My next travel plans

The world is slowly starting to open up which, hopefully, means that we will start to see more real-life travel once again. However, at the moment this is one huge question mark, with vaccine passports, foreign variants, and the general fear of coronavirus all complicating things a little. We asked our writers what they thought about being able to travel and where and when they planned to go first.

Lucy Carter

It might be easier to list places that I don’t want to visit post-lockdown than places I do. I’ve caught the travel bug over the last few months – and at the worst possible time. I think that being so restricted has just made my urge to hop on a train and travel across Europe even worse.

First of all, there’s that longing to go back to slightly familiar places. Lisbon, Bruges, Amsterdam, somewhere in France where I can break out my extremely rusty A-Level French. There’s always more to discover when you re-visit somewhere; you get a better feel for the place, and maybe even achieve every traveller’s goal of feeling somewhat like a local. I also want to see new places – Madrid, Berlin, Florence… just writing about it makes me want to start searching for hotel discounts and cheap train tickets.

Holidays, although fun, can be stressful, and I think the added stress of Covid tests and threats of lockdowns would destroy any sense of enjoyment

However, I don’t think this summer will be the right time for these adventures. Holidays, although fun, can be stressful, and I think the added stress of Covid tests and threats of lockdowns would destroy any sense of enjoyment. So my aspirations will have to be postponed, for now at least – I just hope that 2022 will be more conducive to travel!

Reece Goodall

When lockdown is finally over, my intention (vaccine and EU bureaucrats notwithstanding) is to head to Spain. My partner lives in a small town just outside of Madrid, and I’ve had two trips to visit her cancelled since Covid started to govern our lives – I want to go out there and be able to see her outside of a computer screen. I don’t anticipate going on any traditional holidays (I was looking at Vienna for a concert, but it doesn’t feel worth the risk) – this, however, is different.

With how things are looking, I’ll likely have had a jab before I can fly, and although the situation in Europe is considerably worse, I believe a combination of vaccination and taking safety precautions should be more than enough to keep me safe. I don’t imagine it will be a trip full of going to lots of places, even though Spain’s lockdown rules seem to operate very differently to ours – restaurants and places are all still open, so perhaps there’s the potential for hanging out, but that doesn’t matter. This trip is about people, rather than places, and I’m looking forward to going when I can!

Noah Keate

At heart, I enjoy travelling within the UK rather than overseas. This is not, I’m afraid to say, because of an overly altruistic attitude towards the environment, though I suppose that helps. Instead, it is a matter of confidence. Despite my best endeavours on Duolingo, my Spanish remains poor. While I’ve tried to become more money-savvy, I haven’t yet expanded my knowledge to dealing with foreign currencies.

Given that I believe a holiday should be relaxing, exploring somewhere in the UK for the first time, rather than venturing abroad, was a habit of mine long before anyone had heard of Covid. Assuming the restrictions follow the government’s roadmap, my holiday plan, which has become a key motivation during essay and exam season, is escaping to Harrogate.

It was a place I first saw during one of my many TV lockdown series: Last Tango in Halifax. Set in Yorkshire, it was a part of the country I was desperate to explore more when the time allowed. I’ll hopefully be staying in an Airbnb – even though it’s a multinational corporation, I like the principle of a large section of my accommodation costs going to individuals.

There is no Lonely Planet book for the area; only the internet has any recommendations. The most exciting part however will be discovering what I previously knew nothing about

Harrogate itself is a town I know very little about. While I believe it’s a spa town, like where I currently reside, that is about the extent of my knowledge. It contains a Betty’s tearoom, somewhere which will become an essential visit. Beyond that, I know very little. In a way, that is something I am celebrating. There is no Lonely Planet book for the area; only the internet has any recommendations. The most exciting part however will be discovering what I previously knew nothing about. Ample time has been provided to do that online. Finally, we’ll all be able to do that in real life again.