It might seem a bit late for booking a Christmas or New Year break, but why not try the Bord Failte booklet Festive Breaks 1998/'99, you might be lucky to still pick up a vacancy. The Trident in Kinsale, and the Davenport in Dublin, both have some vacancies. The selection includes hotels, guesthouses and self-catering accommodation. You can pick up a brochure from your local tourist information office.
Planning On visiting London over the festive season? All the airlines have special offers over this period for outbound traffic. You can make a trip to London even more cost effective by renting an apartment. A company which specialises in serviced apartments has vacancies from December 10th to January 10th and is offering them at a special rate of £60 per night, and there is no limit on the number of nights.
The one-bedroom sleeps three, and the two-bedrooms sleeps up to five. Great value for a break especially if you intend taking in the sales. The apartments are located at Liverpool Street which has easy accessibility from Stansted and City airports. Tel: 00 44 171 629 0763 for details.
All you people out there who are planning on getting engaged for Christmas would be amused to see a leaflet I picked up recently about getting married in Las Vegas. It lists the various wedding chapels, with names like Terry's Hitching Post, We've only just Begun, Cupid's Wedding Chapel, Double Happiness Chapel and my favourite, Graceland Wedding Chapel, where you can be married by "Elvis".
It also tells you how to go about getting married in Las Vegas. You can get a copy of the leaflet from Clark County Marriage Licence Bureau, Las Vegas Municipal Courthouse, 200 S. Third St, Las Vegas NV 89155. Also if you are planning a honeymoon the Internet has some great sites with bridal ideas and also honeymoon ideas.
Another new website I have come across lately is AdventureTV.com which specialises in Internet television for Eco and Adventure Travel. They broadcast promotional and educational videos on a global station.
If you are looking for a holiday with a difference, you will get some great ideas here. At the moment they are showing Serengeti Ballooning, Ranger Safaris in Tanzania, Snowcat Skiing in Idaho and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. They will be adding more and more companies to their site and providing a greater selection of places to see.
A status report from Guatemala tells me that the state of emergency created by tropical storm Mitch has ended. Climate conditions are back to normal. Airports, hotels and service infrastructure are operating. Drinking water is potable and there are no shortages of electricity.
The report on the escape of crocodiles was misleading: some young crocodiles did escape but they have all been recaptured. Tourism is Guatemala's second largest generator of foreign income and we hope that they will see a return to pre-Mitch levels soon.