Brits are escaping the country for the city: Breaks to Amsterdam, Paris, and Krakow are booming!
Long-haul travel is back: Thailand, Vietnam and Bali more cost effective than Europe!
WHY ISN’T there a National Take a Holiday Day? You know like Ice Cream for Breakfast Day (was 1st February), National Tea Day (21st April), World Cocktail Day (13th May) – there’s even Roast Dinner Day (4th November). Here at Chalkmarks, we believe we have found a gap in the calendar. We declare it National Take a Holiday Day. It begins first thing today – 1st March, just ahead of British Pie Week. So, the idea is simple. Whatever the weather, you have a holiday day. You go somewhere you’ve never been before, even if it’s just to the town next door to visit and explore. If this takes off, museums will be free, and eating out will be discounted. This would have an immediate positive impact on everyone’s lives and businesses. If you deserve a break, this is one for you. Join our campaign now. As that’s sorted, welcome to your fact-packed, must-read monthly travel round-up…
Flights, hotels, sights, and shows!
Cities are getting a break: Travel agent On the Beach has let slip that package holidays for city breaks are up 10 per cent on last year. Hungry-holiday Britons are heading to Amsterdam, Paris and Krakow, said its boss Shaun Morton. The Independent has more. It is also advising we ditch the summer holiday and go away at Easter instead. It could save you a bucketload of money – more than £1,000. It said its own prices were 50 per cent cheaper in April than in August. Zoe Harris, from On the Beach, said: “This year is the latest Easter has fallen for five years. Holidaying during the break means you can enjoy highs of up to 30 degrees in Egypt, 24 degrees in Greece and the Canaries, and 22 degrees in Turkey. So you get sunshine, a tan and save a whole lot of cash all while helping drive down prices for summer.” Another from the Independent.
Break the holiday scam: Airbnb has sent out a nationwide warning over holiday scams. With it being peak season to book for Easter, its own research showed that the majority of people couldn’t identify an AI-generated advert or fake pictures of holiday homes. And the worst place to be scammed? On social media with links that take people away from trusted sites. Many even said they would spend a lot of money if a holiday was advertised by a celeb or an influencer. Airbnb’s advice is to never click on weird links (not their word), be wary of cheap deals and high deposits, not to pay via bank transfer and to always report the scam. More here from the Independent.
Europe who? Long-haul is back on the (post)cards as they offer much more for the same price say travel experts. We’re destined for adventure beyond Europe this year with trips to Thailand, Bali, Antigua, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Africa and the US. A fine list indeed. Bookings are up 14 per cent on last year says Kuoni, and Thomas Cook reports a 10 per cent increase. Julia Lo Bue-Said, of Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “Many families are discovering that long-haul destinations can be more cost-effective during school holidays than European alternatives, particularly in regions like Thailand and the far east, where local costs remain attractive.” The Guardian has more.
Peace takes flight: After three years of war in Ukraine, airlines are preparing to resume flights to Kyiv as soon as the skies reopen. With Donald Trump promising a peace deal is on the way, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said the airline is ready to fly millions of passengers back into the heart of Ukraine. He said: “Straight out-of-the-box… we have two million seats in there within six weeks (of the sky reopening) and then I think we would want to open bases both in Kyiv and Lviv within 12 months and then I think we could go from two to five million passengers within a year or two.” He also said to expect airfares to rise between 4-6 per cent this year. Reuters has more.
Why go to Amsterdam: You can jump on the Eurostar and be in Amsterdam in four hours. And what a beautiful difference it is from London when you arrive at Centraal. It has a very distinctive smell, if you know what we mean. And it isn’t tulips! What puts this famous city on the map? It’s the museums, Europe’s highest swing, canal boat trips, and its neon-lit red light district. It was in 2023, Chalkmarks reported, how the city council had told Britons to “stay away”. They said they’d had enough of stag parties and pub crawls. Did it work? No. We’re still going. So before heading out for a drink in the Dutch capital, have a coffee. Anyone know a good joint? Peace and love to all!
Coming home: Amsterdam Centraal, in fact, has been spruced up with a brand new terminal built in just eight months – and it was all for us Brits. See it here. I guess it means they don’t want us to “stay away” any more. Funny how things turn out. Train services are also back up and running through to London. They were technically still running, you just couldn’t check-in, so passengers had to get off at Brussels to do the official border security stuff and get back on board. But, once again you can do it at Centraal and be back in London in four hours! There are three daily trips and two on Saturdays.
Why go to Paris: There might be permanent queues outside the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, and the Champs-Élysées might always be crowded and two-star hotels cost as much as a five star ones but this is the City of Light, baby. Where else in the world can you be surrounded by boulangeries – on every corner? There’s an estimated 30,000 of them, that’s a lot of croissants and baguettes to get through! If you don’t want to miss a touristy thing: Book a hotel, ask to stay on the top floor, push open the window and there it’ll be…Paree. In Seine!
Don’t look down: The Eiffel Tower has opened up a dare-devil suspension bridge made of netted mesh that can carry just four people at a time. The Vertigo walkway stands 60 metres (100ft) above the ground that visitors can cross between the south and north pillars. It opens on 9th March. See it here.
Why go to Krakow: It’s always a perfect day in Krakow especially when the sun is out making the whole city picture perfect. In the Old Town, horses trot the tourists around the main square and in the Jewish Quarter, the restaurants serve up hot potato dumplings. The must see museum is Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was once the largest Nazi death camp. Today, it stands as a memorial, preserving evidence of the Holocaust, including gas chambers, accommodation blocks, and the personal belongings of the 1.1 million people —mostly Jews, along with Poles and Soviet prisoners of war – who perished.
Where else: Wizz Air has announced it’ll start budget flights direct from Gatwick to the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. The airline has announced plans to offer trips beyond Europe on planes that can fly for up to 11 hours. It’ll also start a new route from Gatwick to Jeddah in March and is also considering Abu Dhabi and Muscat. The difference with a long-haul flight though is that the Wizz Air seats won’t recline and there won’t be free meals on the seven-hour flight. Boss Marion Geoffroy said: “The ultra low-cost seat has evolved over time. The comfort is the same.” The Times has more.
Gone south: Languishing at the bottom of the map, the New Zealand tourist board is promoting a new slogan to attract their Aussie neighbours. Costing £227k they came up with… wait for it: “Everyone must go… even you”! Was it an invitation to visit or an order to leave? Nobody was sure. Some said it sounded as if they were trying to tackle immigration, adding that thousands had already gone. Another thought it sounded like New Zealand had been thrown into the clearance sales bin. And so, the ad campaign has been ridiculed. Whatta welcome from the Kiwis. Chalkmarks has never been but we are not sure if we should come or go? The Guardian has the story.
Great Scots: Hotel prices in Edinburgh during the summer are the highest in the world according to US diplomats. Rates in the Scottish capital cost more than a stay in billionaire playground Monaco, a seven-star hotel in Fiji, and even the Cayman Islands. The reason for the exorbitant rates is the spike during the Festival and Fringe in August where even the Travelodge Waterloo jumps from £65 a night to £250, and prices at the iconic Balmoral on Princes Street quadruple. Other expensive cities to stay in are in Aruba, Tel Aviv, Reykjavik and Bermuda, while Vanuatu and Tokelau in the South Pacific are among the cheapest. This was in the Times.
Woop: Did you see the lovely photo of some cute penguins in the Daily Mail. Wait! That was our photo – yes, woop! We love seeing our pictures in print. If you missed it, see above, click here!
Taking a nosedive: British Airways has been rated the worst airline for long-haul flights in the Which? annual customer survey. It also ranked worse than Tui and easyJet for short-haul flights. The airline, which once set the industry standard, is now rated poorly by passengers for long delays, cancellations, comfort and value for money. Singapore Airlines came top for long-haul flights and Jet2 for short-haul. Ryanair came last for short-haul trips. BA said: “This research from Which? is entirely at odds with comments from the hundreds of thousands of customers who we know do travel with British Airways and then tell us about their experience.”
What’s it’s like being in Ibiza when the clubs are closed? Well… it’s going from the hotel, to the beach, to a cafe, to a bar for pintxo and Cava, watching the sun set, and back to the hotel. Not much really accomplished. But we did book a boat trip to Formentera to walk the 6km (almost 4 miles) along the coastline and soft white sand, with the sea lapping on both sides of the beach, until the end point where the water meets. During the summer months 3.5 million holidaymakers travel to this small Balearic island for the superclubs and sunset cafes Almost a million are Britons. But in February, the beaches are empty, the weather is warm and you can still have a Cava (or two). Pacha will have to wait. This is our view.
Say my plane say my plane: Beyonce is sending flight searches to the UK spiralling out of control as she heads to London with her Cowboy Carter tour in June. According to eDreams Odigeo they are up 49 per cent. Pablo Caspers, from eDreams Odigeo, said: “It’s been fascinating to track the impact of music tourism on global economies, with global artists inspiring travel to concert destinations across the world.” There’s more in the Evening Standard.
Kicking things off: Heathrow has finally announced its plans for a controversial third runway. The £14 billion planning project will also include expanding Terminals 2 and 5 and creating new roads to improve bus and coach connections. Airport boss Thomas Woldbye: “This is vital investment and will ensure Heathrow remains globally competitive and a jewel in the country’s crown.” Sky News had it all.
But: Airlines have raised concerns that the cost of the third runway would be eventually be passed on to passengers through higher air fares due to high landing charges. BA and Virgin are calling for a review “born out of the spiralling costs at the airport, which are being shouldered by customers and airlines alike”.
Also up in the air: A second runway could soon be landing at Gatwick Airport with plans to use the emergency airstrip as a permanent runway. This makes it “shovel ready,” say airport bosses. It would allow an extra 100,000 flights a year or 75 million passengers. Some think it’s a bad idea and there’s a lot of opposition out there, but if the government gives the green light, it’ll be ready faster than it will take to build a third runway at Heathrow expected in.. no one knows when. A final decision on the £2.2 billion Gatwick expansion plan is expected later this year – could be April, probably October. It’s on Sky News.
Have you seen our pictures: Our fantastic travel photos, which capture some of our favourite destinations around the world, are now available for sale on Alamy. Woohoo!
Gulp: A cocktail in Belfast has been unveiled with an eyewatering £1,000 price tag. In fact, the five-star Merchant Hotel, in the city centre, has described its Irish whiskeys by Midleton, Macallan and Michter’s as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience”. Chalkmarks isn’t sure if it is really a cocktail or just a shot. If you don’t care for whiskey and we don’t - tastes like petrol - but do want a real cocktail they also have a Mai Tai – rum, orange curaçao, lime juice and almond syrup – for £750. Bargain! The Belfast Telegraph has more.
Americans are talking about: A moment please to raise a glass to the great British pub. The New York Times has written a huge piece telling Americans to stay in a UK pub this year to get to know the locals. The Exhibition in York, which dates to the 1700s, and has six rooms, gets a big mention. As does the Swan Hotel in Staines with its 16 rooms. The writer says: “I appreciated the Swan’s one-stop appeal as a community magnet, quality restaurant and boutique hotel at one atmospheric address.” Don’t miss out on our very own London pubs that come packed with history!
The city that stole the crown: London is really a city within a city….within a city. Within the old Roman City Walls you’ll find the Barbican, Leadenhall Market and St Paul’s. The Tower of London didn’t come along until a thousand years after the Romans arrived in 43. It was built outside the City Wall in 1078, which was around the same time that London became the nation’s capital. Modern additions to the City include a handful of skyscrapers all located around Bishopsgate, including the Gherkin, the Walkie Talkie, the Scalpel and the Cheesegrater. The latest, is known by its address, TwentyTwo, and was completed in 2020. Read all about what you should know about London here.
New exhibition: The Natural History Museum will open its first permanent gallery in nine years, focused on Earth’s environmental challenges called Fixing Our Broken Planet. Opening on 3rd April, it will feature over 250 specimens, including a Sumatran rhinoceros and whale earwax, highlighting humanity’s relationship with nature.
Not Dun: In celebration of all things Scottish, Dundee V&A has scooped up £2.6 million of levelling up funding to expand its musuem. First opened in 2018, the striking building which resembles a ship in a nod to the city’s maritime history sits on the waterfront of the River Tay. The museum spotlights Scotland’s fashion, architecture and design heritage. PA Media has more.
In Somerset: A visitor centre at Ham Hill Country Park will be built with £2 million of National Lottery Heritage Fund grant. The site is significant for its large Iron Age hill fort built by Celtic tribes before the Romans arrived. The money will pay for a cafe, exhibition space, with a design inspired by roundhouses from 2,000 years ago. The BBC has more.
Italy, yes please! How about slowing down in Sardinia or nibbling bite-sized treats on a city break to Bologna. Or Sicily? This is the largest island in the Mediterranean and the biggest region in Italy. It’s home to many of Europe’s volcanoes – Etna being the biggest, Vulcano the stinkiest and Stromboli one of the most active on earth. The Valley of the Temples is older than the Acropolis in Athens. The Aeolian islands are outrageously stunning but so few tourists make it there. And if all this is not enough, Palermo has the best pizza on the planet and in Catania they eat ice (granita) for breakfast. Irresistible! Watch this to find out where to start.
In case you don’t follow us on social media you really should. Here we are, here too and over here. Say hola muchacha on Bluesky!
…sights, and shows!
