Mass Tourism — is it a good or a bad thing?

I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful town of Kotor in Montenegro a few weeks ago. I had first visited the stunning medieval town nine years ago and was captivated by its stunning location at the end of a deep inlet and the well-preserved condition of much of its buildings. Indeed, it was so perfect that it almost looked fake — like a recently constructed film set. On both occasions, I visited the town

Is Barcelona the perfect short break city destination?

I have been to Barcelona on four or five occasions over the past few years but each one was a flying visit — either joining a cruise ship departing the Catalan capital or disembarking from one! I was therefore determined to finally set aside two whole days so that I could take time to experience just some of what this Spanish jewel has to offer, and the destination didn’t disappoint. The term ‘short break’ has

Is anywhere safe anymore?

After the tragic events that took place last week in Barcelona, Cambrils and Turku, that surely must be a question that more and more people are asking themselves nowadays. We live in an increasingly dangerous world it would appear but according to academics such as Stephen Pinker in his 2011 bestseller ‘The Better Angels of our Nature’ the statistics would suggest otherwise. Indeed, if you look at the accompanying graphic to this week’s blog you’ll

Now that’s big!

As Irish consumers begin to vary their travel diet more and more, some of them are starting to discover the joys of cruising. Long considered the preserve of the `newly-wed, over-fed and almost dead', cruising still suffers from an image problem — mostly, it must be said — in the eyes of those who have never stepped aboard a cruise ship. The fact of the matter is that there are as many cruise products as

The culinary landscape around the world is changing!

When we think of culinary excellence, we tend to think of places like New York, Barcelona, London, San Sebastian or Lyon. Countries like France, Spain and Italy have been — with much justification it must be said — lauded for centuries as representing the epitome of culinary art. In more recent years however, the centre of gravity has begun to move away from these traditional gastronomic capitals as tastes change; new processes have come into

Move out of your comfort zone in 2013

Carrying on from last weeks' blog in which I suggested that you combine one of the most typical new year resolutions (getting more exercise!) with that of choosing a destination ideal for walking or trekking, I would like to suggest that even if you don't want to get that energetic in 2013 that you at least take the opportunity to move a little bit outside of your comfort zone this year. This doesn't have to

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!).