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…)

All roads don’t lead south

We have a habit in Ireland of only looking south or east when we consider holiday destinations. It’s partly because we associate such destinations in Mediterranean Europe with guaranteed sunshine. It’s also partly due to conditioning and assumptions — false assumptions as it turns out. We assume that it is only southern European destinations such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and, to a lesser extent France, that hold the monopoly on good weather and whilst

The fascinating world of micro-climates

When we think of weather, we tend to categorize it in terms of one of two ideals — good weather or bad weather. The former is the category that we associate with positive things; holidays, sun, ideal agricultural conditions and so on, whilst bad weather tends to be associated, understandably enough, with negative phenomenon such hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, flooding, forest fires etc. Although we often complain about the weather here in Ireland (the summer of

Lakes & Mountains — a gem just waiting to be discovered!

Are you a creature of habit? Do you head off each summer for your traditional two weeks in the sun somewhere warm? Even if you go to a different beach resort each year, priding yourself on the fact that you love change and diversity, you might still be deluding yourself if the TYPE of holiday that you take each year, remains largely the same. After all, a resort is a resort, at the end of

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
safeness

Where should I go on my next holiday?

There are all sorts of reasons why people choose the destinations that they do. For some it’s simply price, for other’s weather is their primary concern. Some choose destinations based on their proximity whilst other travellers choose places based on their ‘safeness’. It is therefore interesting to note the results of the latest biannual report from the World Economic Forum which rates countries around the world based on a wide ranging set of metrics that

Going for a walk?

Most people love walking. I know I do and I make a point of getting out for a brisk one every day — come hail or shine! Indeed, from what I can see, walking-based holidays are becoming increasingly popular particularly those routes that combine a bit of history and religion along the way such as the Camino de Santiago de Compostela or the Via Francigena. For years, countries like Austria and Switzerland proved extremely popular

How cultured are you?

When people are asked why they travel abroad on holidays  they usually cite reasons such as weather (if you're Irish!), cuisine, history, scenery, people. The list is obviously longer and more nuanced than that but I think we would all agree that one of the single most important reasons why many people travel abroad is for a taste of that other country's culture and heritage. The Google dictionary defines the word 'culture' as 'The arts

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!).