My Jet Set Travel

Within the space of a year tour operators have picked up on the uniqueness and desirability of the Cape Verde Islands. They only emerged as a holiday destination last year with Thomson the only well known tour operator to offer package holidays to the islands. As you can imagine, since they had the monopoly on the high street niche, their prices were hardly competitive. Now other tour operators are offering cheap holidays to the Cape Verde Islands.

Interestingly,Thomson Holidays still offer very good prices on their All Inclusive deals to the islands. Other tour operators offer cheap holidays to the Cape Verde Islands if you opt for self catering or room only accommodation.

Watch this space, new islands in the archipelago are opening up to tourism with Boa Vista and Santiago Islands the next on the list.

Car Hire

Explore the islands with cheap car hire from the following companies:

EasyCar offer cheap car rental from £280 per week at the beginning of August. The Car can be hired from Sal Airport. Click here to go to the EasyCar website

Avis offer car hire from £525 per week. Car hire is available from Sal Airport, Hotel Belorizonte and Hotel Xaguate.

If you want something extra special for Christmas this year why not head off to magical Lapland and give the kids something to smile about. Monarch offers Cheap Lapland Holidays ranging from a day trip up to 5 nights.

You will be transported to Finland’s arctic north where you will be able to undertake spectacular winter activities including reindeer rides, snowmobile rides, Husky Rides, Toboggan rides as well as meeting Santa himself.

Snow suites and boots are provided as well as children’s club activities. Activities vary depending on which package you choose.

For more details regarding Cheap Lapland Holidays visit Monarch.

Travel Insurance is something that nobody should be without when going abroad. But what do you do if you need to get travel insurance for pre-exisitng medical conditions? When looking for insurance you must delcare to your insurance company that you have a pre-existing medical conidtion. By not doing so you void your policy. Depending on the exact nature of your medical condition you premium may be higher, but rarely will they refuse to issue travel insurance for a pre existing medical condition.

I have also found out that if you are travelling with someone who requires insurance for a pre-existing medical condition you may also have to inform your insurance company that this is the case.

For my upcoming trip to Africa my friend had to declare that she had a pre-existing medical condition. She managed to get insurance without paying an extortionate premium. I had read through my policy where it stated that I had to inform them that she had this condition. All is now well and my policy is not void. It just goes to show that reading through your policy can save a lot of money.

Well, it’s just over three weeks until I head to Africa. I never really realised how much planning is involved, and time just creeps. I still have to get my money sorted out as well as all those annoying last minute things.

I always follow in my mother’s footsteps and take most of the Boots pharmacy with me. However, there are a few things to take into account. I always like to have a painkiller that kicks a punch when Paracetamol just doesn’t cut it, the weapon of choice being Paracetamol with Codeine. All very well, but I have to check whether Codeine is actually allowed into the country, it is an opiate after all. I am even more aware of this now. My friend had a close shave when she recently visited Dubai. OK, I’m off to investigate.

Did you know that you can buy holiday vouchers online at Ebay.co.uk? You can often buy holiday vouchers online at Ebay for a fraction of the price they are worth. Some vouchers have to be used by a certain date but others can be open ended and can be used with a variety of travel agents. For example you can buy holiday vouchers online worth £100.00 that are currently selling for just £2.99. Why not give it a try and see whether you can grab yourself a bargain.

Here is a short list of the top ten reasons to take holidays to the Cape Verde Islands.

1. Excellent year round temperatures. The Cape Verde Islands lie half way between Portugal and Brazil and are on the same latitude as the Caribbean, its a tropical paradise.

2. Some of the best beaches this side of the Atlantic. With the tourism industry in its infancy these beaches are uncrowded and unspoilt.

3. Under six hours flying time. With direct flights to Sal from the UK the flying time is around 5 1/2 hours compared to 8 hours to the Caribbean.

4. No jet lag. Taking holidays to the Cape Verde Islands will not leave you exhausted and trying to get over jet lag. The Cape Verde Islands are only 1 hour behind Greenwich Meantime.

5. Diverse Islands. Each of the 10 Islands in Cape Verde have a unique feel. From the desert island of Sal to the Tropical island of Santiago; there is something to everyone.

6. Warm crystal blue waters makes the Cape Verde Islands ideal for beach holidays, watersports and diving. The sea temperature is generally 3 degrees warmer than the Canaries.

7. 350 days of sunshine a year means that taking holidays to the Cape Verde Islands is an all year round activity.

8. More choice of places to stay. The holiday market on Cape Verde is growing, with new islands like Boa Vista and Santiago soon to open its doors to mainstream holiday makers; there is always something new.

9. Easy access to neighbouring islands. If you fancy exploring the other nine islands there are always ferries.

10. Don’t follow the crowd. Why go to Tenerife when you can go to Cape Verde.

If you are interested in taking a holidays to the Cape Verde Islands they are available through Thomson Holidays

If you trail though a Thomson Holidays brochure you would be forgiven for thinking that the Cape Verde Islands were as well known as the Canaries for taking a family holiday. The fact is that holidays to the Cape Verde Islands have only really been accessible since October 2007. Even in that short space of time the tourism industry has grown to accommodate the average British family.

All Inclusive holidays to Cape Verde offer a unique twist to a holiday. The Cape Verde islands – situated just off the coast of Senegal and lying halfway between Portugal and Brazil – offers the same climate as the Caribbean, 5 1/2 hours flying time, no jet lag; and 350 hours of sunshine a year. The Air and Sea temperatures are around three degrees warmer than the Canaries and despite the boom in the tourism industry it is still young enough to offer an exclusive destination to those who want to be adventurous. The main Island to take all inclusive holidays to Cape Verde is the desert Island of Sal. Most of the resorts are centered around Sal’s capital Santa Maria. With beautiful long sandy beaches and warm crystal clear waters it is a perfect place to take a relaxing family holiday.

If you are looking to take all inclusive holidays to Cape Verde later in the year you may also want to consider the other desert island of Boa Vista. Direct flights from the UK are due to start in October 2008 and with it more choice of all inclusive resorts. The Island of Santiago in the southern group of islands are due to have direct flights from the UK start in early 2009. Currently there are a number of resorts near completion that will offer all inclusive holidays to Cape Verde.

All inclusive holidays to Cape Verde are available through Thomson Holidays.

You are probably wondering what this blog is going to be about. Well, I have been lucky enough to travel throughout my life, something that a lot of my peers did not have the fortune to experience. We did not really go that far, Europe being the main destination, and despite being all but four years old I do remember those 16 hour drives to southern France. Now with travel being at the hands of many I guess it’s time to share some of my travel experiences as well as those places that I haven’t been but would love to go to. These posts will most likely be about destinations that are off the beaten track and are upcoming.

Things to look forward to:-

Cape Verde Islands.
Bangkok and Northern Thailand.
Tanzania and Zanzibar.

See you soon.