travel
NewsThe GuardianFree money: where to get your dining and travel vouchers from Australian states and territories
Free money: where to get your dining and travel vouchers from Australian states and territoriesQueensland has just announced a $200 travel voucher program, while other states and territories are continuing to offer vouchers and rebates. Here’s what’s available and how to get it A sailboat tours the outer Great Barrier Reef. The state government has announced 15,000 $200 vouchers for Queenslanders to visit the reef and other areas of the state. Photograph: Biopixel/Tourism and Events Queensland
LifestyleThe GuardianGoing anywhere: Australian mystery holidays are back from the 1990s
Going anywhere: Australian mystery holidays are back from the 1990sNovelty trips to unknown destinations have become a surprise hit for airlines and travel agents, as all travel remains uncertain ‘A 1990s travel trend recently rebooted with a not-very-1990s pricetag.’ Photograph: Jupiterimages/Getty Images
NewsYahoo Finance UKUK music bosses call for vaccine passports for festivals
The UK music industry contributed £5.8bn to the UK economy pre-Covid and supports 200,000 people – three-quarters of whom are self-employed. UK music exports generate £2.9bn a year.
BusinessYahoo Finance UKFlybe's hopes of returning to the skies in doubt
The return of budget airline Flybe could be in the balance after the resignation of a hedge fund manager who was driving the revival of the collapsed airline.
NewsThe TelegraphHow slow can you go? The best British adventures to enjoy at a slower pace
If, like me, you fancy becoming a slow adventurer, I recommend the finest, not the fastest route. Pause on your journey to marvel at intimate encounters with wildlife or discover more about a place, its people and its heritage. Allow yourself quality time to sit under a tree or on a clifftop and take in your surroundings. But most importantly, remember to smile, breathe, and adventure slowly. Sussex, South East Rockpooling at Birling Gap The UK boasts numerous rockpooling locations, where the ebbing tide leaves behind deep pools, each teeming with marine life. Peering into them reveals a fascinating world, often without any need to scoop a hand or container through the water. As you nudge some seaweed to one side, a fish, perhaps a goby or a blenny, dashes to safety deep beneath a rocky overhang, while scores of dark red, jellylike blobs of beadlet anemones cling to dry rocks around the pools. How to do it All you need is knowledge of the tide times and some non-slip footwear that you don’t mind getting wet. I opted for Birling Gap, a sand and shingle beach on the unspoilt East Sussex coastline.
NewsThe IndependentDeclaration to Travel: government reveals new ‘exit permit’ required to leave England
The Declaration to Travel represents the latest tightening of the most draconian restrictions on movement ever known in peacetime
LifestyleThe Guardian10 of Britain's best seaside hotels
10 of Britain's best seaside hotelsWith domestic travel on the horizon again, here’s our pick of British hotels offering glorious beaches and stunning sea views The Cary Arms on Babbacombe beach, Torquay Photograph: PR
NewsThe GuardianTravel bookings surge as Cyprus and Portugal reopen to UK tourists
Travel bookings surge as Cyprus and Portugal reopen to UK tourists. People spending longer looking at hotels online as favourite destinations prepare to welcome back visitors
NewsYahoo Finance UKHoliday spending doubles among Brits after lockdown roadmap announced
According to data from Lloyds Bank customer cards spending on holidays surged 109% compared to the week before prime minister Boris Johnson's announcement.
NewsThe IndependentLeaving UK now requires a North Korean-style ‘special validation to travel’
The Man Who Pays His Way: Passport? Ticket? Exit permit? This is how you get out of ‘Global Britain’
NewsYahoo Finance UKUK government unveils 'Declaration to Travel' permits for outbound travellers
People from England who enter "a port of departure to travel internationally" without the completed three-page form stating their personal details, passport number, destination and intention to leave the country, from 8 March, will be "committing a criminal offence."
LifestyleEvening StandardWhere to eat, sleep and what to do in Cyprus
Dreaming of long meze lunches in the sunshine? Us too...
StyleIn The KnowThe 8 best minimal men's backpacks that are perfect for travel and everyday use — as low as $30
From budget-friendly options from Hex and Herschel to luxury picks from Troubadour and Rains, these will keep you in-style, always.
NewsThe Independent‘Everybody is going be allowed to fly’: Cyprus minister says unvaccinated travellers should be welcome this summer
Exclusive: ‘We need to provide enough certainty so that people can start looking ahead and planning their holidays,’ said Savvas Perdios
BusinessThe IndependentA year in travel: Flybe collapse, 5 March 2020
The first in a series marking the key travel events during the coronavirus pandemic
BusinessThe GuardianPeople trying to leave England without travel form face £200 fine
People trying to leave England without travel form face £200 fine Extra police patrolling ports and airports will have right to see three-page document from Monday Terminal 5 of Heathrow airport in December. Overseas travellers from England need to fill out a declaration to travel form from Monday. Photograph: Niklas Halle’n/AFP/Getty Images
NewsThe Independent‘End travel ban earlier,’ demands Labour MP as Cyprus opens fast track for vaccinated Britons
At present the government has banned all holidays from the UK before 17 May at the earliest
LifestyleThe IndependentWelcome to my home town: Why Maidstone remains a perpetual mystery
After moving back to Kent’s largest town during lockdown, David J Constable is on a mission to uncover what makes this place tick
BusinessThe IndependentRailcards have been useless for half a year – but no refunds nor extensions for holders
Exclusive: ‘Airlines, hotels, restaurants are all extending any offers until times revert to normal,’ says frustrated train traveller
NewsThe IndependentPassenger announces he has Covid as plane is about to take off
The aircraft was fumigated and sanitised before it continued its journey
LifestyleThe Telegraph10 things you don't know until you take your family abroad during a pandemic
With its borders opening to vaccinated travellers on May 1, family favourite Cyprus could now be one of the first places we can travel to. But beware. Travelling with kids in tow amid travel uncertainty has its moments. As Claire Irvin found out… 1. You’ll need to keep your options open As a travel journalist, there have been many experiences I’ve looked forward to sharing with my family. #MyFirstPandemic certainly wasn’t one of them. On the upside, we certainly travelled the globe together in planning last October’s half term break – from our abandoned attempt to visit friends in the States, to a last-minute cancellation to Sicily, when borders closed days before we were due to leave, to leaving a man overboard when work got in the way of daddy’s long coveted annual leave (thanks Covid). With Turkey and Crete also options, we’d had numerous holidays in our heads without even leaving the front room. With the hours ticking even faster than my list of no gos (Turkey got caught fixing its figures, Crete predicted 12°C and rain all week), Cyprus emerged as a front runner. Even with a new amber listing, the island seemed to be doing a good job of managing its cases, and was testing on arrival too (what joy, the kids, aged under 12 were exempt) – the only question was why we hadn’t been as a family before. Cyprus has been the scene of many personal firsts. First holiday without my parents. First (of many) girls trips. First work trip. First sunshine holiday with my now husband. Why not “first trip under restrictions”, too? 2. You’re going to need back up With my energy flagging, it was time to call in expert help from tour operator Sovereign Luxury Travel. Previously filed in my head as a holiday “nice to have”, in a world that doesn't make sense, tour operators absolutely do. And with many now offering unprecedented booking flexibility (Sovereign, for example, has also launched two new initiatives in response to the pandemic: Travel with Confidence and Book with Confidence), it’s their expert support that comes into its own when baffling policy changes and tricksy administration mean you need to pivot your holiday plans. They addressed the “where” (three options for family luxury of the type I’d outlined), the “how” (no-nonsense instructions on timing and booking testing, and a simple checklist for required paperwork) and the “why” (from making soothing noises to the “should we even be doing this” niggles that had begun to feature in my frazzled thoughts).
NewsThe IndependentSummer holiday countdown: Where we can go and when
More destinations are giving concrete dates for reopening
BusinessThe IndependentWhen do campsites and caravan parks open?
After Boris Johnson’s roadmap announcement, we look at the implications for UK travel
LifestyleThe IndependentWhere The Independent’s travel desk wants to go this summer
As restrictions start to ease from 29 March, here’s where the travel desk are escaping to first
NewsThe IndependentThailand considers opening up to vaccinated travellers this summer
The Seychelles and Cyprus have announced hard dates for British travellers to return