TRAVEL
Home & Away with Robert Walshe THE best time to book a flight is exactly eight weeks before departure, new research has revealed. Economist Makoto Watanabe has created a formula which calculates the optimum time to book. His yet-to-be published findings suggest that airline tickets are cheaper when purchased in the afternoons, rather than the mornings. He proposes that airlines assume business travellers are more likely to book in the morning, and leisure travellers, in the afternoon or evening. The Japanese economist’s work stems from a paper published last year in the Economic Journal, which analysed the pricing of tickets. In it, Watanbe and his co-author write: “When we book our flight to London weeks ahead we have to account for the possibility of unforeseen events which make our trip to London impossible.”In order to make consumers take their chances, airlines have to offer advance purchase discounts. As a consequence, ticket prices increase as the travel date approaches.” lastminute.com the website found that more than 40% of travelers said new rules on taking bags on to an aircraft are confusing; 10% of those caught out have had to pay more than £50 in fines. The plethora of fees means that 75% of holidaymakers will travel with much smaller bags, use hand luggage to avoid the charges, wear extra clothes to keep them out of their luggage and even wear coats with multiple pockets to stash their holiday necessities.
Weekend Hotspot
With its many unique attractions, Iceland has become the new ‘in’ destination, so no wonder more and more visitors are flocking to holiday in Reykjavik, its capital city. Apart from crisp, clean air and natural hot springs, Reykjavik offers a lively nightlife scene and some enjoyable sightseeing in its old city centre. The main reason most travel to Reykjavik is to take excursions out of the city to natural hot attractions like the Blue Lagoon and Geysir. Despite experiencing snowy, cold and dark winters, Reykjavik can be said to be a year-round destination. The warm summer months when the sun barely sets are the best time to
travel to Reykjavik, but an increasing number of visitors are opting to holiday in warm-hearted Reykjavik for the New Year festivities, snow sports and the novelty of swimming in hot springs. The capital of Iceland is definitely a hot spot, renowned for its lively pubs and clubs, which draw hundreds of merry-making visitors, particularly during the long, light, bright summer nights. Its growing reputation as a fun tourist destination is enhanced by its fiery, friendly inhabitants, relaxed pace of life, many cultural attractions and dozens of opportunities for fascinating day trips, not to mention the novelty of bathing in one of the steamy public geothermal swimming baths. Reykjavik’s setting on the southwest corner of Iceland on Faxaflói Bay is another draw card. All around are panoramic views of the majestic Mount Esja, which rises up behind the bay and vistas across the Atlantic as far, on a sunny day, as the crystalline Snaefellsjokull glacier to the west. The city has a small town atmosphere, its centre easily explored on foot, the quaint whitewashed wooden buildings and colourful houses interspersed with plenty of open space. It also has a well-deserved reputation for being the cleanest, most invigorating city in Europe, where the standard of living is one of the highest in the world. What else is there to do and see in Iceland? Well, how about whale-watching; chic fine dining; hiking the highlands; viewing Europe’s largest glacier Vatnajokull; fishing the rivers; taming one of the great wild Icelandic horses, riverrafting; exploring on a snow-scooter; shopping for designer wear, souvenirs and gourmet foods; joining the descendants of the Vikings in the Summer Solstice Festival at Hafnarfjorour; visiting the northerly island of Grimsey to cross the Arctic Circle; visiting the recreated medieval farm at Stong. Iceland Travel is the “Ireland specialist” to Iceland organising several charters in spring, summer & Easter. Most of the Irish and Northern Irish groups stay at Hotel Loftleiðir. Wallace Travel are organising an October Bank Holiday special from the 21st – 25th Octo-
Pet’s Corner...
Home and Away Extra
■ Iceland Wat
erfalls
ber for €569 pp sharing plus €58 tax including return flights ex Dublin direct. www.wtg.ie or www.icelandtravel.is
Weekly Best Buy
ndscape
■ Iceland La
Trips to this year’s Ryder Cup at Celtic M a n o r in Wales are available from Killester Travel. A one-day trip on ■Reykjavik Aeria l Vew Sunday, October 3rd for the final will cost from €569. A 3 night trip & accommodation, official Ryder Cup transfers, tickets and dinner from €1,950pps. www.killestertravel.ie Sunway Holidays is offering fantastic deals to the all inclusive luxurious 5* Dreams Hotels in Mexico during September and October. Ideal for a honeymoon or that special holiday break. Remember all inclusive means that in addition to your flight, accommodation and
taxes, all your meals and drinks are included in the price of your holiday so you can relax and not worry about hefty credit card bills on your return.7 nights All Inclusive packages include 5* Dreams Puerto Aventuras from €1310 & 5* Dreams . Price per person sharing including flights with Martinair and all taxes and charges. www. sunway.ie
with Kathleen Murray
Dogs can grow so big with Kathleen Murray: Animal Behavioural Therapist
WHEN people come to me with dog problems we take a look at the situation and see what can be done to resolve the problem… but there is a bigger problem that I need to think more deeply about. That problem is that there are people who get a dog for their family and after a few months they want to get rid of the dog. Reasons given for this range from “It’s pulling the washing off the line” to “I didn’t know it would grow so big”. The first problem is easy to solve, the second one is way more difficult. When someone gets a dog, e.g. a golden retriever, and then after six months comes and says “I didn’t know it would grow so big” I have difficulty with that. We all know what a full grown golden retriever looks like,
Living
and if we don’t we can look it up in any pet shop in a book, yet this is a regular complaint from people and a reason to re-home a dog, apparently. This is irresponsible. A cute little pup will grow into an adult dog so if you are thinking of getting a dog then please look at the adult version before taking a pup home with you. It is important to know that you can cater to a dog that size. Many dogs are re-homed or passed on in some way between the ages of eight months and 18 months. This is usually because nobody taught the dog any manners and now it has grown into a big ignorant dog that jumps on people, knocks over children, chews things, goes to the toilet in the house, chases cars, pulls on the lead,
raids bins etc etc etc. Who wants a dog like that in their home? Owners create that by not educating their dogs from the day they bring them home. This is not a lost cause because this can be dealt with. Thankfully, a dog can learn new ways when it is shown how, in the proper manner, at any age so it’s not too late to start, no matter how bleak things appear. It doesn’t matter how many holes there are in the garden or how many times the dog has bulldozed into visitors at the door. It can be sorted. If you think you have tried everything and nothing has worked then ask for advice. There is a way. Deal with the dog rather than dump the dog. It’s not the dog’s fault.
London’s Heathrow airport offers the worst tax-free discounts in Europe, according to a survey by shopping comparison website Kelkoo.But the Kelkoo report reveals that departure lounge retailers are charging prices that are, on average, only 6.2% cheaper, with Heathrow offering the worst overall discounts of any major European airport, at just 3.1% less than high street prices. In a mysteryshopping exercise, the prices of a sample basket of 22 products, spanning the key categories of health and beauty, luxury, fashion, electricals, wine and spirits, tobacco, fine foods and confectionery were collected in 10 tax-free retail airport outlets, and compared to prices online and benchmarked against the average RRP in local high-street stores. The 10 airports selected account for 80% of European passenger traffic. Thomas Cook has announced a summer programme of flights from Belfast International Airport to Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt’s Red Sea resort, for 2011. The flights begin on Wednesday, May 4 and run weekly throughout the summer every Wednesday until October 26, 2011. Sharm el Sheikh is a purpose-built resort with a number of breathtaking sights such as the 4th century St Catherine’s Monastery. For those who enjoy underwater adventures, diving and snorkeling, the Ras Mohammed Marine Park is renowned as one of the world’s most fascinating diving destinations. On land, the Red Sea Riviera offers a number of bars, restaurants, discos, clubs, golf courses and casinos to enjoy. Robert Walshe is a freelance contributor / broadcaster and is guest travel writer for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ireland