spent

Jo Knox travelled to Tenerife for a relaxing break, but was left with only the clothes on her back after a shuttle service booked through easyJet Holidays lost her suitcase on the way to the hotel

A holidaymaker who was left without her luggage on a ten-night trip to Tenerife has slammed easyJet Holidays’ response as ‘unhelpful’ and ‘rude’.

Jo Knox arrived on the winter sun island on January 13, eager to enjoy some sunshine, but her holiday turned into a nightmare when her case went missing from a Canaryshuttle service en-route to her hotel.

Jo, who was travelling in a party of four with her husband, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law, has taken easyJet Holidays to small claims court as she claims it left her thousands of pounds out of pocket.

When contacted for comment, easyJet declined to give a statement, with a spokesperson saying: “We’re sorry to hear about Joanne’s missing luggage on her recent holiday to Tenerife. Our team in resort worked hard to assist in resolving the situation as quickly as possible. As this matter is now subject to legal proceedings, it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

However, Jo says that easyJet have only given her £231 in compensation for her lost baggage, and her travel insurance company will not cover the claim as she willingly handed her luggage to the shuttle bus driver before it went missing.

She said: “We landed into Tenerife South and collected four cases, one each. We walked up to the coach and the driver was there. He took my case off me. I’m always a bit paranoid when I go on holiday, so I always stand there and make sure my case is definitely on.”

Jo claims that when the cases were loaded, they were put on neatly, “like a box of matches”, but later she noticed the luggage had been moved. Jo’s brother-in-law took a photo on arrival to show family members the sunny weather, and managed to capture proof that Jo’s distinctive red suitcase had been loaded onto the shuttle bus.

“He said,’ I’ve got a picture here’.”, Jo recalled. “So he’d sent me it and it was timestamped 12.33pm. Now as we’d got on the coach my husband said we definitely departed that coach at 12.42pm because they have big clocks at the front like digital clocks and I noticed the time. But he said on this picture my case is facing the other way he said it’s like it’s been turned as if it’s easy to get off”.

Jo said the shuttle bus made a couple of stops before hers, and she saw passengers get off at their hotels but didn’t see anyone take her red case. However, a short while later when they reached their destination, Jo’s luggage was nowhere to be found.

“It definitely never came off that bus”, Jo claimed. “So, we immediately spoke to the driver, and when we’d got on the bus he was laughing and joking with us. He could speak broken English. But the minute we started questioning about my case, he shrugged his shoulders.”

“So my husband and my brother-in-law are bending down, trying to look under, you know, inside the cage. And he put his arm out and he’s like, no, no, no, no. And then literally the, the flap came down and he got on the coach and drove away.”

Heading to reception, Jo rang easyJet immediately, and claims they were less than helpful. Jo says she couldn’t recall the name of the coach company at the time and easyJet were unable to give her the information. She began to panic, as she was there for 10 nights, and all of her belongings including some medication was in her case.

The next morning, she headed to the airport and tried to speak to members of the Canaryshuttle team, where she was told to email the office. One airport worker who worked for another airline told Jo that as she booked a package through easyJet, it was the company’s responsibility to assist her.

Going back to the easyJet desk, Jo said she pled with a rep to help her out, only to be told the case had already been investigated and closed. She claims the rep told her, “The case is closed. Move away. There’s nothing we can do.”

However, later the rep got in touch with Jo and agreed to escort her to the police station. While Jo wanted to make a complaint about the driver, she claims that the rep said she’d known the driver for eight years and could “vouch for him”. She requested that the police look at CCTV around the coach stand, but says that the airport has not provided the data to police.

Instead of relaxing on a sunbed, Jo faced a dash around the island’s shops to try and get some items together for her holiday. She managed to get replacement diabetes medication from a local pharmacy, and bought some basics such as dresses and knickers to replace the lost items. She said easyJet initially offered €25 a day for three days, a maximum of €75, which is just over £65.

When claiming online with easyJet, she submitted 16 receipts and says eventually they paid 12 of them, with her compensation so far totalling £231. However, she has been left unable to claim any other expenses or resolve her case with easyJet customer services.

Jo sat down and itemised everything in her case, estimating the total value would be £2,712. She’s now submitted a claim to a small claims court to cover the cost of her luggage, as well as the cost of her holiday for her and her husband, and £500 for the “severe distress” caused.

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Jo’s sunshine break was ruined by the events: “It spoiled all our holidays, literally, I was just in tears. I just wanted to come home. And my husband sort of said, look, if it’s just me and you, yes, I get it. Let’s go home. But because it was [my in-laws’] first time in Tenerife and they’d been looking forward to this for so long, I begrudgingly stayed but I just wanted to come home in all honesty.”

She added that “all I want in an ideal world is just my case to turn up”.

ALSA who own Canaryshuttle have been contacted for comment.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Scott Manson documented his epic six-leg journey from Glasgow to mainland Europe’s southernmost point for his YouTube channel Planes, Trains, Everything – but faced endless setbacks

A YouTuber who embarked on an epic three-night, four-day odyssey from Glasgow to mainland Europe’s southernmost point was left gobsmacked upon arrival – only to discover the gates were locked.

Scott Manson, who presents the travel channel Planes, Trains, Everything, chronicled the mammoth six-leg expedition for his audience, billing it from the start as an extraordinary undertaking.

“I’m traveling from Glasgow to the southern tip of mainland Europe. Now, this is going to be a long, long journey. It’s going to take three nights and four days. There are six transportation legs. The first leg is Avanti West Coast down to London.”

His itinerary saw him travel from Glasgow to London Euston, then traverse the capital to St Pancras International for the Eurostar to Paris. From the French capital he pressed southward to Lyon, onwards to Barcelona, and subsequently to Madrid before boarding a long-distance coach to Algeciras.

A concluding local bus journey and stroll delivered him to Tarifa, widely acknowledged as mainland Europe’s southernmost extremity, reports Glasgow Live.

However, the expedition was anything but smooth sailing.

Scott disclosed the trip “nearly went totally belly up” following a catastrophic high-speed rail collision in Spain earlier this year. Referencing the tragedy, he explained: “One high-speed train jumped the tracks, landed on the opposite side, and was hit by a train heading in the opposite direction. Forty-five people were killed. Absolutely horrendous.”

Worried his connection might be axed, he consulted the Renfe website.

While tickets remained available initially, the evening before departing the UK he received an email stating: “Unfortunately, your train’s canceled. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

This left him frantically seeking an alternative for the vital Madrid to Algeciras stretch. Flying via Gibraltar was contemplated but ruled out as impractical and potentially costly, necessitating multiple connections and a border crossing.

Instead, he managed to book a nine-hour daytime coach – twice the duration of the train journey.

“It’s going to be horrendous, but it needs to be done,” he remarked, noting the alteration also delayed his arrival until 8pm, compelling him to postpone filming at his final destination.

The complications continued mounting. The Avanti service from Glasgow ran late, necessitating what he characterised as a hurried sprint across London.

His Eurostar seat was relocated to a “windowless window seat.” The Barcelona to Madrid train ran behind schedule.

Madrid’s weather turned “atrocious.” And the replacement train southbound was cancelled entirely.

Following all that, the ultimate disappointment awaited at Tarifa. Upon reaching the Spanish municipality, Scott headed towards Isla de Las Palomas, an island at the southern tip of Punta de Tarifa – the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula.

However, to Scott’s dismay, the area was cordoned off and accessible solely through guided tours. “Well, you spend three nights and four days travelling to the southernmost tip of the European mainland, and it’s shut,” he said.

“At least I’m not the only one who arrived thinking the place would be open. There are two Chinese tourists there. I can’t complain—they’ve travelled further than I have to get here—but I think it caught quite a few people off guard.”

He suggested strong winds might have rendered the exposed headland too dangerous. “But yeah, that’s as far as we can get.”

Despite the setback, Scott stayed positive. “For as long as I can recall making these YouTube videos, I’ve always felt there was a force pushing back, trying to stop me from completing videos. This was a prime example.”

Nevertheless, he maintained the experience was worthwhile. “But I am so glad I did this journey. I’m so glad you guys came along with me as well. I’ll see you next time.”

MILLIE MACKINTOSH has admitted she spent Valentine’s weekend “sobbing” following her split from husband Hugo Taylor.

It was revealed earlier this month that the couple had parted ways after seven years of marriage.

As she celebrated Valentine’s Day as a newly-single woman, it turned out to be an emotional one for the 36-year-old mum-of-two.

She went to watch the new romantic drama Wuthering Heights in cinemas before coming home and reviewing the Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi film in a video.

The movie follows the love story between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, a woman from a wealthy family in 18th-century England.

Millie said: “So I saw Wuthering Heights over the weekend, it was very spicy. The way Heathcliff loved her ah! Everyone in the cinema was just sobbing.

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“I would definitely recommend to go and see it. They had great chemistry and the costumes were so good.”

It comes after she opened up about having an “alternative” Valentine’s Day this year as she nurses her heartbreak over the end of her marriage.

She took to Instagram on Friday to share a photo of a London Underground board titled: “Valentine’s Day Alternatives.”

The suggestions included: “Galentine’s Day” with the girls, “Malentine’s Day” with the lads, and “Palentine’s Day” with friends.

According to the Daily Mail, Millie and Hugo, 39 – who share two daughters – went their separate ways after a series of discussions in the New Year.

An insider told the publication: “Millie and Hugo are currently going through a separation and have sadly decided to split.

“They have known each other for many years, and in recent weeks, have had serious conversations about their future, ultimately deciding it’s better for them both to part ways.

“Their main priority remains their children and family life, and separating is not something they ever hoped would happen.”

The source added they are living a part and figuring out how best to co-parent.

The pair got married in 2018, seven years after initially dating on Made in Chelsea.

However, they ended up parting ways, with Millie marrying rapper Professor Green in 2013.

But, following their divorce in 2016, Millie and Hugo got back together before tying the knot themselves two years later at Whithurst Park in West Sussex.

Millie said at the time: “Even in my wildest dreams I didn’t imagine it would be this ­perfect. I am so excited to finally be married to Hugo — he’s the love of my life.”

They had their first daughter, Sienna, in 2020 and second daughter, Aurelia, in 2021.

After the news broke of their split, Hugo was pictured still wearing his wedding ring while Millie was seen without hers.

MY idea of American summer camps comes from Nineties movie The Parent Trap, starring a young Lindsay Lohan.

Kids canoeing at dawn, counsellors blowing whistles like drill sergeants, and bunking up in cute, wooden lodges with total strangers who soon become your best pals.

And let me tell you, it’s just like that.

I found myself in the US state of Maine last August, visiting several real-life camps — including the one where The Parent Trap was filmed.

And even though we are now in 2026, every camp I visited was completely offline with no phones, no TikTok, no Deliveroo.

Bliss.

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Instead, days are filled with canoeing, archery, sailing, lake swims, rope courses, arts and crafts, drama and communal singing — the list goes on.

Despite summer camp being a very American tradition, a huge number of the people running the show are British.

At the camps I visited, these were 18 to 25-year-olds, usually fresh out of school or university, who had flown over for the summer on sponsored visas.

BUNAC is one of several companies that offers this kind of working holiday. Its Summer Camp USA programme employs hundreds of travellers every year.

BUNAC was my host for the week, and talked me through the process of applying, and getting matched up with the perfect camp for one’s skill set and interests. The Brits live on site, work long days and are responsible for groups of children who idolise them.

The kids love our accent — and the Brits love the freedom.

One camp director told me British workers are prized because they offer “a unique perspective”, from across the Pond. Over one week, I watched workers fully immerse themselves in this US right of passage — wearing camp merch, scoffing American treats and making new friends who felt more like family than colleagues.

Many told me the same thing: “It’s the hardest I’ve ever worked but also the best summer of my life.

“The days are long, but the weeks go by so quickly.”

Maine is a popular summer camp destination because of its lakes, pine forests and thriving wildlife.

During downtime and days off, however, workers will often head to the nearby coastal city of Portland — the one in Maine, not Oregon. It’s little but has a great atmosphere with seafood shacks, craft-beer bars and scenes some may recognise from the Netflix teen comedy-drama series Ginny & Georgia.

It’s the perfect contrast to camp life — and the bug spray, bunk beds and lake water.

For many of the Brits working at summer camps it’s their first time in America, their first proper job with responsibility and their first taste of independence from home with their own cash to spend meaning exploring is inevitable.

Visas often outlast the time spent at camp so many workers still have around three weeks left at the end of summer to venture farther afield to bucket-list destinations such as New York and Florida.

Prank war

Nothing quite compares to the time spent at camp, though. Just like in The Parent Trap, there are emotional goodbyes but friends for life are made.

There is, however, no such thing as an isolation cabin such as the one that twins Hallie and Annie were confined to in the movie, to work out their differences after a prank war.

The camps’ real joy comes in the culture — workers I spoke to told how they loved immersing themselves in rural America.

It’s wholesome, chaotic and exhausting all at once. Plus, it’s a great way to organise a long-haul trip if you’re nervous about venturing so far from home, or can’t wrap your head around an itinerary for gap-year travel.

BUNAC plans nearly everything for you, taking away the hard parts.

And although you probably won’t find your long-lost twin, you’ll likely find a friend who remains a surrogate sibling for life — and that’s as good as.