- StyleThe Telegraph
Where is the best place to see the Northern Lights in the UK and what is the best time to see them?
Think of the Northern Lights and you’ll probably picture an icy trip to Scandinavia, Canada or Iceland. But did you know you can catch their colourful displays in the UK (and not just in Scotland’s northernmost points)?
- StyleThe Telegraph
Book It: Four of the best hotels for a short-hop holiday in Europe
These four fabulous Europe minibreaks are all a hop, skip and a jump (or, err under two-hour flight) away
- StyleThe Independent
Exploring Japan’s soy sauce island
After two hours on Japan’s Shodoshima Island I know I’ll never look at a bottle of soy sauce in the same way. In fact, I’ve already made a mental note to bin the bottle of Kikkoman that’s languished in my kitchen cupboard for the past decade.There are several reasons this mountainous, forested island in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea has such a rich history of soy sauce production, and I start my investigation at Marukin Soy Sauce Museum. Shodoshima-based Marukin is one of Japan’s top soy sauce brands, and at its tiny museum, documents dating back to the 1600s reveal how the presence of an enormous salt pan made Shodoshima the perfect spot for soy sauce production – a process which requires salt, wheat, soybeans and water (obtaining these other ingredients was easy, due to Shodoshima’s proximity to the port of Osaka).
- StyleThe Telegraph
Explore charming colonial towns and Mayan ruins – what to do from the Mexico cruise port of Progreso
Progreso is a pleasant, if sometimes bustling, small port town and balneario (seaside resort), with snorkelling, swimming, windsurfing and boating on offer to daytrippers. It’s just 43km (40mins by bus/taxi) north of Mérida, one of the loveliest and most unsung of cities in Mexico. Before Cancún was developed, Mérida had north Yucatán’s main airport; now, it’s more like a quaint, convivial provincial town with some pretty colonial architecture and the airport is very quiet.
- StyleThe Telegraph
Low prices, fewer crowds and no screaming children – the off-peak adventures to discover right now
The new shoes have been shined, the book bags packed, the ‘first day’ photos posted dutifully to Facebook: school’s definitively in for autumn. Which means big kids can rejoice! Because, from now until Christmas – with a brief late-October busy-blip for half-term – all those theme parks, beach retreats, activity havens and wild places that have shouted and screamed FAMILY FUN! all summer have emptied out at the turn of a calendar page.
- StyleThe Telegraph
Where is the best place to see the Northern Lights in the UK and what is the best time to see them?
Think of the Northern Lights and you’ll probably picture an icy trip to Scandinavia, Canada or Iceland. But did you know you can catch their colourful displays in the UK (and not just in Scotland’s northernmost points)?
- StyleThe Telegraph
Inside the iconic Italian film studio where Harry and Meghan will be partying this weekend
Cinecittà – Rome’s Cinema City – is Europe’s largest film studio, an entire metropolis dedicated to movie-making. Twenty-five years ago I lived in Rome and longed to visit, but back then it was a forbidden city where only the chosen entered.
- StyleThe Independent
Last-chance Europe: The best beaches to visit before Brexit
Summer may already feel like an age ago, but there's still a window to catch some sun in Europe before the winter sets in (and we potentially crash out of the Union come 31 October...).Here's our pick of the best beaches on which to relax, unwind, and forget about the oncoming storm.
- StyleThe Independent
Thomas Cook: Government may be forced to rescue 180,000 Britons if firm collapses
The government could be forced to repatriate 180,000 UK customers of tour operator Thomas Cook as the firm teeters on the brink of collapse.The 178-year-old company confirmed it was seeking £200m in emergency funding and is in talks with stakeholders to avoid entering administration.
- StyleThe Independent
Mini hotel toiletries could be banned in New York
Hotels in New York State could soon be forced to ditch mini toiletries.A group of lawmakers is proposing a ban for hotels with more than 50 rooms from 2023, while smaller hotels would have to follow suit in 2024.
- StyleThe Telegraph
The history of Thomas Cook, from tours for teetotallers to boozy packages in Spain
Thomas Cook. The two words have become synonymous with the modern concept of package travel, but they come with plenty of heritage. The company, which is currently fighting for survival, can trace its origins back 178 years, when the very first tour was organised by a Leicestershire printer who could not have envisaged that his simple scheme would become a colossal company.
- StyleThe Independent
British Airways strike: Some flights reinstated for 27 September
British Airways has restored around half of its scheduled operation for 27 September, after pilots called off a strike planned for that day.Members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) are involved in an acrimonious pay dispute with BA. In July they voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.
- StyleThe Telegraph
7 Dublin hotels for a romantic city break, including castles, lush gardens and waterfalls
Romance takes many forms – and Dublin can offer its own beguiling additions to the scene: strolling St Stephen’s Green on a frosty afternoon, the sun gilding the treetops; or watching the ‘sun rise in the morning, like barley-sugar on the water’, as described by poet Louis MacNeice. The hotels below will add their own measure of delight too: the sound of a waterfall from the deck of the Iveagh Garden Hotel; the carved wood and baronial splendour of the Clontarf Castle Hotel – it’s all here. Here's our pick of the best romantic hotels in and around Dublin.
- StyleThe Telegraph
Why skiing in Japan offers a lot more than just world-class powder
There are so many things I didn’t know before I skied in Japan. Among others, that a taxi driver in Toyko will willingly jam a pair of 180 powder skis into his boxy saloon car, that KitKats come in flavours from strawberry and green tea to wasabi, and that en-suite bathrooms are overrated – give me communal (though politely segregated) Onsen hot-pool ablutions any time.
- StyleThe Telegraph
Eight strange but true facts skiers should know about Japan
Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido is renowned among skiers for its astonishing quality and quantity of powder snow. But for first-timers to the land of falling snow, there are a few things to take on board.
- StyleThe Independent
Flight cancelled because airline staff ‘not comfortable’ with Muslim passenger after he flushed toilet twice, pair claim
Two Muslim passengers onboard an American Airlines flight have said they were racially profiled after the service was cancelled due to “safety and security concerns”.Abderraoof Alkhawaldeh and Issam Abdallah alleged that cabin crew grounded the plane because they weren’t “comfortable” flying with the two men.
- StyleThe Independent
Thomas Cook news – live: Travel firm in talks to avoid collapse
The giant travel company, Thomas Cook, is in a race against time to make a deal with its creditors over a refinancing package.Last month the holiday firm appeared to have secured its future. But now the rescue deal appears to be in danger.
- StyleThe Independent
Thomas Cook: How will holidaymakers be affected if the travel company collapses?
The giant travel company, Thomas Cook, is in a race against time to make a deal with its creditors over a refinancing package. Last month the holiday firm appeared to have secured its future. But now the rescue deal appears to be in danger.Thomas Cook was the pioneer of organised travel – beginning with a Temperance outing from Leicester to Loughborough in 1841. It prospered through the second half of the 19th century and, with allowances for world wars, thrived through much of the 20th century. In 2007 it merged with Mytravel, and is one of the biggest holiday companies in Europe – with operations in Germany, Scandinavia, Russia and elsewhere. But scale and the strongest brand in travel are no guarantee of enduring success.
- StyleThe Telegraph
The fascinating world of Japanese etiquette (pay attention, rugby fans)
With the 2019 Rugby World Cup now in motion, the Foreign Office has issued guidance for British fans – some 50,000 of them – travelling to Japan for the tournament, urging them to be “responsible and respectful”. Drugs are an absolute no-no, it cautions, tattoos “have a historical association with organised crime”, and “public displays of affection are less common” in Japan than in the UK. Bowing is the best way to greet locals, it adds, while “loud, boisterous behaviour in public is not the norm.” Here, Danielle Demetriou, our resident Japan expert, offers a few more points of etiquette which rugby fans might care to remember.
- StyleThe Independent
Holiday company Saga criticised for advertising cruise ‘exclusively for Brits’
A holiday company has been criticised for sending out a brochure advertising a cruise “exclusively for Brits”.Saga, which offers insurance and trips for the over 50s, has apologised after one customer said they were “outraged” by the promotion.
- StyleThe Telegraph
7 sumptuous hotels for a luxury stay in San Sebastián
For over a century, San Sebastián has been a destination for the rich. Queen María Cristina made it her summer home in the early 20th century, sparking a trend in sophisticated summering, as well as an explosion of Belle Époque architecture. With the second-most Michelin stars per capita it's a glutton’s heaven, and its unique Basque customs are on display at every turn, from the L-shaped frontoia (outdoor courts used for community gatherings) to the many celebrations marked by rigorous and strange steps of euskal dantza (a local dance). From the hotel that bears her name to stays that feature the latest in green, sustainable design, San Sebastián maintains its reputation with a variety of hotels for all tastes. Here's our pick of the best luxury hotels in San Sebastián.
