Travel Guide

New Destinations added

New destinations added recently - see Athens - Berlin - Brussels - Budapest - Istanbul - Madrid - Moscow - St Petersburg - Tallinn - Vienna

by Steve

Add comment March 31st, 2006

Outdoor holidays in Africa

I have always wanted to go on a Horse Riding holiday but my family are not all keen riders so I never have done it.

If you are keen to take on a Horse Riding Holiday but need to combined it with something else, we suggest taking a short Safari Holiday in Africa. Most the Safari destinations have good trustworthy riding stables nearby that organise riding holidays. Ride World Wide is a great site which provides you with information on where, how much, how long etc. for riding holidays.

With Safari Holidays in Africa, you have great choices. South Africa, where you can combined riding with game, cattle work, and the ‘big 5′. Botswana, the Okavango Delta and stunning bird life. Kenya where the word safari originated, has hoards of wildlife, masses of big game and views of Mount Kenya. Tanzania- need I say more than: Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and Ngorongoro?

Want more information? Like this blog? Dislike this blog?
Add your comments to the Indigo Guide forum

by Doreen B

Add comment March 30th, 2006

Cruises - Cruise liner name change

On our section on CRUISES, there has been a name change recently to one of the Cruise companies we recommend on our site.

RADISSON Seven Seas Cruises has changed its name to REGENT Seven Seas Cruises.

We will update the site soon.

by Doreen B

Add comment March 30th, 2006

Spa Treatments

My idea of a great relaxing holiday includes the luxury of spa treatments. The destressing effects of a spa with hot thermal waters and vapours not only benefit holiday makers like myself but scores of sports injury sufferers, people with rheumatic pains, all sorts of skin related problems and even sinus problems are known to have been sorted out at spas.

The latest Spa to open (or re-open) at the end of April 2006, promises to be a world famous attraction. The waters come from three natural springs and will be about 40 degrees centigrade. The spa is based in lovely urban settings and is part of a World Heritage City. The City has many other attractions for visitors but the Spa will certainly play an important part in the local economy.

You will be forgiven if you are thinking the new Spa is based at some small or ancient village on the continent. But surprise! ‘The Thermae Spa’ is actually in the UK’s very own city of Bath in Bath Street. It is the only spot in the UK where you can enjoy hot spring water, used for healing and relaxation for thousands of year.

If you are travelling from London, I found this site where you can do Stonehenge and Bath city in a day called OfftoLondon.com. Just relax and let the tour guides and bus drivers do the work for you.

I also found a spa in France with a difference called ‘ Les Sources des Caudalie’. It is just outside of Bordeaux. It’s a luxurious Spa and 4 star hotel in one. You don’t need to book into the hotel though, you can use the Spa on its own. This Spa is different because they offer unique combination spa treatments that allow visitors to indulge in red wine baths, Merlot wraps, Sauvignon massages, Cabernet scrubs etc. Sounds really wicked to me. Imagine the amount of red wine you can consume in a place like that? What a holiday!

Want more information? Like this blog? Dislike this blog?
Add your comments to the Indigo Guide forum
by Doreen B

Add comment March 30th, 2006

Mediaeval Paintings depicting UFOs

I have happened across a really cool magazine. It is mostly about telling the truth or conspiracy theories. One of the articles I read is about UFOs being part of history as far back as medieval times and are evident in Christian religious paintings. I thought I would share this with you. When you find yourself near some of these places go take a look and spot the UFOs!

Check these out:

ITALLY, ‘The Miracle of the Snow’ painted by Masolino Da Panicale (1383 - 1436), can be found in Florence at the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, showing Jesus and Mary on what seems like lenticular clouds (stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes).

LONDON, at the the National Gallery hangs a painting by Carlo Crivelli (1430 - 1495) called ‘The Annunciation’ shows a disc shaped object shinning a beam of light down onto the crown of Mary’s head.

ITALLY, Palazzo Vecchio in Florence has a painting of ‘The Madonna with Saint Giovannino’ (in the Loeser Collection) showing a disc shaped object behind Mary’s shoulder and a man and his dog looking up at the object in the sky.

YUGOSLAVIA, at the Visoki Decani Monestary in Kosovo there is a fresco painting (dated 1350) called ‘The Crucifixion’ which shows two objects in the sky in the background with figures inside.

Some of these images (and loads more) can be seen on this sight www.xfacts.com.

Like this blog? Don’t like it? Tell us what you want to see.

by Doreen B

Add comment March 29th, 2006

LONDON - what’s for the Kids?

Anyone interested - As part of Benjamin Franklin’s 300th-birthday festivities, the great man’s house in LONDON is open to the public as a museum.

The celebrations have already taken place in January 2006 but the house is still open to the public. This is the official site if you are interested- www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org.

He is actually a pretty diverse and interesting fellow. So if any parents out there want to encourage their children to do ‘the cultural thing’ while in London, I think this is a good one. You can mix it in with things like ‘London Dungeon‘, ‘London Zoo‘ and Hamleys. I found that our kids where happy to grin and bear a little bit of culture, if we enticed them with fun stuff in between the culture stuff.

Like this Blog? Don’t like it? Tell us if we are on the right track?

by Doreen B

Add comment March 29th, 2006

No Glastonbury in 2006 - Try Ibiza

Well, I have searched and searched and have found no evidence that the organisers of the Glastonbury Festivals are going to arrange something in IBIZA for 2006. If anyone out there knows better, please let us know.

If you are going to IBIZA to party to the Balearic Beat, you may as well join the throngs of others flocking to Priviledge in Ibiza Town and enjoy one of the worlds largest and most famous night clubs. The night to visit (as I’m sure all you regulars know) is Monday night - Manumission.

I am one of those sad people who know nothing about the night clubs because I have a family (translating into - I’m too old know). There could actually be more of you out there who have never been or know nothing about the club scene in Ibiza because you are new to Europe. If that is the case, click here and our site can give you some handy information to aid your decision about visiting the club scene in general. There is a little more to Ibiza night life than the Privilege club. Try Pacha (open all year round), Amnesia (for some ‘clean’ fun) and Space (an all day club).

Tell us what you want to see on our site?

by Doreen B

Add comment March 29th, 2006

Thinking of moving abroad?

According to Eurostate there has been an increase in population in Greece but the natural biological birth rate is down. The increase in population is due to the huge numbers of immigrants moving to the country. Brits in particular like Greece and you will find a fairly large Expat community living in Crete. If you are thinking of moving we recommend you do your homework. This sight ‘Living in Crete‘ is quite helpful and should get you started with your research.

Did you know that the population of Greece is too large for the size and economic capacity of the country? That might explain why the population growth has slowed down but it does not explain why the Greek government gives mothers a lump-sum payment of 2000Euros for every child after their second born. This means that they actually want growth. Strange but true.

Let us know if we need to add more information to our site?

Doreen B

Add comment March 28th, 2006

Ireland 2006 Ryder Cup

I am sure most the Golf fanatics out there are aware that the 2006 Ryder Cup is taking place at the prestigious Kildare Golf and Country Club in Kildare. The Ryder Cup is taking place between the 22nd and 24th September so if you plan to visit Ireland around that time, I suggest that you book your Flights to Dublin and Accommodation asap.

Between Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Fly Be, BMI and BMI baby you have quite a choice depending on where you are flying from in the UK. Ryanair really offers the most flights though from and to the most destinations.

Aer Arann which is apparently one of the fastest growing regional airlines in the world, operates over 500 flights a week across 16 UK destinations. Depending on where you are flying from and to, it may be worth your while keeping their details. It certainly is not an airline that would have popped into my head.

Getting back to the Ryder Cup - if you are based in Europe and have not yet arranged your trip, it could be too late for you. However, Ryder Cup packages (including accommodation, transfers, tickets etc.) were available from Ryder Cup Travel Services, the official agents of the European Tour. I believe all the tickets are sold but who knows?? I know accommodation is still available so give it a go.

Like this blog? Want more information? Need to tell us something?
Why not place a comment on the INDIGOGUIDE forum?
Doreen B

Add comment March 28th, 2006

Mirror Mirror on the Mountain

I was reading an article about the residents of an Alpine village called Rattenberg in Austria and was amazed to find that they spend several months of the year in darkness. The reason? The village was built in the shadow the 3000 foot high Rat Mountain. This mountain literally blocks the sun during the months of November to February. During the winter month’s people actually drive or walk over a bridge (takes about 10 minutes to walk) crossing the Inn River on a Sunday just to get their fix of sunshine.

This little charming medieval town is the smallest town in Austria with a population of about 400 people. The population continues to get smaller and some people believe it is because of the lack of sunshine during the winter months. Apparently the Tyrol region of the Alps has another 60 odd communities who live with the same conditions.

What got my attention in the article was the solution to the problem. An Austrian company (Bartenbach LichtLabor) has a plan to shed some light on the town. They will be doing this by installing heliostat mirrors on the mountainside which will reflect light from the sunny side of the mountain to the dark side, bringing light on the residents of Rattenberg.

Isn’t that the sweetest thing you have ever heard? I would love to visit this little village just to see it with my own eyes. The town does have various tourist attractions but I guess the main attraction will be the skiing around the Tyrol area. You can fly to Vienna and then hire a car and drive to Rattenberg. That way you can get to see some of the other quaint little villages the country has to offer. According to Tiscover’s route planner the drive from Vienna to Rattenberg should take about 3 hours (about 278 km). I guess you could also fly to Innsbruck which is about 25km east of Rattenberg.

Want more information? Like this blog? Dislike this blog?
Add your comments to the IndigoGuide forum.
Doreen B

Add comment March 27th, 2006