With the forecasters predicting more disappointing weather for the bank holiday weekend, a record number of Britons are planning to flee to sunnier climes.
According to The Metro, travel bosses are estimating around 2 million people will be booking airport transfers for the variety of flights that will take them away for some sun, sea and sand, and primarily to forget about the miserable weather at home.
As Britons contend with the traditionally frustrating wait for temperatures to rise, many have decided enough is enough. With temperatures in London set to reach only 16C, and rain on Friday extending to persistent overcast skies all weekend and into Monday, it is not surprising that people are looking elsewhere.
Popular destinations currently are Spain, North Africa and Turkey, where relatively short flights take you nearer to the heat.
On the Mediterranean island of Mallorca temperatures are set to to reach 20C on Sunday, with uninterrupted sunshine. Turkey is looking even more attractive, with the seaside resort of Bodrum enjoying temperatures in the high 20s for most of the weekend, and moving into the 30s early next week.
Marrakech in Morroco, North Africa is looking roughly the same, with consistent temperatures of 27C and wall-to-wall sunshine for visitors to bask in, while Britain continues to shiver back home.
Copyright Press Association 2013
Rita Ora and Rudimental will take to the stage in Malta as headliners at the Mediterranean island’s free annual music festival.
The two acts are among a host of famous chart stars set to perform on June 26, helping to mark the Isle of MTV Malta festival’s seventh birthday.
More than 50,000 people are attracted to the island by the festival every year, and the event has become well-established on the summer music calendar.
The Il Fosos Square in Fioriana will host the festival, which has boasted many big names in the past. Stars who have previously appeared at the event include David Guetta and will.i.am.
Along with Viacom International Media Networks, the Malta Tourism Authority has revealed the headliners, while more acts are yet to be announced.
Rita Ora opened the MTV EMA in Frankfurt in November, and will now bring her R&B-pop-funk mash-up to the stage in Malta.
Meanwhile, Rudimental emerged in 2012 with their breakthrough single Feel The Love, then released their follow-up track Not Giving In. The English drum and bass quartet have recently begun their second international tour.
The Minister for Tourism, Hon. Karmenu Vella said: “The free open-air concert as well as the Malta Music Week has become one of the most established events of the summer music calendar attracting fans from all around Europe and beyond. The Isle of MTV Malta promises to be a spectacular concert and a great music event.”
Copyright © Press Association 2013
Barcelona has held off competition from US cities Chicago and New Orleans to be named the Best Summer Destination in the Travellers’ Favourite Awards.
The Catalan city was voted the most popular travel hotspot by 2.5 million Gogobot users. Barcelona boasts stunning architecture and arguably the best football side of recent times, starring the likes of Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta.
Nice in France, Honolulu in Hawaii and Wellington in New Zealand were among the other cities to make up the top 25, which did not contain any UK cities.
Gogobot co-founder Travis Katz was impressed to see a wide variety of destinations in the list, from Bali in Indonesia to Vancouver in Canada.
“Vacationers are seeking out adventure and authentic local experiences when they carve out the time to get away,” he said.
Barcelona is the place to head this summer, though, according to Gogobot’s user community. Luckily for Britons, Spain is just on the UK’s doorstep and easily accessible from airports such as Stansted, Gatwick and Luton.
Tourists can take a tour of the famous Camp Nou stadium, take in the Sagrada Familia designed by Gaudi and enjoy a leisurely walk around the medieval Gothic Quarter.
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Music fans are being forced overseas as the cost of tickets for festivals in the UK continues to rise, a poll by Watchmywallet.co.uk shows.
The money-saving website found almost two in three festival-goers would contemplate going to an event in Europe rather than one on home soil.
Over half of Britons heading abroad for a festival are attracted by the relatively cheap cost, while one in four are influenced by the weather. More than a third of people surveyed revealed they get to fewer festivals now than they did when they were younger.
People keen to sample a different kind of atmosphere at an affordable cost could have picked up an early-bird ticket for a weekend at Poland’s Open’er Festival for only £77, with the standard price £112.
Super-early bird tickets for Soundwave in Croatia would set a music fan back just £65.
Many festival locations are easily accessible from UK airports such as Stansted, Gatwick and Luton.
“Many of the music fans we polled admitted that they now look at European festivals as a real alternative to UK events,” said Sean O’Meara, of Watch My Wallet.
“With cheap airfares and lower prices for accommodation and food in many European countries, it’s possible to enjoy a festival experience abroad with a little sightseeing thrown in, all for less than the cost of going to Reading Festival.”
Copyright © Press Association 2013
One of the rarest and most renowned garden shows is currently underway in Hamburg, entertaining green fingered enthusiasts from all over the world.
This year’s International Garden Show (IGS), which is only held once every decade, features the theme of Around the World in 80 Gardens.
The 250-acre site is divided into seven worlds featuring seven wonders and 80 gardens including the World of Ports, celebrating Hamburg’s long maritime history.
World of Water, World of Religions, World of Cultural Diversity, World of Continents, World of Nature and World of Activity are the other wonders on display.
The event is not due to finish until October 13, meaning there is plenty of time to book flights and sort out airport transfers to one of Germany’s greenest cities.
Visitors can also travel to Landungsbrucken and the HafenCity in the district of Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, which are just a stone’s throw away from the exhibition site.
This month happens to mark the 824th anniversary of the Hamburg’s port, with separate festivities to celebrate the occasion taking place along the River Elbe between May 9-12.
The highlight of the event is set to be a grand parade of 300 vessels on the opening day. Day tickets to the IGS cost €21 (£18), while the price drops to €9 after 6pm.
Copyright Press Association 2013
Travellers looking for a truly unique experience on their holidays in India are being urged to check out “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” at the Pushkar Camel Fair.
The event is held every November at the time of the Kartik Purnima full moon – this year’s takes place between 9-17 November – attracting an incredible 300,000 people to see up to 20,000 camels, cattle and horses.
Excited travellers wondering what to expect as they board their airport transfers are in for a riot of colour, buzzing activity and carnival as people with livestock from across Rajasthan join international visitors for the huge gathering.
The event was initially set up as part of an effort to boost business for camel traders during the holy Kartik Purnima festival, but it has grown vastly over the years to attract thousands of tourists from around the world who flock to their nearest international airport to get in on the action.
Locals and tourists are enthralled by a riot of performances from musicians, folk dancers, herders, farmers, comedians and acrobats as the action unfolds.
Food lovers will not be disappointed either, with authentic Marwari cuisine delighting the tastebuds at this sensual feast.
Religion becomes an increasingly strong feature of the latter part of the fair, culminating in thousands of devotees and pilgrims taking a holy dip in the Sarovar Lake.
Devotees also visit temples and ashrams to immerse themselves in the spirituality of the holy hymns, chanting, bhajans, prayers and religious ceremonies.
Copyright © Press Association 2013
A stunning selection of photos of the Wonders of the World are creating a buzz thanks to their playful use of perspective.
New York-based photographer Richard Silver uses a processing method known as tilt-shift to create the eye-catching images that add a scale-model feel to iconic world sites.
Just taking a look at the photos might cause anyone with the travel bug to head off to an airport and catch a flight to see some of the world’s most incredible cities, monuments and natural attractions.
The mini versions captured by the photographer include the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, the Eiffel Tower looking like a toy and the magnificent site of Machu Picchu in Peru made no less striking in its miniature form.
“In this picture-series you are travelling the world with me,” Silver said.
“Since 2006 everywhere I have travelled I take a few photos that will be tilt-shifted and added to my portfolio. What I am trying to accomplish is to shrink-fit the world, one city at a time.”
So while the images may have a deceptively small feel to them, there is no doubting the scale of the man’s ambition as he strives to distil the awe of the world into neat little packages.
They are certainly successful in providing a new perspective on the well-known sites and will no doubt only add to the excitement for travellers as they take to their airport transfers with the images firmly planted in their mind.
Indeed it’s the reactions of people viewing the photos that gives Silver his biggest thrill, as they often prompt a double-take from viewers taken aback by the apparently shrunk-down proportions of their subjects.
“My favourite question is ‘is that a model or is that real?” the photographer admits.
Because when someone asks him that question, he feels that he has achieved exactly what he set out to do.
Overseas travel is of course all about seeing the world in a new way, and there’s little doubt he has managed it through his work.
Copyright © Press Association 2013
Top musicians from around the world will be performing at the Fes Sacred Music Festival organised by the royal city of Fez, Morocco.
The festival, which takes place from June 7-15, offers both free performances as well as those that require paid tickets. Concert venues around the ancient capital city include the Batha Museum, Bab Boujloud and the Bab Al Makina. The latter site, which was the Royal Palace parade grounds, provides a dramatic backdrop to the concerts, particularly evening events.
In addition to concerts by some of the world’s top musicians who perform sacred music, there will be dance performances and other culturally diverse acts.
This year’s festival marks the 19th Edition of World Sacred Music Festival of Fes. In addition to the programmed festival events, there will be Sufi gatherings and an emphasis on Fez’s local spiritual music, as well as the sacred music of Morocco.
The festival features two innovations in 2013. The newly refurbished Jnan Sbil Gardens will be open to the public during the festival and will prove a fitting stage for Egyptian song and performances by acrobats from Tangier. Also, there will be an afternoon dedicated to workshops with masters of choreography and music at Dar Mokri.
There are easy connections to Fez by train and bus to many Moroccan cities. The city’s Saiss Airport is located only a few miles outside the city. There are good taxi and bus connections from the airport to the city centre. As far as connections to airports in the UK that offer flights to Morocco, there are buses to London Stansted.
Copyright © Press Association 2013
Families planning holidays to Spain and Portugal may find their money goes up to 20% further this year, according to latest figures from some of Europe’s most popular resorts.
This year’s Post Office Holiday Costs Barometer shows that prices have fallen sharply in many resorts, with prices down by up to 20% in Spain and almost 15% in the Algarve.
Portugal was the cheapest destination in Europe, thanks to cheap food and drink prices, while neighbouring Spain was in second place.
The research involved adding up the total for 10 holiday items across all destinations. In the Algarve they cost £46.34 – just 16p less than in Torremolinos on the Costa del Sol and only 80p cheaper than in Javea, on the Costa Blanca.
Prices in the Costas have fallen year on year – down 19% in the Costa del Sol and down 20% in the Costa Blanca.
A 3.4% rise in resort prices at fourth-placed Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, saw the 10 items cost £47.32, still less than a pound cheaper than then cheapest resort – Albufeira in the Algarve.
Such was the fierce competition to attract UK holidaymakers to the top four cheapest resorts, the fifth placed destination, Majorca, was almost £9 more expensive (£55.46).
Here prices have fallen 8.8% in a year, while they have gone down about 6% in Corfu, Greece (£64.45). This is equal to about a 1.7% fall in price once the Sterling to Euro exchange rate has been factored in.
Many of the resorts are easily accessible from UK airports such as Stanstead, Gatwick and Luton.
Copyright Press Association 2013
Travellers on the lookout for city breaks that are out of the ordinary might wish to consider the attractive capital of Paraguay, Asuncion.
This South American gem is largely undiscovered by tourists, offering the enviable opportunity to transfer from city hub to lush outskirts, from buzzing malls to stylish restaurants – even from lively city streets to a scenic island nearby – all the while allowing you the feeling that you are in on a secret.
The island in question is Chaco’i, which offers some great birdwatching opportunities.
Other key attractions include the two-mile riverfront promenade in the city centre known as La Costanera, interesting street markets and a number of historic buildings and other cultural sites.
While the flowering beauty of much of the city might take visitors by surprise, many of the outlying neighbourhoods – such as the area surrounding Asuncion’s main bus terminal – are perhaps more typical of a South American city.
Visitors here will find an abundance of rickety street stalls selling almost anything you can imagine, proving a good choice for gifts and souvenirs to take home.
But before travellers even set foot on their airport transfers to reach this most unusual of city break destinations, they might want to make sure they read up on the latest Asuncion travel tips – and one particular book has been described by travel blogger Laurel Miller as a “must-have” for visitors to the city.
It seems Other Places Travel Guide: Paraguay (2012) by Romy Natalia Goldberg will become “your best friend” from the moment you get on board your bus to the airport and start planning your trip, according to the blogger.
As well as various insider travel tips for Asuncion and advice on what key attractions to visit, the book also provides indispensable advice on where to find the best chipas, which are moreish cheese bread balls from neighbouring Argentina.
Copyright Press Association 2013
