The holiday destinations that will be most 'normal' this summer

With just a couple of weeks until the start of the summer holidays, millions of Britons are like coiled springs, waiting for the opportunity to launch themselves south for sun, sea and sangria. First, the good news. After two-plus years of ever-changing Covid regulations, travel has never been easier. Of the key holiday favourites, only Spain and France still require proof of either vaccination or a recent negative test, while mask rules – even on flights – and social distancing measures have been largely cast asunder. It’s time to party like it’s 2019.

But there are threats on the horizon, tempering the anticipation of a week fuelled by Mythos and Ambre Soleil. Staff shortages have turned airports, stressful in normal times, into scenes of Biblical chaos. Prices are spiralling, with the cost of car hire becoming particularly calamitous. And a rise in Covid infections – is this the sixth wave or the seventh?! – has seen nervous authorities inch their fingers towards the dreaded “mask mandate” button.

So what’s the situation in your holiday destination of choice? We asked experts in all the key European countries to offer a snapshot from the seaside.

Even major airports such as Malaga and Alicante have been relatively free from queues and chaos, while a recent change now means Britons can use the EU e-gates in most Spanish airports, further reducing the risk of delays. There is still a chance that your airline will cancel your flight, of course.

Visitor numbers surged to unprecedented levels over Easter in some parts of Spain, and tourist cities like Barcelona stayed busy throughout May and June. Some hoteliers, however, are seeing a certain cautiousness around summer bookings, perhaps due to flight uncertainty. “There’s less demand than in the spring,” says Pepe Fux?, general manager of the Casa Camper in the Catalan capital. “There are fewer advance bookings and an increase in last-minute reservations.”

Food prices are rocketing, but restaurants and bars are doing their best to resist passing these costs on to customers. Some places have found subtler ways to make a few more euros, however, such as raising their terrace table surcharge from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

In a laudable attempt to mitigate the fuel crisis, the Spanish government is halving the cost of public transport from September.

Masks are still obligatory in healthcare settings and on public transport, but Spaniards often wear them voluntarily, even on the street. The Spanish Health Minister recently recommended them again in indoor settings, and with the infection rate rising there is talk of making them mandatory in shops, bars and restaurants over the summer. UK visitors are still required to show proof of vaccination (including a booster if their second dose was more than nine months ago) or a recent negative test.

It is mostly business as usual, though a surge in Covid rates has seen talk of restrictions being reintroduced.

Sally Davies

The long queues witnessed recently at Palma Airport have now subsided – largely due to British travellers being allowed to use the same e-gates as arrivals from EU countries.

Mallorca has witnessed a huge surge in tourism. Beaches are full, as are hotels – with some already booked up until the end of September.

Miguel Feliz, managing director of Sant Francesc in Palma and Can Ferrereta in Santanyi, says: “Both our five-star hotels are experiencing a fantastic summer, and we are anticipating an extended season with many guests from the UK, Europe and North America also booking for the autumn.”

Restaurants and hotels have increased prices by as much as 20 per cent due to high inflation and the soaring costs of electricity, gas and transport. Tourists will pay around 20 cents more for a coffee as a poor harvest in Brazil and inflated transport costs take their toll. Happily, local bodegas continue to offer excellent wines at good value.

See above.

Things remain fairly relaxed across the Balearics, and hotels are pre-pandemic busy.

Anna Nicholas

Given the chaos in countless European airports, I was expecting to be caught up in the same mayhem here in Greece. So far, however – apart from a 30-minute delay with luggage at Athens last week and slightly longer lines at security – I’ve travelled through most of the islands’ main airports (including Crete, Santorini and Zakynthos) relatively trouble-free.

Very few domestic flights seem to have been cancelled, although many British travellers have been stranded in Greek airports because of problems with UK flights.

Yes and no. Santorini’s sunset spots are as crowded as ever, and blingy Mykonos has plenty of tourists too, but many lesser-known islands are almost deserted. “Fifty per cent of our guests are British and we are almost fully booked until October, but there are other hotels – in the Dodecanese, for example – that are really struggling,” says Maria Lougari of Castelli Hotel in Zakynthos.

Petrol currently retails at around ?2.40 a litre and ferry, flight and food prices are creeping up across Greece.

A recent hotel price survey by Mabrian Technologies also revealed that, with an average price of EUR192 (?162) per night, Greece’s four-star hotels are the Med’s most expensive for July and August (its five-star properties are less expensive than France’s and Italy’s for the same period, however).

Entry rules and Covid passports have been ditched, as have masks (with the exception of health care settings; staff in hotels also tend to wear them). Rising infection rates mean Greeks are bracing themselves for the possible reintroduction of face coverings, however.

With nearly every Covid rule discarded, the most popular resorts are packed.

Heidi Fuller-Love

“Very,” if the experience of microbiologist Dr Susanne Lee is anything to go by. After the cancellation of her mid-afternoon BA flight from Nice to Heathrow last Sunday, she and husband John manage to bag a later departure, for almost ?600 each. “We got home after 3am; it wasn’t a good end to a short break,” said Dr Lee.

There are many similar stories but, oddly, it is probably true that Nice Airport – the Riviera’s main entry point – is less affected than many others. “We are more serene,” said airport spokesman Aymeric Staub. This is partly because the airport sacked no-one during lockdown. Staff were put on part-time, so they’d be in place when traffic took off again. “As we knew it would,” said Mr Staub. So few staff shortages. And no strikes, as undertaken by the Parisian airport’s personnel.

Obviously, the airport, like others across the south, is affected by staff shortages, strikes and the “build up of cascades of delays” suffered by airline companies. But taking “lack of airport personnel” out of the equation means that things aren’t quite as bad as elsewhere.

Yes. More than. “I could do with a hotel three times as big,” said Barbara Kimmig of the three-star Villa Rivoli in Nice. Over in Languedoc, Dubliner Karl O’Hanlon – of Domaines et Demeures, which runs three wine ch?teau hotels – said: “Bookings are fantastic.”

The absence of big-spending Russians – in normal times worth millions to the local economy – has been compensated by Scandinavians, Germans, Dutch, British, Brazilians, and North Americans profiting from the re-establishment of up to three direct flights a day from New York to Nice.

“As I walk around Nice, I see the beaches, restaurants and bar terraces – and there’s only one word for the atmosphere: festive,” said Mme Kimmig.

It’s difficult to tell on the French Med coast, where pricing is, in normal times, often a matter of thinking of a big number, then doubling it, but hoteliers insist they haven’t changed their rates. However, seaside rental accommodation has reportedly risen by 7.2 per cent in price this year.

Expect small rises in seaside restaurants and bars, where cocktails might start at EUR12 (?10.20) this summer, as against EUR10 or EUR11 in recent years.

Sanitising gel remains ubiquitous and the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, this week re-imposed the wearing of masks on public transport after a jump in Covid infections. Other authorities could follow suit. Arriving Britons must also still show evidence of vaccination – or, failing that, a recent negative test.

But perhaps the most startling pandemic after-effect is the shortage of hotel and catering staff. During lockdown, employees left or were sacked and aren’t coming back. There are reportedly 100,000 jobs unfilled in the hotel trade alone. “It’s the major problem,” said Karl O’Hanlon of Domaines et Demeures. “It’s a question of money but not only. We have to rethink the lifestyle for younger people, give meaning to their work. That’s the challenge for the future.”

Once out of the clutches of the airlines and airports, you’ll find the south of France much as you left it in 2019.

Anthony Peregrine

Continued staff shortages, strikes and cancellations make flying to France considerably more stressful than before Covid. Get to the airport in good time and consider flying to a smaller hub like Rennes or Brest (if you can find a connection). Extra post-Brexit security checks mean longer queues at ferry ports too, and if you’re taking the Eurostar, long waits have become par for the course.

Britons can look forward to busy beaches and resorts, almost as if Covid hadn’t happened. ?lise Jougounoux, managing director of Ch?teau la Chenevi?re in Port-en-Bessin, says: “The season is off to a great start and strongly resembles 2019, which was an amazing year for us.” The only change she reports is an increase in last-minute bookings.

Prices for food and drink are similar to 2019, but mustard lovers, beware: a shortage of the French version of the condiment is on the horizon.

The bigger issue for most is the sharp rise in the cost of both hire cars and holiday rentals. Prices have risen by as much as 40 per cent in some locations.

See above.

It’s almost there, except for longer queues and the risk of face mask rules returning.

Elisabeth Blanchet

Croatia’s key summer airports, Split and Dubrovnik, are enclaves of peace and efficiency compared to the chaos seen at Gatwick and Manchester in recent weeks – despite passenger numbers approaching pre-pandemic levels. The only real problem is cancelled flights – easyJet has cut July services from Gatwick to Pula and Split and from Bristol to Dubrovnik, while BA has cut capacity on its Gatwick-Dubrovnik and Heathrow-Zagreb routes.

The cities of Dubrovnik and Split, and the beach resorts along the Adriatic coast, have been heaving in recent weeks – there’s clearly a lot of pent-up demand to visit Croatia.

Gordana Kne?evi?, owner of St Joseph’s, a boutique hotel in Dubrovnik, says: “While the year started off slowly, since May we’ve been seeing strong visitor numbers, comparable with 2019.”

Marzia Marti of Sun?ani Hvar adds: “It feels like a pre-pandemic summer at our hotels, with British and American visitors leading the way. Bookings look excellent for the rest of the season too.”

With the rising cost of fuel making it more expensive to transport food, prices have soared in supermarkets, restaurants and bars – by at least 20 per cent in the past year, and about 30 per cent since before the pandemic. It makes trips to previously expensive tourist hotspots – like Dubrovnik and Hvar Town, where ?10 cocktails were already the norm – even dearer. Expect to pay 18kn (?2) for an espresso coffee, 30kn (?3.40) for a small beer, 80kn (?9) for a basic Margarita pizza and 100kn (?11.30) for a seafood risotto in Split.

Very few. You’ll occasionally see hand sanitiser stuck on a wall or at the entrance to shops, restaurants and museums, but no one seems to be using them. Some tourists are wearing masks, but very few locals and they are no longer obligatory. There are no Covid entry requirements.

It’s as if the pandemic never happened.

Jane Foster and Mary Novakovich

Lisbon is the worst with huge crowds, luggage piled up beside carousels and currently anything from 20 to 50 flights cancelled daily. In Faro, where TAP has a minimal presence, things are calmer.

In hot-spot Lisbon, British hoteliers Miles and Gail Curley, who run the elegant Pal?cio Pr?ncipe Real, say it is their busiest July ever.

Katya Bauval from the Algarve’s Vila Vita Parc adds: “Our summer forecast suggests 2022 will beat our previous best of 2019.”

Beach restaurants sing a similar song with numbers up and continuing to rise. Staff shortages, however, are being felt widely.

The consumer price indices show an 8 per cent rise in Portugal and this is reflected in the prices on food and drinks menus.

At the wonderful beach restaurant Rei das Praias, cocktails cost an average of EUR9 (?7.60) while a pair of sun loungers can be hired for EUR33 (?27.90) for the day. This, owner Luis Martinho tells me, is up from EUR30 last year.

All Covid entry rules have just been dropped, but masks remain mandatory on public transport, in taxis and in healthcare facilities.

Bar the occasional requirement to wear a mask, things are back to normal.

Mary Lussiana

Around 11 million passengers arrived at Turkey’s key tourism hubs – Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman and Izmir – in the first five months of 2022. Although this is some way below pre-pandemic levels, summer is expected to be almost as busy as 2019. So expect bustling terminals, with the possibility of long queues at passport control. The problems facing airports in Britain and elsewhere in Europe have had a knock-on effect in Turkey, with delays and occasional cancellations. Charges for refreshments seem to have spiralled too, with a small bottle of water at Antalya Airport recently setting me back ?3.40.

The Turkish lira has plunged in value against the pound and many other currencies over the last year, making a holiday in Turkey even better value than usual. Consequently, demand and booking levels are high, with Tui claiming it will take 1.5 million visitors to Turkey this year. Plus, despite the war, Russians continue to holiday here in large numbers – some 375,000 visited in the first five months of 2022. Antalya’s beaches are already thronged with holidaymakers, and sun-loungers often unattainable for late-comers.

Given the currency situation, absolutely not. You can eat at a local restaurant for less than ?4 per person, and get a draught beer or glass of wine in a bar for ?2. Entry to, and sun lounger hire at Antalya’s charming Mermerli Beach is around ?3.40 for the entire day. Soaring fuel costs do mean taxi fares have risen dramatically – but it’s still less than 60 pence per kilometre.

All Covid-related entry restrictions to Turkey have been lifted, so it’s back to normal travel-wise. The requirement to wear a mask was lifted on May 30, with the exception of healthcare settings.

Delays and slightly longer than usual waits at the airport apart things seems almost as they were in 2019.

Terry Richardson

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The holiday destinations that will be most ‘normal’ this summer

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