Philadelphia here I come!

Truth be told, I was there last week but who could resist such a headline! It was my first time in ‘Philly’, which is even more surprising, given that I have been to the States at least 40 times over the years and the city is the 6th largest in the US. I was attending the annual conference of the ITAA (Irish Travel Agents Association) — their first to be held outside Europe in their

Go West, Young Man!

I love the United States! There, I’ve said it. I may not like its foreign policy and I probably couldn't see myself ever living there but as a travel destination, it’s very hard to beat. My first experience of the US was way back in 1976 when the country was celebrating its bicentennial year and I traveled all the way to Portland, Oregon to visit my American cousins. It was a month-long trip which also

Pietra Dura — the opposite of Naff!

Look in any dictionary for the meaning of the word ‘Naff’ and you’re likely to come up with some or all of the following terms: ‘tacky’, ‘tasteless’, ‘cheap’, ‘duff’, ‘inferior’ or just downright ‘bad’. The antonyms to be found include words like, first-rate, high-quality, exceptional, first-class, superior, fine and excellent. I can tell you all this because I had gone online to find out if there was a definitive word that was the etymological opposite

Perceptions, assumptions and misunderstandings

Nothing is set in stone. Things change. Reality is fluid and few things in life adhere to a precise and inviolate template. What on earth am I waffling on about this time? One of the biggest mistakes that people make (and I include myself in this) is that we treat everything as gospel. We read an article somewhere that advises against travel to such and such a place because there was ‘an incident’ and forever

In India, they drive on the left …

… and the right, in the middle, on the hard shoulder and in the opposite direction — even on dual carriageways and motorways but for some perverse reason, it all seems to work. India is not a country where you simply hire a car to get around. You hire a car and a driver because only Indians have the steel nerves, 360-degree panoramic vision, built-in radar and the reaction times of the domestic house fly

Out of this world!

Isn’t language an amazing thing? Whether we realize it or not, it is a living thing that adapts to its surroundings to reflect the era it occupies, within which, words are used to convey certain concepts and ideas and like all other living things it is wonderfully flawed. Words that originally meant one thing, end up, over time, meaning exactly the opposite for reasons that still perplex linguists. A perfect example (among many) is the

Lakes & Mountains — a gem just waiting to be discovered!

Are you a creature of habit? Do you head off each summer for your traditional two weeks in the sun somewhere warm? Even if you go to a different beach resort each year, priding yourself on the fact that you love change and diversity, you might still be deluding yourself if the TYPE of holiday that you take each year, remains largely the same. After all, a resort is a resort, at the end of

Bucket Lists and all that jazz

When people hear that I’ve spent almost all my adult life working in the travel business, the response that I usually get is ‘You must have been everywhere then!’ and whilst I have travelled extensively over the course of the past 40 plus years or so, many of those trips have been back to the same countries so people like me invariably end up with anomalies in our travel cv’s. I’ve probably been to the

The vicissitudes of being single

One of the great frustrations of travelling alone is the phenomenon known as the single room supplement. Practically all costings that are made in respect of travel packages where accommodation is involved are based on the not-unreasonable assumption that two people will be travelling. The room type — double or twin — is irrelevant; the only consideration is that the room cost can be divided in two, thus making the resultant costing much cheaper, and

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

Some of the most beautiful destinations are on our doorstep.

It has almost become a cliché for Irish people to bemoan the fact that but for the bad weather that we constantly experience here, we would probably never set foot outside our own country — such is the beauty that can be found in our little piece of rain-sodden paradise. Whilst I am one of the people who partially subscribe to that theory, the fact is that there are simply some things that our neighbours

Georgian on my mind

The city of Bath has always been one of those places that I wanted to visit but just never got around to. Part of the problem was its proximity in that I repeatedly rationalized that I would get to it one day but in the meantime, it made more sense to explore the furthest corners of the planet while I still had the stamina to do it. Anyway, I eventually managed to get to Bath

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!).