Easy does it for travel and leisure as they underpin the FTSE 100 today February 23, 2021 After a promising start European markets struggled to maintain their early market optimism today. However, some decent gains continue in the likes of travel and leisure stocks, with multi-month highs in a lot of cases. Over the last three days this renewed buoyancy has been evident in anticipation of a possible reopening, and with a [...]
Best of travel: Cowgirl fantasies in the Palm Springs desert February 23, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Laura Millar’s jaunt to the kitsch Californian town of Palm Springs. ••• The wooden sign swinging in the breeze proclaims I’m at Smoketree Stables, just a short drive south of Palm Springs. Beyond the [...]
Valsana Hotel in Switzerland is a geothermal Alpine retreat February 22, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Noo Saro-Wiwa’s stay in The Valsana, Switzerland’s first geothermal hotel. ••• These days, a sense of wellbeing isn’t just about body and spirit but also about leaving a lighter carbon footprint. Which is why [...]
Best of travel: Conquest, casinos and copious wine in Georgia February 19, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Noo Saro-Wiwa’s journey to Georgia, Europe’s most surprising destination. ••• It has been said that Georgians ‘think with European minds and feel with Asian hearts’. Their nation, clamped between Russia and Turkey, is neither [...]
Best of travel: A feast for the senses in Zanzibar February 18, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Noo Saro-Wiwa’s extravagent journey to the island of Zanzibar. ••• Visiting tropical islands usually involves sacrificing the richness and depth of continental culture for the simplicity of ravishing sun, sea and sand. Zanzibar, however, [...]
Summer holidays to Greece could be on the cards with vaccine passports February 18, 2021 Greece’ tourism minister has raised hopes that Brits could go on summer holidays to the Mediterranean country through the use of vaccine passports. Speaking to the Today programme, Haris Theoharis said that his government was already in early discussions with UK ministers about how such a system might work. He said that using digital vaccine [...]
Best of travel: Gorilla conservation in Uganda February 16, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Noo Saro-Wiwa’s examination of gorilla conservation in Uganda ••• Standing in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in south-western Uganda, I’m dodging a light hail of fruits being thrown down by gorillas in the trees above. The [...]
Uzbekistan’s untapped tourist scene is a trove of hidden wonders February 15, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Noo Saro-Wiwa’s exploration of Uzbekistan. ••• Gold-leafed mosque interiors, silk carpets, smooth vodka, ninth century mausoleums and some of the best-looking people on earth — Uzbekistan is a hidden gem. And that’s not just [...]
Hotel quarantine scheme lifts off as first guests arrive in UK February 15, 2021 England’s hotel quarantine scheme kicked off today as the first passengers touched down at airports around the country for the toughest border protection measures of the pandemic so far. Four coaches of passengers dropped off passengers at the Radisson Blue Edwardian Hotel near Heathrow Airport this morning to start their 10-day stay, as the government [...]
Best of travel: Ko Samui is more than a backpackers’ paradise February 12, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Laura Millar’s exploration of Thai island Ko Samui’s more luxurious side. ••• The taxi taking me on the ten-minute journey from Ko Samui’s tiny, open-air airport terminal to my hotel on Chaweng beach, one [...]