Dear Reader,

NEVER mind the sprint to the sunloungers. The race is on to see who can find the best rooms, at the best prices, in the Canary Islands, after the UK and Germany announced on the same day that these popular Spanish destinations have been given the green light for travel.

It means we — along with the Schmidts, Schneiders and Mullers — can go to the Canaries without having to quarantine for 14 days on our return. So, hopefully, our cover story will come in handy for planning a break there this autumn or winter.

The ruling comes into effect from tomorrow at 4am for us, from midnight tonight for the Germans.

Yes, it would have been helpful if this announcement had come a week or so earlier so families could have taken advantage of the half-term break, but it’s most welcome none the less.

As is the news that the Maldives (pictured) is back on our holiday radar, meaning honeymoons can get going again, even if weddings with more than 15 people (including, don’t forget, the priest, organist and photographer) can’t.

There’s no point pretending that all this marks a significant breakthrough, especially as we seem to be several weeks away from rolling out a comprehensive system of airport testing. But you don’t have to look far to find silver linings.

Many of our readers won’t mind having to self-isolate when coming back from far-flung hotspots, After all, it’s not as if we are being encouraged to socialise.

So, we’ve rounded up some fabulous deals, both near and far.

A week at the Mystique hotel in St Lucia from £766 per person, including flights, doesn’t sound too arduous, nor do a couple of holidays in the Seychelles with nearly 50 per cent knocked off the original price, as we reveal on pages 68-69.

And let’s not forget that the whole of Greece is now clear for take-off. We sent the comedian Helen Lederer to Athens (page 67) just before the world was turned upside down and she loved every minute.

I think she would love it even more if she were to go now — and have the Acropolis virtually to herself.