The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Two new routes to Cornwall
In more signs that the UK is set for a staycation summer, easyJet will launch two routes to Cornwall in June. It will operate a new flight from Manchester to Newquay five times a week from June 21, as well as a twice-weekly Glasgow to Newquay service on June 29.
VACCINE TRAVEL AGREEMENTS Greece, Cyprus and Israel have formalised agreements to allow vaccinated travellers to move between the countries. They will show vaccine certificates and won’t have to quarantine.
BRITAIN’S QUARANTINE HOTELS This week marked the first week of
Government-arranged quarantine for arrivals from 33 “red-list” countries, including South America, South Africa and the UAE. For more information, visit telegraph.co.uk/ tt-quarantinehotels.
NEXT WEEK
(FEB 22)
The Government has promised to announce the first steps in the easing of the lockdown. We should get a clear steer on when the UK hospitality industry might start to reopen. We don’t know how much detail will be given, but while we can be sure that it will be provisional and hedged with uncertainties, we will at least know the earliest dates when things might start to open up.
MARCH 8
Schools start to return – though this will be dependent on the announcement made above. It also seems likely that some outdoor sports and pastimes, such as golf and tennis, may be able to restart.
EASTER (APRIL 2-5) When lockdown was eased last summer, hotels, restaurants and pubs were allowed to start opening a month later. There have been rumours that a similar time line may be projected, so that
A fine line: schools are set to reopen in March and may be followed by golf courses, left, holiday cottages and bed and breakfasts, right; overseas package holidays chould also return later in the year
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they can open in time for Easter. It’s also not totally impossible that some types of accommodation, such as holiday cottages, might be able to take guests again. The chances of foreign holidays look extremely slim. We’ll know more next week.
APRIL
There is a good chance that accommodation in the UK will be starting to open again. There is no point in booking yet, but you might consider a last-minute break. Also, by now, the vaccination programme in Europe and the US should be well advanced and – even if we can’t yet travel – we will know more about policies towards receiving British travellers.
MAY
The May Day bank holiday weekend is from May 1-3. Surely British holiday accommodation will open by now, though it’s worth waiting for confirmation of this before booking anything, or being sure that you are offered a penalty-free cancellation arrangement. Around now is also the time when the balance payments – usually 90 per cent of the holiday cost – start to become due for overseas package holidays booked for the summer (see main article).
MAY 29-JUNE 6
The Whit Monday or spring bank holiday falls on the last possible date this year, so half term is in the first week of June. UK holidays and accommodation are already heavily booked for this time of the year, but you might have a better chance of finding something in this week than in the main summer holidays.
JUNE AND EARLY JULY The best chance for a summer break in the UK if you aren’t tied to the school holidays. If there is to be a meaningful chance of a summer season in the Med, then travel may be possible by now.
JULY 24-SEPT 5
The school summer holidays – already heavily booked for UK breaks.
SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER If things go well and travel to the Med gets going in early summer, this is likely to be the best chance of an overseas break. In Britain, there is already huge pressure on September dates in key holiday regions. As a fallback in case of missing out on summer, you may want to consider booking for October half term for a family break in the UK. If you are thinking of leaving it this late in the Med, head as far south as you can – Crete, Andalucia, Cyprus etc – for the best chance of good weather, or consider the Canary Islands.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER The winter sun season kicks off. If you can afford to make the investment, you are likely to be able to pick up some excellent deals, but wait a few months before booking.