time to visit Mykonos

Mykonos is the new Tinos,” my friend Alketas joked. “I’m on Agios Sostis beach, with four or five other people. I just passed by Kiki’s and there isn’t a single person in line. Vassilis said: ‘Come for lunch any time you like.’”

Dolly Parton on Black Lives Matter and dropping 'Dixie' from the name of tourist attraction

Dolly Parton has caught flak in the past for not speaking out on political issues of the day. An entire November 2019 episode of the podcast "Dolly Parton's America," called "Dollitics," focused on her ability to stay

The 'Staycation Express', a ride on Britain's newest rail service

"Anyone wishing to leave the train at Dent, please be aware that Dent village is nearly five miles from the station. There is, however, a bus connection to Kendal. Once a week.” Our humorous train host, Anthony, was in full flow as the ‘Staycation Express’ approached Dent, at 1,150 feet above sea level the highest mainline station in England and not actually a scheduled stop on this service. From our start point at Appleby’s delightfully pretty station in the rolling Westmorland countryside, the train had fought hostile yet heavenly terrain, heaving slowly up to the line’s highest point at Aisgill. At Garsdale, if you are quick, you can spot the statue of border collie Ruswarp (pronounced ‘Russup’), the only dog to object to the proposed closure of the scenic Settle & Carlisle Line in the 1980s. Up in the moors, in blissful isolation, with roads sparse and wildlife abundant, I felt thankful to faithful old Ruswarp and the 32,000 human objectors who kept this line alive. This little excursion was a big step for me. After a lifetime travelling, making rail holidays for a living, a few months ‘off the rails’ and shielding at home had resulted in itchy feet. Back out in the wide world, the ‘Staycation Express’ – launched last month as Britain’s newest rail service – seemed too good an opportunity to miss. The brainchild of Rail Charter Services, this special timetabled tourist service pulls former first class InterCity carriages three times a day in each direction across the stunning Settle & Carlisle Line. You can join the train in Skipton or Settle at the southern end, whereas Appleby is the excursion’s northern terminus. Whilst not luxurious, the seating is spacious and comfortable, each seat coming with a table and positioned by a full window to view the Pennines in all their changeable glory. Seating is arranged with four seats with table on one side of the aisle and two seats with table on the other side, each bay separated by unobtrusive perspex screens to conform with these unusual times. At stations, boarding and when walking around the train I wore my facemask, a train design (of course!) hand-made by my daughter. Otherwise, you can sit back mask-free and enjoy a little bit of nostalgia and escapism amidst the moorland heather. After Dent came more drama. Our train trundled slowly above the 24 arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct, over 100 feet above the valley, the line crossing between Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, Yorkshire’s ‘Three Peaks’. Brooding clouds added to the drama before our descent through Ribblesdale to glorious sunshine at Settle, a gorgeous town in the Yorkshire Dales from where Malham, Grassington and the Ingleton Falls are just a short ride away. Back in the market town of Skipton, itself a great base for exploring Yorkshire, the news broke that the UK’s quarantine regulations would be widened to include France and the Netherlands amongst other countries. It felt pretty apt to have spent that same day enjoying the striking beauty of this island on a train called the ‘Staycation Express’! Rob Carroll writes a travel blog at railholidaymaker.com and is director of Airedale Tours. The essentials The ‘Staycation Express’ will operate until September 12 with three journeys a day northbound from Skipton/Settle to Appleby and three southbound from Appleby to Settle/Skipton. There are no stops along the way. Tickets are priced per couple (due to social distancing guidelines): £35 one-way (£17.50 each); £70 return (£35 each); family tickets for four, including at least one child under 16, from £49 one-way. Book at railcharterservices.co.uk