Category Archives: Travel

Relief and reunions in sight as US finally lifts Covid travel restrictions

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Curbs on vaccinated visitors from 33 countries to go on Monday – for many separated loved ones it’s not a moment too soon

On 8 November, the US will ease restrictions that effectively halted tourism and non-essential travel from 33 countries, including the UK, most of Europe and China. The restrictions have separated families and loved ones, with thousands missing out on birthdays, holidays – and in the case of the British tennis star Emma Raducanu’s parents – a US Open final.

Now all visitors with a WHO-approved vaccination (which includes AstraZeneca) will be allowed to visit the US. Visitors with passports from any country where fewer than 10% of the country’s population has been vaccinated will also be allowed.

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Bothy culture: a tour of the Highlands’ sustainable sanctuaries

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Scotland’s newly reopened mountain bothies are shining examples of sustainable tourism. Our photographer takes us on a guided tour

The Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) charity has reopened its 105 mountain huts, shelters and howffs after more than a year of closure due to Covid. The overwhelming majority of these are in Scotland and they reopened in August for what the MBA described as “responsible use”, pointing out that Covid has not gone away. The bothies are all sorts of shapes and sizes in varied locations – many are extremely remote and operated with the agreement of owners and estates and maintained by MBA volunteers since the late 60s and early 70s.

Above,Allt nam Fang, approaching Meanach Bothy; right, Meanach Bothy, renovated in 1977, is approximately 1,000ft above sea level

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NSW and Victoria to open border for fully vaccinated from midnight

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High vaccination rates and low Covid case numbers mean border can reopen, premiers Dominic Perrottet and Daniel Andrews say

For the first time in months, the border between New South Wales and Victoria will open to fully vaccinated travellers from 11.59pm Thursday, as both state governments push ahead with “normalising living with the virus”.

On Thursday evening, the Victorian acting chief health officer, Ben Cowie, reclassified the status of the Australian Capital Territory and all remaining “orange zone” areas in New South Wales.

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Thailand reopens to some vaccinated tourists after 18 months of Covid curbs

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The coronavirus pandemic saw arrivals drop more than 80% in the tourism-reliant nation

Thailand has reopened to fully vaccinated tourists, with tens of thousands of travellers expected to touch down in Bangkok and Phuket as the country reboots its tourism industry after 18 months of Covid restrictions.

The coronavirus pandemic has hammered the kingdom’s economy, with tourism making up almost 20% of its national income. Last year saw its worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis with arrivals down more than 80%.

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Russians spurn Sputnik jab and head west for vaccines

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EU and UK travel bans fuel boom in travel to Serbia for authorised Covid vaccinations

When Denis Ovchinnikov read the news this summer that his Russian Sputnik V vaccine would not be recognised in Europe, he decided to take matters into his own hands and planned a trip to Belgrade.

“I contacted a travel agency that sorted everything out. It was very easy. I made a little holiday out of it too, in between getting the two Pfizer shots,” Ovchinnikov, who works at a PR agency in St Petersburg, said.

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Australia news live update: international border reopens as those stranded set to return home; Morrison doubles down on Aukus deal

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International border bans are set to end on Monday with Australians able to leave the country and return home; Scott Morrison defends the Aukus deal at G20 in Rome. Follow all the day’s news live

Minister for energy and emissions reduction Angus Taylor will be speaking on ABC Insiders this morning.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is currently in Glasgow today for the UN’s climate change conference, Cop26. Australia has international faced pressure to ramp up its action on climate change. As such, over the last few weeks, Morrison and Taylor raced to secure Nationals party room support for a target of net zero emissions by 2050.

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Almost 1m Tripadvisor reviews in 2020 found to be fraudulent

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In total Tripadvisor penalised 34,605 properties for fraudulent activity and banned 20,299 members

Almost 1m reviews submitted for inclusion on Tripadvisor – equivalent to 3.6% of the total – were determined to be fraudulent by the website last year.

In its second transparency report – the first was released in 2019 – the travel guidance platform said 67.1% of the fake reviews had been caught before making it on to the platform by its pre-posting moderation algorithm.

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‘It was quite overwhelming’: how it feels to have your business thrive in a pandemic

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From virtual puppy school to home bubble-tea subscriptions, lockdowns in Australia have created unlikely winners, but victory as an outlier is sometimes bittersweet

It’s no secret that on the work front, the Covid narrative has predominantly been a negative one, with two-thirds of Australian businesses reporting a hit to revenue in 2020 and underemployment hitting a historic high of 13.8%, impacting 1.8 million people.

Despite this, lockdowns have brought growth to certain sectors, with Australians spending big in areas such as beauty, hobbies and home furnishings. This increased desire for little luxuries is sometimes called the lipstick index. So what does it feel like to be an outlier in a downturn? We asked four business owners to share their experiences.

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10 of the best eco-friendly places to stay in Europe

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These sustainable stays offer the chance to share mountain views with bears, sleep easy in a low-carbon hotel and wellness experiences

The Holenberg forest is the gateway to the Maashorst nature reserve, a rewilding pioneer in North Brabant, home to roaming bison and Tauros – a project to revive the aurochs, an ancient European ox. Tucked away in the forest, among a rusty palette of trees, heather and wetlands, sits off-grid and self-sufficient Cabin Anna. From the linen to the recycled waste-product tableware, the emphasis is on reducing your environmental impact. The cabin sleeps two and has a vast glass atrium for enjoying the natural surroundings in all weathers, and a sunken bathtub. There are safaris, cycling and hikes on the doorstep.
From £154, holenberg.com

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‘Nobody ever put hands on me before’: flight attendants on the air rage epidemic

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Although travelers’ hissy fits are nothing new, incidences of bad behavior have spiked amid the tense landscape of Covid-19

Alexander Clark had only just boarded the Los Angeles-bound United airliner when the man seated behind him became incensed. As Clark tells it, a flight attendant had repeatedly asked the passenger to alternately stop talking on his phone or don a face mask when, after the fourth ask, the passenger snapped.

“I will find your name, date of birth, and address! I will know your social security number before I get off this plane!” yelled the passenger, who appeared to be in his 30s. He leapt to his feet mid-shout, spittle arcing from his maskless mouth, and stomped over to the male flight attendant.

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US to lift restrictions for fully vaccinated international travelers on 8 November

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Early last year, the US banned visitors from more than 30 countries, including China, the UK and most of the EU

The US will lift restrictions for international travelers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 on 8 November, a White House official said on Friday, allowing people from dozens of countries to reunite with their families and take leisure trips to the US for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.

The White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz said international air and land travel would be permitted for vaccinated travelers on 8 November.

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Malfunctioning NHS app for Covid vaccine status causes travel delays

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Problems accessing Covid pass cause travellers to be turned away from flight and ferry

Travellers have been blocked from boarding flights and ferries for trips abroad after a four-hour outage of England’s NHS app left people unable to access a Covid pass to prove their vaccine status.

Hundreds tried to download information that many countries require before departure – including a QR code and details about the jabs they have had – but were told to “try again later”, sparking chaos and fury.

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EU says it will recognise NHS Covid pass ‘soon’

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Constant Covid testing when travelling from the UK to countries such as the Netherlands should soon be a thing of the past

Trips to Europe over October half-term could become easier for British travellers after Brussels said a technical tie-up with the EU ensuring the NHS Covid pass is recognised across over 40 countries would be “going live soon”.

In some European countries, such as the Netherlands, tourists from the UK have faced constant Covid tests as the NHS app proving full vaccination status is not recognised at the Dutch border or in its bars, restaurants and museums.

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England’s last ‘red list’ restrictions confound South Americans

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Lingering quarantine rules anger would-be travellers from seven targeted countries

England’s decision to maintain strict Covid travel rules for seven South American and Caribbean countries has prompted further fury and confusion in the nations which remain on the “red list”.

Ministers announced on Thursday that restrictions would be lifted for 47 countries – including Brazil, South Africa and Thailand – allowing travellers to enter England without being subject to draconian and expensive quarantine restrictions.

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Europe’s best walking cities: Seven wonders of the wandering world

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From atmospheric Berlin to Joyce’s Trieste, via Marseille’s markets and a wellbeing walk in Copenhagen, city strolls reward the curious rambler

The art of flâneur-ing might be French and its most famous practitioners Parisians, but other European cultures have walking traditions, from the Italian passeggiata and Spanish paseo – social promenades to take the air as dusk falls – to German wanderlust: hiking with desire. Nothing opens up a city like a long ramble on foot. It’s the only way to make a place your own and unearth discoveries not listed in guidebooks or apps.

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Americans are desperate to visit Hawaii – but apparently not enough to get vaccinated

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Those travelling to the sun-kissed islands have allegedly faked negative Covid test results or vaccine records

If you’re an unvaccinated American headed to Hawaii, and you want to avoid quarantine, you’ll need to provide the state with a negative Covid test.

Alternatively, you could attempt to fake out authorities – and get arrested for it.

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Covid live: Kremlin pleads for people to get jab; EU regulator backs mRNA booster for those with weak immunity

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Russia’s daily cases at highest levels since January; EMA says people with weakened immune systems should get Pfizer or Moderna booster

The UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has not ruled out unemployment rising now the furlough scheme has ended. But he told Sky News this morning that the government is “throwing the kitchen sink” at helping people find new roles and learn new skills.

When it was put to him that there might be “significant rises” in unemployment now the scheme has come to a close, he said: “I said right at the beginning of this crisis it wasn’t going to be possible for me, or quite frankly any chancellor, to save every single person’s job.

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‘Renting the Taj Mahal’: the fight to save Darjeeling’s toy train

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India’s tiny train has puffed up the Himalayas since 1881 but now the world heritage site is under threat

“Darjeeling ko sano rail, hirna lai abo tyari cha / Guard le shuna bhai siti bajayo” (Darjeeling’s dainty train is all set to chug off / Oh, listen to the guard blowing the whistle): generations of children in Darjeeling have grown up hearing these lines from a Nepali nursery rhyme. Serenading the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), it depicts the close relationship between the “Queen of the Hills” and local people.

However, that relationship has become strained after the Indian government decided to hand over the running of the railway – listed by Unesco as a world heritage site – and oversight of the land adjoining the stations to a private company, threatening jobs and livelihoods.

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‘Volcanic eruptions are like cats’: the La Palma volcano explained

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The ongoing eruption in the Canary Islands has raised concerns over cancelled holidays and a potential tsunami. Here a volcanologist weighs the risks

On 19 September, after 50 years of magmatic quiescence, the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma roared back to life. Ash speckled the sky, and molten rock cooking at 1,075C (1,967F) oozed from several fresh fissures and cascaded down the volcano’s western flanks in the form of hadean rivers, ploughing through houses and farms with insouciance. Fortunately, thanks to the work of local scientists and emergency services, thousands of people were evacuated ahead of time, and no deaths have yet been reported.

So, what happens next? What new threats will emerge from the volcano? How long will this go on for? And why would anyone want to live in the shadow of such a menacing volcano in the first place?

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UK to slash international travel ‘red list’ to just nine countries

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Quarantine will no longer be required for fully vaccinated travellers from 45 other countries from later in October

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, will open up more countries for hotel quarantine-free travel later this week, the Sunday Telegraph reported, saying the UK’s “red list” of destinations would be slashed to nine from 54.

Fully vaccinated arrivals from countries including Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa will no longer have to quarantine in a government-designated hotel for 10 days when they get to England from later in October, the newspaper said.

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