The best fun you can have standing up!

2018 will go down as one of the best Irish summers ever — certainly the best one that I can recall in almost 60 years. Eight weeks of almost unbroken sunshine, warm temperatures and blue skies created feelings of ambivalence in travel people such as myself because the selfish hedonist in me wanted it to last for ever whereas my pragmatic side new that it wasn’t good for business — after all, our job is

Seattle, here we come!

The announcement by Aer Lingus earlier this week that they will start direct services to Seattle from Ireland next May is big news — at least in the Travel Centres household. Apart from being the home to both online and tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft and the fictional home of the greatest TV comedy series ever made — Frasier — Seattle is also gateway to the Pacific Northwest, one of the least familiar
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

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

Summer has arrived!

I'm not talking literally of course — just figuratively — and wearing my travel agent hat! Easter has always traditionally represented the start of the summer season as this is when tour operator summer charter programmes begin and winter charter series end. It is also then an appropriate time to remind people of the kinds of things that they need to think of/prepare for, before setting out on their overseas travels. What follows is a

Avoid making the classic mistakes!

Here's a simple rule of thumb that you should always bear in mind when planning your next trip abroad. If you're planning to travel using a scheduled airline (even low cost ones such as Ryanair, Easyjet etc.), always book your flights as far in advance of your date of departure as possible as the prices increases the nearer you get to your travel date. The reverse is true when it comes to charter services. The

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!).