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Ideas, suggestions and recommendations that can help you choose from a more limited palette of options that we know — both from professional and personal experience.

July 23, 2012

How charter holiday pricing works — Part 1

If you're an Irish consumer currently thinking of getting away for a week or two in the sun at the moment, chances are that you're experiencing one or both of the following problems: 1. There is very little availability left to many destinations 2. All the prices are very expensive And to add further insult to your injury, you've probably already found that the prices that airlines such as Aer Lingus and Ryanair are charging

July 18, 2012

Familiarity Breeds Contempt — Part 2

In last weeks' blog I was going on about the fact that we probably attribute too much importance at times to far away destinations and not enough to the ones that are located closer to home. perhaps the best example of this phenomenon is London. London is one of the world's great capitals with more than enough history, culture, architecture and attractions to last a lifetime and yet how well do we really know it?

July 11, 2012

Familiarity breeds contempt — why clichés become clichés!

Certain figures of speech such as the above mentioned 'Familiarity breeds contempt' only become clichés over time because, in essence, what they are saying is true and is being said in a very catchy, easy-to-remember way. Now, lest I get carried away with myself here on the finer points of language and semantics, the reason why I've headlined this particular article with the above cliché/saying/truism/whatever-you-want-to-call-it is because I was struck recently by the tendency we have in

July 4, 2012

Paradise — and where you can find it!

Much of our vocabulary in daily use has become increasingly diminished because of the overuse of certain words or adjectives. Common sense would suggest that everything simply can't be 'great' or 'brilliant' or 'unique. A prefect example of this phenomenon is the overuse of the word 'paradise' — in the material, rather than the metaphysical sense! Many destinations claim to be paradise or evocative of it and whilst many of these destinations are undoubtedly beautiful in their own

June 30, 2012

Don’t forget the humble ferry!

Have you noticed that most travel articles nowadays refer almost exclusively to air travel — at least it feels that way sometimes? This is understandable given the revolution that has taken place in aviation over the course of the past 20 years due to the emergence of low cost carriers such as Ryanair and Easyjet. Prices have tumbled and air travel has most certainly been democratized in the process with more people now enjoying international

June 25, 2012

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

June 11, 2012

The Travel Agent Renaissance

Has the travellers' love affair with the Internet finally peaked? Has it eventually dawned on consumers that all the best deals aren't necessarily found online? Judging by a growing number of articles that have begun to appear in various mainstream publications both in Ireland and abroad over the course of the past 12 months, the answer would appear to be a resounding yes! And we're not talking about small, regional titles here. August publications such

June 6, 2012

When is the best time to visit Spain or Portugal?

How about now! June is an ideal time of year to visit either country as you get to enjoy the best of all possible worlds. You don't have to endure the high temperatures of July or August; The beaches, bars or restaurants aren't as crowded as school is still not out in a number of countries — most notably our neighbours across the Irish Sea — and perhaps best of all, there are still great bargains to

May 28, 2012

The Isle of Calypso

No, we're not talking about Trinidad and Tobago but another small island located almost half way around the world! The island of Gozo (the smaller sister iland of Malta) is also know as the Isle of Calypso as it was reputedly the location where the nymph Calyso imprisoned Odysseus for a number of years, as chronicled in Homer's Odyssey. For such a small and sparsely populated island of 31,00 souls, it contains 22 churches, one of which

May 21, 2012

Malta — proof that the best things sometimes come in small packages!

Reputedly the second-most densely populated area on Earth (after Hong Kong), Malta challenges the first time visitor as to what they think they know about this small 90-square mile rock that lies between Sicily to the north and Libya to the south. Boasting the world's oldest free-standing structures — yes, they're said to be older than Newgrange — Malta is an island of contradictions that will delight the eye, ear and palate of even the

May 17, 2012

Day 4 in Puglia

Is there anyone out there who doesn't love Italian food? I don't think so. It is justifiably regarded as one of the worlds' great cuisines and not a lot of people know that French cuisine — often regarded as representing the pinnacle of gastronomic excellence — actually derives from Italian influences which were introduced into the French Royal Court around the time of the Medici's. See — you learn something new every time you read this blog!

May 15, 2012

Day 3 in Puglia

Everyone knows that Italy is rich in its antiquities but many assume that most of these are concentrated in locations such as Rome, Florence, Venice and so on — legacies of the vast wealth of these former city states. It may surprise you to know therefore that Southern Italy (and Puglia in particular) enjoys its own superabundance of exquisite buildings and sublime architecture and nowhere is that more apparent than in the gem that is

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