Welcome to another World First Wander, a regular rundown of the travel blogosphere’s best new posts – as spotted by our social media man, Tristan Rothwell. It’s a super speedy way to stay on top of the latest and greatest stories in the travel world. So grab a coffee, get comfy and get reading.

Take it away, Tristan!

Greetings travellers!

It’s time for another World First Wander – your one stop shop for what’s hot in the world of travel. There have been some great travel posts and articles appearing across the internet recently and I wanted to share a few of my favourites with you.

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We’ve had some really amazing entries for this month’s My World First competition. There have been tales of camel kissing, AK47s, communist countries, ice hotels, the Amazon, a kiss from Olly Murs, stolen underwear and a fling with a diving instructor. And that’s just the start! The best news is that there’s still time to enter and give yourself the chance of winning a Kindle.

As you might have guessed, the theme for our travel writing competition is world firsts. Get it? We want to hear about your first-time travel experiences. It could be anything you like. And judging by the entries we’ve already had, it probably will be! If it’s a first in your world then it’s one of your world firsts. Tell us about it. This blog post explains the rules and reveals just how easy it is to enter.

The winner of this month’s competition will receive a Kindle – or the equivalent value in Waterstone’s vouchers if they prefer. Viveca Koh won a Kindle in a previous World First competition and sent us this amazing photograph of her and her new toy at the ECVB powerstation in Belgium.

You can take a look at more of Viveca’s photography using these links:

Viveca Koh Photography

Viveca Koh Blog

Follow the hashtag #myworldfirst on Twitter. This month’s competition ends at 23:59 on 30th November.

Written by Tristan Rothwell

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Who doesn’t love taking a few snaps on their holidays? Exactly. This week’s World First Weekly Wander is a photography special and sees our social media man, Tristan Rothwell, offer a few of his specialist tips as he scours the web for the best new travel photography blog posts.

Take it away, Tristan!

Greetings travellers! It’s time for our weekly catch up on the web’s hottest new travel content. After revving the engines with The Mongol Rally last week, this week we’re shifting focus to one thing that 99.9% of us do on our travels: photography.

I’m a keen photographer and have been for several years. I shoot mainly digital with a sprinkling of 35mm and medium format thrown in for good measure. But with the recent purchase of a shiny white iPhone 4, my photographic weapon of choice has changed a little!

The iPhone is with me at all times. I photograph everything, much to the annoyance of those around me. With travel firmly in mind I thought we could look at some recent travel photography articles that will hopefully inspire and instruct you in the art of the travel photograph.

But first I thought I’d offer a few tips of my own that I think will help you to get better shots and become a better photographer. Maybe.

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World First Weekly Wander is a weekly rundown of the latest and greatest travel blog posts. It’s compiled by our very own social media man, Tristan Rothwell, and it’s a super-speedy way to catch up on the latest travel buzz. This week we’re off to Mongolia. No, really.

Take it away, Tristan!

Hello again travel fans. It’s that time of the week again and the theme for this week’s World First Weekly Wander is…

The Mongol Rally!

Last week our theme was “road tripping” which was great, so great that it inspired us to put a World First Travel Insurance team together for next year’s Mongol Rally. You heard it here first! Unfortunately, my team name suggestion of Nuns On The Run has been thwarted in favour of something more sensible (probably involving the words “World”, “First”, “Travel” and maybe “Insurance”).

So to get us even more inspired and also help me persuade some of my friends to leave their loved ones for quite some time, this week we are off to Mongolia. So start your engines and fasten your seatbelts, this may be a bumpy ride.

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Zoë Dawes – aka The Quirky Traveller – is a travel writer.  She was recently voted Britain’s Best Travel Blogger and her website www.thequirkytraveller.com was voted in the Top 10 Inspiring Travel Websites 2010. We asked Zoë to give us a few ideas for brilliant places to visit. We never guessed that it would be good old Blighty that would take the top spot. But there it is. And Zoë really does know what she’s talking about.

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For many of us, going on holiday is one of those rare times when you can settle into a deckchair and get stuck into a really good book. It’s a glorious indulgence isn’t it? Once you know that everything, including the travel insurance, is in order you can begin to relax.

I love reading and adore books so I’ve spent many trips hauling piles of novels around with me. On one trip, to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Bali I endured a couple of months with three volumes of Indian epic ‘A Suitable Boy’ in my rucksack. They must have weighed over a kilo but I just couldn’t bear to be parted from them. What a fool I was. But then again, they hadn’t invented e-readers yet!

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How’s your summer been so far? A little lacklustre, if ours is anything to go by. It’s not uncommon is it? So how about planning an autumn break to somewhere hot and sunny? How does Southern California sound? It has always been a popular mid-haul destination for good reason: sunshine year round, consistently warm temperatures and some of the most renowned tourist attractions in the world. Southern California rarely disappoints.
Yet despite its popularity, California has a few surprises left for the intrepid tourist. There are still a few exciting destinations that have managed to remain just under the radar. The aerial tramway at Mount San Jacinto is one of them. Cai Waggett, a regular visitor to the Golden State, spills the beans…

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Martin Dorey

If you’ve been anywhere near BBC2 this week you might have caught a brand new series that’s been running every night at 6.30. It’s called ‘One Man and His Campervan’ and it’s all about a chap who travels around the UK in his classic camper cooking and eating as he goes.

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Sharm El Sheikh beaches re-open

Following the spate of shark attacks in Sharm El Sheikh, which saw the death of one tourist and four others injured, the Egyptian authorities have re-opened all of the resort’s beaches.

For holiday makers looking for the unique thrill of diving in clear Egyptian waters this will come as good news. And, with restrictions in place to keep holiday makers safe, the Egyptian authorities are confident that no more attacks will occur.

Swimmers and divers will only be allowed to dive, snorkel and swim is areas that have been designated  by the authorities and that are patrolled by divers and spotter boats. Hotels along the beaches will also be required to man watch towers to scan the seas for possible intruders.

What this means for UK travellers who are heading for Sharm El Sheikh is that it’s business as usual. However, here at World First we have to remind all travellers that, whilst their scuba diving travel insurance will cover them automatically up to 30 metres, it excludes diving outside the designated areas. Likewise with swimming and snorkelling. Should anything happen when you are outside of the patrolled areas then you could face hefty bills for medical care and repatriation. As usual, the word from our insurers is caution.

So it’s Friday afternoon. It’s raining outside. There’s nothing in the diary to keep you excited. Every other shop window is spraying fake snow all over the place. You’re dreaming of far away lands. You’re dreaming of pistes glowing white under a fresh dump of snow. You’re dreaming of schnapps and good times. Why not? But where to first?

If you’re thinking of dropping everything and jumping on a plane for a quick snow plough in the alps it’s going to be a bit of a risk at this time of year. But don’t worry. With your trusty computer at hand you can check out the snow conditions practically anywhere. So. How about a quick overnight dash to Scotland? What’s happening right now? Thankfully you can check out the conditions right here at Ski-Scotland’s website. There’s not much on offer but you might be lucky if you head for the Cairngorms. They plan to open this weekend for snow sports. Yippeeee. (more…)