Crime rates can be particularly high in some areas. In many countries there will be pickpockets working the tourist sites, so it is a good idea to avoid carrying too much money around. If you decide to store your wallet in a bag, then keep the bag close to you and be careful not to leave it behind. An inside pocket is also a good place to store any money, as it is out of reach of pickpockets and is less likely to fall out.

If you have a credit or debit card, then make sure it is stored safely inside your wallet. Avoid giving out any card details to anyone you do not trust. Do not under any circumstances allow your card to be out of your sight when paying. If you are travelling with someone you can really trust, such as a friend you’ve known for a long while or a family member, then ask them if they can carry some money for you so that you do not have to walk around carrying a substantial sum.

Before you travel, be sure to check whether or not the country that you are travelling to will accept any credit or debit cards that you have. If you feel you have made a booking on an untrustworthy website or have some reason to be suspicious that the security of your card may have been compromised, make sure that you cancel it straight away. Be sure to check policies for hotels and car hire companies before you book to ensure that you will receive your money back in case you end up needing to cancel a booking that has already been paid for.

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First, start organising the trip well in advance so that you have plenty of time to make a good choice among all the holiday possibilities you will find..

Once you know the destination, the next step would be to find flight tickets and accommodation. If you like traveling to a sunny place with good beaches and lots of activities to do with your children, Spain is the ideal choice. Doing a research in the Internet on holiday rentals in Spain will probably drive you to a list of holiday rental sites where you can book a nice holiday home with all kind of facilities cheaper than if you book a hotel.

After booking a holiday villa in Spain, you will probably need a car rental. Contact some agencies, get different prices and make your booking. Some holiday rental websites offer car rental as well, so that you can book both at the same time. If you have a GPS available for the country you travel it will probably be a good idea to bring it with you too.

Read about the place you will travel to, using travel forums or guide books could be a good help when traveling.

Check the weather forecast a few days before your trip. If you travel to Spain during the summer, don’t foreget protect your skin from the sun during the heat of the day, and wear plenty of sun screen.

Look at the exchange rates. Having a currency that makes you feel rich greatly increases your holiday fun.

Remember to bring all your travel documents. A successful holiday depends on planning and being organised. Sort out all your travel plans before actually going for it and know what you exactly you want from your holiday. Whit this in mind everyone can have a wonderful holiday rather than being stressed out before you arrive.

Happy Holidays!

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It’s the time of year when many Brits are thinking about jetting off on their summer holidays to far-flung, sunnier climes. However, for an estimated 20% of the population, the thought of boarding a plane fills them with dread and as many as 5% will never fly as a direct result of their fear. Overcome Your Fear of Flying is a major new self-help book, written by two psychologists and a pilot, which provides effective skills and techniques for sufferers to use to help reduce the anxiety commonly associated with flying.

Fear of flying is a surprisingly common problem. For some, flying is unpleasant but manageable, while for others it is an incapacitating fear. There may be serious and potentially disastrous social, financial and professional consequences for anxious flyers – a fear of flying can spoil holidays, damage careers and put relationships under stress. However, it is one of the most treatable psychological problems which almost everyone should be able to overcome.

Co-author of Overcome Your Fear of Flying, Professor Robert Bor, explains, “Our collective experience with people who have a fear of flying shows that, although some books provide useful information about flight safety, they fail to explain the full range of psychological techniques which are known to help overcome fear and anxiety. Helping sufferers to master these techniques is the main focus of the book; it brings together the latest, proven methods for overcoming a fear of flying and helps the reader select and implement the techniques most likely to help them overcome their fear. We also outline the way in which a fear of flying can become a problem in the first place and how different people are affected.”

Interspersed with case studies demonstrating how a fear of flying can manifest itself in various different ways, Overcome Your Fear of Flying approaches treatment of the problem differently from many others. It will not baffle readers with statistics about flight safety, nor will it ‘argue’ with the sufferer’s fears. The book facilitates a tailored approach to self-help, built on a solid foundation of clinical practice and research. The aim is to motivate and empower readers to confront and overcome the different elements that characterise their fear of flying.

Topics in the book include:

• what exactly is fear of flying
• phobia triggered by flying itself, or traumatic experiences in the air
• what reinforces anxiety
• understanding flying, including the effects of flight on the body
• challenging and managing anxious thoughts
• addressing your ‘worst fears’
• tackling unhelpful behaviour such as safety rituals or excessive use of alcohol
• techniques to help you relax
• FAQs – e.g. how safe is flight? What is turbulence?

Overcome Your Fear of Flying is also a helpful companion for people who have previously undergone Fear of Flying courses, such as those offered by some airlines, as they need to keep up-to-date with the latest skills and techniques. Friends, colleagues and relatives who accompany fearful flyers will find the book useful too, as it’ll provide them a useful perspective on the issue.

The book has been written by a highly experienced and uniquely qualified team of experts who are committed to helping people overcome their fear of flying. Collectively, they have over 50 years of experience and have published their research findings on treating fear of flying in many specialist medical and psychological journals and books and are often invited to talk about their work at conferences around the world.

Overcome Your Fear of Flying is published by Sheldon Press on 23 July 2009.  It is availble from Amazon.co.uk - click here or on the image below for more details.

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Those who are aged 16 and over and have never had a passport can choose to apply for an adult passport. Passports for adults last up to ten years, and passports for those under 16 last for up to five years. If you are applying for your first adult passport, then you may need to attend an interview.

Those who wish to apply for a passport can either apply online via the Identity and Passport Service website or request an application form to be sent in the post. There are certain documents that need to be provided along with the application form, such as a birth certificate for those that were born or adopted within the UK.

If you are applying for your first adult passport, then you will need to allow up to six weeks for it to arrive. There was previously a fast track service for those applying for the first time, but this service was cancelled when the interviews were introduced. However, the fast track service is still available to those who simply need to renew their passport.

The Identity and Passport Service usually require two good quality photos that are identical. To ensure that your passport photos are suitable, it is better to use a photo booth that provides passport sized photos rather than taking your own photos with a digital camera and printing them off at home.

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Spain
France
Italy
USA
Turkey
Germany
Greece
Portugal
Ireland
Cyprus

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The island will be hosting two free concerts, one on Friday 3rd July and the other on Saturday 4th. The first date will feature the Icelandic jazz-funk fusion band, Mezzoforte, who have been making music since 1977. Taking their inspiration from a diverse range of artists, from Miles Davis to Earth, Wind and Fire, they are best known for their 1983 album, ‘Garden Party’.

Mezzoforte will be followed by the duo Okou. Formed in Paris, the singer Tatiana Heintz actually hails from the Ivory Coast, whilst guitarist Gilbert Trefzger is a Swiss born Egyptian. Tatiana’s vocal skills have already resulted in collaborations with Mick Jagger and Keziah Jones. And Gilbert has played with Nitin Sawhney and Roy Ellis, the Jamaican singer.

Okou’s sound includes acoustic guitar numbers and explores modern interpretations of rhythm and blues. The duo will be accompanied by percussionist Andrew Borger. Their appearance will be after Mezzoforte’s, which begins at 21.00 in the historic quarter of Teguise.

Saturday’s concert sees the return of a locally born musician, Diego Barber, who began his musical studies in Lanzarote. Trained in classical guitar, there are elements of flamenco as well as jazz to be heard in Barber’s first composition ‘Calima’. After receiving his training in Madrid and Salamanca, Barber went to live in New York, which is where he began to experiment and diversify into jazz guitar.

The Diego Barber Quartet comprises Ari Hoenig on drums, Seamus Blake on sax and Johannes Weidenmueller on the bass and of course, Diego Barber himself on guitar. With compositions entitled ‘Calima’ and ‘Lanzarote’ it is clear that some of his inspiration is taken from the volcanic island of his birth.

Appearing at the same concert will be the Patricia Kraus Quartet. For some years Kraus made forays into the world of pop music, but she has recently developed a sound that owes more to soul, jazz and blues, musical styles which suite her vocal skills. Such is her vocal pre-eminence, she also teaches aspiring opera singers and has coached participants on ‘Operacion Triunfo’ (the Spanish version of X Factor).

Kraus will be performing some of her own more recent songs and will be accompanied by Daniel Assante on drums, Gherardo Catanzaro on keyboard and Enrico Barbaro on the bass. The concert at which the Diego Barber and Patricia Kraus Quartets will be appearing is at the Municipal Theatre in San Bartolomé from 21.00.
 

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See what reaction his regular builder customers have and check out Bob’s white bits.

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If you are unsure of any health risks that are common in the area you are visiting, then be sure to do research and check with your doctor as to whether or not you need a vaccination. If you are travelling to a tropical region then the necessary vaccinations are essential and can be easily arranged with your doctor. There are some diseases that many UK residents will already have received a vaccination for, such as TB. The more unusual but prevalent diseases in the more exotic locations - malaria is one example - can be a real threat and must be treated very seriously. The secret is to seek advice before you go!

If you are planning a long journey, but suffer from a medical condition or travel sickness, then you must make provision before you travel. There are treatments for travel sickness, so be sure to visit your doctor to see what is available. A condition that can occur during long flights is Deep Vein Thrombosis, so check with your doctor that you are okay to travel if you have suffered from anything of that nature before. For really long car journeys, stop off at a service area to stretch your legs, and if on a really long flight take regular small walks so that you are not sitting in the same position for too long.

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They are aware that getting a working holiday visa to Australia can sometime be very daunting, and this will hopefully help answer a lot of peoples questions.

Click on the Tourism Australia MySpace where you can find the widget and start asking your questions: http://www.myspace.com/workinoz

Tourism Australia: Aussie Beaches & Coastal

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The creation of long term residents on the island, Lanzarote Guidebook is an indispensable resource for visitors who wish to get the most out of their holiday here. Featuring up to date information and handy tips.

The Summer 2009 edition, complete with beautiful visuals of the island, runs to 96 pages and is divided into useful sections. It also comes in a quick download format from the website: www.lanzaroteguidebook.com 

The three resorts are featured in their own sections, with details of things to do and a map of each. With additional information on villages and towns across the island covering places of interest, local knowledge and some of the history of Lanzarote. And paying particular attention to several of the island’s unique tourist attractions, such as the Mirador del Rio and Timanfaya National Park.

An in-depth profile introduces readers to César Manrique – Lanzarote’s foremost artist and architect – who has contributed so much to preserving the island’s beauty. Whilst the agenda section provides information about up and coming events, such as the Jazz Canarias Festival.

Those who enjoy a more active holiday will find there is plenty to do, whether that involves exploring the amazing beaches to be found on Lanzarote or choosing from the many excursions and sports available. Which include kayaking and catamaran sailing to brushing up teeing skills at the weekly golf clinic.

The Essentials section covers everything from bank opening hours to tipping, ensuring that visitors waste as little of their precious holiday time as possible. With a contact list of emergency numbers, should they be necessary.

The handy A6 format of Lanzarote Guidebook means that it’s an ideal size to carry around. It is distributed in hire cars and private villa accommodation, as well as in the main tourist information centres.

Visitors to the website of Lanzarote Guidebook can read more in the monthly What’s On guide to events and catch up on the latest news and weather. Or browse the wide range of Lanzarote holiday accommodation, from apartments to luxury villas, for their next visit to the island.

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