This week's COVID updates

The big travel changes this week come courtesy of the UK, as the English Government hurriedly preps for the half-term break next week. But there's also some news from the US, as Joe Biden and co get ready to open their borders to vaccinated travellers in early November.

 (By the way, if you're one of our lucky Premium members, you might already have seen incredible cheap returns from the UK to LA and San Francisco, starting in January...)

Let’s dive right in, shall we? Here’s what you need to know:

UK updates

• The UK has confirmed that, as of Sunday 24th October, fully-vaccinated travellers no longer need to take a PCR test to return to England without quarantine - instead, you’ll be able to take a cheaper lateral flow test (and upload a photo of your results).

• How much cheaper? As the Independent helpfully explains, approved lateral flow kits are likely to cost around £20 on average, while PCR tests can go as high as £70 apiece, depending on the brand.

• From tomorrow (22nd October), the gov.uk website should be updated with a handy list of approved providers that you can buy your new tests from.

• Concerns remain about the UK’s once-again-rising COVID rate, but the Government has stated that they don’t currently intend to change their plans for travel or implement their ‘Plan B’.

• However, Morocco has just announced that flights to and from British airports (as well as Germany and the Netherlands) will be suspended until further notice.

USA news

• As the USA preps for their 8th November border openings, they’ve been helpfully clearing up some of the confusion about their own rules around vaccination. 

• Most importantly, Dr Fauci has announced that travellers who’ve received the Astrazeneca and Sinovac vaccines will be recognised as fully-jabbed, as will visitors who’ve received mixed doses of two different approved vaccines.
• Already packing your bags? Lonely Planet has a handy, up-to-date round-up of what restrictions you can expect once you arrive in the US after the 8th.

Lapp Up These Stunning Sights

One of our amazing Detour readers sent us a message a couple of weeks back: “Hey! I'd love to see an article on Finnish Lapland tips and advice (I'm headed there next month).”

Well, anonymous reader, that’s exactly what we’re here for. So sit back, sip your coffee, and enjoy - this one’s for you.

#1: How to travel (hopefully you’ve already booked this bit)

Getting to Finnish Lapland: Most travellers will need to change at Helsinki and catch a regional flight north to Rovaniemi airport from there, although UK visitors can grab a direct TUI, easyjet or Norwegian flight from Gatwick and Manchester.

Getting around: The Finnish rail and bus network is apparently pretty reliable between the largest Lappish towns, even in the height of the snowy season. There’s even a Santa Claus Express overnight train!

If you’d rather rent a car, you should find that it already comes equipped with snow-tyres and winter gear. (If you want to take a trip across to Swedish Lapland, just be aware that the border crossings currently have varying opening hours in place.)

#2: To Pack: Jumpers, and lots of them

Our intrepid reader has picked a unique time to travel: there should be a decent sprinkling of snow in November (although probably not enough to get the most out of the slopes at Yllas ski resort), but the Christmas crowds of Santa-hunting tourists won’t have descended onto Lapland just yet. 

However, you can still expect average daytime temperatures of about -3 Celsius throughout the month, with highs of just above freezing. During the midwinter, it’ll drop down to a teeth-chattering -8 in the daytime and -17 at night.

Dress warm, especially if you’re going out to explore, and maybe plan for frequent trips to the hot tub. The bravest visitors can even hitch a ride on the Sampo, an Arctic icebreaker vessel, and go swimming in a toasty survival suit.

#3: To eat: Kaffeost

Lapland has fascinating local delicacies, from reindeer meat to cloudberries (while our lucky reader is out-of-season, they should definitely consider heading back during the warmer months and going berry-foraging).

But you should begin with the kaffeost - or ‘coffee cheese.’

It’s exactly what it sounds like; cubes of dried cheese, bobbing merrily up and down in a cup of coffee. As they stew, the cheese softens without melting, absorbing the flavour of the coffee.

As Atlas Obscura wisely advises, just don’t take too long before you scoop the cheese out and eat it - otherwise you’ll end up with something sodden, sad, and textureless, like a tragic Weetabix that’s been stewing for hours in its own milk.

#3: To do: meet the huskies, see the Lights

A lot of the most famous Lappish sight-seeing activities are strictly seasonal, which can make it tricky to do everything in one go. The ice hotels won’t generally open for business until December (any earlier and they’re still literally being carved!), and husky-sledding safaris don’t tend to run until the snow is firm underfoot.

But if you’re willing to get creative, you can have an awesome time in Lapland all year round - including some quality time encountering their most famous floofs.

For instance, Hetta Huskies - an award-winning, ethical dog-sledding kennel in the north of Finland - spends the autumn and spring months training their hounds up. Better yet they welcome visitors who are up for the challenge to come and join them, to help those pups practice.

While you’re in the region, you’ll definitely want to see if you can get a good look at the Northern Lights, too. 

Sadly, getting a glimpse of that glow isn’t guaranteed. That's why we'd recommend checking out Finland-holiday.com's tips to increase your chances, including a couple of apps you can download to check weather conditions in advance. 

To our anonymous reader - safe travels and have an amazing time! If you come back with any photos or tips, we’d love to hear them. (And if anyone else has a request for an article, just let us know via our feedback form!)

Pick of the Clicks

All the other important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web:

• Qantas is being prosecuted, after stopping the pay of a cleaner who’d raised concerns about exposure of employees to COVID on one of their flights.

• Florida has announced the opening date of its all-new Peppa Pig theme park. If it’s any consolation to all of the exhausted parents out there, nobody’s trying to build a Paw Patrol World. Yet.

• The 2021 Wildlife Photographer Of The Year winners have been announced! The top picture, taken underwater by Laurent Ballesta beneath the surface of a French Polynesian lagoon, took a gobsmacking five years to capture.

• One LA hotel has introduced a COVID-safe robot waiter, Alfred, who scoots around offering guests champagne.

• History’s first ever Balloon World Cup took place last week, with Peru crowned the champions. The rules? In a living room 'pitch', two players bat a balloon into the air, trying to keep it away from the ground.

• And tragic news - after two decades, Christchurch in New Zealand is finally taking the city’s official wizard off its payroll. (Do they take him for some conjurer of cheap tricks??)

Our Top Holiday Haunts (Part 3)

This week, we’re finishing off our epic countdown of the creepiest sightseeing locations across the globe. (Next week, check in again for our final Halloween reveal, as we share our guide to the world’s top three haunted hotels!).

But what took the top spot? Read on to find out…

Bhangarh Fort & Town, Rajasthan, India

What is it?

A mysteriously ruined 17th century fort and sprawling town, deep in the foothills of Rajasthan in western India.

And, if you believe in curses, this strange place is apparently a victim of an extremely powerful one - it’s often called ‘the most haunted place in India.’

It’s said that Rajasthan is condemned to eternal ruin, and that any attempt to build within the grounds of the town will be doomed to failure. (While there are a lot of different stories about how this happened, most of them involve a mean-spirited local sorcerer and a beautiful queen.)

Meanwhile, at night, strange figures are said to stalk amongst the collapsed buildings, and it’s claimed that no visitor who stays within the town walls overnight will be there come morning...

Why’s it spooky?

Bhangarh certainly doesn’t look as creepy as the other sightseeing spots on our list - in fact, it’s astonishingly beautiful (just look at that picture!) and contains some wonderfully-preserved temple ruins.

But it gets a serious amount of extra credit from us for just how seriously the dangers of the ruins are taken. 

The Archaeological Survey of India has gone as far as erecting signs all across the ruins, stating that visitors are strictly forbidden after dusk and before dawn - as soon as the sun goes down, tourists are ushered away, and the fort’s gates are firmly barred. 

How do I get there?

Bhangarh is about a two-hour drive from the stunning Pink City of Jaipur (which is very much worth your time as well) - alternatively, you can stay at the nearby town of Alwar and go from there.

While you’re in the neighbourhood, you should definitely stop off at the nearby Sariska Tiger Reserve - 340 square miles of lush Indian forests, home to leopards, hyenas, wild boar, and even, yes, the occasional tiger.

One woman in Bosnia-Herzegovina couldn’t decide on her favourite view of the nearby countryside...so her husband built a rotating house.

Thanks for reading!