Away from the world of fast cars, high-speed trains and large-capacity aircraft, trekking is a slower way of getting around. Best suited to difficult terrains like mountains, deserts or jungles, it’s the travel equivalent of slow food. Time to see the world, meet people and digest everything slowly. Yet it’s also a type of travel that isn’t well known and is thought to be the preserve of young, sturdy types. Whilst it’s certainly not for everyone and a minimum level of fitness is required, it’s a great opportunity to see the world a different way. And such a wide variety of ways of doing it! Here’s just a few of them: (more…)

Time flies depressingly fast and we’re almost into October. No sooner have we got the kids off to school after the long summer break and the prospect of the half-term holidays comes looming over the horizon.The beauty of half-term holidays (apart from them being only one week long) is that they are a last minute opportunity to get away before winter really arrives in earnest and the madness of Christmas. Here’s just a few ideas of the things you could do. (more…)

There will always be somewhere in the world to play golf on holiday and courses are springing up in the most unlikely places, even in the desert. Courses and resorts need a lot of space and the majority of the time you will be guaranteed a stunning location. So holiday and golf is potentially a marriage made in heaven. If a golfing holiday is a new experience for you or if you’re going on holiday to play as a golfing virgin, planning ahead will save you a lot of time, money and stress. (more…)

Whilst it is true that cruises are moving away from their old image as terribly crusty affairs with set rules about what you can and cannot do, choosing what to wear and what to take can still be something of a nightmare. If the idea of what to wear at the captain’s table (or anywhere else on cruise for that matter) confuses you, help is at hand! I am eternally grateful to Judith Brady, style consultant, for the content of this post because quite frankly as a bloke, I wouldn’t have a clue. (more…)

The impending Ryder Cup “clash” between European and US teams is likely to see wannabe top golfers flocking to the greens of Europe (and further away) just like Wimbledon inspires wannabe Tim Henmans to the local tennis courts. Well, for a fortnight or so anyway.

Golf clubs can be extremely bulky and the eternal problem for travellers with them is how to get them from home to destination. Whether they’re transported by land, sea or air, problems are bound to arise, so here’s some tips on how to smooth out any that may come up. (more…)

People do some crazy things on holiday. Sometimes they are planned, some times they are not. The number of ways for you to put yourself in danger is quite astounding, so if jumping off a high bridge with only an elastic band to support you is just too tame, why not try sky surfing, extreme skiing or ice climbing for some thrills.

Your travel insurer may well question your sanity, but would he refuse you cover and why would he do so? (more…)

Cruises aren’t all evening dresses, tuxedos and dining at the captain’s table any more. We’ve moved on quite significantly from the traditional picture of cruises as stuffy middle-class, middle-aged affairs that you could probably only afford with a second mortgage on your house unless you were born into money.

Traditional cruise-goers may turn their noses up at the thought but you can now indulge your hobbies or passion or just get an introduction to something you’ve always wanted to do on a cruise. Here’s just a few of the sensible or otherwise quite wacky things you can do on one. (more…)

The first man-built machine to circumnavigate the world that wasn’t a ship was the Graf Zeppelin airship. In a William Randolph Hearst-financed expedition, it did the journey in 12 days and 11 hours. Zeppelins were the first commercial airliners and for a brief time looked as though they might threaten the cruise liners’ dominance of transatlantic travel. Subsequently, enthusiasm for dirigible flights was curbed by the Hindenburg crash, production was stopped completely by Goring in 1940 and the remaining Zeppelins were used for scrap metal. (more…)

The Civil Aviation Authority web site reveals that in the last year 20 travel operators and airlines have gone bust. Listen to the news and it seems like one goes down almost every week. After one of them went a few months ago, some unfortunate souls rebooked on Kiss that collapsed just a couple of weeks ago. Someone might be telling them they shouldn’t be going on holiday or at least that they should just be happy with a tent in Cornwall. (more…)

Cruises have changed much in the last ten or twenty years and whilst they have not necessarily become more “democratic” they are certainly a long way from the stuffy old image of jewellery and tuxedos. Modern cruise-goers, part by preference and part because of airline-style restrictions on luggage, are starting to travel light.

If you’ve never been on one before, the logical question to ask is “What do I pack to go on a cruise?”. Here’s a brief list… (more…)