Six of the best British towns for walking holidays

Staying in a hub set up for walkers means you can concentrate on the hiking without the hassle of driving and lugging your gear • Walking in the Cotswolds The Norfolk Coast Path links some of the country’s best beaches, most vital nature reserves and deepest history (the oldest human footprints found outside Africa were discovered here). The Victorian seaside resort of Cromer (accessible by train) is well placed for exploring this linear trail. Continue reading...

Action station: walking the Cotswolds from our village base

Walkers are Welcome is a network of towns and villages that make excellent holiday hubs. Winchcombe, with ‘an appealing amount of Cotswoldiness’ is a perfect example On a sunny day, on a hike in the Cotswold foothills, we stumble upon walking royalty. In the graveyard of Dumbleton’s Norman church, there he is: Patrick Leigh Fermor. A man who, in the 1930s, strode from Holland to the Bosphorus. Scanning his headstone’s Greek inscription in the oh-so-English countryside, we’re awed, humbled, envious. Though also aware that you don’t have to trek quite that far for a satisfying journey. On our own five-day, car-free trip to Gloucestershire, my partner and I have walked almost 100 miles – and gotten nowhere. But we’ve found, among other things, a neolithic tomb, a wife of Henry VIII, a lot of birds and, now, a travel writing legend. Continue reading...

Nigeria’s Transcorp Hotels Goes Asset-Light With New Airbnb-Style Booking App

It's still unknown how the new-ish CEO of Transcorp Hotels, Dupe Olusola, intends to adjust the shape of the business. Perhaps she'll draw a clearer division between its operating and property parts. The brand's Aura marketplace suggests she has an interest in asset-light experiments. -Sean O'Neill

Portugal Sets Out a Three-Phase Plan to Exit Its Coronavirus Restrictions

A sensible approach that lasts until October, but at such a late stage will people be happy being forced to use digital certificates or show negative Covid test results? -Matthew Parsons

Hilton CEO Not Too Worried About What Delta Variant Could Do to Travel’s Recovery

Leisure may lead the way for now, but Hilton is banking on business travel reviving in a matter of months. Without more people getting vaccinated, variants of the virus can quickly turn informed predictions into blind optimism. -Cameron Sperance

Vacasa to Go Public in $4.5 Billion SPAC Merger on Heels of Vacation Rentals Surge

Vacasa has reached a remarkable milestone with its plan to go public, having parlayed the booming interest in vacation rentals during the pandemic. Yet the full-service property management sector is crowded, and going public is only the start of the journey. -Sean O'Neill

Accor Isn’t Ready to Celebrate Just Yet After Surprising Display of Profitability

It’s a little early to call this a rebound, but Accor finally has some wind in its sails as far as recovery numbers go. Now it just needs to hold onto some level of the momentum heading into the fall. -Cameron Sperance

Away from it all: island hopping around Finland’s Turku archipelago

With Finland now open to vaccinated travellers, the 20,000 pristine islands off its south-west coast make for an appealing post-pandemic tour Finland has dealt with the pandemic much better than a lot of other countries. It still has one of the lowest rates of both confirmed cases (about 103,851 at time of writing) and coronavirus-related deaths (currently 982) in Europe, a feat many have attributed to a strategy of rapid lockdowns and stringent travel restrictions. It did all this in typical Finnish style: without shouting about it. Perhaps this quiet demeanour is related to the country’s deep connection with the natural world, where shouting usually isn’t necessary. More than 90% of Finland is either forest or water, and the country’s jokamiehenoikeus (right to roam) gives anyone living in or visiting Finland access to all that nature, including a lot of privately owned land. Continue reading...

How many UNESCO World Heritage sites are there?

UNESCO World Heritage sites include cultural and natural locations that span more than 160 countries and territories.

Skift Global Forum Preview: How Florida Tourism Is Winning the Race to Recovery

For Visit Florida, the pandemic was a golden opportunity to boost its domestic market share while competitors remained restricted. And it worked — Florida's visitor numbers are on track for a record breaking year. -Lebawit Lily Girma

A Worthy Farm camping trip isn’t quite Glasto, but it’s the best we’ll get this year

There’s less noise and fewer people, but a family trip to the Glastonbury site delivers enough of the festival experience to make great memories There are some things every Glastonbury festivalgoer is guaranteed to experience. You’ll lose yourself in the endless fields and pathways (and your tent at least once). You will plot the perfect itinerary to take in your favourite artists and each area of the site, but only see a fraction of it all. And it will definitely rain. This year, though, thanks to Covid, the Glasto experience is rather different. A mini online-only version of the festival ran in June (last year was cancelled), but owner Michael Eavis and family are welcoming people to Worthy Farm this summer by, for the first time, opening it as a campsite. For six weeks, visitors can stay in one of 750 pre-erected tents dotted across the site. There’s room for a total of 3,500 visitors at any one time – a smattering compared with the 200,000 of a festival weekend. Gone are the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, the music and the welly-stealing mud. Instead, there are resident cows (it’s a working farm), free children’s activities and a vibe so relaxed you could actually get some sleep, even with little ones. Continue reading...

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Are Working on Easing Travel Restrictions

Be grateful for your good fortune. If you're reading this, you're probably not an expatriate worker who is feeling so desperate that you're willing to storm a vaccination center to get the required shots to go abroad for menial labor. -Sean O'Neill

China looks to outshine Japan at next year's winter Olympic games

These are not the Olympics of Japan's dreams. The Games were supposed to be a comeback after decades of economic stagnation and devastation from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. With geopolitical rival China hosting the Winter Olympics, Japan wants to avoid losing center stage. CNN's Selina Wang reports.

Seabirds, lobsters and rock: a car-free trip to Bridlington, east Yorkshire

Seaside pleasures and foodie delights are on offer at this traditional resort – and there are superb gardens and wildlife to discover, too The cliffs are alive with seabirds. Every rocky ledge is lined with gulls and guillemots. The air smells of fish and guano and is busy with flying birds, including huge gannets with nicotine-yellow heads and two-metre wingspans. Among an unearthly cacophony of cries, like the soundtrack from a nature documentary, I can identify only kittiwakes – named for their distinctive call. The crumbling coast north of Bridlington, sea-carved into huge spires and caves, is home to half a million birds between March and October. Continue reading...

Heathrow wants travel opened up for vaccinated as Covid losses near £3bn

Restrictions and expensive testing requirements are hindering UK’s economic recovery, says airport * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage Heathrow airport has called on the UK government to open up travel for fully vaccinated passengers as it said its losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic had reached almost £3bn. The airport reported a £868m loss for the first half of 2021 and said restrictions and expensive testing requirements were hindering the UK’s economic recovery. Its total losses since the start of the pandemic stand at £2.9bn. Continue reading...

Cornwall: 10 small group trips offering big outdoor adventures

Locally run outfits offer some of Cornwall’s best activities, including kayaking, coasteering, paddleboarding and via ferrata There’s a fierce debate going on in Cornwall at the moment about the benefits and drawbacks of tourism for the county. On one hand, many tourism businesses have been hit hard by the recent lockdowns, while on the other there’s a genuine nervousness about how many visitors Cornwall can accommodate safely. As a Cornishman, my advice to anyone visiting this year is to go small, whether that is supporting local independent shops or seeking out small, often family-run, businesses. It’s not just a case of supporting local businesses though, it’s about the lesser group sizes and the personal touch you can get when you book with individuals or smaller operators. Continue reading...

Tour Operators Proceed Carefully During Relaunch of Pandemic-Paused Tours

While being able to take travelers on trips obviously represents major success for tour operators, keeping all of those guests safe amidst the rise in variants makes the resumption of tours even more successful. -Rashaad Jorden

Israel’s El Al Airlines Starts Flying to Morocco After Diplomatic Resolution Between the Two Countries

A significant by-product of the improved relationship betwen Israel and Morocco is a big boost for Morocco's economy as it will surely be a popular destination for Israeli travelers. -Rashaad Jorden

10 of the best places to stay on the Scottish coast

From coaching inns to modern bothies and eco campsites, all these places take in fabulous sea views and majestic landscapes As cosy as they sound, Sea View Snugs hunker into the hillside in this bucolic corner of south-west Scotland. The 18 individually designed cabins – think smart beige boxes – are on a 1,000-acre estate in Gatehouse of Fleet. Most sleep two, a couple can accommodate four, some allow dogs, and five have hot tubs. All have a natural theme: the Ben is named after Ben John, the hill that forms the backdrop, the Shore has a coastal vibe. Gather is a rustic-chic, contemporary glass-fronted on-site restaurant, dishing up locally sourced bistro-style food and panoramic coastal views. On the doorstep is Cardoness Castle, a 15th-century tower house to clamber around, and a bucketful of sandy beaches from Carrick to Mossyard and Cardoness. • Sleeps 2-4, from £120 a night, coolstays.com Continue reading...

Stay calm and look fabulous: Holiday hassle and how to avoid it

Driving, packing, parenting while driving … yes, summer holidays are here to torment us. Handily, so are Guardian writers on how to negotiate them My holiday road rage is directed inward – at my own failures and miscalculations – although I accept it will not feel like that if you are sitting next to me. Sometimes these episodes are all I remember of the trips in question: running out of petrol halfway across a suspension bridge; the satnav voice that switched to Italian midway through a journey; that hyena I nearly hit in the middle of a hailstorm. Continue reading...

Hilton Grand Vacations’ Timeshare Test and 9 Other Top Travel Stories This Week

In Skift’s top stories this week, United sees a potential full recovery in 2022, Kayak launches Kayak for Business, and Canada reopens its borders for fully vaccinated U.S. travelers. -Angel Adegbesan

The 'carmageddon' engulfing Europe this summer

So, you're all set for a trip to Europe in this most uncertain of summers. You've booked your flight, navigated all the paperwork for your destination (and for getting home), and have prepared yourself for snafus along the way. Oh, and you're fully vaccinated.

Sabre Calls American Airlines a ‘Jilted Suitor’ in Response to Suit Over Delta Deal

The American versus Sabre lawsuit touches on bigger questions of how to fairly display ticket prices to agencies and consumers. Most tech providers and regulators must face these questions as airlines unbundle and repackage more airfares and upsells. -Sean O'Neill

New Zealand Freezes Its Open Travel Corridor With Australia for 2 Months

The bubble's burst, so it's back to essential travel, government-managed quarantines and yet more questions surrounding Australia's slow vaccination program. -Matthew Parsons

The Beaumont, Hexham, Northumberland: ‘This is incredible’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

Hotel food is always blah, isn’t it? Or so I thought, until now … A fun game to play with the metropolitan elite, or indeed anyone south of Watford, is to ask them to locate Hexham on a map. Or Northumberland, for that matter. Many patches of the north, with the rural north-east being a particularly good example, feel like the Bermuda Triangle to southerners: mysterious, loosely defined and quite feasibly patrolled by monsters. To me, however, Hexham was subject of many a “nice drive out” from Carlisle in the 1980s, bumbling along B-roads towards this sedate market town with a grade I-listed abbey dating from AD674, several art galleries, plenty of places to eat stottie cake and a chance to learn about the Vindolanda fort on Hadrian’s Wall. As a child, I did not appreciate Hexham’s beauty, and longed instead to be taken to the Gateshead MetroCentre to eat at Spud-U-Like and peruse Athena for sepia posters of hunks shifting tyres. But recently I returned and stayed at The Beaumont hotel and ate in its very fine restaurant. If I’m very honest, not a single local will thank me for alerting you to this chic, recently renovated, 33-room, townhouse-style hotel with a bar that will serve you a decent apricot bellini or a cold bottle of petit chablis to enjoy on tables close to the abbey’s grounds, because, until now, The Beaumont has been largely Hexham’s secret. Perhaps I liked my Saturday night alone in Hexham so much because The Beaumont still retains an air of chipper, diligent, business-as-usual hospitality. It’s a mood that so many larger outfits have given up on right now, due to staff shortages, to can’t-be-arsedness and especially to irrational new post-Covid company policies that seem to be nothing more than budget-slashing masquerading as “keeping you safe”. Continue reading...

Kamil Raises $20 Million for Five-Senses Hotels: Travel Startup Funding This Week

This week, travel startups announced more than $710 million in funding. Concepts included Oyo's branded hospitality network, a Chinese hotel group that aims to appeal to its guests across all five senses, and a rewards app for low carbon travel. -Sean O'Neill

‘Headphones make food taste better!’: 10 readers’ tips for a better holiday

From wearing an ‘airport shirt’ to travelling solo, our tipsters share their secrets for easier, stress-free breaks Noise-cancelling headphones are my most cherished luggage. On busy trains, planes and ferries they block out the thrum of engines, the cries of babies and the sounds leaking from other people’s headsets. They allow me to be entertained by music, podcasts or audiobooks when turbulence, bumpy tracks or heavy swell make reading impossible. Most importantly, they make food taste better! Taste is affected by hearing, and the background engine drone is one reason aeroplane food tastes so bland. I pop on my headphones and, if not haute cuisine, the food does develop taste. Debbie Rolls Continue reading...

10 of Folkestone’s best new bars and restaurants

Visitors to the town’s fifth art triennial will enjoy a vibrant mix of places to eat and drink, from street-food to a beach cafe Mark Sargeant’s Rocksalt was one of the key restaurants that helped shape Folkestone’s current food scene when it opened in 2011, transforming the harbour into a dining destination. Its success has spawned several sister venues in town, including the new Pilot bar on the beach, and its neighbour Little Rock, which opened this month – the group’s “funky younger sister”, said the waitress. With palm trees, sun sails (surprisingly effective at a scorching lunchtime) and gleaming white terrace boasting ocean views, it’s more Ibiza than Kent coast. Fish specials – including huss, Dover sole and ray – come from day boats operating out of Folkestone Harbour. Citrus-cured gilt-head bream with spring onions and chilli proved a suitably sunny starter to accompany chilled vinho verde, while pale ale battered cod cheeks, their flesh opaque, came pimped up by a tangy tartare sauce studded with capers. Azure glassware and a gently throbbing soundtrack boost the holiday vibes. • Mains from £9.50, littlerockfolkestone.co.uk Continue reading...

Australia races against time to avoid an 'in danger' rating at UNESCO vote

The Australian government and a United Nations body are facing off this week over whether the Great Barrier Reef is "in danger" of losing its "outstanding universal value."

Snowdonia on a budget: a five-star hostel in the heart of the national park

In the third of our series, an upgraded former YHA hostel is the perfect base for cycling, swimming and scrambling in Sir Edmund Hillary’s footsteps • South Downs | Yorkshire Dales “You get one of the best views of Snowdonia from Capel Curig,” Christian told me as he welcomed me to The Rocks. Of course, this is something you might expect to hear from the co-owner of a Capel Curig hostel. However, even an old Snowdonia hand like me had to admit that the view from the hostel of the Snowdon horseshoe, the ridges on the mountain’s eastern side, is indeed pretty spectacular. Continue reading...

Just camp in my garden: new websites offer private pitches

Wild camping is off the agenda in England and Wales, but new sites are helping to meet growing demand by offering spots in private gardens, meadows and woods You’ve done glamping, you’ve tried wild camping, but are you ready to embrace camping in other people’s gardens? A new travel website launching this month may just push more of us to do so, with its collection of pitches on people’s lawns and private land. About 100 gardens, fields and outdoor spaces in the UK will be available to book from £20 a night on wildpoint.com from the end of July, with more to be added after. More than 4,000 hosts have applied. Hosts must have at least 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres) of space to be selected, provide use of a toilet and will usually greet guests. Some may offer extras such as packed lunches, cooked breakfasts and bundles of firewood. Continue reading...

Covid: Thousands of summer holidays could be ruined by the ‘pingdemic’

The great stay-at-home UK summer is thrown into chaos as half a million in England and Wales are told to isolate by NHS Covid tracing app Thousands of British holidaymakers face losing their longed-for summer breaks – including domestic holidays that were assumed to be a safer option – as the “pingdemic” spreads across the UK. Around 530,000 people in England and Wales were sent isolation alerts by the NHS Covid-19 tracing app in the first week of July, advising them to self-isolate for up to 10 days. Rates of infection have soared since then, meaning the number of people “pinged” in the run-up to the start of school holidays this weekend will be significantly higher. More than 1 million children in England were out of school for Covid-related reasons in the week of 12-16 July, according to the latest figures from the Department for Education. Analysis carried out by the BBC earlier this month suggested 4.5 million people could be asked to self-isolate by 16 August, after which the fully vaccinated will no longer be asked to isolate. Continue reading...

Singapore Adds New Restrictions to Allow Time to Boost Vaccines

Another destination grapples with new Covid cases and pushing reopening plans further into the future. -Tom Lowry

Go rewild in the country: a weekend kids’ camp in Sussex

Nature and falconry sessions on the mystical High Weald are topped off by a session at a ‘wild spa’. It’s a joyful, muddy hit with this family It’s a warm Saturday afternoon in July and we’ve gathered to learn about tracking animals. Our teacher crouches before us, making marks in the sand to demonstrate how a paw or hoof print might be slightly turned out to indicate that the creature was looking over its shoulder in fear as it ran. My children are fascinated, learning how to spot clues to the speed, type and even sex of the animal, and join in excitedly when shown how to mimic the gait of different species: the galloping scamper of rodents, racing big cats and the slow lumber of a bear. Continue reading...

Three women found out they had the same cheating boyfriend, so they went on a road trip

Bekah King, Abi Roberts, and Morgan Tabor discovered they all had the same cheating boyfriend. Rather than succumbing to their sadness the three young women said they dumped him, saved up money to purchase and renovate a school bus and are now on a road trip together.

The Covid travel checklist: What to know before you go

While our suitcases have been gathering dust over the past 16 months, the travel industry has been rapidly adapting to cope with the demands of the new Covid era.

I will walk 500 miles … on an art trail along Essex’s lost coast

On the second leg of this artful odyssey, people come together to walk and exchange stories about this fascinating – and disappearing – coastline • Read part one of the author’s Lowestoft to Tilbury walk At Walton on the Essex coast a group of ragged people with empty, staring eyes are standing just above the tide line, their feet tangled in seaweed. They have come ashore on the tip of the Naze peninsula, a low finger of land where, in 1720, a stone tower was built to warn mariners. They hold their tattered cloaks around themselves and seem to be waiting. Are they ghostly survivors of yet another village swallowed by the rising sea? Won’t anyone help them? Continue reading...

Europe’s unluckiest train station gets new lease of life as hotel

Once-grand Canfranc was known as the Titanic of the mountains, but fell into disrepair thanks to fire, derailment and war It earned the nickname “Titanic of the mountains”, but now the monumental and ill-fated train station at Canfranc is to get a new life as a five-star hotel, 51 years after the international rail link across the Pyrenees closed. The story of Canfranc, a village more than 1,000 metres (3,280ft) above sea level on the Franco-Spanish frontier, is one of vainglorious ambition and abject failure, of incompetence and corruption, of intrigue, smuggling and a century-long run of bad luck. Continue reading...

Hanoi Puts New Restrictions in Place as Vietnam Hit With New Covid Clusters

Southern Vietnam has been afflicted worse than in northern regions, but Hanoi has been super-cautious throughout the pandemic so Sunday's decision to re-establish restrictions is not a surprise. -Tom Lowry

Sea, sand and dogs galore: the best British beaches to run free

Beaches are much more fun if the family pet can come too. Here’s our pick of the places where you can soak up the sun and feel the sand beneath your paws A blue flag beach that’s fantastic for families – and dogs are welcome all year from the area by the beach office up to the border with Poole’s first beach, Branksome Chine. Take an hour away from the beach to visit the re-opened Bobby & Co department store, home of Drool, the first food hall devoted entirely to dogs. Pick up fish and chip-flavour dog treats, cherry barkwells or one of the extraordinary doggie gateaux. For human culinary treats, Chineside is set above the beach, with dog-friendly terraces and a nice line in burgers and local fish. Continue reading...

U.S. Airlines Called Out by Senator on Worker Shortages Despite Big Bailout Money

Here it comes. Airlines are being questioned by Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington about why they did such a poor job managing their workforces while receiving billions in payroll support. Labor shortages are creating consumer headaches as carriers start to forecast the return of profits. -Tom Lowry

Quarantine to remain for vaccinated UK travellers returning from France

Late change to Monday’s new Covid rules in England as strict conditions introduced on travel to Bulgaria * Coronavirus – latest updates * See all our coronavirus coverage Travellers returning to England from France will still be forced to quarantine next week even if they are double-vaccinated after ministers made a last-minute change to rules due to come into force from Monday. From 19 July, all Britons who have had two Covid jabs heading back from amber list countries were told they would not need to complete up to 10 days’ isolation at home. Continue reading...

10 of Croatia’s best crowd-free places in for a

With Croatia set to go on to the green list, we pick quiet islands and beaches for a post-lockdown escape Last summer, visitors who managed to make it to Croatia had a taste of what the country was like before the days of mass tourism. And it tasted good. But while honeypots such as Dubrovnik were unrecognisably quiet, there have always been parts of the country where you don’t have to wade through crowds. Places where things move at a less hurried pace, where Croatian life can be savoured, where you get a flavour of what the Dalmatians call fjaka – the art of doing nothing. These islands and mainland destinations are what you want in a post-lockdown escape: peace, beauty and the chance to discover why Croatia is such an enticing country. Continue reading...

U.S. and Canadian Travel Advisor Groups Look Beyond Rivalry to Reopen the Border

The entire travel industry greatly benefits when groups many would think of as competitors work together to provide assistance for travelers and travel advisors. -Rashaad Jorden

Lifting U.S. Restrictions on European Travelers Now Being Considered by President Biden

The phrase being used is a sustainable reopening. Unfortunately, the only thing sustainable about much of Europe at the moment is the continuing rise in infections. Biden's final call may well be delayed. -Matthew Parsons

Mexico Is First Country to Reach Pre-Pandemic Travel Level: New Skift Recovery Index 🔒

Mexico’s score increased to 100 index points, which indicates that the country’s travel industry has fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. A momentous occasion, but a closer look shows that not all sectors are back to normal. -Wouter Geerts

Lufthansa switches to gender-neutral plane greetings

German airline group Lufthansa will greet fliers using gender-neutral language from now on.

10 favourite British islands: readers’ travel tips

Scotland is home to many best-loved islands, but our tipsters also pick atmospheric places off England and Wales It requires effort and planning to get to Rum, and it has few facilities, which means the island has nothing like the crowds of its big brother over the water. I had my finest day’s walking ever traversing the first three peaks in the Rum Cuillin range, and my best travel experience staying in the Guirdil bothy on a beach on the north-western coast. Then there’s Kinloch Castle, the decaying pile built by a Lancashire textile magnate. His grandiose mausoleum is well worth a visit too – by bike across former deer-stalking tracks. Paul Kirkwood Continue reading...

Expedia in Latest Exit From Hospitality Tech Sells Alice

Hotels generally don't want online travel agencies to run their front desks and house-cleaning services. And Expedia Group is much better at marketing and booking hotel rooms than operating them. -Dennis Schaal

Venice bans cruise ships from the city center -- again

The Italian government has issued a decree banning large ships from the center of Venice from August 1. However, the ships will remain in the lagoon for the medium term, until a permanent solution is found.