Tips
Last week, I was facing up to one of those dreadful, costly mistakes we all make now and then. It was a week before I was due to land in Washington DC and, because I’d been otherwise engaged, I’d neglected to book myself somewhere to stay. It turns out that the middle of May is [...]
Continue reading about A sneaky way to find cheap hotel rooms
The following post is an edited version of the presentation I gave to the members of 101 Holidays at the 101 forum in London on February 29th, 2012.It’s on the subject of travel companies turning publisher, and the benefits of having a blog/ web content on the site. I’ve also thrown in a couple of [...]
Continue reading about Travel companies, bloggers and web content: How it works
1. Take your iPod, and wipe it. Now install every Jack Johnson and Bob Marley album you can find. 2. Go to the market, buy some beads – authentic, locally-made beads, mind – and put them indiscriminately in your hair. 3. Go to an estate where poor people live, and start talking to them using [...]
Continue reading about How to be a real traveller without leaving your home town
76 Christmas (or birthday) gifts for travel-lovers If you’re anything like me, you’re generally hopeless when it comes to buying presents. But my wife has a harder task. She’ll often find something perfect a few months in advance only for me to have gone and bought it on a whim a couple of weeks before [...]
NB – This post is written as supporting information and advice for the things I’ll be talking about on the Paulette Edwards Show on BBC Radio Sheffield tomorrow (Thursday 4th November, 2.15pm). Why pack light? Contrary to the often-stated beliefs of many self-declared travel experts, there is no ‘right’ way of packing. You don’t [...]
An approach… I want to share an e-mail I received last night with you all. It went as follows (with the odd bit of evidence blanked out): “Sorry for the unannounced email. The reason I am contacting you is because we are running a competition for [redacted product aimed at 16 to 25 year [...]
Continue reading about How not to promote your product on travel sites and blogs
“We want you to know we’re here” On Wednesday, as I was sat at Geneva airport, I was sent a rather interesting tweet. @Odinsson2 had a question to ask. “Operators like us just want people like you to know we’re here when you want us. PRESS4TRAVEL any good?” I followed up by e-mail, and Ian [...]
Continue reading about How can a small travel company get journalists to write about it?
I got an illuminating insight when I was sat in a Reykjavik pub the other day. I was sharing a beer or eight with David and Johann from Dohop when they suddenly stopped. “He’s ordered the shark, hasn’t he?” said Johann about the customer on the table next to us. An unspoken snigger passed between [...]
Continue reading about Local delicacies: What the locals won’t tell you
Or the real reasons why you call that place a shithole. Time has a tendency to dull the detail. Most of us will form something of an opinion on a place while we’re there, but the overarching impression is usually forged through hazy memories afterwards. We’ll remember that we loved or hated a place, and [...]
Continue reading about 8 forgotten factors that affect travel memories
I may be grumpy, but I am also tight. And while there are reams of guides to getting cheap hotel rooms and flights out there, there are a few travel money savers which I use that aren’t immediately obvious. Because I’m feeling generous (and more to the point, like procrastinating about an article I’m supposed [...]