If you get caught out with this travel essential, it could cost you hundreds of pounds
This little-known law catches tourists out(Image: Amith Nag Photography via Getty Images)
If you’re jetting off to Italy this summer, it’s vital to familiarise yourself with the local regulations. There’s a lesser-known rule that applies to both residents and tourists, though it’s far more likely to trip up visitors.
This is because it concerns something most holidaymakers habitually carry — a water bottle. On the Italian island of Capri in the Gulf of Naples, single-use plastics have been banned.
With approximately 2.7 million tourists visiting annually, it was essential to mitigate the environmental impact of this influx, reports the Express.
This means plastic bags, bottles, straws and cutlery are forbidden on the island. Despite the ban being enforced for several years, specialists at John Mason International Movers report it continues to surprise people regularly.
Executive director Simon Hood said: “The island’s authorities are becoming increasingly worried about the effects of the growing tourism numbers on the local population and environment.”
“In 2019, a ban on single-use plastics came into force, banning plastic bags, cups, utensils, water bottles, straws and even coffee stirrers. Authorities have been empowered to fine those caught swigging from a plastic bottle up to €500 [around £435] – it may seem excessive, but it is well intentioned.”
He noted that the restriction frequently surprises visitors, as they don’t anticipate it.
Simon explained: “Capri isn’t a municipality historically recognised for environmental work. The long-standing association of the island being a hotspot with movie stars, A-list celebs, and influencers has traditionally meant many of these concerns were ignored but mass tourism has seen changes come thick and fast in recent years.”
The rule primarily targets bars and restaurants, though the bulk of Capri’s tourism arrives as daytrippers travelling by ferry from Naples. These visitors are highly likely to bring single-use plastic water bottles with them, which is precisely how they fall foul of the rules.
Simon stated: “It’s something that would catch me out; the ban aimed at bars and restaurants has influenced what can be bought and sold locally. But for the day trippers, the likelihood you’ll bring a non-biodegradable plastic bottle on your trip is high.
“Considering this, I’d say think twice and consider whether you want to run the risk of receiving a €500 fine.”
LIKE theatre, gigs and festivals but hate the price tags that go with them?
There are plenty of little-known sites that offer heavily discounted or even FREE tickets to top-name events to fill empty seats. This even includes recordings for TV shows that have audiences.
TodayTix is a great platform for finding discounted West End ticketsCredit: Getty
With London West End shows easily setting two people back £100, heading to the theatre may seem possible only once in a blue moon.
But thanks to the following sites, you could save hundreds on tickets – we’ve tested all of them, and got incredible tickets to some huge shows for a fraction of what everyone else is paying.
TodayTix
If you don’t already have the TodayTix app, you should download it now.
It is an app for booking theatre and stage shows, including the London West End performances.
It’s especially great for anyone looking for last-minute shows.
There is a feature called ‘Rush Tickets’, which offers a chance to get discounted tickets on the day of a performance.
Shows this offer is applied to include MJ The Musical (£30), The Producers (£30), Titanique (£30), Stranger Things The First Shadow (£25), Back to the Future (£29.50), Six (£25), The Book of Mormon (£25) and Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (£25).
I recently watched The Mousetrap on a £25 Rush Ticket and managed to get the first row of the upper circle – a seat that usually costs considerably more than £25.
The app also has a ‘lottery’ feature for some shows, where you can enter a lottery for tickets from as little as £10.
Under this feature, you do have to be resilient, as the likelihood of getting lottery tickets is slim.
However, after a few months of entering the lottery every week, I managed to bag £40 tickets to both parts of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child – tickets which can usually set you back over £400 for the stalls or dress circle.
Other shows that have lottery offers include Hamilton, which, if you won, you’d only pay £10 for.
Some shows also have their own offers on the app, for example, Moulin Rouge offers Bohemian Seats, which are reduced tickets (£30) for same-day performances.
With TodayTix, I have managed to visit several shows – Rush Ticket offers include MJ The Musical tickets for £30Credit: Cyann Fielding
Applause Store
Applause Store claims to be the world’s best television audience company and gives out tickets to a range of shows.
I have been using Applause Store for about four years now, and in that time, I have seen a couple of shows, including QI.
The one major downside, though, is that you get tickets and then queue for a long time and don’t necessarily get in.
This has put me off using Applause Store as frequently, though it is great if there is a show you really want to see being filmed for TV.
For example, at the time of writing, Applause Store is booking tickets for the BAFTA Awards fan areas, something that I would love to see, and so I have applied for two tickets.
Tickets are free, but just because you get tickets doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed entry, so if you are desperate to see the show, make sure you get there early.
SRO Audiences
SRO Audiences is similar to Applause Store.
For SRO Audiences, you don’t need to sign up – simply head onto the website, look at the shows available and request tickets.
Similar to Applause Store, tickets do not guarantee entry, so it is best to get there early on the day.
Central Tickets
Central Tickets is primarily for London theatre events – and by this I don’t necessarily mean London West End shows.
You have to sign up, but it is free of charge to do this, and then you get access to heavily discounted or even free tickets to shows.
Before Christmas, I nabbed two free tickets with a £6.50 admin fee (so £13 total) to see Burlesque: Unwrapped instead of a minimum of £45 per person.
The festive-yet-saucy burlesque performance was, of course, adults only and featured performers twirling around and undressing to Christmas tunes – I’m talking Rudolph nipple tassels and lots of glitter.
It was no London West End show, but for £6.50, my friend and I had a great laugh and a fun evening out.
A lot of the events and shows will most likely be things you haven’t heard of before, but all have a description, meaning you can learn what the show is about before booking.
Sometimes there are some real gems, though; for example, at the time of writing, you could head to Phantom Peak’s immersive experience for £10 instead of £35, or you could head to Sabrage, “featuring international circus elites and theatrical misfits”, for £15 instead of a minimum of £30.
Some sites have discounted tickets to events, including comedy gigsCredit: Getty
Show Film First
Similar to Central Tickets, Show Film First offers heavily discounted tickets to shows and events.
You do have to sign up for an account, which is free, and their newsletter to get the offers.
Some of the current offers include seeing the London Lions basketball team playing against the Niners Chemnitz team, and you would only pay the access fee.
They have also had tickets to top London day festivals, featuring international popstars as headline acts – for an access fee of just £7.95 (but we won’t say who, to spare their blushes).
Other offers include travel conferences and comedy shows.
Age-bracketed tickets
When living in London, it is often easy to forget that theatres, cinemas, and so on offer age-related discounts, and it isn’t necessarily always for youngsters.
The Young Vic then offers £12 tickets for under 25s, and the Barbican and Almeida Theatre both offer £5 tickets for 25s and under.
A bit older than that? Well, if you are under 30, joining the mailing lists for the Royal Albert Hall and Donmar Warehouse allows you to grab £20 tickets.
At The Royal Albert Hall, past events have included Barbie: The Movie in Concert, Video Games in Concert and BBC Proms: The Traitors.
There is also Kids Week, which usually takes place in the summer, and allows children under the age of 18 to visit many West End shows for free with a paying adult.
In addition to offers, there are some ticket types that cost lessCredit: Cyann Fielding
Restricted view
One way to get cheaper tickets at pretty much any show is by opting for the restricted-view seats.
Sites like SeatPlan and A View From My Seat help to show what sort of view you would get, so you can always check a restricted seat’s view before actually booking it.
If you do book this kind of ticket, you can expect to save between 30 and 50 per cent compared to a seat with a non-restricted view.
Whilst this offer isn’t available at the moment, it will be in the summer again, every Friday at 11am when tickets are released for the following week.
And each ticket only costs £5.
Last summer I watched The Winter’s Tale on a standing ticket.
Half of the show was conducted inside, where I did stand but had a barrier to lean on, and then the other half was outside, and thanks to the show not being fully booked, I got a seat.
It is worth checking the length of the show and thinking whether you can stand for that long, though, before committing.
Like at the Globe theatre, you can stand for just £5Credit: Getty
Disney discounts
If you head to the ‘Disney Tickets’ website, you can grab tickets to Disney’s West End shows for less than usual.
For example, you can grab tickets to The Lion King and Disney‘s Hercules on Mondays at noon for that week’s performances for £29.50.
Known as Magical Mondays, it means you could see The Lion King for considerably less than the usual ticket price, which sits around the £70 to £110 range.
All you need to do is create a MyDisney account, which is free to do.
NEARLY 300million cars are registered in the USA – but there’s one island where you won’t find any at all.
A place called Mackinac Island in Northern Michigan has been car-free since the late 1800s with locals and tourists getting around by horse-drawn carriage or bikes if you prefer.
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The only way to get around Mackinac Island is by foot, bike or horseCredit: AlamyArch Rock is one of the most popular attractions on Mackinac IslandCredit: Alamy
Mackinac Island is one of those rare places with a ban on all cars.
The ban was implemented in 1898 after early cars apparently spooked horses, threatening public safety and the local carriage industry.
Since then, the only way to navigate the island is by horse or bike.
Living on the island all year-round are just 600 residents along with around 600 horses.
While the number of horses remains the same, during the peak season of July and August, daily visitor numbers can be as many as 15,000.
It’s no surprise summer is the most popular time to visit as the island has average highs of 25C and is mostly dry.
Whereas in the winter months, it can experience lows well into the minus degrees and snow.
Mackinac Island is just north of mainland Michigan – to get there, take a ferry from Mackinaw City (Lower Peninsula).
Or take a ferry from St. Ignace on the Upper Peninsula which takes 16 minutes and cost around $36 (£26.51) each way.
While the island does have an airport, it’s for charter and private aircraft only.
Thanks to there being no cars on the island, there are plenty of bike rentals with most charging around $94 (£69.31) for a full day of use.
Or around $16 (£11.80) per hour.
Horse-drawn carriage tours are also very popular with sightseeing tours starting at around $44 (£32.43) per adult where tourists head all over the island with a local guide.
During the summer, you can call certain companies for a ‘taxi’, which is a horse-drawn carriage.
The historic Grand Hotel is a huge building on the island with a swimming pool and golf courseCredit: Alamy
One major attraction on Mackinac Island is Arch Rock in Mackinac Island State Park which is a natural 50-foot wide limestone arch.
To get up to Arch Rock, visitors have to take 207 steps from Lakeshore Drive – so be prepared for a long walk.
The enormous hotel sits on the south of the island and you can actually book to stay there yourself.
There are plenty of rooms from simple balcony suites, Grand Queen rooms or even cottages with four bedrooms – these have private hot tubs, and take in views across the Straits of Mackinac.
The hotel has a grand Esther Williams SwimmingPool which has a water-jet play area, water slide and a large heated whirlpool.
There’s also a private adults-only area featuring a separate infinity-edge pool with beautiful views.
For golfers, there’s an enormous golf course, bike rentals, pickleball, bocce ball and shuffleboard.
To stay at Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island can be as much as $1,000 (£737.07) per night during peak season.
Somewhere in Time was filmed at the Grand Hotel in Mackinac IslandCredit: Universal Pictures
Here’s another car-free island much closer to home…
“Eilean Shona is a tidal island that’s completely car-free and was the inspiration behind J.M Barrie’s creation of Neverland in Peter Pan.
“As my boat approached the shores of the island, it was obvious why. Towering green trees and serene still waters were both welcoming and peaceful.
“Once I reached the island, the soft soil, earthy smells, chimes of birds and light breaking through the trees made it feel magical.
“Whilst there isn’t much to do on the island, it is the perfect retreat away from the modern world and the stresses of day to day life.
“Thanks to there being no shops, norestaurantsand patchy phone signal, it really helps you disconnect from your mobile (and consequently social media).“
Mackinac Island has 600 permanent residents and 600 horses tooCredit: Alamy
