The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
How we want to travel in 2021
The pandemic has forced us to reassess what we want from our holidays, writes Laura Fowler
All this confinement has given us itchy feet and big ideas. Suddenly unable to travel, we appreciate our former freedom like never before – and are vowing to make our next escape count, planning dream trips on an epic scale. Tour operators report booms in “bucket-list breaks”, safaris and adventure holidays. Furthermore, some who lost out on holidays last year have more money to spend in 2021.
“Our customers are booking quintessential ‘bucket list’ destinations,” says Zina Bencheikh, managing director of Intrepid Travel, who reports heightened interest in Antarctica, the Himalayas and the Inca Trail. “They’ve had time during lockdown to think about and research the places they’ve always dreamed of visiting, and they want to have that big holiday to look forward to.”
Crucially, the new Bucket List is less about list-ticking, and more about having authentic, meaningful experiences.
HOW TO DO IT
Intrepid’s 11-day Best of Antarctica is led by experts in marine biology, glaciology and Antarctic history, and includes kayaking, zodiac trips and camping overnight on the great white continent ( from £5,695pp; intrepidtravel.com).
With long-haul travel off the cards during the pandemic – not to mention the environmental and financial factors – we rethought the idea that you have to travel to the farthestflung corners of the earth when we can find adventures here in the UK.
“There seems to be a real yearning to get back to nature and reconnect after this stressful time in isolation,” says James Lynch, founder of Welsh retreat Fforest. “We are pleased this will encourage people to explore their own backyard, appreciate the beauty of our land and slow down a little.”
HOW TO DO IT
Launching this spring, Wildnis is founded by ex-Army majors who lead guided expeditions in the Highlands ( four nights from £3,000pp; wildnis. co.uk); Wilderness Scotland has partnered with Wild Frontiers to create its week-long Exploring the Orkneys & Shetlands ( from £2,095pp; wildfrontierstravel.com). In Wales, Fforest and SpiritCymru are teaming up for Gran ffondo, a long weekend of cycling, with pub pit stops, fireside storytelling, saunas and tunes (May 7-10; from £195; coldatnight.co.uk).