A long overdue reunion with an old acquaintance

Back in 1988, I undertook the first of two trips to Jamaica to scout out properties for a large incentive group that had confirmed a booking with me when I was managing a tour operating company in Dublin. The company in question was Chieftain Tours and at the time, it was the only operator of charters to Toronto in Canada where it partnered with a large Canadian tour operator called Sunquest Vacations. I had pitched

Self-catering or all-inclusive — which represents better value for money?

I'm sure that this is a question that gets asked often in many households as moms and dads discuss the annual question of whether or not they can afford a family holiday in the sun. Unfortunately, like so many other things in life, there is no definitive right or wrong answer. It simply depends! Self-catering certainly comes out tops in terms of it usually representing the cheapest headline price but of course you need to

All aboard for all-inclusive!

People develop misconceptions about things for all sorts of reasons — both rational and irrational — and yours truly is no exception. For most of my travelling life, I have always opted for self-catering apartments whenever I was going on family holidays, reasoning that (1) I had the facility to make myself a cup of tea at any time of the day or night that I chose and believe me, I'm a BIG tea drinker,

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

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!).