‘I was forced to abandon a case of expensive wine at Palermo airport'
At check-in the box was refused after I told them what it was. Apparently this was because I'd exceeded my personal allowance; because it wasn't in a suitcase; and because it was inflammable liquid. This legal item was refused on spurious grounds and I had to leave what was an expensive case of wine in Palermo airport. I've had no apology or offer of compensation. What further steps can I take to bring Volotea to account?Peter Harvey
What a shame you had to abandon a case of delicious Sicilian wine in Palermo. Unfortunately it will be tricky to get compensation for your loss. Volotea insisted you'd exceeded your personal alcohol allowance, which was five litres, but this was irrelevant because the rule applies to drinks with between 24 and 70 per cent ABV and you only had wine, which is about 12 per cent. It added, however, that the decision was also made in line with safety regulations. 'The item was transported in a cardboard box rather than a suitcase, raising additional concerns about packaging and suitability, as items may be refused if their weight, shape, or nature is deemed unsuitable for transport under the applicable guidelines.' It will not offer any compensation and gave no clue about what happened to the wine. If you want to take your case further you could try the UK International Consumer Centre, which aims to resolve disputes with companies outside the UK (ukecc.net). Next time you might be safer using a suitcase and a roll of bubble wrap to transport precious bottles.
✉ I have nostalgic memories of childhood holidays in Switzerland and Austria, in Heidi countryside, with a stream, meadows and the sound of cowbells along the road each morning. I'd like to arrange a week's holiday in a similar place, with a friend or family member, and am looking for a good traditional-style hotel with a pool or spa, with easy access from London by plane or train. Any ideas?Viv Lowe
Hotel Meisser in Guarda in Switzerland's Engadine Valley could have stepped straight out of Heidi, such is its fairytale setting. Tucked away in the Swiss Alps and surrounded by meadows, this deeply traditional family-run hotel is housed in beautifully preserved 17th-century Engadine buildings decorated with pastel murals and has classic stone pine panelled interiors. There's great walking from the door but if you prefer to stay put, there's a gym, yoga house and sauna, or you can drink in the magical views from one of the loungers in the garden. Half-board doubles start from £286 this month (hotel-meisser.ch). Fly to Zurich and then take the train to Guarda (there are two changes) and the post bus up to the village.
• The Alps is my all-time favourite summer holiday. Here's where to stay
✉ We're looking for a change from the UK norm this Christmas and are keen for a relaxing ten-night long-haul break for a family of four, including two children aged 11 and 12. We'd love an all-inclusive hotel, direct flights from London and the opportunity to take them snorkelling, ideally from the beach at the hotel. Our budget is up to £12,000. Any suggestions?Kate Voss
It's only June but Christmas long-haul trips are selling out and trying to tick all your boxes is already difficult. Mauritius, the Seychelles and Mexico are too expensive but a trip to the Caribbean is doable and if you stay at Dreams Dominicus La Romana in Bayahibe in the Dominican Republic you'll have snorkelling from the beach on a man-made reef directly in front of the resort (you can also snorkel along the right side of the resort's beach, near a jetty and more reefs). An 11-night all-inclusive holiday with flights from Gatwick on December 23 starts at £12,018 if you all share a deluxe tropical view room (tropicalsky.co.uk).
• 29 of the best winter sun destinations for 2025
✉ As an expat Australian with thyroid problems I really suffer in London winters and would like to spend January in a warm climate, not too far from the UK. I want to fly from Gatwick and be within walking distance of a beach and places to eat and shop. I love art and history. I only need one bedroom and have a good budget. Can you recommend anywhere?Allison Holmes
If you're looking for the perfect quick escape from a gloomy London winter, make sunny Malaga your base. It's an easy trip from Gatwick, has a beach within walking distance of the city centre and some of the best museums and galleries in Andalusia, including the Museo Picasso (the artist was born here) and an outpost of the Pompidou Centre in Paris. For history buffs, the Malaga Museum, with its fantastic archaeology section, is a must-do and once you've worked through the city's cultural offerings, Cordoba and Granada are an easy train ride away. Best of all, temperatures often creep into the 20s in January. There are plenty of centrally located one-bedroom apartments starting at about £1,200 a month (airbnb.co.uk).
✉ My husband and I were caught up in the power outage in Spain on April 28 when we were due to board the 9.15pm British Airways flight from Madrid to Heathrow. With no electricity in the whole of the city, no phone signal at all and no feasible way to get to the airport, we had no way of contacting or being contacted by BA to ascertain whether the flight was still going ahead.
When the electricity came back on at about 9pm, we got a notification from BA that our flight was going ahead with a short delay. It was still impossible to get to the airport, so with phone lines working again, we desperately tried to get hold of BA but to no avail. We had to get back so we booked the last two BA seats we could find the next day, costing £1,257.60 (£628.80 each), as well as another night in our hotel, which cost £464. I put in a claim but BA phoned me to say that because the original flight took off, the airline was unable to provide any reimbursement. Am I in the wrong for expecting some sort of recompense? We were forced to book those flights because in the chaos that day, BA was unavailable for passenger assistance.Venus Simbulan
BA really does need to sort out its communication and advice to passengers during critical incidents (I've also heard from a reader who tried his best to get into Heathrow Terminal 5 when it was shut on the day of the power outage there in March because the BA app insisted his flight was still going ahead). There was obviously no way you could get to the airport and BA should have followed the example of easyJet, which quickly announced that it was offering free transfers to other flights for passengers unable to travel. After I sent BA details of your case, one of its customer service team got in touch to offer a full refund of your replacement flight and hotel stay as a gesture of goodwill.
• 19 of the best places to visit in January 2025
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Times
an hour ago
- Times
Six of the best backpacking routes across southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is still the ultimate destination for backpacking adventures. The region spans 11 countries, from Myanmar to the Philippines, and is a kaleidoscope of cultures, landscapes and flavours. Today it blends classic routes with modern-age comforts too, making it easier than ever to chase the big moments: think high-speed trains, eco-stays and better connectivity. Whether it's sunrise over Angkor, motorcycle rides through misty limestone mountains or late-night bowls of noodles in Bangkok's buzzing Chinatown, there are well-known sights and those you'll want to keep secret for yourself. To help you plan, we've mapped out six journeys that highlight the best of the region, plus options for group travel. Here are southeast Asia's best backpacking routes. This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue Recommended time two to three weeks First-timers can experience southeast Asia's highlights — rich nature, buzzing cities, epic beaches — in a journey between its top travel hubs, Bangkok and Singapore. In Bangkok, visit the sprawling Chatuchak weekend market, sip cocktails at BKK Social Club — one of the city's best bars but with a price tag to match — and feast on Michelin-starred street food at Jay Fai. Then head to the island of Phuket, a 1.5-hour flight or 12-hour bus ride away. For extra room, book the 24-seat VIP sleeper buses that depart from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal in the Taling Chan district. Five days affords enough time to explore the city of Phuket, where colourful 19th-century buildings house boutique hotels, hostels, lively bars and cafés, and places to try dim sum. Although most come to idle on some of the province's thirty or so beaches, including seven-mile Mai Khao right next to the airport. Take a flight or overnight bus to Penang across the border in Malaysia and wander around the Unesco site of George Town. Gorgeous Sino-Portuguese architecture sits next to Buddhist shrines, Hindu temples and mosques, while hawker centres serve everything from Hokkien noodles to nasi lemak (Malay-style coconut rice with sides) and roti canai (flaky Indian flatbread served with curry). Head to your next stop, Kuala Lumpur, by train. Malaysia's efficient railway network is among the region's best, and you'll reach the capital in about four hours. Spend a few days here to eyeball the Petronas Twin Towers, visit the Islamic Arts Museum and explore the Batu Caves, a Hindu pilgrimage site known for its large statue of Murugan, god of war. Venturing two hours south to the city of Malacca allows you to explore another Unesco site, which showcases its British, Dutch and Portuguese influences in windmills, forts, shophouses and fusion dishes such as Portuguese-style devil's curry. End your adventure in Singapore, but beware the backpacker budget may go out the window here if you're not careful. Hostels are more expensive and the city is known for its luxury hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants; instead head to the hawker centres for the best no-frills food. Look for the stalls with the longest queues and it's hard to go wrong. Intrepid Travel's 15-day Bangkok to Singapore tour takes groups of up to 12 adventurers on a similar itinerary. But, instead of Phuket, you'll spend two days in Khao Sok National Park, exploring vast caves and one of Earth's oldest rainforests; then two more in Krabi at the resort town of Ao Nang, sea kayaking and wildlife spotting, with free time for beachcombing or rock climbing. • Best hotels in Bangkok• Best affordable hotels in Singapore Recommended time one to two weeks Get off the beaten track in northern Vietnam's remote Ha Giang province. This road trip — a loop between the districts of Dong Van and Meo Vac — is revered for dizzying mountain passes, jaw-dropping limestone karst and deep cultural experiences. Travellers typically rent a motorcycle and enlist the services of a local guide in the laidback provincial capital of Ha Giang, then spend three to four days navigating roads that curve through quiet villages and rice-terraced hillsides near the Chinese border. Homestays with H'mong, Tay or Dao families offer a brief and unforgettable immersion into highland life, while the route itself delivers major highlights: the rolling peaks of the Dong Van Karst Plateau, the vertigo-inducing Ma Pi Leng Pass and the Lung Cu Flag Tower marking Vietnam's northernmost point. The ride usually ends back in Ha Giang, where regular night buses return to Hanoi. But the journey can be continued with a few easy detours. Keep riding or take the bus to Cao Bang, where the tiered, turquoise Ban Gioc waterfall crashes across the border into China — and where Nui Thung Mountain (Angel Eye Mountain) defies logic with a hole right through its middle. Then visit Ba Be National Park for a break among limestone cliffs and the jungle-fringed Ba Be Lake. This is another incredible place to explore the region's diversity. Tay, Dao, Kinh and H'mong communities all live around the lake, and many villages offer homestays. When it's time to end the tour, take the bus to Hanoi and indulge in cups of ca phe trung (the city's signature egg coffee) and drinks at the growing number of cocktail bars. Contiki is your best bet for partly replicating the above itinerary courtesy of its Ha Giang Loop — a five-day circuit offered as an extension to longer Vietnam tours. Participants trek to the Ma Pi Leng Pass, cruise along one of Asia's largest canyons, discover local culture in Dong Van and overnight in humble homestays. • Best hotels in Hanoi Recommended time three to four weeks Most travellers start in Bangkok, but Thailand's underrated second city, Chiang Mai, can captivate you for weeks. The former Lanna kingdom capital has teak temples such as Wat Phra Singh, mellow Burmese-influenced dishes like khao soi (yellow curry with egg noodles) and vibrant areas with snacks, shopping, street-side massages, music and more. The city also serves as a gateway for adventure travel, offering treks to Karen and H'mong villages, plus thundering waterfalls like the 280m-high Mae Ya. For an extended trip, take a minivan to Chiang Rai province, about four hours north, and explore its diverse attractions: blissful eco-lodges, national parks, the blue and white temples Wat Rong Suea Ten and Wat Rong Khun, and the Choui Fong tea fields in Mae Chan. Consider the overnight slow boat from the Thai border town Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang, Laos's imperial capital. This one-of-a-kind journey rumbles along the Mekong, past dense jungles, offering snapshots of rural life you won't find elsewhere. Otherwise, Chiang Mai airport offers direct flights to Luang Prabang. Unwind in Laos's cultural capital, immersing yourself in the city's numerous temples, the turquoise Kuang Si waterfall, the dawn tak bat (alms-giving ritual) and a Lao massage. For about £15, a modern high-speed train takes you to Vang Vieng in an hour. This revamped backpacker hub is now Laos's outdoor adventure hub, primed for bike roads and treks around the stunning limestone karst formations. Take the train once more to the capital, Vientiane. After exploring the Patuxai war monument — Laos's answer to the Arc de Triomphe — head to the riverside for larb (minced meat salad) with a cold Lao beer. With travel restrictions in place at the Thai-Cambodian border, heading south by bus is out, so instead fly to Phnom Penh. The Cambodian capital has cruises along the Mekong, hip bistros and buzzing markets to explore. You should also allow time for its Tuol Sleng and Killing Fields museums related to the Khmer Rouge genocide. End your tour in Siem Reap, where impressive temples await. Nothing tops watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Contiki, which has an age limit of 35, operates a 16-day tour that starts in Bangkok before heading north to Chiang Mai and onto Chiang Rai's temples. Entering Laos, you'll cruise along the Mekong to Luang Prabang to meet monks before taking the train towards Vang Vieng and Vientiane. A flight to Phnom Penh follows, and a full day at Angkor offers a fitting finale. • Best places to visit in Thailand• Best things to do in Thailand• Is it safe to travel to Thailand and Cambodia? Recommended time two weeks Journeys to Borneo tend to start in one of two places: Jakarta or Singapore. While the Indonesian capital has its charms, Singapore's transport infrastructure (including Changi, frequently ranked the best airport in the world) makes it the easier choice. From here, fly to Kota Kinabalu to hike up 4,095m (13,435ft) Mount Kinabalu for sunrise, then join a tour to see orangutans in the jungle. If time is limited, go to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre instead. After a one-stop flight to Bali, spend a week exploring the Island of the Gods. Bali is well-trodden, but you can still find places away from the crowds. For example, skip overrun Kuta and Seminyak in favour of the brilliant white-sand beaches of Bingin or blissful Nunggalan in Uluwatu. Take a day trip to Nusa Penida island to hike, dive or lounge in the sand, or head to the backpacker hub Ubud, where you'll find plenty of others who want to join you in a visit to the Tegallalang rice terraces and Tirta Empul, the sacred water temple. If you have more time, take the ferry to the car-free Gili Islands, which are prime spots to snorkel and encounter sea turtles, or neighbouring Lombok, a larger island known for its pink beach and hikes around Mount Rinjani, an active volcano. Of the three stunning Gili Islands, Gili Trawangan has a lively party scene, while Gili Air and Gili Meno are much quieter. Group tours almost never combine Bali with Borneo, so it may mean booking two separate packages. For the Indonesia leg, Intrepid's Jakarta to Ubud itinerary spends two weeks crossing Indonesia; instead of Kinabalu you'll hike up Mount Bromo at sunrise, while, in lieu of orang-utans, the Seloliman Nature Reserve delivers jungle and photogenic rice terraces below a sacred volcano. Some beach time rounds things off nicely. • Best hotels in Bali• Best hostels in Bali Recommended time two weeks For intrepid travellers, tackling Vietnam on two wheels is a rite of passage. But those who don't want to drive motorcycles on the country's challenging roads can do the same journey via the Reunification Express, the train linking Ho Chi Minh City with Hanoi. After slurping pho and visiting markets and museums in frenetic Ho Chi Minh City, travel to Dalat, the cool highland escape encircled by pine forests, lakes and waterfalls. Visit Vietnam's beachy Nha Trang for two days of R&R, then hunker down in Hoi An. The Unesco site enchants travellers with its boutique shops, cooking classes and cultural shows — try to visit during the full moon, when lanterns light up the town and local people stage traditional performances on the river. Nearby Danang might be less majestic, but the rapidly developing city is also a great base, thanks to its abundance of hostels and hotels, beaches, amazing street food scene and craft breweries. Step into the past in Hue, where Nguyen dynasty emperors once ruled. Although Hue suffered significant damage during the war, the imperial city has been carefully restored. Then finish in Hanoi, where centuries-old architecture lines the capital's lanes. Do as the locals: settle into tiny plastic stools for bun cha (grilled pork balls with noodles) and bia hoi, the beloved — and staggeringly cheap — fresh beer. Budget extra (from £30 to £100 per person depending how fancy you want to go) to spend a night on a junk boat among the karst in Ha Long Bay too. Note though that the bucket-list site has been plagued with rubbish for several years; a rowing boat trip in Tam Coc has become a popular alternative for its equally splendid landscapes minus the floating heaps of plastic. For anyone aged 18-39, G Adventures' 18-to-Thirtysomethings range of tours includes a 12-day trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. Riding buses and overnight trains, you'll visit both Nha Trang, Danang and Hue before a drive through Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park's lush mountains and a cruise around spectacular Halong Bay in a traditional sailboat. • Best things to do in Vietnam• Best hotels in Vietnam Recommended time one to two weeks Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is your starting point for this island-hopping adventure. Skip the city's chaotic traffic and make straight for the beach with a one-hour domestic flight to Coron. This island is full of postcard-worthy scenery: limestone cliffs tower above electric-blue waters in Twin Lagoon and sugary sands line Banol beach, where rustic huts hang over the water. Next is El Nido, at the tip of Palawan island, via a four-hour ferry ride from Coron. To explore El Nido, it's mandatory to book one of four island-hopping excursions, labelled A, B, C and D. The most popular, tours A and C, take you to lagoons and hidden beaches, including the can't-miss Big Lagoon and Helicopter Island. Book in advance through a reputable tour operator such as Discover El Nido or Hello El Nido. While you can book these tours privately, group trips are great ways to meet other travellers. Take a bus four hours south to Puerto Princesa and fly to Bohol. The jungle-covered island is best known for its Chocolate Hills — thousands of grassy hills, scattered across 20 sq miles of land, that turn brown in the dry season. Budget five days here to go cliff-diving into turquoise pools with Kawasan Canyoneering; spot the tiny tarsiers at the island sanctuary; and unwind on Panglao, an island with white-sand beaches linked to Bohol by a bridge. If there's time to spare, take the two-hour ferry from Bohol to Siquijor. Meet the island healers who cast off evil spirits with their bolo-bolo rituals, cool down in emerald Cambugahay Falls or explore the 23 coral reef dive sites, before taking one of the regular ferries to Dumaguete City on Negros — a 50-minute trip — and flying back to Manila. As El Nido and Bohol are 300 miles apart, most tours focus on one or the other. Contiki's Ultimate Philippines Island Hopping With Boat Expedition fits in both during a 22-day epic, however, with time for home-cooked meals and floating along an underground river. It concludes with four camping-based nights enabling visits to 15 remote, idyllic islands. • Best beaches in the Philippines Any we've missed? Let us know in the comments
Finextra
2 hours ago
- Finextra
Why Gen Z Is Choosing Crypto for Travel Payments in 2025: By Shanice Octavia
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Week in wildlife: A wild elephant, a playful dolphin and fighting zebras
He ain't heavy: two grasshoppers on the Shark Valley hiking trail at the Everglades national park near Miami, Florida Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA What's the game? A playful dolphin joined a family on their morning swim at Lyme Bay in Dorset, UK Photograph: Lynda Macdonald/SWNS A one-footed white ibis flies over Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images Four units at the Gravelines nuclear power plant in Nord, France, were shut down on Monday due to the 'massive and unforeseeable presence of jellyfish' in the pumping stations for the water used to cool the reactors Photograph: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images Volunteers walk across a lagoon at dawn to gather flamingo chicks and place them inside a corral before tagging them with identity rings, marking the 40th anniversary of the ringing event at the Fuente de Piedra natural reserve near Malaga, southern Spain Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters Egrets fly among the blooming lotus flowers in Hongze Lake wetland in Sihong county, China Photograph: Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock A migratory bird perches on a dead tree in a deforested patch in Mida Creek, Kenya Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images A clownfish takes refuge among a sea anemone's venomous tentacles, gaining protection from predators while also benefiting from feeding opportunities around the anemone in Anemone City, one of the most popular diving spots in the Red Sea, Egypt Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images A local fisher holds a crab in a reforested mangrove area where fish and crab stocks are recovering, in Marereni, Kenya Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images Banned African catfish are buried after Assam police seize a vehicle. The cultivation of the Thai Magur, a type of catfish, is banned because it poses a threat to other fish in an ecosystem Photograph: Anuwar Hazarika/NurPhoto/Shutterstock A sea cucumber in Havannah Harbour, off the coast of Efate Island, Vanuatu Photograph: Annika Hammerschlag/AP A brown bear and her cubs seeking food in a garbage dump in the Sarikamiş district of Kars, Turkey, where the world's only migrating brown bears live Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Lions feast on their prey in the Masai Mara wildlife area, Kenya Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Three white-tailed eagles have successfully fledged from wild nests in Sussex, UK, marking a new high for a reintroduction programme Photograph: Forestry England/PA A dugong, classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, swimming underwater in the Red Sea, Egypt Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Elephants cross a road at Tsavo East national park, Voi town in Taita-Taveta county, Kenya Photograph: Brian Inganga/AP Hammerhead sharks at the Daedalus Reef, on the southern route of the Red Sea Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images A white rhino crosses a dirt road in Limpopo province, South Africa Photograph: Per-A keeper rehydrates a common swift with water at the University Veterinary Hospital Center for Wildlife, Faune Alfort, as a heatwave hits France, in Maisons-Alfort near Paris Photograph: Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters An alligator rests near the Shark Valley hiking trail in the Everglades national park in Miami, Florida Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA Two squirrels frolic in St James's Park during a heatwave in London Photograph: Jack Taylor/Reuters Zebras tussle as they graze in the plains of the Maasai Mara game reserve in Narok county, Kenya Photograph: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters An oriental garden lizard rests in a garden in Nagaon district, Assam, India Photograph: Anuwar Hazarika/NurPhoto/Shutterstock A pair of wallabies in the English countryside. The small mammal is usually associated with Australia and New Zealand, but sightings have become increasingly common in Britain, with the latest taking place near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire Photograph: Brian Montague/SWNS A woman and a baby watch a three-legged wild elephant walking outside their house in a village near Amchang wildlife sanctuary on the outskirts of Guwahati, India Photograph: Anupam Nath/AP
