Welcome to Veggie Heaven!

People travel around the world to specific destinations for all sorts of reasons. It may be to experience the natural wonders of a country; its history, architecture, culture or even its people. Some people travel specifically to enjoy the food — whether it be Indian, Mexican, Chinese, French or any one of dozens of other national cuisines. (more…)

In India, they drive on the left …

… and the right, in the middle, on the hard shoulder and in the opposite direction — even on dual carriageways and motorways but for some perverse reason, it all seems to work. India is not a country where you simply hire a car to get around. You hire a car and a driver because only Indians have the steel nerves, 360-degree panoramic vision, built-in radar and the reaction times of the domestic house fly

Up close and cuddly!

People travel for all sorts of reasons — a change of scenery, to rest and recuperate, to experience a new culture or to see new sights. Indeed, if you were to sit down and compile a list of all the reasons why people travel, you would probably end up with hundreds. One of the most enthralling reasons that people travel is to experience animals in their natural habitat. The most obvious example of such an

Water Babies — Cities that live in, by or on the water!

When one thinks of cities that are dominated by water, the place that almost instantly comes to mind is that unique piece of history that is Venice — one of the most successful city states that ever existed and where, unexpectedly, the concept of assembly lines in manufacturing originated from. The Venetian Arsenal was Europe’s first and largest military-industrial complex prior to the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, when Venice was a major maritime power

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

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…)

The true cost of that holiday!

One of the biggest mistakes that some people make when budgeting for their holiday is not considering the cost of those miscellaneous expenses on the ground when they arrive at their chosen destination which can often add up to more than the actual cost of the trip itself. Travelers can often get so obsessed with the headline cost of a package that they forget that it is but one component of a much bigger figure.

Ready for something a little bit out of the ordinary?

One of the many highlights of visiting destinations around the world is getting the opportunity to visit the museums. Museums are amazing places and some of them offer free entrance so you can literally spend an entire day both entertaining and educating yourself about the world for free! We've all heard of world-famous museums such as the Smithsonian in Washington D.C, the Louvre in Paris, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Uffizi in Florence, 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

Food, glorious food!

I've recently returned from a whistle stop tour of southern India. I spent 7 tiring days criss-crossing Kerala but all that travelling was more than compensated for by the wonderful food that I experienced along the way. Contrary to what many people say, I didn't experience any episodes of 'Delhi Belly' and believe me I ate practically everything that was on the menu so perhaps it ultimately comes down to where you actually consume your

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

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!).