Why you're wrong about the Algarve
Ignore the stereotype: there's so much more to the Algarve than its beaches and golf courses. You just have to know where to look
14 May 2021 • 4:24pm
Walk the wild west: A week-long rambling holiday will take you along dunes and clifftops, to isolated coves and paths lined with Mediterranean flora
This summer, the Algarve is our best chance of a sun-soaked European getaway, with Portugal planted firmly on the UK’s travel green list and the Portuguese government having now lifted its travel ban to allow British holidaymakers to fly to the country from May 17. No doubt you’ll gravitate towards the Algarve’s Blue Flag beaches and glitzy resorts, but look beyond and you’ll find a region full of surprises.
Some European islands are spying 'Covid-free' summers, but which, and will they achieve it?
14 April 2021 • 11:41am
Capri, in the Bay of Naples, is aiming to complete its vaccinations early
Credit: Getty
In the early days of the pandemic islands were held up as the ultimate source of shelter; places to batten down the hatches, shut the borders and bask in splendid isolation.
Now, as the resumption of international travel nears, the same destinations are using their geographical context as a tool to woo back holidaymakers.
Greece showed its hand first, with plans to vaccinate fully its 69 islands in the Aegean by the end of April, in the hope that it might attract tourists while also keeping the local population safe.
I couldn't get my holiday abroad – so I turned my flat into a Mexican beach for the day
With lockdown boring on, and little chance of getting away anytime soon, our writer indulged in some creative escapism
5 February 2021 • 12:30pm
Writer Katie Russell and her boyfriend decorated their flat to pretend they were on holiday in Mexico
Credit: Rii Schroer
I was tempted to snooze my alarm as it went off early on Saturday morning – but then I remembered with a jolt that I was going on holiday.
Worry not: I’m no influencer jetting off to Dubai. I wasn’t going abroad at all, in fact. My boyfriend and I were simply taking a trip down the hallway to the living room of my flat in London, where a coastal idyll awaited.