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Dubrovnik – the real King’s Landing

  The former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Tip O’Neill famously opined some years ago that ‘All politics is local’ and how right he was! You could equally argue that when it comes to the relative popularity of new air services, you should never underestimate the allure of ‘local’. The ‘local’ in this instance that I am referring to is the new direct service between Cork and Dubrovnik that will start later

Premium economy anyone?

On a recent flight to the States, my flight was delayed by almost six hours because of bad weather. There were strong cross winds at Dublin airport which were blowing above the safety threshold of the aircraft in question and we couldn’t use another runway because the aircraft size and load needed a longer runway to take off. Flight delays are an unfortunate inconvenience of air travel and are usually beyond the control of all

Timely Advice

    It’s that time of year again when most people’s minds turn to New Year resolutions, the next credit card statement and of course the inevitable where to go on this year’s holiday and, equally importantly — when to book it? Many people still mistakenly think that if you are flexible in when you can take your annual leave and are also a bit of a gambler then it is always worth your while

‘Life is a journey – not a destination’

So claimed Ralf Waldo Emerson, one of America's greatest essayists (b. 1803 —d. 1882). Whilst I have always subscribed to that philosophical thought, it was brought home to me in a very tangible way recently when I travelled from Dublin to Stockholm for a short break. I was travelling with SAS who are the national airline of Sweden, Norway and Denmark and they have recently introduced an innovation in their fare structure which I think

If Toulouse is not on your radar — it should be!

Toulouse — fourth largest city in France and home to Airbus, manufacturers of the world's largest civilian airliner, the A380. This beautiful city suffers from anonymity and it shouldn't because on paper, it really does tick most, if not all the boxes. True, it does not contain iconic locations or structures such as the Eiffel Tower or L'Arc du Triumphe but in its own modest and unassuming way, Toulouse insinuates its way into your thoughts and
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

Istanbul — The city with multiple personalities!

People often assume that just because you work in the travel business, you must have been everywhere. I wish! Don't get me wrong. I have travelled extensively for sure over the course of my 40 years in the industry but what tends to happen is that you end up visiting the same destinations quite a lot — particularly if they feature heavily in the markets that you trade in — and much less so for

Beijing — City of contrasts

I have recently returned from my second trip to Beijing in less than three months. So what is it like to visit the third most populous city in the world? Well, the first impression is that it looks remarkably modern and western in the sense that the entire city (at least from what I saw and I criss-crossed it many, many times) is composed of large, wide boulevards containing dual carriageways with smaller, local access

Finding the best fare between point A and point B — how complicated can it be?

          The wonderful thing about technology is that it insulates us from reality a lot of the time. It makes complicated things appear simple. It takes the drudgery out of completing certain repetitive tasks. Unfortunately, it also causes us to underestimate such complexity and not fully appreciate what we're up against. Take travel for example, or more specifically, finding a fare — the optimum fare — between two points. Did you

How travel decisions can sometimes be based on incomplete information

Trip Advisor is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. The global review site started out life above a Pizza shop called Kosta's in Needham, Massachusetts in February, 2000. It is a great site without question and I must admit that I have started contributing to it in recent times as I realised, belatedly, that I had a lot to contribute given the amount of travelling I do (and have done). What prompted me to write

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

Now that’s what I call value!

On a recent trip to China, I have to say that I was hugely impressed by the subway system in Beijing. Not only was it clean, safe and efficient but it was also exceptionally good value for money. The subway is the oldest metro system in mainland China — the first line having opened as recently as 1969, and it has grown to 18 lines, 319 stations and 527 km of track in operation, making it the second longest

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!).

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