We're going where the sun shines brightly, we're going where the sea is blue ...

Simon Calder’s Travel Week [View in browser]( [The Independent]( [Travel] Simon Calder’s Travel Week [Simon Calder]( Written by Simon Calder | February 26, 2021 Hello, and thank you for signing up to The Independent’s weekly travel newsletter. At last, the travel industry has been given a restart date, and I can look back over a week that's had, for once, some positive news. While the unlocking dates are hedged with uncertainty, soaring holiday sales show that the nation is most definitely in the mood for a holiday. Here’s what you need to know. Green shoots of recovery? Fifty-two days and counting: that is how long we have been in lockdown. Clocks and calendars seem to have slowed down as we navigate through endless winter. But this week in the nearby parks to which my world have shrunk, the crocuses and daffodils are in full bloom– and in England, at least, travellers now have a timetable of sorts. The “[roadmap](” that the prime minister presented to the nation on Monday is hardly a work of clarity – railways, for example, are not even mentioned. But some clear dates are set out that at least mean you can start converting idle dreams into firm plans such as a [UK beach break](. How many people will venture further while the spectre of the “red list” remains, I wonder? This morning, the first weary souls to arrive in the UK and pay £1,750 for the privilege of 11 nights in solitary confinement have emerged from [hotel quarantine]( along Isolation Row, as the Bath Road at Heathrow is now known. “The government will act swiftly if evidence emerges that suggests more countries should be added to the ‘red list’,” the roadmap notes. The system is designed to defend against so-called “Variants of Concern; the travel industry is impatient to see figures about how many “red list” arrivals actually test positive for one of them. Airlines and holiday companies say the very presence of hotel quarantine undermines travellers’ confidence. [Australia](, where hotel quarantine has been in force for 11 months, is now grappling with the problem of how to open up to the world. Announcing a billion-dollar loss, [Qantas also postponed its planned restart of international flights]( by four months: 1 November is now the first date for departures from Heathrow. Elsewhere, we learnt that [weekend rail closures could move to midweek]( this summer if Saturday and Sunday train travel prove popular – but before that, Monday sees the imposition of [above-inflation fare rises across the rail network](. Destination of the week: Seychelles This beautiful Indian Ocean archipelago has the novel idea of immunising itself against tourism. The idea is that once about three-quarters of the adult population of the Seychelles has been vaccinated, tourists will be welcomed with no fuss other than a coronavirus test in the three days before departure. The original deadline set by the tourism authority of mid-March may be slipping, but by the time British travellers are allowed to travel once more, it could be that the only barrier to a carefree holiday on the deliciously corrugated coastline of the main island is financial. [Read more]( Deals of the week - Jet2 is setting up a new base at Bristol airport from July, and the best-value deal I can find that month is for a week on Corfu’s unspoilt north coast. For the price of £395 per person you’ll need to mention or click on the £100pp discount; it includes flights, a generous baggage allowance, transfers and self-catering accommodation at the Palm Grove Apartments in Sidari. - The day that the stay-at-home rule ends is 29 March – and many travellers can be expected to celebrate their freedom with a day trip; overnight stays remain banned. On Greater Anglia between London and Norwich, Advance tickets on most trains that day are priced at just £10 each way for the 115-mile trip. Question of the week Question: How can you possibly book a holiday if you don’t know when you will have your vaccine? Answer: Some prospective travellers will hold back until they know their vaccination slots. That might be to be certain when they will be regarded as best protected (generally two or three weeks after the second dose). Or it could be to avoid the inconvenience of being in Astrakhan when they are due for the AstraZeneca jab. I have asked the big airlines and holiday companies, and they say their currently flexible policies should be able to help deal with any diary clashes. 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