A recent post described my fear of flying. This is obviously something that does concern me, but it does not stop me traveling. However, I recently decided to spend a few days in Dorset. A really lovely part of the world and, as a northerner, not an area that I was familiar with. A fantastic few days followed – amazing country walks (and county pubs!), history, landscape, food – in short, everything that is needed for an amazing holiday.

Do not think that you need to sit on a plane for 3 hours to get what you want from a holiday. The UK really does offer some amazing places, and really diverse countryside. From the Scottish Highlands (go there now!), through Northumberland, the Lakes, the Peaks, down to East Anglia and, let’s face it, most of the South-West, there really are gems to be found.

Before you book your next holiday, think local! It could really open your eyes.

We’ve all been there – spending weeks getting excited about going on holiday, turning up at the airport and being told that the flight is delayed. Even when you get there, you can face a three hour wait for the car hire people to sort out your paperwork or a three hour ride on a bus that last had its suspension checked in 1967. Finally reaching your destination and your holiday can start – apart from the half hour check in process. The journey home is just as bad, but without the holiday to look forward to afterwards!

My recommendation – plan ahead and think about every aspect of the traveling. Once this is done, pretend that the traveling is indeed part of the holiday. Trying to enjoy sitting in an airport by planning some entertainment, and see the journey at the other end as a chance to see the new country. It’s all about the mindset – nothing seems that bad (within reason!) if you think about it in the right way.

When I was a kid, I reached an almost apoplectic level of excitement when facing a plane journey. Having been a bit of a techo-geek since childhood meant not only did I love the rush of the journey, but watching the movement of the flaps and the noises of the landing gear and engines was amazing.

That all changed when I hit adulthood. Many adults suffer a nightmare journey that makes all future flights full of anxiety. One flight back from Germany when I was in my early twenties planted a seed. This seed has sprouted into a MAJOR fear of flying. I have swallowed as much data as I can about the safety of flying, but the fear increases. I now know that this has turned into a proper Phobia.

The facts are that the odds of dying in a plane crash are tiny – and even if you are in a plane crash, you have a better chance of surviving than not! So, despite the fear – the squeezing of my partners hand, the loud humming to block out the noise, the uncontrolled sweating – I refuse to let this stop me travelling.

With Sharm-el-sheikh swiftly becoming the beach holiday of choice around the UK, Egypt is attracting more visitors than ever. However, the draw of fantastic weather and even better diving may interest some, but for me the draw of Egypt should be base a few hundred miles South-West of Sharm.

I recently flew to Luxor to begin a week-long cruise down the Nile. The chance to see first-hand the historical marvels that Egypt has to offer (yes, there is more than a couple of pyramids) was quite a draw. Starting with the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, before moving down the Nile to Aswan and Kom Ombo (amongst others) whilst enjoying the amazing Egyptian hospitality onboard the ship, this was a trip that I will never forget.

This will appeal to anyone with a taste for history, or who wants to experience a very different culture (both now and 4000 years old!).

Last night I watched an episode of Stephen Fry in America and was reminded of the few months I spent in 2000 touring around the US with some friends of mine. The highlight of the trip that was the three weeks that we hired a car and traveled around Utah, Nevada and California seeing the sights.

As well as jaw-dropping trips to the well recognised sights such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Monument Valley, we were blown away most by a little known national park called Zion. Aside from the obvious Bob Marley connotations, the highlight of this park was a tour through a deep valley surrounded on all sides by the most amazing rock formations.

If you find yourself in the region of Las Vegas (its a few hours drive away from there) then head over to Zion as soon as you can. I cannot recommend it enough!

A friend of mine recently booked a holiday to Thailand, she was attracted to the idea of blue sky, white sand and turquoise sea. So without researching the destination properly she booked her holiday. She had not seen the new coverage about the riots in Bangkok, she had no idea about the political upheaval or the curfews that were currently in place. As soon as she told us where she was going me and my friends looked horrified so she quickly asked what was wrong, we then directed her to all the stories online about the problems in Thailand, she still went on the holiday and had an amazing time. The main point to learn from my friend is that you need to research your holiday destination before you go.

Most people assume that when people travel, they have a rucksack, walking stick, cooking equipment and some knowledge of the landscape it is in which they are in. Some though, are totally different. Some see traveling as a means of getting used to the cuisine and culture in the country (for example, a group of friends may prefer traveling the country in the day, including landscapes and historical sites, then in the night go to the restaurants in the country). Some who travel may only go for a short amount of time, like a week, or a fortnight, usually depending on finance and the plan they have.

I have just booked to go to New York for the Christmas Holidays and I’m really excited. I’ve never been to New York before and have heard that it’s really good over Christmas. We’re flying with Virgin Atlantic on Boxing Day from Heathrow. It’s a really good deal actually as we get to New York at 1:30pm so have the whole afternoon. The main bonus is that we are flying directly – no changes halfway.

I priced up quite a few flights to New York from London and all the ones where you had to change added nearly a whole days travel which would simply be a waste of a holiday as we are only going for 4 days.

My advice is to go with a slightly more expensive flight (there is only about £100 difference anyway between the none stop and one stop flights) and get an extra day in New York rather than an extra day sat around airports waiting for connecting flights.

I used to work in London about 6 months ago before moving back north with my job and regularly used to travel from Manchester to London and vice versa. It’s really not a bad service – it takes between 1 hour 50 mins to 2 hours 30 mins to get from Manchester Picadilly to London Euston and then it was just a short tube ride to my flat in Marylebone. I then moved to Balham which was south of the river and the tube journey took a while longer.

The main problem with the journey was that I travelled on Friday evenings at about 6:40pm after work and the train was always packed – so much so that people would be standing up and there would always be a mad rush along the platform for people trying to get seats. Even booking in advance, you are not always guaranteed a reserved seat so I used to do my best Usain Bolt impression in order to ensure I wasn’t standing up for 2 hours. Virgin Trains apparently increased the number of services between London and Manchester but I still think that once a train is full they should tell you so that you don’t have the discomfort of standing for a 2 hour journey.

The Sunday journey was a lot more comfortable with a choice of seats and you could just shut your eyes and relax. The journey is not cheap though – the cheapest you can generally get is £60 return but last minute bookings can cost £60-£120 each way so be sure to book in advance.

I know Valentines Day is a while away, but I thought I’d recommend Paris as a destination. I went on for Valentines weekend earlier this year and had a great time. I booked online and travelled down to Paris on the Eurostar from Kings Cross St Pancras Station. In the same time as it takes to get from Manchester to London which is roughly 2 hours you can get from London to Paris. The train is smooth, fast and far more spacious than an aeroplane. You have more room to move and more leg room which is brilliant.

Once you arrive there are loads of hotels nearby the main station Gare du Nord so we just walked from the station to our hotel and then got on with the romantic weekend, taking in all the famous sites.

One word of advice – it’s usually still very cold in February. We had a really nice sunny weekend but you need to wrap up warm in order to enjoy it to the full.