Travel

Working out which vaccinations you need to get, for which parts of the world can be an absolute minefield. The World Health Organisation’s guidelines are complex and confusing. Even if you’ve successfully discovered that, a trip to, Burkina Faso for example, requires you to get vaccinated for malaria, you then have to work out which strain of malaria is prevalent in which regions of Burkina Faso, and then cross-reference that with the region of the country you will be visiting....

By Peter Hall Once known as Pamphylia, modern day Antalya is now dubbed ‘Turkey’s tourism capital’. Its sun drenched turquoise coastline, mountainous backdrops, and ancient history attract visitors in their millions. It offers high contrast and variety; from the sublime, to the hairless. Sun worshippers can cook in 300 days of annual sunshine, with average temperatures reaching 28°C. Whilst their intrepid counterparts can trek through the snowcapped Taurus mountains. Huge theme parks are a short drive from remarkable ancient ruins. Hidden...

Nostalgic images dating back almost half a century have been released providing a very British trip down memory lane. National Express turns 45 this year, and to celebrate the company has raided the archives and dug out a string of old photographs and marketing material. The rare, previously unseen images, one of which shows the eight-strong customer service team at work at the firm’s Birmingham HQ in 1974, give a fascinating insight into the origin of the much-loved brand. Since...

While It is not necessary for travellers to learn a foreign language, it can certainly make their life easier especially if the travel frequently and love to engage in conversations with the locals. Some travellers who visit a certain country more than twice a year tend to study the local language first before they book a flight. This is because there are times when you just can’t rely on phrasebooks when communicating with the locals. However, there’s only so many...

Ireland’s not short of incredible spa hotels, from the luxury retreat of Monart to the high-end, welcoming Cliff House to the well-designed Aghadoe Heights. So it was with pleasure and intrigue that I ventured northwards, to the four-star spa hotel of Galgorm Resort, ostensibly to try out its new Quartz spa treatment. Expectations were high: my Northern Irish friends swore it was their favourite retreat, and their promise of an outdoor thermal village gave it a draw that few in...

Young Brits in the UK are at a record high when it comes to employment rates, with more apprenticeships being completed and more young people in employment than ever. This hard working mentality is one of the things that the millennial generation are not quite given enough credit for, and now with the summer rolling in and university deadlines coming to an end, it’s time for these young Brits to consider taking a holiday that will help them to relax...

Of all the ways to be roused on a Sunday morning I can think of plenty worse than the dulcet tones of leather on willow emanating from the local cricket field, chirping birds outside the window or the rustle of thick Sunday newspapers next to your bed. Mixed with the homely aromas of freshly ground coffee and cooked English breakfasts it puts Balmer Lawn Hotel and Spa in the New Forest in the running for most serene weekend wake-up in the...

Mentor Tashi kissed by sunset in the shala, built in the mountains of Amieira, Oleiros.     © Gareth Iwan Jones Where did I go? Vale De Moses, Portugal 1. My favourite yoga class involved no yoga. I am the most competitive yogi in the room. You think you’re competitive? I’m more competitive, I win. I’ll never reach enlightenment because I want to be the best and enlightened yogis aren’t running constant competitions in their heads. Expecting to learn how...

Millions of Brits are fulfilling their travel aspirations through friend’s and family’s posts on Facebook, according to new research. Four in ten UK adults admit they are ‘social tourists’ - experiencing an average of 14 countries through friend’s and family’s social media updates every year. However the typical respondent has visited just nine countries in reality – although over two thirds have been inspired to travel more widely after seeing social media posts. While around a fifth of people admit...