The negative impact of cruising In the past, I have been somewhat critical of cruising. As a form of tourism, I believe it is extremely damaging, not only to the environment, but to the culture of the places the gigantic floating resorts visit and the experience of the unfortunate souls who happen to be in [...]
On a guided tour, the quality often derives from the people you’re with. Get a good bunch, and you’ll have a great time. On the other hand, there are some people you most definitely don’t want to be mixing with. And if you get all of these ten on your bus, then you’re doomed… ONE [...]
Continue reading about The tour bus from hell – the ten people you don’t want in your group
Yesterday, I received a truly staggering press release. The sheer number of words for a topic that no-one will ever write about makes it something of a beauty that ought to be cherished. In fact, it’s so good, I thought I might share it. The PR’s name has been left off, but everything else is verbatim. [...]
Continue reading about Korean Air and the world’s most niche press release
Budget airline add-on fees When it comes to budget airlines, Ryanair is the traditional whipping boy. People love to hate Ryanair, and automatically assume that it is the worst airline for underhand practices and add-on fees. The truth, however, is that Ryanair has largely eliminated many of its naughtiest habits. Yes, it charges a fortune [...]
Continue reading about Is Flybe’s web booking system fair – or even legal?
As someone who makes a living from travel, I’m probably supposed to be a lot more open-minded and tolerant than I am. But, alas, I am often driven by utterly pathetic reasoning. There are some places that I avoid going to, but I’m almost ashamed to say why. There’s a high chance that by ditching [...]
Continue reading about 7 totally uncool reasons why I’ll avoid certain destinations
Seat pitch by airline For those who like to compare airlines, seat pitch is usually taken as the standard measurement. For the uninitiated, the seat pitch is the distance between the back of one seat and the back of the seat behind it. Seat pitch comparison table Across the internet, there is plenty of [...]
Continue reading about Airline comfort: why seat pitch is the wrong measurement
Why Victoria’s road safety campaign is counter-productive. As some of you may know, I am currently driving through the middle of Australia. It’s a magical journey that I recommend everyone undertakes at least once in their lifetime. However – if like I did – you start in Melbourne rather than Adelaide, be prepared to [...]
Or why you should avoid Great Sights Fiji’s Nadi afternoon tour Tourist vs traveller I’ve no desire to get into the hoary, old and frankly ridiculous tourist versus traveller debate. Going on a tour doesn’t necessarily make you a second class citizen to be sneered at. But this doesn’t mean that I don’t get [...]
Popular gripes about Heathrow Airport Heathrow airport is every traveller’s favourite whipping boy. Many gripe about the facilities, the overcrowding and the practically guaranteed take-off delays, but the major problem with Heathrow for all but the lucky few is getting there. Poor connections Forget the lost baggage and the debate over whether to get [...]
Continue reading about The true horror of Heathrow – getting there
Flight price advertisements I don’t know about you, but if I see a flight advertised for a certain price, I want to be able to book a flight for that price. And the sooner the travel industry gets to grips with this the better. Flight availability One of my major bugbears when trying to [...]