Five questions you should ask yourself before you travel in 2020

Technology may well indeed be shrinking the world around us and connecting us in myriad ways through innovations such as Skype, WhatsApp and Instagram but it’s also surprisingly large when you start to consider where you want to travel to next and there are many things to consider; not least of which is cost. Leaving cost aside though for one moment, let’s consider all the other factors that determine where we travel to? (more…)
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‘Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer’

Travel is one of those activities that has never been short of an inspirational quote or two and the title of this week’s blog is probably one of the better ones and certainly one of my favourites. Like a lot of people who work in the travel industry, I have been blessed over the course of the past 44 years to have traveled to a lot of exotic destinations around the world — some of

There is no sincerer love than the love of food!

At least that’s what George Bernard Shaw claimed and I’m inclined to agree with him. It would also appear that I’m not alone as the people at Oceania Cruises also take their food very seriously indeed. They reputedly spend more on food than any other cruise line and having recently spent a couple of indulgent days aboard Oceania Insignia as it made its way up from Bordeaux to Dublin, I can attest to that claim!

Luxury — Silver Muse by another name!

Like many words in the English language, there are many different definitions and interpretations of the word ‘luxury’. The website www.dictionary.com defines luxury as being ‘indulgence in and enjoyment of rich, comfortable, and sumptuous living. Something that is considered an indulgence rather than a necessity’. It also seems a fitting description of what I experienced last week when I had the pleasure of being invited to enjoy Silversea’s latest addition to their fleet — Silver

Where’s the nicest place you’ve ever been?

It's a question I get asked all the time, when people find out what I do for a living and genuinely, my stock response up to relatively recently was always: 'The last place I visited'. Whilst this may sound like me trying to avoid the question it wasn't! It was because of a combination of me being unable to single out any one destination for honourable mention and the fact that I love everyplace I

When in Sydney — stay here!

Everything in life is subjective, I think you'll agree! Whether it be one's definition of beauty; what constitutes good music or art, or even good food. So, inevitably, the same principle must apply to other, more mundane things such as the type of accommodation one chooses when one travels abroad. I can live it up with the best of them when it comes to staying in opulent 5-star hotels such as Ritz Carlton or Four

Blogtastic — The rise and rise of the travel blog!

With each year that passes and as more and more people enjoy the delights of international travel, it is inevitable that more and more travel blogs get written. Some blogs — like this one for instance — are an incidental activity to something else that is being done — in my case, running a travel consortium and trying to maximise the level of commerce being generated on behalf of key supplier partners. In many other
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Where should I go on my next holiday?

There are all sorts of reasons why people choose the destinations that they do. For some it’s simply price, for other’s weather is their primary concern. Some choose destinations based on their proximity whilst other travellers choose places based on their ‘safeness’. It is therefore interesting to note the results of the latest biannual report from the World Economic Forum which rates countries around the world based on a wide ranging set of metrics that

How travel decisions can sometimes be based on incomplete information

Trip Advisor is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. The global review site started out life above a Pizza shop called Kosta's in Needham, Massachusetts in February, 2000. It is a great site without question and I must admit that I have started contributing to it in recent times as I realised, belatedly, that I had a lot to contribute given the amount of travelling I do (and have done). What prompted me to write

The Top 10 Destinations in the World in 2013

Let's face it, we all love lists! Compilations of the 10 fastest this, or 10 most expensive or exclusive that appear to exert a magnetic draw on our collective curiosity that has to be satiated! I cam across the following list just today and what amuses me about it is that it claims to indicate the 10 top travel destinations in the world as voted for by Facebook users. How could that be when we're

Summer has arrived!

I'm not talking literally of course — just figuratively — and wearing my travel agent hat! Easter has always traditionally represented the start of the summer season as this is when tour operator summer charter programmes begin and winter charter series end. It is also then an appropriate time to remind people of the kinds of things that they need to think of/prepare for, before setting out on their overseas travels. What follows is a

First Mobile Post

Wow! The onward march of technology never ceases to amaze me. So I can blog away on my forthcoming RTW trip, I've just added a neat app to my Samsung Galaxy SII that will enable me to upload content directly from my phone to the TravelBug website. How cool is that?

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!).