whoa! hello and welcome to this look back at some of our favourite adventures this year on the travel show. we've had some truly amazing experiences to share and we hope that you've enjoyed coming along for the ride. let's kick off with reece, who recently took a trip to the caribbean islands of the bahamas and the dominican republic. he went looking for a close encounter

with the local whales. but first, he had to negotiate some incredibly choppy seas. hey, hey! i'm meeting a team led by rita sellares and marvin del cid from the dominican foundation for marine studies. their work informs the country's marine policies. so today, we are going to see the humpback whales and do some monitoring. so it's going to be exciting day. every year, thousands of humpback whales swim epic distances on their annual migration. part of our role during the season is come and collect some of the data of the behaviour and the number of whales and the tails of the whales. so reiner is part of our team of technicians. it's his first time seeing the whales. 0h! first time! we're together on this. afterfeeding in the north atlantic over summer, come winter, the humpbacks embark on a six—week commute south to the warmer waters of samana for breeding. i so, i will try to fly the drone.

over the whales and try to take pictures and film some kind of behaviour. - behaviour of the whales. .. see what they're doing. the relationship with i the mother with the calf and the school or whatever. i thought whale watching would be relaxing. shouting ven aca, que va una camara! i wasn't expecting quite such a bumpy ride. so rita, you told me before i got on here to take a pill for seasickness, right, which i didn't. yes. am i an idiot? maybe. agh! super relaxing and calm. you've just got to ride the wave. don't try and resist the wave. it's all about being... ..being calm, and don't panic. whew! agh! the vast majority of north atlantic humpbacks are born in these waters. and it doesn't take long

for my first sighting. yeah, yeah! hey, hey! oh, my god. whoa! oh, yeah! woo—hoo—hoo! ooh! i saw that... reiner, mira la ballena! some measure up to 60ft long, almost the size of two school buses, and can weigh a whopping 30 tonnes. we are seeing with images of the drone that probably there is a female, because we have the males kind of fighting, hitting each other, and it's part of the reproductive behaviour. then the female is going to choose one of the males. and then after the copulation here, she's going to travel back to the us or the north coast, will feed, and then come back next year to have the baby here in the bay.

so that's why we say that the whales are dominican, because they are born here. yeah. the females go through almost a year—long pregnancy before giving birth. ok, let's see. as for me, the choppy seas are starting to have an effect. oh, man! actually, i'm feeling pretty sick. but it seems rita has a plan b. agh! ooh! laughter esta fria el agua... rita laughs are you feeling better? rita! what?! rita laughs i'm so sorry! i'm feeling so much better now, rita! thank you! muchas gracias! 0h, 0k. right. yeah. i'm back. while the conditions here proved a little rough for me, the bay�*s deep waters are perfect for humpbacks.

in 1986, strict guidelines were put in to protect the area, and samana became one of the first sanctuaries of its kind in the world. reece earning his sea legs there in the caribbean. back on dry land, carmen took a trip to montenegro, a place that's seen huge changes over the past 20 years, with luxury resorts and state—of—the—art marinas popping up all over the place. however, there is still some old—world charm left if you know where to find it, and don't mind wrestling with an old gearbox and some hairpin bends. laughter need a ride? yes! i love it! check it out. ok, it's been a while since i've driven a manual car. janko scepanovic is my guide. he's brought his vintage yugo. i need two hands! one thing you should know, and this may be the most crucial thing, this thing have the stopping...needs

a stopping space of one train. so when you press the brake... one train?! yeah. when you press the brake, count that you need a few metres until the yugo stop. right. so no tailgating. no. yugos were so popular here in the 19805 when the country was part of yugoslavia, that they became something of a national symbol. nope. carmen chuckles sorry. yeah. we're good. yep. and i stalled. so now we just need a little bit of practice. go ahead. ooh! put the hammer down, billy. here we go. come on. so, tell me about the yugo. part of yugoslavian heritage. it was in socialism. nothing was too flashy, let's say. right. like, they need the car that was cheap to buy... yeah. ..affordable to... oh, gosh. i shouldn't have gone there. no, you're good.

affordable to everyone and easy to repair. right. so you have this prime example of the... every single part of this carwas, like, produced and assembled in yugoslavia. right. and is it easy to get parts for this now? no. the stretch i'm approaching is notorious. the kotor serpentine has 25 switchbacks with a precipitous drop down one side. kotor was super connected by the sea for the whole world. but for inland, this road with the little road next to this was the only connection with the continental part of the world. so now we're going to left side. gears shudder turning left. got the shivers. no, that's... this is mandatory. gears rumble oh, my god. hold on. to crunch the gears. yeah. horn honks so, what are the tips for driving this road? lock your eyes on the horizon. hope for the best.

yeah. sorry, sorry. whoops. so, is everyone happy about this new highway? i guess. i'm happy. do you think people will be missing out on the adventure? of course. every time when i'm not in a rush, i try to take this one, because it's not only adventure, it's experience. it's tight. you have to stop. you have to reverse. you talk to people, you stop at some nice bars, local farm, whatever. i've got cars behind me that really want to... you can let them overtake you here. shall i let them? yeah. horn honks you can overtake me. engine revs bleep you're good, you're good. don't worry. right. 0k? it's ok? it should be in. oh, my god. i hate this. i can't! no, you won't go anywhere. don't worry. try again. engine turns over, turns

off engine starts ooh! so what did you do? is it reversed now? no idea. so, for many montenegrins, i guess this great, big, new highway is a really good thing. but if the school of thought that travelling is more about thejourney, then i can't help but think they're missing out on some kind of adventure. oh, my god. i'm in the wrong lane, aren't i? carmen laughs well, given we're in the festive season, time now for a couple of travel show stories with a distinctly wintry feel. in a moment, christa takes a hot—air balloon high over the swiss alps. but first up, eva reported from slovenia back in may, a place that's getting a reputation for being one of the best value for money ski destinations in europe.

and while she was there, she met some people who love the snow so much that they spend several months every year high up on a mountainside cut—off from the outside world. let's see how she got on. huts like these can be a lifeline for people out in the mountains. hey! hello! how's it going? hey. all good. yeah. wow! so nice in here. thank you. are you living here right now? i do, yes. really? full—time. yeah. do you spend the whole winter up here? we do. do you ever get snowed in? yeah. completely? we do, sometimes. 0k. yeah. we still have to wait to get rescued out. what's the longest that you've been snowed in here for? probably a month. no waaay! yeah. how did that feel? i mean, it's a bit, like, cut—off, but it's also... it's pretty nice in the end. yeah? yeah, it feels good.

about 170 hearts across slovenia. it is a bed and maybe a bite to eat. most of these huts close for the winter, but some don't. and for those that don't have road access, bringing in supplies, anything from food to water and fuel can be quite the challenge. which is where the military comes in. today, lieutenant zupancic is off on a mission to resupply one of the huts that are cut—off, and he's agreed to let me go with him. so today, what we're bringing is basic supplies.

and i mean, it looks beautiful and sunny here today, but what are the conditions like up in the mountains? so do you think we're safe? we are safe. eva laughs the most problematic hut is called kredarica, which is used chiefly by climbers attempting slovenia's highest peak, mount triglav. this is slovenia's highest hut, four—and—a—half hours' walk from the closest road.

in the winter, there aren't many visitors, but it's staffed all—year—round by two hardy meteorologists. so this is it! yes. this is the famous hut. yes. now you feel very lucky - because it's very, very hot. he chuckles 0h. it's nice! wonderful. wow. so, can you show me around here a little bit? this is your office? this is our office, our living room. i yeah. and a little tv. do you get a lot of visitors up here? so this is actually the highest bedroom in all of slovenia?

yeah, yeah. so you've got the luxury penthouse on top of the nation. yeah. and few centimetres - of me, of my head, is... outside it's about sometimesj minus 20 or minus almost 40 degrees. sol... wow! i have to be... got to get back in the chopper now. we have to go? yeah. 0k. we only got a little bit of time here. but the weather seems to be changing, which means that this is our only time to leave, right? guys, we really have to go! so we had to really quickly get out of the mountain hut because the wind is changing. it's picking up. so if we don't go now, we could be stuck.

well, a slightly more sedate wintry trip now. every year, the festival international de ballons takes place in switzerland, and 50 hot air balloons of all shapes and sizes are on show. so a while back, christa went to hitch a ride and take in some of the most spectacular views in the world. voice over microphone: the winter is picking up, and... i've just popped into the pilots' briefing for all of the hot—air balloon pilots. i did gather, mostly from the faces of the pilots listening to the briefing, that perhaps the weather conditions aren't exactly perfect for the festival, so fingers crossed things improve. but all hope isn't lost. i've been told that over the nine days, organisers hope for at least five days of good flying weather. and some days with bad weather are still good for partial flights. balloon pilot nick dunnington has been coming to this festival from the uk since he was a child,

and he's offered to take me up later. so, nick, what's the status? everyone seems a little bit tense. yeah. so, they've given us the clearance to fly this morning, but the winds above the tops of the mountains are actually quite strong. so we have to stay within the valley. and the winds are going to actually drop. the quicker winds are going to speed up throughout the day and drop down into the valley. so we need to be flying early and landing early. for a complete novice, tell me...is itjust obvious that if there's too much wind, the balloon will be uncontrollable? there's a lot of that. it's not that it's uncontrollable. it means that the landing will be faster, so you need a bigger space in which to land the balloon. so not ideal. that suggests this is quite a challenging place for this event to take place. it is, yes. yeah. it's not the easiest, but i think that's what attracts most of us here, is the challenge, so... the festival began over a0 years ago and has grown

from just a few balloons to the 60—plus balloons they have coming today. back when it started, it was the idea of founder charles—andre ramseier. we started ballooning here in 76. ballooning in the alps was brand—new. nobody was doing it. i'd seen balloons in the us, but in the alps, it's a new dimension. a basket in the sky is like a balcony in the sky. it'sa dream. it's beautiful. you know where you take off, when you take off, you never know where you land and when you land. yeah. this is what i understood this morning, listening to the pilot briefing. small changes that wouldn't affect many other leisure activities have such a big impact with the hot air balloons. yes. and what you have to know is that every season is different to fly. that's why if you want to be a good pilot, you have to fly every week. otherwise, you are a bad pilot.

with some balloons starting to take to the skies, ijoin nick in the basket. oh, wow. and within just a few seconds, we are whisked high up into the air. nick, can you tell me what you're doing? i mean, there's been all sorts of things going on. yeah. so at the moment, all we're doing is keeping the balloon nice and level. so we're putting in little bits of heat every now and again, to keep the buoyancy up in the balloon. uh-huh. so tell me a little bit about the specific challenges of a landscape like this. so, obviously, up on the side of the mountains, there's a lot of snow, a lot of trees, but not a lot of roads. so you're having to land

as close to a road as possible to make the retrieval of all the kit easy. the mountains also produce a different climate, so there can be a lot of different wind patterns and things that develop around the mountains. it seems to be almost a lifestyle, this passion for ballooning. what is it that you love about ballooning? very much so. i mean, it's the tranquillity, as well. up here, aside from the helicopter, it's peaceful. there's nothing. and, you know, the views. you don't get this out of an aeroplane window. no. and there's a really big sense of community around ballooning. it is a niche sport, i suppose. and we're all of a similar ilk, i suppose. this word gets used a lot, so bear with me, but there's something quite magical about being up here. usually when you're at this height, you're either on a parasail, with wind in yourface, or in a plane or a helicopter, the thrum of the engine and the rotor. and up here it's...silent.

and there's barely a stir of wind. and it's just like we're sort of on a platform in the middle of the air, with this incredible view out over the mountains. i think there's also something that appeals to the romantic in me. reallyjust sort of harking back to the earliest days of air travel. you know, the balloon setting off around the world in 80 days. there's something really special about that. ok, let's stick to the travel show presenters taking flight theme, but let's turn the temperature up a little. earlier this year, i was lucky enough to head to sri lanka, a country i had visited several times and loved returning to. and this time, i was lucky enough to get a bird's—eye view of some of the most stunning beaches i have ever seen.

here we go! whoa! what a feeling! cannot beat this! absolutely beautiful! this perspective is unbeatable! i thought, as a child, we'd all be flying like this, every day, as a matter of course. now my dream has come true. sri lanka has around 1,800 kilometres of coastline. i can see the coral reef below. coral reef, which is vital for protecting the coastline from storms and erosion. it's quite a strong wind, but it's fantastic. so much fun.

whew! swinging round! and heeeeeere we go! for a nice... ..bumpyish, but safe landing. ha—ha—ha—ha! fantastic. wow, you live for these moments! absolutely brilliant. and what a view! thanks forjoining us on all of our travels this year. and we'll be back in 2025 to bring you more stories from around the world. until then, though, happy new year. hello there. well, it's a very windy weekend in store and it's a big one for travel, too, with the run—up to christmas. so watch out for some travel disruption caused by the strength of the wind, particularly for the western half of the uk. also maybe some icy surfaces on some of the roads on saturday night into sunday,

as the air turns colder, and there will be some wintry showers pushing down from the north—west. here's our area of low pressure. it's been approaching from the north—west, this huge mass of cloud. the winds are really picking up, very brisk westerlies. 0ut towards the exposed coastal areas of north—west scotland, there could even be some gusts of wind of up to 80mph through the day on saturday, but widely gusts of 50—60mph an hour across northern ireland and into north—west england too. now, there's an area of cloud and rain gradually pushing further southwards and eastwards across england and wales as we head through the second half of the day. sunny spells but also blustery showers digging in behind. the winds are pretty brisk towards the south as well, although lighter than further north and west. and this is how we'll end the afternoon. still that mild air hanging on towards the southern half of the uk, 12 or 13 degrees celsius. but it will soon be replaced on saturday night into sunday by these much colder—feeling conditions. low pressure pushing eastwards towards the north of the uk, so the winds come down from the north—west. and there's a tight squeeze

on the isobars, so it remains very blustery out towards the north—west, with some of the strongest of the winds transferring a little further southwards as the as the night wears on. wintry showers — watch out for those icy surfaces. could be very tricky for travelling, with those strong gusty winds. and this is how we'll start off the day on sunday, on a much colder—feeling note. now, this is the area of most concern on sunday. this is where we'll see the strongest winds, up to 50—60mph. so that now includes much of wales and down through south—west england. and there will be some more showers around again, likely to be wintry over the higher ground, particularly across the hills of scotland, although it will turn quite quickly back to rain, i think, as we head through the afternoon, with some slightly milder—feeling air. but elsewhere, it is set to be really quite chilly through the day. a lot of added wind chill, and temperatures won't make it much past 6—7 celsius. there will be some weak winter sunshine, but it won't do much for the temperatures. milderfeeling conditions, though, by the time we get to monday. into christmas eve and christmas day, it looks a lot quieter, largely dry and mild too. bye— bye.

live from london, this is bbc news. a car ploughs into crowds at a german christmas market, killing two and injuring dozens more. police arrest the suspect a saudi doctor. sirens. a houthi missile strike against israel overnight — at least 1a wounded. the yemeni group says it's acting in support of palestinians in gaza. down to the wire. the us house of representatives passes a bill to fund america's government for three months and avoid a shutdown over christmas. and pensioners in england have until the end of saturday to apply for a key benefit to qualify for the winter fuel payment.

hello. welcome. we start in germany, where two people, including a child, have been killed and nearly 70 others are being treated for injuries after a car was driven into a busy christmas market in germany. it happened in magdeburg — 100 miles west of berlin — at around 8pm friday night, localtime. the car hit the crowded area at high speed, and is said to have travelled for around 400m. footage from german broadcaster mdr shows armed police arresting a man at the scene — he's a 50—year—old saudi national who has lived in germany for 18 years. the authorities say he worked as a doctor, had no criminal record and no known links to extremism. today, the german chancellor 0laf scholz will visit the scene of the carnage as germany grieves. nickjohnson, has the story.