From the best local hotspots to fraud protection: four ways ‘chief holiday officers' can ace their planning
However, even the best CHOs could do with support, and to make their lives easier Barclays has curated a suite of products, including the Travel Pack1 (£14.50 per month), which offers cover for lost bags, cancellations and breakdowns for those who are looking for great value as well as peace of mind, and the Travel Plus Pack1 (£22.50 per month), which not only offers traditional travel insurance, but also a wealth of extras that help make any holiday feel safe, comfortable and – dare we say it – an adventure. From discounted fast-track security at airports to 24/7 concierge service, this means being looked after at every stage of the trip. So buckle up, these are the holiday gamechangers you never knew you needed.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority, flights from UK airports departed on average 18 minutes and 24 seconds late last year. While even the savviest of travellers do their best to take delays in their stride, it can be a drag arriving at the airport only to be hit with the news that you're going to be waiting around a while – not to mention the inevitable check-in queues and uncomfortable waiting areas that have to be endured.
Thankfully, the Barclays Travel Plus Pack1 (£22.50 per month) is designed to help soothe these moments. It comes with the DragonPass Premier+ app2, which offers a discounted fast-track service at airport security – all you have to do is pre-book online to avoid the stress and walk straight past those seemingly neverending queues. Once through, you can enjoy six free visits to more than 1,000 airport lounges, with 25% off at selected restaurants. With this extra assistance, that typically harried time spent at the airport can be transformed into a relaxing – and enjoyable – experience. Even better, if you boost your regular Barclays account with Blue Rewards3, you get access to exclusive Apple Original shows and movies only on Apple TV+.
While escaping the great British weather is often at the forefront of most people's minds when booking a trip, CHOs are often thinking about how to make the most of their expenditure. The Barclaycard Avios Plus credit card* allows you to collect Avios – the currency of the British Airways Club – with every £1 you spend on eligible purchases (T&Cs apply). Collecting Avios through day-to-day spending can save you money on flights, upgrades, hotels and car hire.
If you plan to use your credit card abroad, then a Barclaycard Rewards credit card** comes with zero foreign transaction fees. Even better, you get 0.25% cashback on eligible purchases (T&Cs apply). Top tip: always pay in local currency to get the best exchange rate on the day.
In 2025, keeping your bank account secure has to be a priority – and Barclaycard has a fraud team on hand in the UK and abroad. This means if the unfortunate does happen, Barclaycard will refund you for any fraud on your account, including associated interest payments. So keep your local helpline number close and get in touch as soon as possible if you think you've been targeted. The Barclays app4 also makes keeping your money safe abroad a breeze – you can temporarily freeze your account with the click of a button should you lose your card while away or fear it's been compromised.
*Representative example. 80.1% representative APR (variable); purchase rate 29.9% p.a. (variable); based on £1,200 credit limit; monthly fee, £20. The approval of your application depends on your financial circumstances and borrowing history, so do the terms you may be offered. The interest rates may differ from those shown. T&Cs apply.
**Representative example. 28.9% representative APR (variable); purchase rate 28.9% p.a. (variable); based on £1,200 credit limit. The approval of your application depends on your financial circumstances and borrowing history, so do the terms you may be offered. The interest rates may differ from those shown. T&Cs apply.
Delving deep beneath the touristy hubs of any destination is a must when getting to know the wondrous places that host you. Visiting restaurants, markets and businesses that are owned and run by local communities not only enable you to experience the local way of life, but you can also be reassured your money is going back into the local economy and to those who need it the most.
A part of the Barclays Travel Plus Pack1 (£22.50 per month), the digital concierge service provided by Ten offers seamless access to the best activities, events and eateries wherever you are in the world. From booking top-name restaurants to activities unique to the destination, the Ten activities hub will guide you to a list of unmissable things to do. Additionally, Ten allows you to book room upgrades and spa experiences in hotels. If your timing is right, members might also be offered complimentary tickets to exclusive events in town, such as music gigs and sporting events.
Every good CHO knows that the best way to stay safe while travelling is to have reliable travel insurance that protects every aspect of your holiday. Teaming up with Aviva to include winter sports, cruises and even non-manual work outside of the UK, the Barclays Travel Pack1 (£14.50 per month) protects you on both family holidays and work trips, without any need for extra cover. And if you enjoy the freedom of having your own transport while travelling – especially with a family – it also comes armed with RAC breakdown cover, with unlimited UK callouts for account holders in any vehicle they are travelling in. Even better, this cover will ensure you have access to a hire car, alternative transport options (for example, you'll be able to take a train or plane), and overnight accommodation, if your car was to break down – ensuring your holiday doesn't come to an end too early.
If you intend to be away for more than 31 days, you can purchase a 'longer trip upgrade' for up to 120 days. This option is ideal for those taking a sabbatical or those who are off on the adventure of a lifetime. A pre-trip call is all you need to remember, and then the fun can begin!
Find out more about Barclays travel perks by visiting barclays.co.uk/travel/
1 Terms, conditions, exclusions and eligibility criteria apply. You must have a Barclays current account, be 18 or over and hold this product for at least six months from the date of purchase – then you can cancel at any time.
2 Terms and conditions apply for the DragonPass Premier+ app and fast track security.
3 To join Barclays Blue Rewards, eligibility, conditions and a £5 monthly fee apply.
4 You must be 11 or over to use the app. T&Cs apply.
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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
The perfect European holiday destination for padel fans
'Our philosophy is friendship,' declares leading coach Labisa Palmera as he hands me a weird-looking solid racket with perforated holes for my first foray into padel. The sport, reportedly the biggest growing in the UK, and also expanding in key holiday resorts due to demand from travellers. While youngsters are picking up tennis rackets to play on public courts in the wake of the Wimbledon fortnight, more savvy sporting stars are planning to spend at least some of their summer break on the padel courts. Spain is king in this upcoming game, a cross between tennis and squash invented in Mexico, but nearby Portugal is also recognising padel's popularity. So I've come to Pine Cliffs Luxury Collection Resort, an immense 72-hectare cliffside family-friendly enclave in the Algarve, awash with Moorish touches and Portuguese tiles and an architectural gem of an inner courtyard in the main hotel. It offers everything from the prestigious Annabel Croft Tennis & Padel Academy, to a nine-hole golf course, state-of-the-art gym, award-winning spa, yoga, Pilates and, more importantly, a recently expanded padel facility. This year, due to demand, one of the tennis courts has been adapted into three padel courts to bring its total to four, complete with glass back wall and metal fencing enclosures, perfect for trying this sport out with my Gen-Z daughter, Grace, to see how inter-generational it is. Palmera, co-founder of the first padel club in Albufeira, recalls: 'It's been a huge phenomenon in Spain and 12 years ago it went crazy in Lisbon. Now, so many people, aged eight to 80, are playing padel and you don't need many lessons.' Not only is it good exercise, but padel is known for its sociability, given that so many generations play together. Ideal, then, for a family holiday. Reported to be the fastest-growing racket sport in the world with more than 25 million active players in 110 countries, the Lawn Tennis Association recently revealed that participation on home turf more than trebled last year, with more than 400,000 players in Great Britain alone. Former Wimbledon champion Andre Agassi was seen last year playing padel with David Beckham, while sporting superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and singer Shakira have all reportedly caught the bug. The premise is simple – you only play doubles, it is scored like tennis, you serve underarm and receivers can return the ball either as they would in tennis or off the wall after it has bounced. 'The thing is about padel is that it's great for the whole family,' says Palmera. 'People need fewer lessons than tennis to know how to play. At the end of an hour they have learned how to play doubles. 'We have found that 40-55-year-olds who have done no sport in life found that they could do padel. The difference is that it's a really sociable game, not too competitive, easy to learn and the whole family can do it,' he enthuses. Well, he might not think it's competitive, but that rather depends who you play. Yes, a family game can be just a bit of fun but we also see more experienced players who are slamming that ball as if their life depended on it. There are weekly tournaments and the academy can pair up solo players with others of similar abilities and organise fun clinics for all levels. Certainly, padel requires less court coverage than tennis, being a third of the size of a tennis court, and beginners can quickly pick up the techniques – the all-important lob, the volley, the 'chiquita' (placing the ball at the opponent's feet) and the position and timing needed to hit a ball off the glass wall. I hadn't played tennis or squash for years and by a certain age I felt I was done with these high-intensity sports, so I'd taken up pickleball, an easier padel relative, with a group of like-minded mid-lifers. But I was keen to enter a new multi-generational pastime which might engage my grown-up children. On a holiday where I didn't want to spend my time pounding the treadmill in a sweaty gym alongside my much fitter daughter and wanted to enjoy exercise on holiday without it feeling arduous, padel seemed a good choice. Playing as partners, Grace was told she had a great volley. I, as the more experienced racket-sport enthusiast, was informed my backhand was a killer. So far so good. On the second session, Palmera teamed us up with Irish sisters Isabella, 14, and Molly, 12, who he said were good at tennis and would make suitable opponents. Indeed, despite our age difference, the games went to deuce and we had a fun-filled match, as lobs were practised and volleys smashed. Finding a sport you love doesn't make exercise a chore on holiday, and the same goes for healthy eating, as we discovered in many of Pine Cliff's 15 restaurants, each of which has a unique setting which makes you feel you're in a different resort. We dine under the trees in a beautiful lemon grove, enjoy freshly-caught sea bream and other catches of the day looking out on to the Atlantic Ocean at the resort and feast on 'art on a plate' sushi and other Japanese delicacies at Yakuza, a restaurant in partnership with Olivier da Costa, one of Portugal 's most recognised chefs. Tangy ginger breakfast shots devoid of alcohol, acai bowls and other delicious, nutritious fare with nuts, organic honey and lashings of fresh fruit will set you up for a day of sport, or leisure, even if you just want to lounge in the grassy area under the shade of the pine trees – there are between 4,000 and 5,000 around the resort – which provide a more natural and cooler alternative to huddling around the multiple swimming pools. We're here in peak season but the park-like green space makes the whole development seem roomier, less busy. I prefer to swim in the sea and a lift takes us down to a wooden walkway between the cliffs which leads to Falesia Beach, known for its long stretch of golden sand and the distinctive burnt orange cliffs that frame it, named the 'world's best beach' by Tripadvisor users in the 2024 Travellers' Choice Awards. Here, thrill-seekers can pound the waves on jet skis or try their hand at paddleboarding, while families have fun with bodyboards riding the surf of the refreshing Atlantic. We try other sports during the week – tennis with head coach Brunno Cappelletti Rocha, whose patience with us is admirable; golf, where we hit (and miss) a few balls on the driving range, and yoga of the gentler kind, thanks to our teacher, stretching my many unused muscles. It can be done in a studio or on the beach. A sports massage at the sumptuous Serenity – The Art of Well Being spa, housing 13 treatment rooms, hydrotherapy pool, various sauna and steam rooms and other wellbeing delights, irons out my aching limbs and prepares me for the next sporting challenge. But for me padel is the star. Back in the UK, we're looking for a court nearby where we can practise our volleys, perfect our timing when the ball bounces off the glass wall, and nail that chiquita. Two adults can stay in Pine Cliffs Hotel Deluxe Room with Resort View from £326 per night (based on September 2025 stay). Adult tennis or padel weekly coaching courses at Pine Cliffs start from £300 in off-peak season (Nov-March) and £326 in peak season (April-Oct). Junior tennis and padel camps start from £265 off-peak season and £291 peak season.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
The incredible honour I received after travelling with the same train company since 1999
When British rail travel fan Steve Calladine got the call to say that his decades of criss-crossing the globe via rail had earned him an unusual accolade, he assumed it was a scam. The 67-year-old Liverpudlian, who now lives in Teignmouth, Devon, is digital booking platform Trainline's most faithful customer - having made his first trip with the company in 1999, 'when you had to ring up and tickets were sent in the post'. After enduring a spate of frustrating junk emails, he assumed the news that he'd had a room named after him at the company's London HQ - thanks to booking thousands of trips over 26 years - was a wind-up. He explained to the Daily Mail: 'I'd had a whole series of scam emails. When this one came in, I just assumed it was another. And then I thought, "hang on, I have been with them a long time, there might be something in this!"' The travel brand certainly wasn't pulling the retired business studies teacher's leg though. In a bid to put passengers front and centre of the business, Trainline decided that Steve's name should take pride of place in a meeting room. It's an honour he's worthy of. In his most prolific Trainline era, Steve, who travels with his wife Shirley, booked 400 rail tickets - including some more pedestrian journeys - in 2002. He could certainly persuade anyone who's fed up with airport stress that trains are the superior transport mode, having tried-and-tested almost every kind of holiday by rail - from Japan 's 200mph Shinkansen bullet train to the London to Edinburgh sleeper and Swiss connections that marry efficiency with scenic drama. The latter, Switzerland, has ended up being one of his favourite rail destinations - he says he's often in awe of the landscapes flicking past the window. 'The first time I travelled through the Alps, I went from Basel across Switzerland and then I found myself in Innsbruck, in Austria, and then I went all the way through to Vienna. That was a stunning journey.' Has he had any major disasters? He's never missed a connection in Europe, he says proudly, but he did almost watch his leg almost embark on a journey without him, after his lower limb got stuck in the door en route to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. 'I lifted my case on, stepped on - and the doors closed. I managed to pull my case out but my ankle was still trapped. 'I was left thinking "This is going to move off any second". People were trying to alert the guard - thankfully, eventually the doors opened.' He concedes that sometimes things go wrong - he once got stuck on a train, without a seat, for 24 hours, in Serbia, which sounds hellish, and might have pushed less resilient travellers over the he's never strayed from the idea that a journey is just as exciting as an arrival. How does he pass the hours? 'You have conversations, you talk about things that you've seen. You read a book, you have a snooze, something to about relishing the journey.' There's fun too, he says, in plotting trips; he loves working out connections and price cuts - including how fare prices can be shaved via some canny split ticketing. And Steve says he's always surprised by how far you can get in just one day of rail travel, saying the idea that he can step off the platform in Devon in the morning and be somewhere in the balmy South of France at the day's end never gets old. His passion for rail travel stems back to his childhood in Liverpool he says - 'I'm old enough to remember steam trains', which was then further cemented with trips across the Pennines while he was a student in Sheffield. The avid rail passenger, who travels with his wife, Shirley says booking three months in advance to get the cheapest deals is his top tip (Pictured at his local station in Devon) Say my name! The newly minted Steve Calladine room at Trainline's HQ in London He remembers the night too in 2014, when the railway tracks in Dawlish, 12 miles south of Exeter, were hit by violent storms, leaving a section suspended in mid-air. Huge waves whipped up by high winds smashed a 100ft section of the sea wall causing the collapse of the main coastal railway line linking London and Cornwall. He says: 'I went through that in the morning by train but I had to come home on the bus - and then the following morning the rail wasn't there at all.' Who makes the worst passengers? He's pretty tolerant of his fellow carriage-sharers but admits he's wished for ear plugs at times. 'I'm a family guy but wailing babies on trains aren't great. When you're traveling, it can sometimes be annoying, particularly when they're not yours...' When it comes to his top tips for saving money on rail fares, he says his mantra is 'book early'. 'If I can book three months in advance, that's what I prefer to do. And I accept that sometimes, if we want to go at the nicest times of day, you do have to pay more for it.' It still beats airport travel hands down when it comes to stress, he maintains, saying: 'I just walk down the road to my local station and the holiday starts there.' Where's next? 'Next year, we're hoping to travel up to Scandinavia on the train.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Hamble rower and team back on land after Atlantic crossing
A rower has said it is "absolutely incredible" to be back on land after returning from a world-record attempt across the Atlantic Jarvis, from Hamble in Hampshire, and his team, United We Conquer, made of rowers David Bruce, Sam Edwards and Adam Radcliffe, returned to Hampshire earlier, after a 3,500-mile (5,630 km) journey from New challenge has raised £100,000 for Head Up, a mental health charity for the UK armed forces is hoping for confirmation the team has beaten the official record for distance rowed in 24 hours, which is currently 116.76 nautical miles (134.37 miles /216.24 km). He said: "After living off five hours sleep a day, rowing 12 hours, dehydrated, hungry, to be back on land, seeing all my friends and family is absolutely incredible."Jarvis already holds the world record for being the first person to row single-handed across the Atlantic from mainland Europe to mainland North America non-stop, which he achieved in 111 days, 12 hours and 22 team aimed to break the 43-day world record for the North Atlantic said the journey had posed some risks."We had a capsize, we had an electrical fire, so pretty much everything that could go wrong, went wrong," Jarvis said."But I have a strong team and we were able to finish, you know, we were able to finish what we started." The rowers were met by a crowd of supporters at Hamble, including Jarvis's mother, Debs described it as a "real amazing turnout" and said "a massive thank you to my hometown Hamble and everyone that's come down from further afield". You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
