When a man is tired of London …

The full quote is ‘When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford’ and it was written by Samuel Johnson (aka Dr Johnson), who was the author of the ‘Dictionary of the English Language’ which was published in 1755. Johnson was also a renowned poet, essayist, literary critic, biographer, editor and philanthropist. London is, according to the Globalisation and World Rankings Research

WHERE TO GO TO IN 2018? — PART 2

Things are beginning to heat up in the China space in 2018 — at least as far as Ireland is concerned. On June 2nd, Cathay Pacific will start their new direct, non-stop service from Dublin to Hong Kong with flights on Monday’s, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, leaving at 00.50hrs and arriving in Hong Kong at 06.45 hrs. This will be the first time that Ireland and China have ever been linked by a direct service

WHERE TO GO IN 2018?

‘Let’s Talk Travel’ has become one of the most popular features of the Holiday World travel exhibition that is held at the RDS each year. At last weekend’s event, yours truly was one of the panellists asked to contribute to a session entitled ‘Holiday Trends’. The other two panellists were Paul Hackett, founder and managing director of Click & Go and Catherine Grennell-Whyte, MD of ATTS — a GSA (general sales agent) for companies such

The reasons why we travel and the criteria by which we choose our destinations

People travel for all sorts of reasons. For some, travel is the antidote to the way they live the rest of the year. It provides excitement, change, challenge, relaxation, new experiences. People travel to recharge their batteries and get a bit of sun — a high priority indeed, when you come from someplace like Ireland — ‘the land of perpetual autumn’, as I often describe it! (more…)

There’s ‘free’ … and then there’s ‘FREE’!

The word 'free' is one of the most powerful trigger words in the English language. It grabs our attention and forces us to read on further. It is a marketing guru's tool that many of them use to good effect. We, as consumers, are suckers though and when a lot of the claims of free this and that fail to live up to the hyperbole, we're left feeling foolish for having been duped — yet

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

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,

Driving on the left is not the minority sport that you think it is!

Irish holidaymakers are used to the fact that they have to negotiate the strange phenomenon of driving on the wrong side of the road when they usually go abroad since most of the near continent are right-hand drive, as is north and most of Central and South America. Like all things in life, it's an experience that you get used to in time with the result that one easily switches mode when the need arises and you need

€249 for a round-trip airfare to the Far East — where’s the catch?

You've all heard the old adage  '... If it sounds too good to be true ...' and generally speaking, it's usually a reliable rule of thumb to adhere to. Every now and then though, a deal comes along that proves the exception to the rule and the latest example is from none other than Azamara — the boutique cruise division of Royal Caribbean. Azamara  occupies the upper end of the cruise market and boasts small

Disneyland —for the eternal youngster in all of us

My first exposure to the Disneyland 'experience' was almost 30 years ago when I visited the original of the species — Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. Having also been born in 1955 — the year that Disneyland first opened to the public — I felt an immediate affinity to the place. Since then, I have been back a couple of times, not only to the Anaheim park but also Florida and Disneyland Paris. In fact

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!).