Archive for Travel Tips
A unique experience walking with St Bernards on the Great St Bernard Pass
By Ingrid Hoffman
You don’t have to be a serious hiker to enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Swiss mountains. This summer, I found the perfect solution for families and people looking for a novel and easy way to go walking in the mountains.
Walking with St Bernards in the Swiss Alps (Picture by Ingrid Hoffman)
The St. Bernard is the Swiss national dog and the Barry Foundation in Switzerland runs the oldest Saint Bernard kennel in the world.
Every year, the St Bernards from the Barry Foundation spend the summer in their place of origin on the Great St Bernard pass and visitors have the opportunity to accompany these wonderful dogs on a 1½ hour walk.
Our children are between the age of 10 and 14 years old and were not very keen on walking. However, when they realised they would be walking with St Bernards, they immediately were very enthusiastic! You can choose to do the easy or the athletic walk. We’re not experienced, but are in good health and quite sporty, so we chose to do the athletic walk. You need a little perseverance, but we found the walk very enjoyable and quite easy to do.
There’s a museum at the hospice and your entry fee is included in the price of the walk. You can find out everything about the history of the pass and the dogs and there’s an interesting exhibition about the vegetation and wildlife in these parts of the Alps.
Prices are €32 for adults and €5 for children. The walks are very popular so be sure you make a reservation in advance via the website.
Thank you to Your Travel Planner member, Ingrid Hoffman, for sending in this review of this very special experience. To find out more, please visit the Barry Foundation’s website: www.fondation-barry.ch.
Filed under: Destinations, Europe, Reviews: Hotels, Places to Eat, Destinations, Travel Tips | Family Things to Do, St Bernard Dogs, Switzerland, Walking|No Comments
The latest information from the Icelandic Meteorological Office indicate that the Eyjafjallajökull volcano is currently in a ‘paused’ phase ie. no longer emitting ash but only steam. However, volcanoes are only regarded as being dormant if they are ‘paused’ for three months.
With the massive disruption to UK travellers recently, Your Travel Planner has researched and called travel insurance companies to see which policies are offering specific cover for volcanic ash clouds.
Here’s what we found. Look out for the policies that will cover you to make alternative travel arrangements home:
Remember: You’re covered for cancellation from the date that you take out your policy, not the date that your holiday starts. So whatever the volcano news in the months to come, you’re covered for cancellation. BUT,you won’t be covered if you take out a policy during an airspace ban.
Aviva Travel Insurance
Cancellation and Enforced Stay Abroad (alternative travel arrangements home)
Aviva recently launched an optional add-on to their standard travel insurance policies, to provide cover for any future event causing a closure of airspace, airports or ports. This optional upgrade is £10 per person on an annual policy and £5 per person on a single trip policy.
This cover means you will be able to claim for cancellation of your trip if airspace, airport/port is closed for more than 24 hours from the time stated on your travel ticket.
A section called Enforced Stay Abroad has also been added which covers you if you can’t return home due to the closure of airspace or an airport/port. The cover provides £100 per person for each 24 hour period (to a maximum of £1500) that you are unable to return home OR if you need to make your own way home after a 24 hour delay (and the carrier or handling agent has been unable to offer you suitable alternative travel arrangements), Aviva will pay you up to £1,000 per person for reasonable and necessary additional travel expenses that you incur.
Columbus Direct
Travel delay, abandonment and Emergency Travel Upgrade (alternative travel arrangements home)
Columbus Direct will cover to travel delay and abandonment if the policy was taken out when there was no airspace ban.
They have also added a new “Emergency Travel Upgrade” as an option on its gold and silver policy ranges. This helps passengers pay for alternative ways home in case of being stranded overseas. The upgrade costs £20 per policy and reimburses up to £4,000 of expense.
More details can be found here.
M&S Travel Insurance
Independent Traveller option (accommodation only for getting home)
M&S travel insurance policies are underwritten by AXA, who are only providing cover under the optional Independent Traveller section. If you’re stuck abroad, this section covers you for accommodation only, with the assumption that the airlines will cover the flights. Independent Traveller cover is optional, but included in M&S’s annual policies. Other expenses incurred such as food and beverage will not be covered.
Direct Travel Insurance
Delayed departure or abandonment
A company that honoured claims for ash cloud, Direct Travel say they are continuing to consider the ash cloud as “adverse weather”. missed or delayed departure or abandonment, to cover accommodation and transport that cannot be recovered from another source.
Depending on your policy, the benefit of cover is upto £350 for delayed departure, upto £6,000 for abandonment and upto £1000 for missed departure. If you are stranded abroad due to travel disruption, Direct Travel will automatically extend your policy period until you return home, at no extra cost.
However, Direct Travel are not covering additional repatriation costs ie. alternative travel arrangements to get home.
World First
Travel delay and abandonment
World First are covering the ash cloud under travel delay and abandonment. Travel delay provides £25 for the first 12 hours and then £10 thereafter, to a maximum of £100 per person. After 24 hours you can then claim under abandonment. Policyholders who become stuck abroad due to any new event will have their policies automatically extended until the next available flight is offered.
To keep up-to-date with this changing travel insurance situation, Your Travel Planner recommends moneymaxim who is keeping their site updated with the latest situation.
Filed under: Travel News, Travel Tips, Uncategorized | Iceland volcano, travel insurance, volcanic ash cloud|No Comments
“I realise now the huge potential offered by rail travel.” That is what a local parent said, after attending the Discovering Greener Family Holidays seminar last Thursday (13 May 1010).
Seminar Speakers: Dot Pinkney, Ching Lee and Richard Trillo
The seminar, organised by Go2 Holiday Research, explored how no-fly alternatives are a feasible, practical and greener choice for families. With high levels of ash disrupting UK and Ireland airspace in recent weeks, the seminar turned out to be very timely.
Speaking at the seminar, I wanted to highlight that the ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland does not have to mean just staycations either. Travelling to Europe (beyond France) by train, ferry and car can be considered a part of the holiday and, from personal experience, children love the adventure this brings.
Go2 was delighted to be working with Richard Trillo, editor of Rough Guide to Kenya, and Dot Pinkney, director of communications of Tripbod.com who were guest speakers at the seminar.
“The ash cloud is forcing us to rethink our holidays and it’s fantastic to see the interest and enthusiasm to explore a greener way to travel,” said Richard Trillo.
Dot Pinkney added, “Greener travel also embraces local travel. It was great that the Tripbod concept of tapping into the knowledge and experience of locals when planning their travel was so well received.”
As well as transport alternatives, greener options for places to stay were also explored including cottages that used solar energy, yurts in the Isle of Wight and organic farms in Italy.
“I want to travel green now after this meeting. I am now aware of a difference it could make,” was the concluding comment from a local parent.
Comment from Ching Lee:
I’m delighted with the positive feedback received from the attendees of this first seminar. Many people commented at how they were unaware of the many options available. It was a very interactive and enjoyable morning. The raffle and goody bags were particularly well received and I would like to thank our Partners and Supporters for their fantastic contributions and support.
Following the interest received, we hope to run Discovering Greener Holidays seminar again for people who missed it the first time round. The date is to be confirmed, so please do check the website for updates and further details.
Filed under: Travel Tips | Green Holidays|No Comments
Following their personal review on Cuba (see Destination Review: CUBA), Your Travel Planner members, Elizabeth Clark and Martyn Calder, give us their Top 10 Tips for this fascinating country.
- Take cash (sterling or euros) or traveller’s cheques. ATMs are rare and credit cards not widely accepted. Dollars and American Express are not welcome! You can change money at the airport, on arrival or at exchanges in major hotels. Rates are pretty consistent everywhere.
- Make sure your holiday arrangements get you off the tourist track to find the real Cuba. You won’t learn much about Cuba in a hotel by the beach.
- Take wrapped soap or pens or other minor luxuries. In a country with few consumer goods, these are hugely welcome. In Old Havana, schools are squeezed between bars and museums and you’ll have no difficulty in finding a home for your gifts.
- By the same token, make sure you have all the toiletries you need. Everyday items such as conditioner and tampons can be elusive.
- Learn the difference quickly between Cuban Peso and Convertible Peso notes (the latter have pictures of monuments on them). There are 25 Cubans to the Convertible so it’s important. You’ll almost always deal in the latter.
- Acquire a good supply of small change and hold on to it. As in many European countries, a coin for the toilet superintendent is customary, and tipping generally is expected.
- Take a bottle of soy sauce or your favourite seasoning. The food can be a little bland - not always, but enough to warrant thinking about.
- Although generally a warm climate, Havana can sometimes be chilly. Take a fleece. For Cubans, air-conditioning only has one setting - max!
- Don’t expect a shopping cornucopia. If your friends and relatives don’t like rum or cigars, best to moderate their holiday gift expectations before you go.
- Vegetarianism is not a widely embraced concept - be prepared for a lot of omelette.
Filed under: Destinations, South & Central America, Travel Tips | Cuba, Travel Tips|No Comments
(by Roy Jacobsen*, with kind permission from Elaine Swift’s Word Alchemy blog)
One of best travel tips I can give anyone is to make an effort with the local language; you’ll be amazed at how much it’s appreciated.
As you will see, the US is no exception. This post first appeared in copywriter Elaine Swift’s Word Alchemy blog and looks at the differences in our common language.
As well as bringing a smile to your face this Monday morning, it may help you avoid a potentially embarrassing conversation during your travels to the US!
The first time I ended up on Elaine’s blog, I found myself giggling about her article “A few little words - why straplines matter.” I knew immediately from the context what she was talking about, but for this American reader, straplines are what show up on a woman’s sun-tanned shoulders. So straplines matter here, as well; just not for the same reasons.
England and America are indeed “separated by a common language.”
My first work-related exposure to the differences between American and British English came when I was a technical writer for an accounting software company. Because our product was sold in English-speaking countries worldwide, we had to accommodate spelling differences, such as check vs. cheque, and the -ize vs. -ise words (economize/economise, recognize/recognise).
Those differences can be jarring at first. But, like a pianist, you can learn to “transpose.”
The real fun comes when you encounter concepts that have entirely different words, or words that mean entirely different things, depending on which side of the pond you’re on. I’ve known for years that a car’s hood is a bonnet in England, and our wrenches are your spanners. And thanks to the Harry Potter books I know all about jumpers (sweaters), skiving off (playing hooky), and that delightful verb, snog, which sounds like more fun than making out.
Some of the differences are just confusing, like talking about that scrappy player on the football team. In the U.S., that’s a compliment; in the U.K., not so much. Asking for a sherbet will get you two different things, and suggesting that something be tabled in a meeting has the opposite result, depending on where you say it.
Then there are the words that can lead to embarrassment. We Americans shouldn’t ask for help with our bangs from a British hair stylist (they’re fringes, if you please) just as you shouldn’t tell your American friends that you’ll knock them up in the morning, or ask if you can borrow a rubber.
But despite the potential for confusion, unintentional humor, and downright embarrassment, I wouldn’t want to see our two “languages” become homogenized. Eliminating the differences would make things as dull as dishwater.
Sorry. Make that ditchwater.
* Roy Jacobsen says that everyone can learn to write clearly and powerfully. He’s a freelance writer, editor, and writing coach, and the dictionary is his toy box. Roy blogs at Writing, Clear and Simple
Filed under: Destinations, North America, Travel Tips | Language, USA|No Comments
I was recently reminded of how impressive the transit facilities are at Hong Kong airport and thought that Your Travel Planner readers might like some ideas for things to do in transit at the world’s best airports.
First up, the ever popular Singapore Changi:
Singapore Changi was voted third best airport in the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2009. So, if you have 5 hours to kill, what can Singapore Changi offer passengers in transit?
- Head to the Free Singapore Tour Booths and join a 2-hour FREE sightseeing tour of Singapore. Registration is based on first-come-first-serve basis and you can choose between the Colonial or Cultural Tour.
- Take a refreshing dip at the rooftop open air swimming pool, or a leisurely stroll in the Cactus, Heliconia and Sunflower gardens
- Catch up on sleep in a choice of sleeping lounges or in the transit hotel. Rates from S$10 per person per hour
- Visit the Entertainment Deck for free gaming (PC, Xbox and Playstation) or relax in the music area, MTV booth or cinema
- If you have the energy, work your way through more than 300 shops and places to eat
More transit facilities in Hong Kong and Seoul Incheon airports soon. Meanwhile, do you have any transit experiences or recommendations at these or other airports?
Filed under: Travel Tips, Uncategorized | Singapore Changi Airport|No Comments
Looking for ideas for what to do in London this Christmas has only one problem; there’s so much to choose from! Here are Your Travel Planner’s Top 3 Picks to help you plan a visit to London:
Carol Singing in Trafalgar Square
Seeing the Christmas tree and carol singing in Trafalgar Square is a favourite thing to do for many. Each year since 1947, a Christmas tree has been given to the people of London from the people of Norway in gratitude for Britain’s support for Norway during World War II. It’s lovely to be in Trafalgar Square to listen to and join in the programme of traditional carol singing.
This free event takes place in the evenings, generally from 5pm to 9pm, from Monday 7 to Tuesday 22 December 2009.
See a Show
London really excels in adding to the already fantastic list of shows at Christmas time. A classic family favourite is is The Snowman at Holborn’s Peacock Theatre (to 10 Jan). Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake at Sadler’s Wells (10 Dec to 24 Jan) and Annie Get Your Gun at the Young Vic (to 9 Jan) have also been recommended by YTP friends.
Catch a FREE event at the Southbank Centre
The Southbank Centre regularly hosts free events, performances and exhibitions and this Christmas is no exception. Highlights from their free events programme include:
- World Press Photo 2009 (to 13 Dec), with 196 award-winning photographs from across the globe capturing the most powerful, moving and at times disturbing images of the year
- Christmas Slow Food Market (19-22 Dec), the perfect place to browse and buy delicious Christmas fare; 40 specially selected traders tempt you with produce from known and sustainable sources
- The Magnets (23 Dec); who needs instruments when you’ve got a six-man a cappella group creating infectious tunes and rhythms just with their voices? (I saw this group in the Summer and they’re fantastic!)
Have your own favourites? Add them by posting a comment for YTP readers to enjoy.
For more ideas, travel tips, reviews and personal travel recommendations, subscribe to our Email Club. Our email updates are short and quick to read. They won’t fill up your Inbox.
Filed under: Destinations, Travel Tips, UK & Ireland | Christmas in London, What's on in London|1 Comment
As someone who helps people to research and plan their holidays, I use a variety of resources to keep up with what’s going on in travel. In the last 6 months, Twitter has become a main part of the mix.
The growth in the number of travel companies using Twitter has been rapid and a few months ago, I started sending a round up of the travel offers that appeared on Twitter to the YTP Email Club members.
What’s interesting is how both large and small companies alike are using this social networking and micro-blogging site to get their news out quickly. There’s everything from offers and late availability to latest news and announcements. Here’s a taste of the travel tweets this morning:
@British_Airways: For our team up with Qantas at the Ashes, we have 425 tickets at £215 inc taxes, LHR to SYD! Available to book from 10am UK time on 21 July!
@holidaypad: RT @Yurthotel: One yurt left for rest of July, offering 25% discount. Also some slots available in Aug http://www.yurthotel.com/ Andalucia, Spain
@thehideaway: Just had a cancellation 2 weeks in Apartment 1 at thehideaway from 23rd Aug 2009 so get in touch if you fancy a trip to LeMarche, Italy
@Smithhotels: Introducing our thrilling new blog feature: Hotel of the Week. This week, we’ve got a gorgeous farmhouse in Portugal: http://bit.ly/14OnXT
So if you’re planning a holiday, Twitter is definitely a resource worth considering.
Alternatively, sign up to the Your Travel Planner Email Club for regular round-ups of Twitter travel tweets. You can also follow me on Twitter here: @HolidayPlanner
Filed under: Travel Tips | Late Holiday Bargains, Twitter|No Comments
Visiting London with your family this summer? Plan your visit and read Your Travel Planner’s guide to great family days out in London, Surrey and Hampshire this August:
July/August; Kids go free in July and August at the British Music Experience (BME) at the O2. Immerse yourself in this interactive museum dedicated to the history and influence of pop music. See David Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes clown suit, develop your skills on guitar, bass, drums and in the vocal booth and use your Smarticket to select favourite content and media recordings to keep.
July/August; Plenty of free events at the Southbank Centre this summer. Collaborate in a large-scale outdoor drawing with artist Sally Booth at different locations or play the Youth Music Box, an electrifying interactive musical experience where you create your own unique track and video, all in under ten minutes. Jeppe Hein’s interactive fountain returns as a refreshing addition to summer; walls of water rise and fall randomly to create a series of constantly changing ‘rooms’ (hint: take spare clothes!).
August, various dates; The Alice Holt Forest in Hampshire has lots of events for all ages during August, including Float your Boat!, Bat Watch and Bike Fun.
1-9 August; Bushcamps, storytelling and trails feature in the Wild Child Week at Claremont Landscape Garden (National Trust)
4,11,18,25 August; There’s summer holiday fun and activities to be had at Games in the Garden, every Tuesday at Clandon Park (National Trust).
6,13,20 August; Join the Warden at Polesden Lacey (National Trust) on Thursday evenings on a Bat Walk, searching out these wonderful creatures as they flit and flap across the night sky.
15-16 August; In Richmond, the riverside comes alive for another year. The On the Edge World Music Festival celebrates music drawn from countries and cultures all over the world, from 12pm - 8pm.
22-23 & 29-30 August; For motorsport enthusiasts, watch the European Grand Prix on a large screen at Mercedes-Benz World Presentations on the history and present day world of F1TM take place throughout the weekend.
Filed under: Destinations, Travel Tips, UK & Ireland | Family Days Out, Hampshire, London, Surrey|1 Comment
Are Low-Cost Flights really cheaper than Scheduled Flights? British Airways say ‘not always’.
British Airways are highlighting that no-frills can mean bigger bills, when all the added extras are taken into account.
This week, a ‘value calculator’ was launched on ba.com. It allows customers to check the true cost of Ryanair and EasyJet’s added charges versus the value of BA’s full service.
Richard Tams, head of UK & Ireland sales at British Airways, said: “With BA, the price you see is the price you pay. It’s been well documented that some of the no-frills carriers charge for a range of ‘extras’ that we consider to be part of our core service, from checking in a bag to food and drinks on board. We’re just making these transparent for customers.”
“On a round trip customers can be paying up to £375 on Ryanair and £79 on EasyJet for these ‘extras’ in addition to their fare. The no frills carriers claim they’re always cheaper. Our calculator shows they are not.”
The ‘value calculator’ enables customers to select how they’re choosing to travel eg. checking in at the airport or online, selecting a seat 24-hours before they fly, taking a bag, or opting for food and drink on board. It will then calculate what Ryanair, EasyJet and BA will charge in total for those options.
Want to compare for yourself? View the BA value calculator at http://www.ba.com/valuecalculator
Filed under: Travel News, Travel Tips | British Airways, Compare flights, Low-cost flights, Scheduled Flights|No Comments
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