Simon Calder

Scroll down to listen to today’s podcast.For 19 weeks, international leisure travel (which includes visiting loved ones) has been illegal. Now, as adventures and reconnections open up, the race to the sun is on. But a journey overseas has the look of a constantly evolving obstacle course about it – with “go directly to quarantine” the square no-one wants to land on.Travellers venturing abroad must contend with unprecedented complexity: identifying the requirements of their destination, assessing Foreign Office advice and the effect that may have on travel insurance cover and organising the complex series of tests and documentation required to...

One of the leading campaigners for the reopening of international travel has set out her vision for a summer that could save a million jobs.In conversation with Simon Calder of The Independent Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, called on ministers to open up the “green list” of low-risk destinations at the next available opportunity – 24 June – so that “hard-working British families” could get a summer escape abroad.The CEO was speaking after the quarantine-free green list shrank significantly, with the removal of the only mainstream holiday destination, Portugal. Tens of thousands of British holidaymakers cut their...

Holidaymakers are facing a scramble back from Portugal after it was placed on the UK’s “amber list” last Thursday.The move dealt a hammer blow to the industry, as the only mainstream holiday destination for British visitors lost its quarantine-free status. Holidaymakers from the Atlantic nation will be required to quarantine for 10 days at home if they return after 4am on 8 June; while countless others have their holiday plans cancelled. The only European summer sun destination on the “green list” is tiny Gibraltar. It set back hopes that the international travel industry, which tentatively restarted just three...

Spain this week flung open its doors to British holidaymakers once again, following in the footsteps of its Iberian neighbour, Portugal.British tourists to Spain will be able to enter without restriction: the government has said that arrivals from the UK need not present a negative PCR test or show details of vaccination, thanks to the swift pace of the vaccine roll-out.Sounds like a summer holiday shoe-in, doesn’t it?A week on a Benidorm beach is made slightly more complicated by the fact that Spain is on the UK government’s “amber” list, arrivals from which have to self-isolate for 10 days and...

Spain this week flung open its doors to British holidaymakers once again, following in the footsteps of its Iberian neighbour, Portugal.British tourists to Spain will be able to enter without restriction: the government has said that arrivals from the UK need not present a negative PCR test or show details of vaccination, thanks to the swift pace of the vaccine roll-out.Sounds like a summer holiday shoe-in, doesn’t it?A week on a Benidorm beach is made slightly more complicated by the fact that Spain is on the UK government’s “amber” list, arrivals from which have to self-isolate for 10 days and...

The UK government is expected to reveal its “green list” of countries from which returning travellers need not quarantine.The move means that when international leisure travel is permitted once again from 17 May, some people will be able to return to the UK without needing to self-isolate.The new “traffic light” system has triggered many questions, and The Independent’s managing director, Christian Broughton, put some of them to the travel correspondent, Simon Calder.Since the third lockdown began four months ago, international travel for non-essential purposes has been illegal. Anyone coming into England from one of 40 “red list” countries is obliged...

“Where can we go on 17 May?”That was the first question from the audience during our Race to the Sun online event, held last night (April 28) – and one that has been concerning the travel desk for a while.After 19 weeks of a complete ban on international leisure travel, from 17 May the government hopes to allow holidays to resume (from England, at least).Assuming that happens, from the UK perspective the answer is: “Anywhere you like.”Of course the destination can decide whether or not to accept you. There’s no guarantee that British holidaymakers will be welcomed. Even if a...

This Morning's travel expert Simon Calder has revealed he is not returning to Wales after locals branded him "a maggot", "a worm" and told him to "f*** off". Simon had recommended on the ITV show that people visit places including Gwynedd and Ceredigion in Wales, as well as Belfast and Edinburgh, as lockdown loosens.

Travel is rarely out of the headlines at the moment, as newspapers try to disentangle how, when, why and where we might be able to go on a summer holiday.And one person who is never far from explaining those headlines is Simon Calder, travel journalist and broadcaster. During the past year (and beyond), he has attempted to clarify the knottiest issues surrounding travel for consumers, via the travel pages of this newspaper and on TV screens.But who is the “man who pays his way”?Who is Simon Calder?Simon Calder is The Independent’s travel correspondent, having joined the newspaper in 1994. During...

Travel expert Simon Calder infuriated This Morning viewers today after suggesting that people book their summer holidays - despite government advice suggesting the opposite. The expert appeared on This Morning to speak about the Save Our Summer campaign, which has seen over 120 UK travel companies pushing for overseas holidays to be allowed by the government from May 1.

Simon Calder spoke to This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about quarantine for travellers and potential holidays this year. Simon, who has been criticised for pointing out travel restrictions loopholes in the past, said the new quarantine period for travellers will be "like house arrest". He also claimed...