Orange is the new orange

It's that time of year again when intending travellers or betrothed couples start the time-consuming and frustrating process of deciding where to spend their next long haul holiday or hopefully — their one and only honeymoon! There are many contenders out there and all have their pluses! The USA, The Caribbean, Mexico, South Africa, The Seychelles and Mauritius usually appear high on most peoples wish lists but it is Thailand that often comes up trumps,

Get it in writing

I recently paid a return visit to Hong Kong, having last visited there way back in 1989. One of the things that I noticed straight away since my last visit was the degree to which English had diminished as a language that many locals had competency in. Now whether that is due to the fact that Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese ownership in 1997 after some 150 years of British rule I don't know

It’s not just great, it’s %!$£*& amazing!

The Chinese must clearly be an extremely modest and unassuming people! Why do I say that? Because recently, I ticked yet another item of my rather long and (probably) overly ambitious bucket list and got to walk a section of the Great Wall of China! The wall itself — when you experience it up close and personal — is not huge and in your face like the pyramids — it's much more subtle. For starters,

Now that’s what I call value!

On a recent trip to China, I have to say that I was hugely impressed by the subway system in Beijing. Not only was it clean, safe and efficient but it was also exceptionally good value for money. The subway is the oldest metro system in mainland China — the first line having opened as recently as 1969, and it has grown to 18 lines, 319 stations and 527 km of track in operation, making it the second longest

Hong Kong — New York’s alter ego!

I was last in Hong Kong in 1988 so a return visit has been on the cards for a very long time. If you've never been then let me tell you it is an electrifying city! I would describe it as the New York of the Far East — a dynamic, fast-moving and exciting international metropolis that is just buzzing with energy — and that's before you even get out of the airport! Seriously though,

Where’s the best tourist destination in the world?

When people find out that I'm in the travel industry, one of the most common questions that I tend to get asked is 'where is the best place you've ever been?' It's an impossible question to answer in many respects — not least because every destination has its own charm and unique selling points but also because you can't very well compare apples with pears. Add to that, the fact that such exercises are ultimately

The Lost Continent?

The above blog title is of course just another feeble attempt by yours truly to make a play on words. The continent that I am referring to — in case you haven't guessed — is South America and the reason I decided to give the blog that title is because, of all the continents (with the obvious exception of Antarctica), South America is still waiting to be found by many Irish holidaymakers. I'm by no

Food, glorious food!

One of the great joys of travelling around the world is the food that you get to eat in all those various destinations! Great, that is, if you are an adventurous eater like me. But what if you're not? Many people are what could be called 'plain eaters', of the meat and two veg variety and it can often be a problem trying to find food suitable to their palate when they're abroad. One place

Malaysia is in the news these days for all the wrong reasons!

Which of us hasn't speculated already about the fate of flight MH 370? This modern day Marie Celeste-like mystery has had us all transfixed for the past five weeks and still with no satisfactory conclusion in sight. I happened to be in Malaysia a few days after the flight went missing and was struck by how much life was continuing on as normal for this vibrant country of some 30 million people. True, all the

Don’t forget the small guys!

We live in such a brand-obsessed world nowadays that it's all too easy to restrict our search when we're online to names that we're familiar but in doing so, we are often inadvertently shortchanging ourselves as the best on offer may not necessarily be the most familiar or famous. This applies to all consumer services and products. It also applies to travel! If you were stopped on the street tomorrow by some pollster and asked

Am I unique? I wouldn’t bet on it!

You've probably heard the old one-liner that goes: 'You're unique — just like everyone else'. Well, I was in Las Vegas last month for an event called PowWow which is one of the largest  events on the global travel industry calendar where supplier network with buyers etc. It was a short visit that lasted just two days but I must confess that I didn't gamble one single cent — not on the roulette or Black

Legroom — worth every penny!

If like me, you are over six feet tall, then long haul flights are a right pain — in the legs! In their efforts to squeeze ever more revenue out of flights, airlines have been literally squeezing ever more rows of seats onto their aircraft with the result that the seat pitch (the distance in inches from one seat to the one in front of it) has been shortening in recent years. The usual solution

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!).