Last-minute Summer Deals

To encourage last-minute, late-summer bookings, a stack of holiday companies have dropped prices on departures from now until 21 September. We’ve found cruises, city breaks and beach holidays, with savings of up to 55%.
Here’s our pick of the hottest deals on offer.
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£56 & up — Luxury UK & Irish Villas on Sale, Save 25%
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£199 — Brussels & Bruges Hilton Break w/Eurostar, £109 Off

£285 — North Cyprus: Week in the Sun, Save 49%

£86 & up — Seaside Breaks at UK Holiday Parks

£399 — Gambia: 5-Star African Beach Week, Save 47%

£1499 — Last-Minute 28-Nt Canada Cruise, Save £1800

£395 — Luxury UK Train Journeys w/Free London Hotel Stay

£1299 & up — 10-Night Florida Tour w/Excursions, £360 Off

£299 — 5-Night Summer Cruise to France & the British Isles

£1479 — 13-Nt Triple-Centre Vietnam Holiday, Save £1026

More info at http://www.travelzoo.com/uk/deals/summer/

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Cliff Chapman
www.traveljunkies.com
New places to go, good value accommodation, great activities and exciting things to do.
Get a free listing in traveljunkies for your travel or activities business!

Best Ski Team For The Job

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst most of us are reliving summer holiday memories, sharing photos with friends and trying to prolong our sun tans, ski companies are well into the swing of things planning for winter.

One of the common misconceptions of ski companies is that they only work during winter. In actual fact all the behind-the-scenes things are done throughout summer leaving them free to focus on customers and ski related aspects during the winter.

The summer months are largely spent recruiting the winter staff; finding new properties to offer as guest accommodation for the following winter; maintaining existing buildings and plenty of industry networking, sales and marketing.

Of all these aspects, staff recruitment is one of the most crucial things to consider for ski operators as holidays are made by great staff and ruined by terrible ones. Everyone has a horror story about chalet hosts too hung-over to feed them properly or the terror of being driven by young drivers smelling of last night’s booze. In order to avoid these issues and get the very best staff, reputable ski companies start advertising for staff as early as late May or early June and then go through a rigourous interview process, often incorporating phone interviews, followed by face-to-face interviews including role plays, scenarios and very searching questions. Whilst it is well known that there is a lot of competition for ski jobs amongst seasonaires, ski companies can also find themselves vying with other operators in order to secure the best applicants. Competition is tough to find the right staff for the job.

Hopefully, though, by the end of this process – maybe as soon as early September – the ideal staff are chosen, training dates are in the diary and ski operators can continue with their other pre-season jobs secure in the knowledge that this season’s guests will be able to enjoy an exceptional holiday hosted by the best people for the job.

At Ski Weekender we pride ourselves on having the best team we can find to ensure the quality of our customer service, our chalets, the airport transfers, the food and our ski hosting are maintained, if not bettered, year on year.

So now we’ve recruited our fantastic new team for winter, which includes some old faces too, we have changed our focus to recruiting guests to enjoy this top quality service!

Visit our website www.skiweekender.com to find out all the information you need about our short ski and snowboard breaks in France, as well as meeting our great team on the About Us page.

For full details visit www.skiweekender.com; email info@skiweekender.com or call us on 0845 557 5983.

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Posted by Jess at karibuni.co.uk
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Cliff Chapman
traveljunkies
New places to go, good value accommodation, great activities and exciting things to do.
Get a free listing in traveljunkies for your travel or activities business!

Campaign To Reduce UK Air Passenger Duty (APD)

Please support this campaign and pass it on.

 

Dear Mr Chapman

As a frequent flyer, you will know as well as anyone that taxes on air travel are higher in the UK than anywhere else in the world – so I wanted to tell you about a campaign aimed at changing that.

In the last six years, Air Passenger Duty (APD) has risen more than 300 per cent on many routes – while inflation has increased barely 20 per cent.

Some customers are now paying £184 for a single journey, while the cost for families taking their annual holiday has sky-rocketed: In 2006, a family of four flying to the Caribbean would pay £80 in APD – today they would pay £324 in World Traveller, or £648 in World Traveller Plus, Club World, or First.

This level of increase has no justification and no international parallel. Yet the UK Government has firm plans to keep on raising APD every year to 2017.

This tax also acts as a brake on growth and jobs for the whole economy by making it more difficult for businesses to reach new markets, and making the UK less attractive to overseas visitors.

How can you help? Just take a few seconds to visit www.afairtaxonflying.org and key in your postcode. This will generate an automatic letter to your MP, calling for action on a tax that is now far too high and inflicting real damage on the UK’s efforts to move out of recession. Add your name, send and you’re done.

This is an important campaign – and I hope you will support us in it

Best wishes

Keith Williams,
British Airways CEO

Cliff Chapman
www.traveljunkies.com
New places to go, good value accommodation, great activities and exciting things to do.
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Skye and Lochalsh Breathtaking by Day and Spectacular by Night

Dark Sky -Skye – Something different for the autumn

Skye and Lochalsh in Scotland enjoy some of the darkest skies in Europe.  Free from the light pollution which blights towns and cities, inky black skies present the heavens in all their spectacular beauty. There is plenty to discover, and Skye and Lochalsh accommodation providers will be able to direct visitors to one or more of the nine designated Dark Sky sites on the Isle of Skye, where there are fantastic views of the night sky.
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Full details are available on www.darksky-skye.com and further information on Skye and Lochalsh can be found on www.destination-skye-lochalsh.com
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Posted by Soluis Mu Thuath
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Cliff Chapman
www.traveljunkies.com
New places to go, good value accommodation, great activities and exciting things to do.
Get a free listing in traveljunkies for your travel or activities business!

Off-Season UK Bargains

Now that the summer months are coming to an end you can pick up some really great rates in self-catering properties. From September to March you can book a self-catering property at much reduced prices so why not take the opportunity to explore England. You can choose to take a late holiday and stay a week or maybe take a weekend or mid-week break.

Not only are there great rates to be had but you will find that most self-catering holiday cottages drop their requirement for a week’s stay and are quite happy to welcome you for a short break.

The savings can be quite substantial with discounts widely available. You can bag a bargain all around the country so gather up your friends and family and book that off season get away break.

Explore this wonderful country of ours, visit old haunts and look up old friends.

Elaine Robinson
Broadgate Farm Cottages
Gold award, 4 & 5 star cottages
Beverley, East Yorkshire
http://broadgatefarmcottages.co.uk

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Cliff Chapman
www.traveljunkies.com
New places to go, good value accommodation, great activities and exciting things to do.
Get a free listing in traveljunkies for your travel or activities business!

My Top 10 Caribbean Beaches

Noelfy Langamen has been travelling the world on board ships and in the air for the past 8 years and here are her favourite Caribbean beaches . . .

“Hard to choose among all of them, any of them has something special that I love. There are not listed in any special order:”
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1.- Trunk Bay, US Virgin Islands: Official one of the Top 10 beaches of the world, any of the photos I took really reflect this fact. Located inside a natural park, represent one of the best beaches to be in contact with both nature and sea.

2.- Bequia, The Grenadines: Being The Grenadines one of my favorite Caribbean island regarding quality of life, beaches here are also amazing!

3.-Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands : Although I did not have the possibility to visit the famous Little Dix Bay, beaches around the port were also very enjoyable and postcard style 😉

4.-Philipsburg, St. Marteen : very close to the huge tax free shopping area, I did like this beach because of the sport and refreshment offer.

5.-Shell Beach (aka Crew Beach): It’s the closest beach to the tender location, and also the place where the crew member “hide” from the guest, but very lovely beach. If you climb up some colorful steps, you will get awesome views from the beach.

6.- Roatán, Honduras : Again, my photos do not reflect the beauty! One of the best snorkeling ever!

7.- Wild beaches around Castries, Santa Lucia: Far away from the tourist, took a bike and ride on my own…The views were really outstanding. Completely virgin beaches over there!

8.- Caneel Bay, USVI : Another gem, in this case with touristic resort surrounding, still with a really clear and pure water!

9.- La Gousier, Guadaloupe: For only 1€ in local bus, you can reach this lovely beach in the charmed French Guadaloupe.

10.- Cozumel: Hard to choose one, I would rather choose the whole island!

If I get lost, look for me in any of this beaches!

Noelfy has just started her blog and she has already written about food on board ships, fruit picking around the world, ice flows in Alaska and “Lazi”
Follow her blog here http://quererysipoder.blogspot.co.uk and tell me what you think.
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Norway – A Viking Island Kingdom

 Walking In Norway

Sakrisoya


Waterside village

I’d read as much as I could; I’d studied every website, every photograph I could find, and now here I was – peering excitedly through the window of the small plane that was flying me across the ocean to a remarkable archipelago of islands that had enthralled me ever since I’d first heard of them.Staring ahead, I soon saw what had become a familiar sight in my mind’s eye, the famous ‘Wall’, a seemingly impenetrable barrier of jagged peaks stretching from horizon to horizon, with no apparent way through, and nowhere for man to land, let alone settle and eke out an existence.

The Wall


The Wall

As I got closer, the mountains of the Wall begin to reveal their secret – they are not one solid form, but myriad islands with low-lying coastal plains and quiet valleys, separated by deep blue channels, scoured by some of the fastest-flowing currents and tides in the world. At the head of sheltered inlets, tiny villages of brightly coloured wooden houses become visible, each linked to the next by one of Europe’s most graceful roads: a silver, shimmering line that winds its way over the islands, dipping through deep tunnels and arching over elegant bridges all the way south to the tiny hamlet of Å (pronounced ‘O’).

These are the Lofoten Islands, lying off the north-west coast of Norway, way above the Arctic Circle yet basking in a surprisingly benign climate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. Comprising nine major islands (Andøya, Hinnøya, Langøya, Hadsel, Austvagøya, Vestvagøya Flakstadøya, Moskenesøya and Vaerøya) plus hundreds of smaller islets and rocky outcrops, the Lofoten archipelago offers dramatic yet contrasting landscapes, from small coves of the finest white sand and huge boulders polished by the sea, to scattered patches of sheltered trees and open peat moorland which separates the sea from the bare rock of the high mountain peaks.

For millennia, the rolling waves of the northern ocean have pounded away at the sheer cliffs, creating low-lying shelves of land that have long been colonised by man. Since Viking times, people have lived here, making a living from the plentiful fish stocks that breed in the nutrient-rich waters. Today, fishing is still very much the mainstay of the local economy, although tourism plays an increasingly major role, too.

Drying Fish


drying fish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To walk in Norway is an honour and a privilege. The landscapes are humbling, with breathtaking views around every corner, stopping you in your tracks. Indeed, one of the hardest things about travelling through the islands is reaching your destination – you feel morally obliged to stop and stare in awe at every view that presents itself. Despite the rugged appearance of the islands, there are plenty of accessible walking routes – along the coast, through mountain passes or up into the mountains – and all are clearly marked with the bright red ‘T’ of the Norwegian Mountain Touring Association, to guide you safely to your next magnificent viewpoint.

For mountain hikes, drive south beyond the picturesque fishing villages of Hamnøy and Reine on the island of Moskenesøya and walk into the heart of the mountains following a series of crystal-clear lakes that lead you to Monkebu for spectacular views down Djupfjorden to the sea; ascend the peak of Justadtinden on Vestvagøya for far-reaching vistas over the southern islands; or walk round the rugged Brustolen headland from the port of Ballstad and climb to the airy plateau for a huge panorama south across the sea to the Norwegian mainland.

Equally exhilarating are the many walks that follow the coast beneath towering cliffs and mountainsides, which have the added advantage of offering the chance to come upon white-tailed sea eagles swooping low over the waves before lunging onto an unsuspecting fish; or to see a pod of killer whales cruising by as they orchestrate a carefully choreographed hunt for Arctic cod. Simple log bridges make access over rivers easy, as here on the coast of Flakstadøya between Napp and Sørdalen, while chains embedded in the rock aid scrambling through the boulder fields.

From the tiny hamlet of Nesland on the southern tip of Flakstadøya, a wonderful walk takes you along the shore to one of the prettiest villages in the entire archipelago, Nusfjord, a UNESCO-designated settlement of traditional red rorbu (fishermen’s stilted huts); from Eggum on Vestvagøya, follow a coastal route past one of the island’s iconic art installations, ‘The Head’, with nothing to impede your view north over the ocean (the next land mass is Greenland!); or drive to remote Fredvang and walk over the ridge to descend to the golden sands of the deserted beach at Kvalvika, where the only sound is the crashing of the waves on the shore and the screech of seagulls soaring above the pounding surf.

Kvalvika beach

This is one of those places that can rightly claim to be like nowhere else on Earth. It’s impossible to deny the staggering beauty of the landscape – such terrain simply demands to be explored on foot. What’s more, arrive in summer and you can walk all day – for this is the land of the Midnight Sun, when, for a brief period each year, the sun never sets. This year, for example, there was 24-hour-a-day sunlight between 28 May and 14 July and at all the along the western shores, you can watch the sun approach – but never reach – the distant horizon!

Author Bio

Peter Williamson is an experienced travel writer and walker, having spent the past five years as copywriter for specialist travel company, Inntravel, the Slow Holiday People. During this time he has travelled extensively throughout Europe, researching and writing route notes for the company’s self-guided walking holidays, as well as writing for Inntravel’s brochures and website. Prior to this, Peter was a freelance writer and author for many years, writing on a wide range of subjects across a wide range of industries. He has published a number of popular walking books, including ‘Castle Walks in Yorkshire’, highlighting his love of his home county; history (he has an MA in Historical Research) and, of course, walking.

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Cliff Chapman
www.traveljunkies.com
New places to go, good value accommodation, great activities and exciting things to do.
Get a free listing in traveljunkies for your travel or activities business!

From This . . . To This . . .

From this . . .

Harley

To this . . .

Disabled Beach Buggy

 

Facebook post today from my friend Keith Keller of Cayman Custom Cycles . . . 

“Ok so have been away from our Facebook for a little while as we have been busy!! As a custom shop we get to play around with different motorcycles but not all our builds are to go fast… We have a friend that is wheelchair bound and wanted to be able to go into the ocean while he is here. His regular wheelchair weighs about the same as a Harley so getting it down the beach would be extremely hard to do and if it got wet would be costly. So we built the CCC Beach buggy to get him up and down the beach and in & out of the water. Can’t wait to see his face as he tries it out on Wednesday.”

Good on ya Keith

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Cliff Chapman
www.traveljunkies.com
New places to go, good value accommodation, great activities and exciting things to do.
Get a free listing in traveljunkies for your travel or activities business!