"Dry for most on Friday, hot towards the southeast" – so predicts the Met Office for the UK this morning. But by tomorrow, expect "some rain, heavy in spots and moving eastwards through the day". So make the most of now. My recent sunshine survey, for which I studied three decades of Met Office weather data, points the way to the Isle of Wight for maximum brightness; Swansea, Dundee and the Ards Peninsula are sunniest in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. With a blink-and-you-might-miss-it heatwave, I am staying in the UK this weekend, while hoping the peak getaway proves smoother than some signals suggest. At the Port of Dover, the third weekend in July has seen long queues for each of the past two years as French frontier officials scrutinise passports. After Brexit, the government negotiated for UK passport holders to be treated as third-country nationals, alongside the good people of Tonga and Venezuela. The European Union complied. Our chosen status means every passport must be scrutinised and stamped before entering the EU. That is exasperating enough for those waiting in long lines at their destination airport, but potentially even worse where border controls are "juxtaposed": Eurostar's London St Pancras hub, the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone and the Port of Dover. Before 6am, Britain's main ferry port warned: "We are experiencing some wait times with tourist traffic. Wait time for Border Control is approx. 25 mins." "If you enter the port two hours before your sailing, we're going to endeavour to get you through the border control process and get you checked in for your ferry," says Doug Bannister, Dover's chief executive, about the weekend exodus. But unlike at an airport, there is no penalty for missing your planned departure: "If you're disrupted our operators will automatically rebook you on the next available ferry, and typically that is the next sailing. So you will get away."
This week I learnt the next step in our post-Brexit entanglement with red tape – the entry-exit system – will not now begin until November. Initially the demand for every British traveller to be fingerprinted and photographed will be eased, to avoid gridlock at Dover, Folkestone, London St Pancras and beyond.
Overtourism? These destinations are desperate for UK visitors |
Heart felt: Furniture at a bar in Rovinj, Croatia |
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| With castles, caves and affordable beach clubs, Puglia is the perfect family holiday destination. Read more. |
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| For the past century, during the 10 days of the Calgary Stampede rodeo, everyone is offered breakfast. Read more. |
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| Escape the sweltering temperatures in Europe for beautiful landscapes and cool climes closer to home. Read more. |
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In the interests of avoiding airports over this peak weekend, I returned this week after a mainly joyful fortnight of travelling through Europe. My stash of cash survived in better shape than I had feared: partly because of a stronger pound in response to the election result, but mostly because contactless payment is fairly ubiquitous across Italy, Switzerland and (to a lesser extent) Germany.
Beware of "Dynamic Currency Conversion", which I found more prevalent than ever. This is the unfair practice whereby the tourist is invited to pay in their "native currency" (in my case, sterling) rather than that of the host nation. But the deal is stacked against you, with the merchant and their bank typically splitting 5 per cent in commission. You should always be given the choice. Check the card terminal before you tap your card or enter your PIN, and always select the local currency.
Along with my colleagues Annabel Grossman and Ben Parker, I discussed where, in Europe, cash is still king. Listeners to the podcast chipped in, advising that a wad of notes is nigh-essential in the Greek islands, where a tendency for the card reader to be temporarily out of service seems strangely common. Austria, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania were also highlighted for their reliance on notes and coins, and on my journey last weekend through Croatia I was told many times: "Cash only." Even long-distance coach tickets cannot be bought with plastic. I was carrying euros, but also the wrong kind of cash. My last big trip to Croatia was two years ago, and I had kept about £50 worth of kuna. Since then Croatia has switched its currency. Surely, I imagined, someone would take the old notes off my hands? "Take them to the National Bank in Zagreb," I was advised on my third attempt to spend or change the notes. Not right now, thanks; I'm enjoying the summer. How has travel changed in three decades? Watch our TV debate |
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Malaysia Airlines – Final call! |
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Britain's best rail deals |
Many people – rail passengers or not – believe fares are way too high. But there are some deals that are reliably affordable. On the competitive Edinburgh-Newcastle link, fares of around £14 are often available: for example, departing from the Scottish capital at 9.33am tomorrow on TransPennine Express – with the 5.34pm priced at only £10.10. Between Manchester and Crewe, Northern has plenty of advance tickets for between £5 and £6, often bookable just 10 minutes ahead. Railcards make these fares one-third cheaper.
Railcard discounts do not apply to the Superfare from Avanti West Coast (pictured above), which also requires a week's advance booking. For a fare of £9 between Birmingham and London, you choose between morning, afternoon and evening, and discover the exact train only 24 hours before your departure. |
Closed skies – and airports |
Flying in the afternoon or evening of Friday 26 July? You won't be going to or from any of the Paris airports. Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Beauvais airports will all be closed for the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in the French capital. Normally the three would handle more than 350,000 passengers between them on a peak summer Friday.
Going anywhere else? Prepare for detours: a patch of airspace the size of Belgium is closed across northern France. Routes from London Heathrow and Manchester to Nice, as well as Bristol to Milan and Edinburgh to Marseille, normally cross Paris, but will need to steer well clear a week from today. The Olympic no-fly zone across northern France on 26 July |
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During your 30 years as travel correspondent, where has been your best free stay? |
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As I pay for my travel, including accommodation, I have a limited number of free nights from which to choose. Late one summer night in Vichy, central France, all the hotels were full. So I "tailgated" a couple into an unstaffed hotel reception, found a comfortable armchair and set my alarm for 5.45am, predicting the staff would be in at six. I scarpered before anyone appeared. For the avoidance of doubt, I do not recommend such a practice and fear it may have transgressed French law. I have also enjoyed, if that is the right word, free accommodation in some of the shepherds' huts that punctuate the French side of the Pyrenees; these very basic refuges, often with inadequate roofing and questionable hygiene, are free on a first-come, first-served basis. I have also slept in unoccupied huts in the Darien jungle of Panama, and wild-camped in locations including Scotland and France.
In terms of actual beds in real hotels, I can report only a couple of freebies. One was a night at a hotel near Cosford in Shropshire. The place was overbooked, so they put me on a folding bed in the conference suite and did not charge me. Best of all was in December 2019 at a hotel near Dublin airport. Again, I arrived very late at night. My room turned out to be mid-renovation, complete with a full set of workers' equipment, and the door lock had been removed. With no other rooms available, I took a chance. In the morning the manager refunded the cost of the stay. Assuming the room is finished by now, I will certainly return there and happily pay next time. |
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| Stay comfy on long journeys and save £11 on this inflatable travel pillow. |
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| | Need inspiration for your next adventure? Lonely Planet's guide to train travel in Europe is currently discounted. | |
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