Have you been on, or ever fancied going on a River Cruise? Maybe you don’t know if it’s your thing? What do you do on a river cruise and how much actual cruising do you do? How much time do you spend in each place? Do you have to follow the crowd when you would rather do your own thing? Do you have to get all dressed up for dinner? What size will your Stateroom be?

River cruising is like staying at a fabulous and comfortable hotel, only – you travel with it. It is like lots of city breaks rolled into one. The ships are light, airy and spacious offering comfortable staterooms, lounges, bars and room to wander around and admire the beautiful scenery that you drift past every day.

The food is 5 star cuisine and the service first class. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks are all included in the cost and vegetarians are also catered for. The big plus is, you do not have to book an early or late sitting as you do on the larger cruise ships. Seating is open and you can sit where you choose and at what time you prefer to eat.

Included in the cost are flights, transfers, food and drinks, excursions, presentations, demonstrations and performances and much, much more.

River cruises represent excellent value for money and visit a huge variety of destinations – Germany, France, Portugal, Russia, China – very diverse and fascinating places.

If you would like to find out more, call Your Personal Travel Organiser and I will be happy to answer your questions.

Oman is the oldest independent state in the Arab world and doesn’t immediately spring to mind when one mentions sailing.  However, Sir Ben Ainslie led his team to victory during the recent Americas Cup World Series.

Land Rover BAR took a nail-biting victory in the first America’s World Cup series of 2016, while defender, Oracle Team USA took second reports Bob Fisher from Yachts and Yachting.

It was ‘Super Sunday’ in Oman, a working day for the masses, and a critical day for the six crews in the America’s Cup World Series with three double points counting races in prospect. It was a particularly hard day for the British team – they were the ‘go for’ boat for the rest after their winning ways on Saturday. Sir Ben Ainslie had said that the start was all-important, but this somehow escaped his planning – Land Rover BAR played catch-up in all three races, sometime from last position. It was nail biting for the British supporters. Just where the team was able to make the gains was due entirely to the teamwork on board on a day when the choice of whether, and when, to use the Code Zero as an upwind sail was critical.

Ben was refreshingly honest about the two starts he made and broke the line. “We were going for the leeward end, which if you get it right, pays dividends. It is also risky because you can get rolled by a boat to windward if you are even a fraction late. Yes, it is high risk; we knew that.” Apparently there was also a shortage of transits to judge the exact position of the boat. “We’ll get better,” promised Ben…and they did!   It was a great day for the triumphant British team.

Oman has beautiful beaches, wonderful hotels with friendly and hospitable staff and fabulous sunshine.  If you would like to explore this truly beautiful country as part of a tour or if you simply crave a bit of R & R and a stunning beach, call Your Personal Travel Organiser today and I will be happy to arrange this for you.

Good day! I have just returned from an amazing holiday to Australia taking in Sydney, Canberra (derived from the word Kambera, the Aboriginal word for “meeting place”) and finally Perth WA. We travelled from Sydney to Perth on the Indian Pacific Railway – what an adventure that was. The food and service on the train were excellent and our cabin – compact, but very comfortable with en suite facilities. We travelled through the real outback, stopping at various places. It took 3 full days.

Adelaide was amazing – such an interesting and beautiful city. It is known as the “City of Churches”. Our walking tour of Adelaide culminated in wine tasting at the Winery in the Botanic Gardens followed by a wonderful gourmet dinner. All included in our fabulous train journey.

The Botanic Gardens is the venue this year for the Adelaide Fringe – an incredible setting for this great event.

Your Personal Travel Organiser can tailor make your holiday to Australia – a diverse and truly awesome continent and make your reservation on the Indian Pacific Railway.

Call today for a quote for your individual itinerary.

Quick get your skis out!

Forecasts are showing amazing snow fall for Zermatt next week.

The snow is falling throughout the Alps but forecasts show that Zermatt is going to very lucky indeed.

Zermatt is heaven for snow lovers. There are pistes for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiiers. Here in Europe’s highest-altitude ski area, snow is guaranteed 365 days a year.

Black pistes? They are everywhere in Zermatt or stay in the village and visit the ice rink. Hang out at the Zermatt Unplugged music festival outdoors on a sunny terrace and be part of the action when young stars are discovered. The entire family will certainly enjoy an outing to Gornergrat for sledding with a view of the Matterhorn.

Besides excellent skiing, there are a wealth of things to do in Zermatt – curling, tobogganing, electronic clay pigeon shooting, mountain excursions – these offer breath-taking views and wherever you go, you are always in sight of the mighty 4 thousand metre high Matterhorn. The Matterhorn Glacier Paradise is the highest cable car station in Europe. Have lunch in the restaurant and enjoy spectacular views of Italy, France and of course Switzerland.

Call Your Personal Travel Organiser and I will be delighted to arrange one of the most memorable winter sports holidays you will ever experience.

Another year is drawing to a close with 2015 leaving both happiness and sadness in its wake.  My thoughts right now are with these poor people in Cumbria who have been flooded for the 3rd time in just a couple of weeks.

On a positive note, our very own Major Tim Peake has become the first Briton in space since 1991.  What a joy and an honour!  God bless him and his two companions and may they arrive home safely following a successful mission.

Your Personal Travel Organiser has been kept very busy this year and has had the privilege of working with some lovely clients and arranging extremely interesting and sometimes challenging itineraries for them.  The big companies are all very well and do a reasonably good job too but….Your Personal Travel Organiser provides top quality service which is second to none.

When the beginning of January is finally upon us with another year stretching ahead and your thoughts turn to holidays and travel, do please call me with your travel requirements.  It will be my pleasure to assist you.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2016.

Emirates airline has just announced the launch of flights from Dubai to Panama, their first destination in Central America. Covering the distance of 8588 miles non-stop in a Boeing B777-200LR will take a flying time of 17 hours and 35 minutes, the longest commercial flight, when it takes to the air on February 1 2016.

This will be the first ever connection to Panama City by any of the Gulf carriers and reflects Emirates’ relentless drive to connect the world out of Dubai. Panama is commercially important due to the Panama Canal, which is the country’s best-known feature and as such attracts a steady flow of shipping executives, traders, and other business professionals, besides a growing number of tourists.

The aircraft from Dubai to Panama is configured with 8 suites in First Class, 42 fully flatbed seats in Business Class, and 216 seats in Economy Class.

For more information, please call Your Personal Travel Organiser.

Beijing in China has been confirmed as the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Surprised? While the capital may not be known for winter sports, there are a number of ski resorts in the surrounding suburbs; but the Games will rely heavily on a large amount of artificial snowmaking for the snow-based events.

Apparently there are 10 ski resorts in various locations and snowboarding is growing in popularity.

As always – Your Personal Travel Organiser can assist with travel arrangements should you wish to visit Beijing for this prestigious event.

What a wonderful feeling it is when you see your new website go live!  My designer – Andy at Ardnet Online  and myself, have been working on this for a few weeks (Andy doing all the clever stuff!) and today, you are looking at the finished product.

Do please have a good look around and you will see what Your Personal Travel Organiser can offer you.  Even if you are not ready for a holiday right now, please do keep a note of my contact details and I will be delighted to hear from you in the future.

Thank you for visiting!

Australia is the largest of islands and smallest of continents.

Located in the Southern Hemisphere, south of Asia, the Australian coastline is 36,735km long and is lapped by three oceans and four seas. About 40% of the continent is in the tropics.

Australia is almost the same size as mainland USA and half as large again as Europe.  Excluding the former USSR, Australia is the only continent entirely occupied by one nation. The landscape has variety – from tortured red desert to lush green rainforest. Geologically, Australia is the oldest continent and is a vast storehouse of the world’s prized minerals and gemstones, including the
famous Black Opal. Australia is the flattest continent with the only mountains being in the southeast, where the
highest peak, Mt. Kosciuszko, rises above 2,200m.

If you are thinking about a trip to Australia, do allow a minimum of 2-3 weeks wherever you decide to go.  There are so many interesting things to do on the land, in or under, the water or in the sky.

You may have heard of the Blue Mountains which are located just outside Sydney.  They are indeed blue mainly due to being densely populated by oil bearing Eucalyptus trees. The atmosphere is filled with finely dispersed droplets of oil, which, in combination with dust particles and water vapour, scatter short-wave length rays of light which are predominantly blue in colour.  Just an interesting little fact that I wanted to share with you.

Australia is a truly amazing place to visit and I would be delighted to assist in planning your very special holiday to this very special destination.

Sexy, alive and supremely confident, this beautiful capital city of Argentina gets under your skin. Like Europe with a melancholic twist, Buenos Aires is unforgettable

Argentina’s famous dance is possibly the country’s greatest contribution to the outside world, a steamy strut that’s been described as ‘making love in the vertical position’. Folklore says it began in the bordellos of long-ago Buenos Aires, when men waiting for their ‘ladies’ passed time by dancing amongst themselves. Today, glamorized tango shows are supremely entertaining with their grand feats of athleticism. You’ll also find endless venues for perfecting your moves, from salons to milongas (dance events) to cafes. Just realise that some people become addicted – and can spend a lifetime perfecting this sensual dance.

Shopping

Buenos Aires is a shopper’s paradise. The city is laced with shopping streets lined with heaps of clothing and shoe stores, leather shops and nearly everything else you can think of. Large shopping malls are modern and family-friendly, offering designer goods, food courts and even children’s play areas. But perhaps the city’s best shopping is in Palermo Viejo, where countless upscale boutiques live.  These offer avant-garde clothing, unique housewares and fun souvenirs.   Let’s not forget San Telmo, where antiques aficionados flock; the Sunday fair here is famous and entertaining, and will easily fill up a long afternoon.

Nightlife

Take a cat nap, down your coffee and be prepared to stay up all night – this is a city that never sleeps! Restaurants open at 9pm, bars at midnight and clubs at 2am – at the very earliest. If you’re cool, of course, you’ll show up after 4am and dance till dawn. International DJs are the rage, spinning electronica and house to legions of hip, trendy and well-dressed crowds. But you can also enjoy live music such as rock, blues, jazz and even folk – just remember that you’ll be doing it all very late!

If you feel you would like to experience this alive and vibrant city that never sleeps, call today on 01279 871188