Turkey is in the news of late — but for all the wrong reasons!

Having said that — don't always take as gospel, what you hear on the news as everything is 'spun' these days. Not from a propaganda point of view you understand. It's just TV's way of competing with the sensational headlines mentality that you often see demonstrated by certain tabloid press. Even the 'serious' news channels get caught up in this behavior. The reality(and consequence) of such spin/selective editing, was graphically demonstrated to me about 10

The Top 10 Destinations in the World in 2013

Let's face it, we all love lists! Compilations of the 10 fastest this, or 10 most expensive or exclusive that appear to exert a magnetic draw on our collective curiosity that has to be satiated! I cam across the following list just today and what amuses me about it is that it claims to indicate the 10 top travel destinations in the world as voted for by Facebook users. How could that be when we're

Home is where the heart is!

Blogs such as this generally deal with overseas destinations but that of course assumes that the only people reading this are Irish. Not true! The Travel Bug blog has a diverse and international audience so today I thought that I'd write a few words about where we're based — in the idyllic seaside village of Dunmore East, Co. Waterford, Ireland. As anyone who lives near the sea will tell you, every day is different —

When paying more money can cost you less!

Regular readers of this blog will know that one of the recurring themes that we re-visit from time to time is that of trying to get people to realise that cheaper isn't always better — in fact it rarely is. Value for money needs to be your constant mantra if you are a consumer who wants to get more bang for their proverbial buck. Some perfect examples of this truism came across my desk earlier this week

Breaking out of your comfort zone — Part 2

Let's not mince words here — it's been a crap summer this year! It's rained so much over the course of the past few months that I'm now worried that I might  develop webbing between my fingers and toes. If you are one of the countless disappointed souls who waited and weaited and waited this summer to see if prices would drop or that you might benefit from some last minute deal that never happened then you

A bitter pill to swallow?

I think we all agree that the summer of 2012 is best forgotten as, by all accounts, it has been the worst in living memory as far as sunshine and good weather were concerned. Of course the consequence of all this is that many people who perhaps had previously decided that they would not be holidaying abroad this year subsequently changed their minds — further adding to the pressure on a limited capacity of both

How charter holiday pricing works — Part 2

Last week, we explained in more or less simple terms how charter pricing works. This week, we focus on scheduled airline fares and the fundamental manner in which they differ from charters. Scheduled airline fares apply only to scheduled air services. These are operated by airlines. A scheduled service must operate on the date, time and frequency specified — whether  the flight is full or empty. As a general rule of thumb, the further out

Paradise — and where you can find it!

Much of our vocabulary in daily use has become increasingly diminished because of the overuse of certain words or adjectives. Common sense would suggest that everything simply can't be 'great' or 'brilliant' or 'unique. A prefect example of this phenomenon is the overuse of the word 'paradise' — in the material, rather than the metaphysical sense! Many destinations claim to be paradise or evocative of it and whilst many of these destinations are undoubtedly beautiful in their own

When is the best time to visit Spain or Portugal?

How about now! June is an ideal time of year to visit either country as you get to enjoy the best of all possible worlds. You don't have to endure the high temperatures of July or August; The beaches, bars or restaurants aren't as crowded as school is still not out in a number of countries — most notably our neighbours across the Irish Sea — and perhaps best of all, there are still great bargains to

The Isle of Calypso

No, we're not talking about Trinidad and Tobago but another small island located almost half way around the world! The island of Gozo (the smaller sister iland of Malta) is also know as the Isle of Calypso as it was reputedly the location where the nymph Calyso imprisoned Odysseus for a number of years, as chronicled in Homer's Odyssey. For such a small and sparsely populated island of 31,00 souls, it contains 22 churches, one of which

Malta — proof that the best things sometimes come in small packages!

Reputedly the second-most densely populated area on Earth (after Hong Kong), Malta challenges the first time visitor as to what they think they know about this small 90-square mile rock that lies between Sicily to the north and Libya to the south. Boasting the world's oldest free-standing structures — yes, they're said to be older than Newgrange — Malta is an island of contradictions that will delight the eye, ear and palate of even the

Day 3 in Puglia

Everyone knows that Italy is rich in its antiquities but many assume that most of these are concentrated in locations such as Rome, Florence, Venice and so on — legacies of the vast wealth of these former city states. It may surprise you to know therefore that Southern Italy (and Puglia in particular) enjoys its own superabundance of exquisite buildings and sublime architecture and nowhere is that more apparent than in the gem that is

The art of getting a quote that is both competitive in price and relevant to your needs starts with gathering all the right information about what you want to do (or think you want to do!).