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.

Last weekend one of my best friends came back from Borneo, she had been over there for 4 weeks as an extended holiday. But this wasn’t your usual holiday; she went over there to help the endangered orangutans by building walk ways, cleaning the enclosures and feeding the animals too. This was the type of holiday where you experience the amazing culture of Borneo whilst making a difference to an endangered species. Borneo is located just north of Australia and is the third largest island in the world. After seeing my best friends photos of the jungle, the orangutans and how she helped make their struggling existence a better place it certainly does look like a more exciting holiday than just sitting on the beach in Spain!

Looks like it’s going to be another bad for iconic airline British Airways as in the news today is a survey story, by insurance company LV, which has revealed that one in 3 British Airways passengers have had their luggage lost, damaged, or delayed within the past five years. According to the survey it is the major airlines that have the worse reputation, with Virgin Atlantic being the second worse performing airline and Emirates being the third worse. Having had my bag lost only once, I know the sinking feeling that a passenger gets when you wait at the carousel and everyone around you collects their bags and you are the only one left with no bag. My only advice is to ensure that you pack few spare clothes in your hand luggage, such as swimwear so that if your bag does go missing at least you can still hit the pool.

There is an article in the news today about how Ryanair are raising the price of taking luggage on to their flights, just in time for the summer holidays. Although Ryanair prides itself as a budget airline with the amount of add-ons continuously rising, a £20 flight can soon escalate to over £100. Many years ago whilst I was at university I flew Ryanair, from Blackpool Airport to Dublin, for £25 and that was the total cost. Now if you want to check in a bag into the hold over the summer holidays (which the vast majority of travellers will do), the price is going to be increasing from £15 to £20, which if you are a family of 4 is a total cost of £80 just for bags. There were also rumours that Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary, wants to start charging people for using the toilet onboard his planes but this is yet to be confirmed.

I recently went to New York with Continental Airlines and I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to shop around for a good deal and to also book well in advance. I managed to get a return flight to Newark, New York non-stop from Manchester, England for £315. I managed this deal as I booked at least 6 months in advance and I monitored all the websites of all the major airlines that I knew flew from Manchester to New York. Then as soon as one of the airlines reduced their prices, all of the major airlines followed so I was able to get the best price, at the best times of day and the most direct flights too.  It might involve a bit of time and effort but when you consider that I saved over £300, it was totally worth it.

Travelers can range from many different ages. Some from a young child and other to a much older crowd. For the latter, the idea of traveling may be assumed more difficult, however, there are those who do it. It is a known fact that as you get older, your endurance and strength lessen, but your determination may not. Some older people may still have a good health and find walking as easy as when they were in their thirties. This is usually because they have been traveling a lot in their life, and have therefore found the difficulties which can come with traveling easier than those who don’t.

When traveling, if around the world or to a different country, some people prefer to travel by their own passport. This can include their own planes, boats, or for the patient, car journeying (to certain countries). Private transport is preferred as it means that they can take the traveling at their own cost, and depending on the type of transport, can also be cheaper. Traveling like this is done usually in group, due to fuel expenses, rest from driving the vehicle, and because it is a more sociable way of traveling (although some travel alone). Motorcycles are more used in the same country for traveling.

On our travels, we sometimes like to buy a souvenir, to remind ourselves of that country. It might be for ourselves, or someone we know. A souvenir is like a piece of the country you are bringing back with you, which may exclusively be made in that country. The types of souvenirs bought include: jewelery, ornaments, hats, furniture and accessories. Travelers don’t just have to buy souvenirs, some can be found in the country itself, for free! The types of souvenirs that you can expect to find for free while traveling would include: sea shells, rocks, plant seeds and fruit seeds.