Holidayinsider.co.uk | Holidays, Travel News and Reviews from Holiday Insider.

Travel Tuesday Wishlist: Galapagos

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:18:25 +0000

I would love to visit the unspoiled island of the Galapagos and experience the rich variety of wildlife and its wild landscapes! Kuoni have a tour that takes you through the Andean rainforest (including nocturnal safaris) then on to the Galapagos islands where you go on a cruise! Wow! Count me in …..one day (sigh).

Chillin' in the Galapagos!

photo credit: Audley travel – audleytravel.com (they also offer holidays to the Galapagos too!)

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Holiday Snap of the Day: Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:21:41 +0000

Great Harbour - Jost Van Dyke, BVI's

Taken: April 14th 2012
Location: From the top of the hill (after a long hike up!) on Jost Van Dyke Island in the British Virgin Islands, Caribbean
View: Out across ‘Great Harbour’ in Jost Van Dyke, the largest settlement on the island.
About: Jost Van Dye is the smallest of the four ‘main’ British Virgin Islands and is very hilly. There is lots of wildlife here with coral reefs, plenty of fish, birds and flowers. A very green island! The permanent population is less than 200 people. Famous bars – Foxy’s Tamarind Bar and the Soggy Dollar !
More: Read more soon in my blog post about this island and others visited on my Seadream Cruise trip around the Caribbean.

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Travel Tuesday Wishlist : SeaDream Yacht Club

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:43:33 +0000

This week’s Travel tuesday wishlist is kind of a cheat as I’m very luck to be fulfilling this wish very soon! The SeaDream Yacht Club is a luxury yachting experience with two yachts – SeaDream I and II, which sail through some amazing places such as the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Trans Atlantic and even the Amazon!. The Yachts are designed to hold only 112 people, with 95 people for crew, so the level of service is 5* (at least I’m expecting it to be!). I will be travelling on the SeaDream II around the Caribbean so will report back all there is to know about the SeaDream II Yacht and each island we visit. Can’t wait!!

seadream yacht club

seadream in st.barts

Use it or Lose it : Only 75% of British holidaymakers using up holiday allowance

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:34:19 +0000

Are you missing out on holidays?

Despite over 45% of Brits seeing their annual leave as ‘vital’ only 75% of people actually use up all of their holiday allowance that they’re entitled to. According to recent research by Travelsupermarket, 25% of full time workers (from a poll of 2000) don’t take their full annual leave allowance, while 6% of those actually have 7 or more days owed to them by their employers when it expires. Being organised is the key to making sure that the leave doesn’t expire without it being used, demonstrated by the fact that 1 in 5 of British holidaymakers have already planned their annual leave around the numerous Bank Holidays coming up this year.

Are you guilty of losing your annual leave? Or are you organised and plan ahead?

My advise with Summer holidays for 2012 is to start now! There are some good bargains around at the moment if you book now. Although there may be some last minute holidays available later on in the year, unfortunately waiting until the last moment to book doesn’t guarantee you the best price anymore, especially as APD taxes rise and airline prices increase. Is it worth the risk? If you can’t find anything near to the time you risk spending a week in the UK and we all know how unpredictable the weather is here (I’m currently sitting writing this in 19C degrees in March, yes MARCH!). Don’t be one of the 25% who lose out, book your time off now and start researching your Summer holiday

Travel Tuesday Wishlist: Chichén Itzá in Mexico

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:28:17 +0000

Who wouldn’t want to visit this amazing place? Mexico has many ancient sites to visit, stunning beaches, some top class hotels and so many holiday resorts to choose from. I’d absolutely love to go to Mexico and plan to do so in the next few years. For Mexico holidays you can’t miss visiting Chichen Itza, an ancient Mayan site aswell as an UNESCO World Heritage site, which includes the famous monument of El Castillo/the Temple of Kukulcan (pictured).

chichen-itza mexico

This structure is of particular importance today (20th March) as it’s the Spring Equinox which is one of the highlights of the calendar here. During this time, and only during this time, the alignment of the Sun casts a shadow of the feathered serpent god along the central steps of the monument. This design was planned by the Mayan civilisation and thousands of people visit this site in order to see it each year and to celebrate the Spring Equinox.

Travel Tuesday Wishlist: Africa

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:28:37 +0000

I’m attending the Southern and East Africa event tonight held by Travel Bulletin to find out more about these wonderful destinations and to meet tourist boards and tour operators from South Africa and East Africa. I’ve been to Kenya before and loved every minute of it, but would really especially like to go to South Africa and also Tanzania on my travels at some point – for the scenery and wildlife in particular. If you’ve been let me know what you thoughts and your experiences I’d love to hear them.

Table Mountain South Africa - courtesy of the South African Tourism Board

European Emergency Phone Number 112

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:17:33 +0000

A recent campaign to highlight the 112 emergency phone number has been launched by the European Commission. It’s thought that a large number of holidaymakers (74% of Europeans) aren’t aware of the 112 emergency number which can be used in the EU much like you’d use the 999 number here in the UK. Major rail, air and transport companies have joined in the cmapaign to highlight the existence of the number as a result, with some airline companies printing information on tickets.

112 can be called when you are in an EU country or at home to call the fire brigade, police or emergency services such as an ambulance. Vice President Neelie Kroes said “You can save a life by knowing and dialing 112. But 112 only helps if people know about it. So we are working with travel companies to catch attention while people are en route to their destination.” 112 can be reached via fixed and mobile phones, free of charge, everywhere in the EU plus some countries outside the EU such as Croatia, Montenegro and Turkey.

For more information on this number you can visit the information website at www.112.eu

Travel Tuesday Wishlist: Croatia

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:02:03 +0000

Croatia is tipped to be a hot destination for holidays this year, being mentioned in the trade press plus lots of lovely travel magazines at the moment. As the ‘land of a thousand islands’ with its stunning scenery and coast it’s not hard to see why. Plus with the addition of low cost flights from Easyjet, amongst others, now flying to Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb from the UK it’s never been easier to travel there.

Croatia: The land of a thousand islands

Travel Tuesday Wishlist: Maldives

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:22:38 +0000

To be honest i’m not really the typical ’beach lover’ type, after reading my first book I get bored within a couple of days! However, the Maldives is the epitomy of the ‘get away from it all’ holiday, surrounded by clear sparkling waters, stunning marine life and long white sands. For a destination that relies on its blissed out feel and pampering, the news that Spas have been banned in the Maldives by the government there may hit tourism hard. The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry has said it will fight the ban and has already filed two civil court cases. Despite the current ban, most of the Maldives hotel spas are open and operating as normal at this current time.

photo: Coco Palm Hotel, Bodu Hithi Island, Maldives.

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NZ Travels: Kaituna River White Water Rafting

Emma Butler - HolidayInsider — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:48:15 +0000

Travelling New Zealand: Duration 3 weeks: Day 19

I thought I’d been quite brave zorbing in Rotorua, but nothing prepared me for the next activity!!
The Kaituna River is located on the North Island of New Zealand, flowing northwards and emptying into the Bay of Plenty. The upper section of the river here offers some of the best White Water rafting in the world and includes the highest commerically rafted waterfall at 7 metres high called the Okere Falls. I had tried white water rafting before travelling to New Zealand in Colorado and enjoyed it, although I rapidly realised that the white waters of Colorado were nothing compared to Kaituna!

You can kayak or go rafting along the river and there’s a few companies to choose from. We chose Kaituna Cascades for our rafting trip. I wasn’t sure what to expect to be honest as I let my husband book the trip. Had I known I possibly would have had second thoughts!!. Don’t let this put you off however. If you want to experience a high adrenaline white water rafting journey then I’d highly recommend this activity. The guys at Kaituna Cascades were excellent and very chatty and funny, which definately helps if you’re nervous. They also give you a full safety briefing beforehand and give you the option to bail out before the large waterfall if you really want to. I think the best way to describe my experience is through the use of photos……..

After a few smaller rapids and a smaller Waterfall we hit the 7metre one…..

At the top….before the drop!…

At the top.....

Going....

Going…

Going....

At the bottom……

At the Bottom!

Underwater (eek)!

Underwater... 7 meters down!

Surviving…..just!

Surviving! On the other side!

Celebrating the fact that we made it over the highest commercially rafter waterfall in the world on the Kaituna River!

Kaituna River White Water Rafting - Celebrating

I would highly recommend this activity and the company we chose. Although I was slightly nervous before the big drop on the large waterfall and although I did swallow quite a lot of water after going underwater at the bottom, I loved it! I’d love to do it again and wouldn’t hesitate to encourage anyone else to experience it!!

The pictues above are a shortened version of the whole sequence, if you want to see more photos please visit my holiday insider flickr page to view my New Zealand photo sets including the Kaituna River White Water Rafting.

…………………..

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Holidayinsider.co.uk | Holidays, Travel News and Reviews from Holiday Insider.

Travel Tuesday Wishlist: Galapagos

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Holiday Snap of the Day: Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

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Travel Tuesday Wishlist : SeaDream Yacht Club

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Use it or Lose it : Only 75% of British holidaymakers using up holiday allowance

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Travel Tuesday Wishlist: Chichén Itzá in Mexico

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Travel Tuesday Wishlist: Africa

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European Emergency Phone Number 112

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NZ Travels: Kaituna River White Water Rafting

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