Far from the madding crowd.

One of life’s great conundrums is that popular destinations only become popular in the first place because they have something to offer a lot of different people — whether that ‘something’ be atmosphere, friendliness, cheapness, accessibility, safety, culture or any number of other attributes. Destinations don’t become popular out of the blue or by accident; there is always a very definable reason for their popularity. The conundrum occurs when the very things that made the

Are you a tourist or a traveller?

There are numerous references online as to what differentiates a tourist from a traveller and one of the best that I’ve come across is the one that states, ‘One blends in whereas the other sticks out!’ Does that describe you? Do you like to stick within your comfort zone or do you occasionally venture outside it? Do you try to immerse yourself in a local culture or are you happy to remain aloof from it

The most sparsely-populated country in Europe is becoming increasingly crowded!

Now there’s an oxymoron if ever I heard one but it’s true! Iceland, that large Island that sits directly northeast of us (Reykjavik is approximately 1,473 kilometres from Dublin) is almost 103,000 square kilometres in area, making it roughly 25% larger by area than the entire island of Ireland and yet it boasts a population of just 332,000 citizens — two thirds of whom chose to call Reykjavik, the capital, home. The reference to crowding

Is anywhere safe anymore?

After the tragic events that took place last week in Barcelona, Cambrils and Turku, that surely must be a question that more and more people are asking themselves nowadays. We live in an increasingly dangerous world it would appear but according to academics such as Stephen Pinker in his 2011 bestseller ‘The Better Angels of our Nature’ the statistics would suggest otherwise. Indeed, if you look at the accompanying graphic to this week’s blog you’ll

Moving out of your comfort zone

Last year, as part of a marketing campaign that we mounted in conjunction with our network of affiliated travel agents throughout the country, we had a series of posters designed that married iconic landscapes from around the world with some great inspirational quotes from people as diverse as the Dalai Lama, J.R.R Tolkien and Steve Jobs. One of my favourites was a quote from Susan Sontag which rather wittily said: ‘I haven’t been everyplace but

There’s more to life than getting a tan!

Us Irish are obsessed with getting a good colour. Like many of our fellow northern Europeans, we crave the heat of the sun on our backs, probably because for the most part, it tends to be such a relative novelty for us — this summer just past notwithstanding! It should therefore come as no surprise that the most popular holiday destinations out of Ireland all tend to be sun destinations in either the southern Mediterranean

Going for a walk?

Most people love walking. I know I do and I make a point of getting out for a brisk one every day — come hail or shine! Indeed, from what I can see, walking-based holidays are becoming increasingly popular particularly those routes that combine a bit of history and religion along the way such as the Camino de Santiago de Compostela or the Via Francigena. For years, countries like Austria and Switzerland proved extremely popular

Having a whale of a time!

If you've ever read your 'Origin of Species' you'll know that our distant ancestors emerged from the primordial ooze gazillions of years ago and that is perhaps why so many of us have this strange affinity to the sea and some of the animals that inhabit it. Dolphins and whales are a prime example of this fascination with whales in particular exerting a strange attraction — whether it be for their sheer bulk or just

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!).