Omi-crikey, Round II

Unsurprisingly, but a bit miserably, the Omicron variant continues to play havoc with travel plans everywhere this week.

Here’s what’s been happening:

In the UK…

• If you’re over the age of 12, you now need to take a pre-departure COVID test (and test negative) two days before your flight back into the UK.
• If you test positive, you won’t be allowed to travel. No ifs, no buts.
• You’ll also still have to take a Day 2 test once you’re home, as before.
• Meanwhile, Nigeria has been added to the UK’s newly reformed red list - meaning that travellers will be required to take a hotel quarantine when returning from there.

Government sources have suggested this week that we shouldn’t expect any further tightening of the travel rules for the time being, as international restrictions are no longer considered likely to effectively contain the variant.

All of this is having a big impact on the air industry, unsurprisingly. British Airways has already been busy cancelling flights during 2022 in response to the increasingly dire news - over 2,000 journeys have been shelved between now and the end of March.

But in slightly happier news, the Government has announced that they’re working on a new COVID pass for 12-to-15-year-olds, to hopefully make travel easier for families during the winter break.

Overseas…

• Ireland has introduced new entry rules for international travellers (antigen tests for the vaccinated, PCR tests for the unvaccinated).
• Bad news if you were hoping to party with David Guetta en Paris this December - France is extending its mask-related rules and shutting down its nightclubs.
• And Denmark has launched its own new domestic restrictions, which are set to last for the next four weeks.

Our Dream Destinations in 2022

As travel appears to lock up and restrictions tighten once again across much of the world, many of us are probably looking at our plans with a sense of gloom.

So to cheer us all up, we’re taking a look ahead to 2022 and beyond - and we asked you, our lovely JFC readers, to nominate the dream destinations you’ll be heading to once the pandemic is no more.

We’ve included a few of our favourites below, as well as some tips from us for anyone who’s feeling inspired!

Santiago, Chile

Charlotte

“In the coming weeks, I should finally be able to get my visa in order to move to Chile, my boyfriend's country. I've been trying to make this move since late 2019, so I'll be really happy when everything comes together at last!

I studied in Santiago in 2018, and I'm looking forward to living there again and revisiting my favourite parts of the city, such as Parque Metropolitano and Cerro Santa Lucía.|

I also hope to explore more of the amazing nature in both the north and south of Chile, as well as visiting some other South American countries for the first time. Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia are all on my list.

Hopefully, 2022 is going to be a lot more exciting and adventurous for me than 2021 has been!”

Our tips

It sounds like you and your boyfriend don’t need any travel advice when it comes to the sights of Chile, Charlotte!

But since you’re clearly fans of beautiful parks and stunning city views, we imagine you’re planning to stop off at Quito - the Ecuadorian capital has some gorgeously-positioned greenery. (Our friends at the Culture Trip recommend Parque Itchimbia in particular for its sunset views of the Old Town.)

When it comes to Colombia, we’d definitely want to check out the historic walled city of Cartagena, on the country’s northern coast (home to both an elegant classical musical festival and a wild electro rave in January - hopefully nobody gets their tickets mixed up).

Heading east from there, you can check out a world-unique mixture of natural sights, from the tropical rainforest and stunning beaches of Tayrona National Park to the snow-capped mountain peaks of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

Hope you both enjoy yourselves!

Cartagena, Colombia

Sheila

“The Canadian Rockies - I know, as travellers we feel it's a real oversight that we've not been here yet!

We love the mountains: the Nepalese Himalayas were wonderful, the Argentinian Andes amazing, the European Alps and their lakes awesome. So that gap in global mountain ranges needs to be plugged.

I'd like to fly into Calgary and then use a combination of trains, buses and hire cars to explore the area in a large circle over 3 or 4 weeks. As Canada has done well with its vaccination programme, and the area is definitely outdoors, I'm hoping that next summer will be our time.”

Lake Louise, The Canadian Rockies

Our tips

If you’re mountain-lake lovers, you definitely can’t go wrong with the Canadian Rockies - this sounds like an amazing adventure, Sheila!

If you haven’t considered it yet, we’d recommend Banff as the obvious easy starting point into the mountains from Calgary. July and August are the peak tourist months, so it might be worth taking your trip slightly earlier or later if you want to keep the relatively warm temperatures but miss out on the crowds!

Banff will also be a handy base for you to then explore the very beautiful Lake Louise and its famous turquoise waters - and if you don’t mind an uphill hike, you can even head up to the nearby 100-year-old Lake Agnes Tea House for a scone or six.

And if you haven’t figured out your next continental mountain range yet, you might want to consider Australia’s magnificent Blue Mountains in New South Wales (famous for their sculpted sandstone cliffs), the extraordinary and under-visited Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda (which saw just 1,000 hikers in 2018, compared to the 50,000 tourists trekking up and down Kilimanjaro during that year), and…

...well, Antarctica might be the trickiest continent here, but once you’ve done the rest of the world, there’s always the vast, 65-million-year-old Transantarctic Mountains that slice through the middle of the ice.

Mountain IQ recommends caution for all but the hardiest and most experienced mountaineers - and even once you’ve climbed up all 4,300 metres of Mt Bell, there probably won’t be any scones at the top, sadly.

Lynne

“I can’t wait to visit Malawi - it’s been postponed twice.

Looking forward to catching up with friends, drinking tropical Fanta from a glass bottle, speaking with the locals, seeing local wildlife & visiting Lake Malawi!”

Our tips

Double-check your travel dates, Lynne, because if you’re lucky, your trip might just coincide with one of Malawi’s legendary live events, like the spectacular Lake of Stars music festival.

If you have the time, you should check out the stunning island of Likoma, in the north-eastern corner of Lake Malawi, which boasts an exciting mix of modern and traditional culture; it hosts both a yearly summer festival with DJs and weekly malipenga dance-offs in traditional garb.

You sound like you know your stuff already when it comes to the local food and drink.

A Western Australia study back in 2010 found that Malawi’s ultra-sugary Fanta variety was the most popular in taste tests across the world - but if you’re in the mood for something a bit different, we’d always opt for a glass of malty mahewu.

Our Pick of the Clicks

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.

• The Telegraph has been sharing horror stories from travellers (and Richard E Grant, strangely enough) who’ve been caught in quarantine at UK hotels.
• American Airlines are in hot water after an employee was allegedly “screaming” at an elderly Jewish couple who refused to put their prayer shawl on the cabin floor.
• You should definitely check out this incredible drone footage of lava flowing from the Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption in Spain.
• Australia is under assault by a plague of budgies, because of course it is.
• Fish in the Banda Sea have been making bizarre noises - from purring to foghorn sounds - and scientists are hopeful that it means the Indonesian coral reefs are recovering after years of explosive fishing.
• Yassify your vocabulary (but don’t come across as cheugy) by brushing up on 2021’s hardest-to-pronounce words from around the world.

The A-Z Of Amazing Cities

In this column, we’re shining a spotlight on an incredible city around the world, offering tips and inspiration for your next short-haul visit (a huge thank-you to the members who suggested this column!)

E is for...Elche

There actually aren’t too many cities out there beginning with ‘E’ (shout-out to East London in South Africa) but we’re not being put off - that’s just encouraging us to get creative.

So this week we’re skipping Edinburgh and Essen and landing right onto the sadly under-visited but deeply fascinating, palm-filled city of Elche in Valencian Spain, sat between Malaga and Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast.

Elche has been an industrial world-leader in fashionable footwear since the 19th century (the city claims to contain over 1,000 shoemakers - that’s one for every 200 citizens) - but for the history-loving traveller, there’s a heck of a lot more to see here than just espradilles.

What’s the COVID situation?

• Spain currently requires proof of vaccination for travellers from the UK, as well as a Health Control Form certificate.
• As of 4th December, Valencia requires you to show an EU Covid Certificate to enter leisure or eating establishments.
• Bars, restaurants, hotels and museums are all open in Valencia to max capacity, but you’ll be expected to abide by the usual hygiene rules, including mask-wearing.

Artsy Town or Party Town?

Elche is all about the history; it’s ancient, and we do mean ancient. Originally settled by wandering Greeks back in 600 BC, then conquered by the Carthaginians, then the Romans, who decided (there being limited options for snacking on the go back then) to plant a whole bunch of date palms across the city.

After invading 10,000 years or so later, the rulers of the Cordoban Caliphate agreed that palm trees were really nifty, and promptly installed a vast irrigation system across Elche (as well as a bunch of typically stunning Moorish architecture that can be seen to this day).

Now Elche contains 200,000 towering palm trees in shady parks all across the city - collectively known as the ‘Palmeral’, they’ve been made an UNESCO World Heritage site.

Hot tip - if you do find yourself wandering in the park and feeling a bit peckish, the dates ripen around October-December, becoming brown and soft. (You'd have to climb the thorny trunks to get to them, of course, which we don't recommend).

But the Palmeral isn't Elche’s only example of world-unique heritage, either. On 14th and 15th August, the ‘Mystery Play’ takes place in the city’s magnificent blue-domed Basilica - a medieval drama, sung and chanted by a city choir once a year since the 15th century, which depicts the death of the Virgin Mary.

If you do want to get your chainmail on, but you’d rather not sweat through the Spanish summer temperatures, there’s also an epic city-wide medieval festival every autumn, with traditional food and archery lessons.

Once you’re tired of city sight-seeing, grab a boat across to the tiny island of Tabarca - once a haven for Mediterranean pirates, now the perfect place for a romantic getaway and a glass of local muscadet.

China has discovered a mysterious cube on the moon (Alien spacecraft? Portal to another dimension? Or just a cube-shaped rock?).

Thanks for reading!