Hello, I'm Simon Calder, welcoming you to my independent travel podcast and bringing you the latest news on travelling, whether you're just dreaming of a great escape, looking forward to one, or perhaps feeling just a little bit apprehensive with so much uncertainties surrounding the Omicron variant and various governments' responses to it.

Today I want to talk about navigating your way through to the end of the year.

And I'm recording this actually. After 5pm, I've been waiting as late in the day as I could

to try to get some guidance on whether we will hear anything that will affect people, at least in England and quite possibly the rest of the UK.

That will mean that your plans are going to be affected between now and Christmas.

My understanding is that we won't, which means that this is good news

for anybody travelling, I would guess, up to and including the 26th of December Boxing Day.

And I tell you what, I'm even going to add the 27th on the end of that, because if there are

going to be measures put in force, I don't think they will be put in force before the 27th and they probably won't take effect that day.

This is absolutely all speculation.

But what is important to remember is, depending on whether you're travelling within the UK or going

abroad please don't do anything if at the moment your trip is going ahead now that might be a fantastic

lovely stay somewhere near the coast or in a city or out in the countryside for Christmas in a hotel.

That will still be going ahead.

I think we can be pretty sure that if it's happening in the UK, it will be as you booked.

If you're planning to get there by train, my advice is please check because the trains are all over the place with many, many

cancellations as staff go sick. You might for the same reason actually find that your chosen

location isn't quite as up to scratch as it might be. Again, nothing that the providers, the hotelier or whoever can do about that it's simply

what's happening at the moment with the rapid rapid spread of omicron now suppose you're going abroad

let's take a wonderful break to spain or Portugal or Italy. There are, of course, measures to be taken.

We know that on Wednesday there is going to be a big meeting in Spain with the Prime Minister

and various other ministers from various parts of Spain, in particular the Balearics and the Canaries, crucially,

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