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Jamaica — Ireland’s Caribbean next-of-kin

It is just over 30 years since I first visited Jamaica and fell in love with the island, its people and its music. I’ve only been back there once since then and am due to visit the Caribbean nation for a third time next year and I’m already looking forward to it. The thing that struck me most forcibly about Jamaica and Jamaicans on that first visit was how much they were like us in

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…)
travel-makes-you-richer

‘Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer’

Travel is one of those activities that has never been short of an inspirational quote or two and the title of this week’s blog is probably one of the better ones and certainly one of my favourites. Like a lot of people who work in the travel industry, I have been blessed over the course of the past 44 years to have traveled to a lot of exotic destinations around the world — some of

There’s a hotel for everyone!

  From a travel agents’ perspective, one of the most interesting phenomena to reveal itself over the course of the past ten years is that, given the choice, consumers like to spend more, rather than less money on their hotel accommodation. Let me explain: As low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and EasyJet went from strength to strength and made international travel available to everyone, people started travelling more regularly and whilst they were prepared to

What is a VPN and why do I need one when I travel to certain countries around the world?

  The letters in the acronym VPN stand for Virtual Private Network and is an incredible tool that can help you access blocked websites, hide your location, encrypt your data, and much more. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a server that you connect with to reroute your internet activities. The server can completely mask your IP or make it appear as if you are in a different location. Using VPN software on your laptop or

Reinventing the wheel, hotel-style

Statistics show that the Canary Islands — and Lanzarote in particular — are the favourite destination for Irish holidaymakers. Despite a flight time of four hours and 15 minutes, many people prefer it over the much shorter flights that can take them to the Balearic Islands or any of the Costas in mainland Spain and it comes down to one single USP, the guarantee of good weather. (more…)

Something to shout about!

It’s not often that I take the opportunity in this blog to talk about something closer to home — after all, the purpose of these articles is to whet your appetite and stimulate your curiosity so that you venture abroad and experience some of the destinations that I write about. Every now and then though, I come across something that is so good that I simply cannot let the opportunity pass without telling people about

Celebrity Edge — does it live up to the hype?

We live in a world that is increasingly dominated by ‘Fake News’ and where so much hyperbole is propagated about any new product, service or destination that it can sometimes be difficult to separate fact from fiction. The function of any marketing or PR department is to talk up a new product entering the market and when that ‘product’ is a new cruise ship that represents an investment of close to $1Billion, then it is

In Cyberspace, no one can hear you say %£&@!

Online is increasingly becoming a modern-day equivalent of the ‘Wild West’ where practically anything goes. We’ve all heard stories about the ‘Dark Web’ and even the ‘Deep Web’ but the ordinary web is also no stranger to criminal behaviour and sorry tales of compromised passwords, stolen funds and hijacked ID’s. Worryingly, one of the areas in which such cyber-crime is regularly poking its head into is in the travel arena. (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

Discovery begins at home

I work in the travel industry, so part of my job description is to persuade people to leave Ireland and enjoy many of the delights that the world has to offer. I’ve been doing this in various manifestations (travel agent, tour operator, GSA, consortium founder etc.) for almost 45 years and I love my job! So forgive me this week if I break with tradition and talk a little bit about what can be found

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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