More Half-Term Holiday Horrors

A couple of months back, we were reporting on the so-called Easter ‘travel chaos’ as under-staffed airports struggled to cope with an influx of travellers.

Well, things have settled down since then, right?

…right?

We're sorry to say that the answer is a great big 'nope', folks. UK airports (and others abroad - Lisbon and Dublin have suffered in particular over the last couple of weeks) continue to be having an absolute mare.

Meanwhile, airlines are resorting to more and more last-minute cancellations, and the recriminations are flowing thick and fast on all sides as everyone tries to figure out who to blame.

Here are a few of the lowlights:

Manchester Airport

Manchester Airport has continued to face the very worst delays and some pretty shocking last-minute cancellations, with one TUI passenger reporting that he was waiting for 11 hours to find out that his flight to Greece wasn’t going ahead.

Queues for security have been reported trailing out into the car park as early as 4am, and one wheelchair user was left waiting on his plane for two hours as no staff were available to help him disembark.

It all got so bad that police were drafted in to disperse angry holidaymakers, and at least one passenger got arrested. In total, 34,000 TUI passengers from Manchester have had their flights cancelled for the coming month. Wowza.

But there are some (sort of) positive stories, too: like Simon, the pilot who got so bored of waiting that he went down onto the runway and helped to load luggage onto his own plane.

Gatwick Airport

Oh, Gatwick. You were doing so well over Easter, but now the jewel of the south-east has also succumbed to travel chaos, with heavy delays and EasyJet cancelling a number of flights.

One particularly memorable horror story came yesterday, when the crew of a Vueling flight bound for Florence gave up on waiting for their passengers after a two-hour check-in delay, and took off for Italy without anyone on board.

Everywhere else

Long queues and last-minute cancellations have also been reported at Cardiff, Belfast, Stansted and Heathrow over the past week, while waiting lines at Dover and the Eurostar have begun building up.

And during this time of troubles, it’s been heartening to see that the travel industry has come together and with one united voice made it clear that this is all somebody else’s fault.

Airports have blamed airlines. English border controls have blamed French border controls. Labour have argued that the Government has been “asleep at the wheel.” Grant Shapps himself has waded in to tell the travel industry that it should have seen all of this coming months go.

And the Daily Telegraph has decided to pick a fight with...you. Yes, they've argued that “ ill-prepared passengers are to blame for Britain’s airport chaos”, because we're all not bagging our liquid containers quickly enough.

If you’re travelling in the next few weeks, the usual advice applies: keep a close eye out for any updates from the airline or airport, make sure you know your rights around any refunds, get there as early as you can - and good luck!

If you get through security and onto your flight promptly and unscathed (or if things go really horribly wrong and you want to vent to someone), drop us an email at [email protected]! We'd love to hear from you.

You'll Never Be Bored With A Board

As we dust off our flip-flops and sunglasses in preparation for the summer, and after two years of mostly holidaying in our own back yards, it seems like a lot of us are planning to be more active on our travels. (In one survey, 70% of travellers said that physical activity was a priority for them in 2022.)

So with that in mind, we’re making a case for stand-up paddleboarding as your new summer sport - it’s relaxing, it’s mindful, and it’ll give you one heck of a full-body workout, as Men’s Health point out. (We also have a great way to get you started, courtesy of our pals at Decathlon - skip ahead to the end if you can’t wait to find out.)

And taking up paddleboarding will also give you a great excuse to visit some of the most stunning locales across the world. To name just a couple of examples…

#1: Costa Rica

Paddleboarding requires different conditions to surfing - you’ll probably be looking for calmer waters and fewer waves.

And Costa Rica is rightly famous for the quality of its surf and sealife, but it’s also a very convenient consideration for getting the water conditions just right, since its two coastlines will see favourable water conditions at different times of the year.

The western coast, exposed to the Pacific Ocean, will see powerful waves during the ‘green season’ (May-November), while the eastern coast, facing the Caribbean, will perk up from December-March for the dry season. So simply pick your coast depending on your sport - or do a cross-country trip to get a bit of both.

On the western coast, Tamarindo is well-known as one of the country’s most popular spots for watersports, with plenty of surf schools and paddleboarding classes or beginners - and just as many crowds.

But instead we’d take a trip over to the trendy town of Montezuma on the slightly more remote (and thus, less busy) Nicoya Peninsula. It’s got a huge nature reserve, a ton of reliable beaches, world-class restaurants, and a beautiful-but-possibly-haunted cemetery island if you happen to be into that sort of thing.

From there, head south along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and eventually you’ll come to the Osa Peninsula - and the waters of the sheltered Golfo Dulce.

This extraordinary ecosystem (actually one of the world’s few tropical fjords) offers calm waters for paddleboarding, as well as visits from humpback whales, whale sharks and more.

Those peaceful vibes are perfect for testing your mettle with a bit of paddleboard yoga, too. Just be careful not to drop the downward dog if a friendly whale bumps into your board.

While you’re in the vicinity, check out the absolutely stunning Golfo Dulce Retreat - it’s a fully-sustainable eco-lodge operating on its own power grid, only accessible by boat and sitting in a plum position between the rainforest and the beach.

#2: Oregon, USA

Yes, that Oregon. Home to Simpsons creator Matt Groening, Nike, and the world’s biggest living organism (the awesomely-named Humongous Fungus) - as well as some of the world’s best spots for paddleboarding.

That’s because Oregon is home to a raging Pacific coastline as well as stunning pine-framed lakes and clear-water rivers - giving you all of the options in the world when it comes to a boarding adventure.

The laid-back skiers’ city of Bend was actually named Outdoor Magazine’s top paddleboarding getaway worldwide back in 2014, thanks to their easy access to the gorgeous Cascade Lakes (there are also plenty of specific paddleboarding trails where motorboats are banned), as well as the city’s own Deschutes river that passes through the gloriously pretty Old Mill District.

For a convenient and cheap stay, book in a couple of nights at the historic Lucas House in downtown Bend - it’s the city’s oldest brick building, and now a lively hostel that runs movie nights, a local ale trail, and even has its own shuttle for ferrying travellers out to local spots across central Oregon.

Grab a beer, chat to your fellow visitors, and get a great sense from the real experts about where’s best to hit the water.

And now for the juicy bit. Our pals at Decathlon have created an inflatable beginners’ paddleboard (so you won’t need to worry about hauling it through the security gates).

It’s easy-to-handle, ultra-stable, generously sized - and if you use this link, you’ll pay just £249.99, £50 off the usual price. Have a click and see if it strikes your fancy.

Our Pick of the Clicks

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

• The BBC is spending time in lovely West Papua, with the nomadic Bugis who take a few lucky visitors to swim with whale sharks.
• The Guardian is showing off the UK’s coolest isolated retreats - eco-hideaways lost in the wilderness and the mountains. Bliss.
• Need a reason to visit beautiful Bilbao? The city’s famous 12-metre-high Puppy statue is now covered in gorgeous summery flowers.
• Conde Nast Traveller think they’ve found Europe's best family hotel; Anassa, in Cyprus. (And fair play to them, it does look very nice.)
• And Virgin Atlantic are becoming the first UK airline to allow their on-flight staff to display tattoos.

Grab a gelato and settle down on the piazza to enjoy the sun - Italy has removed the last of its COVID-19 restrictions for travel.

Thanks for reading!