Travel news

There is one major problem when we Brits suffer with when we go on holiday abroad and that is Delhi Belly or Moctezuma’s Revenge or god old traveller’s diarrhoea. It has now been revealed that most holiday makers fall ill in Spain, with 32 per cent of Britons stating that they have been unwell while staying on the Iberian Peninsula.

Many travellers presume the places where you are most likely to fall ill are the Middle Eastern destinations such as Egypt or Turkey so it may come as a surprise to find out that most travellers have experienced tummy troubles in the popular Spanish resorts. According to a poll conducted by the company behind Bimuno Travelaid around a third of Britons said they had experienced an upset tummy in Spain, with Greece a close second and more surprisingly France which is known for its food, in third.

The worst countries for TD and the percentage of traveller’s who have become ill:

Spain           32.2%
Greece         14.2%
France         9.6%
Egypt           9.5%
Africa          8.1%
Turkey         7.6%
America       6.6%
Italy             6.4%
India            5.3%
Caribbean    4.2

Most surprising is that the Caribbean comes in, in tenth place this is despite the region having a bad reputation for food hygiene. Out of those polled, 30 per cent had said that they has suffered for at least two days on holiday, with 15 per cent saying they had suffered for three days or more, ruining their holiday.

Geoff Collins, of Bimuno, said: “As a nation, British travellers make 23.7 million trips a year to countries linked with travellers’ diarrhoea, so there is a high risk that a vital business trip or a precious holiday could be ruined by this problem.”

Sir Richard Branson obviously has a lust for travel and providing travel, with his trains, airlines and his most recent addition this space craft, however now after talking the sky’s and out to space, Branson is looking to explore the oceans depths. His latest challenge to explore the deep depths of the ocean in a single seat submarine was announced in Newport Beach, California; Sir Richard said he was looking forward to learning more about ‘the blue heart of the planet.’

He will be looking at exploring the deepest points in each of the world’s five oceans and could possibly break as many as 30 Guinness world records, including the five deepest dives in history. Sir Richard will be taking part with U.S sailor and explorer Chris Welsh, both will take it in turns to pilot the snub-nosed submersible for five dives planned over a two-year period, with the first dive which will be the deepest  taking place in the western Pacific later this year.

The dives however will take a lot of endurance for both men, with them spending up to 12 hours in complete darkness and freezing cold in the submarine’s tiny cockpit, the craft after all is only eight-foot long and is made out of carbon fibre and titanium. It has two small wings at either side and a small cockpit, the craft can cruise for about 6.2miles and can stay submerged without help for 24 hours.

Speaking about the adventure, Sir Richard Branson said: “With space long ago reached by man, and commercial space flight tantalizingly close, the last great challenge for humans is to reach and explore the depths of our planet’s oceans. There are enormous amounts of the oceans that have not been explored. More men have been to the moon than have been down furth

For the first dive, Mr Welsh will be the chief pilot, submerging down to the Pacific’s Mariana Trench, which goes down to 36,201 feet (11,033 metres), Sir Richard will be the back-up pilot, he is then scheduled to pilot the craft the Atlantic’s 28,232-feet deep (8,605 metres) Puerto Rico trench, which has never been explored before.

Talking about the dangers that the pair could encounter on their adventure Sir Richard said: “The greatest danger is if the sub gets snagged on nets or shipwrecked galleons on the bottom. It is like being lost on the dark side of the moon. There is nothing that is going to rescue us down there.” He also said: “We will be discovering life forms that have never been seen by human eyes. It is one of the last great challenges for humans to explore the depths of our oceans. We will be seriously pushing the boundaries of human exploration.”

Strikes in Spain have been to coincide with the peak travel periods of Easter and summer, with strikes starting on April 20 and continuing into May, June and July, the strikes are due to a dispute involving AENA, the Spanish state-owned firm which runs Spain’s key airports.

The strikes are a protest against Spanish government plans to sell off parts of the company, which is why Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has called on the EU to ban airport workers’ right to strike. He said “Europe’s airlines and passengers suffered at the hands of air traffic control providers throughout 2010. Now, ahead of yet another Spanish strike, Ryanair is calling on the EU to take action to prevent further strike action. Ryanair will not allow its passengers to be inconvenienced further by the selfish strike action by AENA workers. Action must be taken at EU level to ensure that the ‘right to strike’ is removed from essential airport services, and competition must be introduced across Europe’s air traffic control providers to ensure that a strike in one country is not be allowed to disrupt millions of passengers’ travel plans.”

Action is due to start on April 20, disrupting Easter weekend holiday flights, with dates in May, June, July and August also earmarked for more industrial action, which is involves airport runway staff., with it specifically designed to coincide with peak travel time which would disrupt hundreds of travellers from the UK and all around the world. During strikes held over Christmas the Spanish government had to declare a state of emergency for the first time in the country’s 33-year democracy to halt a wildcat strike by air traffic controllers.

When heading away on holiday, one of the most important aspects that is often forgotten about is the matter of exchanging currencies.  Although you can leave currency exchange until the last minute and do it either at the airport or even with the concierge at a top quality hotel, doing so can often leave you short changed as the exchange rates at these places often aren’t as good as those found elsewhere.  Using bank cards and credit cards abroad can also occasionally result in heavy extra charges, further adding to the cost of currency exchange.  However, with a little forward planning currency exchange can be done quickly and efficiently, taking away one holiday chore and also giving travellers more money to spend on holiday thanks to the better exchange rates available for pre-bought currency.

High street travel agencies and the post office offer competitive rates for currency exchange, allowing travellers to easily and conveniently pick up their foreign money.  Common foreign currencies are usually kept on hand at high street locations; however, more specialised currencies may require a short waiting time as the cash will have to be specially ordered.

Buying currency in advance in the form of travellers cheques is also popular and incredibly secure, however they are not accepted in some locations off the beaten track and so are best kept for city breaks or trips to well established tourist areas.  Meanwhile, the use of pre-paid currency cards is becoming increasingly popular.

As we are all told air travel is not very good for the environment and should try and cut down on it as much as we can, however that is not always possible especially in a world where business is worldwide, luckily though Boeing have developed an aircraft that is not only ‘eco-friendly’ but also much quieter.

The new 747-8 Intercontinental is in fact actually ‘significantly’ quieter than other jets, it offers the lowest seat-mile cost of any large commercial jetliner and as well as that, creates less carbon emissions than its predecessor, the 747-400.

Speaking about Boeings new launch, vice president and general manager, Airplane Programmes, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Pat Shanahan said: “The new 747-8 Intercontinental will set a new standard in economic and environmental performance, while providing a world-class passenger experience.”

At a time when fuel prices are rising, making air travel much more expensive, it’s a welcomed relief that according to the company the new Boeing provides 16 per cent better fuel economy, 16 per cent less carbon emissions per passenger and generates a 30 per cent smaller noise footprint than the 747-400. So it’s no surprise that a number of major airlines including Korean Air and Lufthansa have already placed orders for the plane, which could be the future or the beginning of, of air travel, which is much better for the environment and travellers wallets.

It also comes as a success for the company after their flagship aircraft; the Dreamliner has been delayed and is now three years behind schedule because of technical faults.

British Airways cabin crew will vote today on whether to stage walk-outs during the Royal Wedding and the half-term and Easter holidays, which are expected to be the busiest periods of travel this year. The Unite Union leader Len McCluskey issued a harsh warning to passengers, saying: ‘Watch this space. Don’t go on holiday.’

These fresh strikes come after a year of travel misery last year which saw many people stranded not only by strikes but ash as well and its set to continue because the row, which is spanning nearly two years, began over cabin crew pay and working conditions. However it has become bogged down in a stalemate over the removal of travel perks and BA’s disciplinary action for some strikers.

Last year there were five strikes staged which cost BA more than £150 million, this year they are hoping for maximum impact again by planning the strikes over school half-term holidays at the end of February, and the Easter holidays in late April, which also coincides with the Royal wedding.

BA said if any strikes went ahead contingency plans ‘will allow us to operate normal timetables at Gatwick and London City. At Heathrow, we will aim to run a substantial proportion of our short-haul programme and 100 per cent of our long-haul operation’.

A new Salvador Dali museum has opened in Florida, housing the world’s biggest collection of the surrealists work, the museum which opened on Thursday will be the permanent home of the most comprehensive collection of Dali’s work in the world.

The museum in St Petersburg has been designed by world-renowned architect Yann Weymouth and features a fittingly striking glass panelling exterior similar to the glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris, which Yann helped design. The glass panelling along with reinforced concrete is able to withstand a Category 5 hurricane. Inside you will find a centre-piece ‘double-helix’ staircase which reaches nearly the full height of the 75-foot-high atrium. Once at the top of the staircase you will enter the exhibition space, here a permanent collection of over 2000 items are housed, including 96 oil paintings, 125 drawings and watercolours, 2,500 prints and photographs, 250 objets d’art, and a 5,000 book library. On the first level of the museum there is a 90-seat theatre, 150-seat community hall, a café and a museum shop as well as hosting special family activities, film screenings, curator talks and yoga classes.

Florida’s original Dali museum was built in 1982 however the new building is twice the size and cost $36 million, the core collection of the museums art was collected by philanthropists from Ohio, Albert Reynolds and Eleanor Morse. Both enjoyed a long friendship with the artist after they started collecting his pieces in 1942, they then went on to collect many more throughout their working lives.

Because of the opening of this new museum, St Petersburg will be twinned with Dali’s hometown of Figueres, in Northern Spain, which also boasts a world-renowned Dali museum that was actually designed by the artist himself. Built in 1974, on the ruins of the old municipal theatre where Dali opened one of his first exhibitions, the Dali Theatre-Museum displays The Girl From Figueres (1926) and The Spectre of Sex Appeal (1932) as well as many more. Dali was buried in a crypt in the museum’s basement when he died in 1989.

Salvador Dali museum

Picture courtesy from Rusty Boxcars