MoreThanUrls - About Travel and Holidays

Take your pet on a plane?

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:45:54 +0000

Rather than having the fur flying, why not take the fur flying? The secret to successful flying lies in the pre-flight effort you put in.

Some pets accompany their owners everywhere. Handbag dogs are one such group. Other owners have their favorite animal snuggled on a shoulder, a rat perhaps, or other rodent-companion. The rest of us restrict ferrying our pets to vacation time. The other unavoidable pet journey takes place when there is a house move.

Road or Air?

Where distances are great, road travel is probably not best for pets. Endless hours cooped up, with only very brief stops for calls of nature, are almost as fraught with pets as they are with children. And haven’t you sometimes felt sorry for your pets having to listen at close quarters to their human ‘pack’ loudly bickering for mile after mile? Rather than having the fur flying, why not take the fur flying?

In fact, looked at one way, having your pet on board the plane you’re on might be a possible cure for flying nerves. Worrying about the possible trauma of take-off and landing for the little creature could be a great antidote, taking your mind off your own misgivings. There is a certain type of pawssenger (get it?), therefore, that really is more stressed than you.

Do The Groundwork

The secret to successful flying lies in the pre-flight effort you put in. Check out more than one airline, if at all feasible. American Airlines and KLM get good reports from the pet-friendly …

Read the rest: http://www.travelblat.com/animals-and-air-travel-what-you-need-to-think-about-plan-for-and-budget-for/

Search Engine for Multi-Destination Flights

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 07:36:18 +0000

Find flights for trips with multiple destinations

The travel meta-search site momondo.com which joined the Cheapflights Media stable earlier this year has launched a new search engine enabling users to search for flight round trips with several stop-overs.

The initiative makes it possible to search flights with multiple destinations in just one search and compare the best prices for the total trip.

The multi-destination flight search engine is a new addition to Momondo’s travel search product that previously only offered one-way and return trips on flights.

”We’ve got millions of users worldwide and thousands have requested an easy and fast way to find the best offers on round trips and more complex flight tickets. That is why we’ve put a lot of knowhow and resources into developing our new search engine, which we’ve launched in a beta version”, says Martin Lumbye, partner in Momondo.

Examples of round trips could be flying from London to Paris and further on to Rome from where one flies home, or it could be flying to New York, take a road trip to California and flying back from Los Angeles.

Previously a user had to spend a long time conducting several searches between the respective cities to get a full overview of the entire round trip. With Momondo’s new search engine the user can get an overview of the best prices for the entire round trip in just one search. All the user has to do is enter the destinations once and Momondo will aggregate and compare the best prices on flights across more that 700 online travel agencies and airlines.

You won’t have to hassle with buying multiple tickets from difference places – you’ll get all your flight tickets from a single supplier in just one easy process

Try the new search engine in a BETA version here: momondo.com

Magic of Advent in Vienna, 25th anniversary

admin — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:30:26 +0000

Viennas Christmas market “The Magic of Advent” will be celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

Locals and visitors to the city love the market and decorations on Vienna’s Rathausplatz (City Hall Square).

The Magic of Advent in Vienna is a favorite place to meet, with many visitors returning several times each season. Young families, teens and tourists are particularly enchanted by the yuletide atmosphere on City Hall Square. It comes as no surprise that the Magic of Advent in Vienna is known as Europe’s most child-friendly Christmas market.

A new lighting concept featuring a number of additions will ensure that the Magic of Advent in Vienna makes a still more dazzling impression this year. Still more glittering lamps will enhance the festive atmosphere, drawing visitors away for a gentle stroll apart from the hubbub of the main market.

A tour of the beautifully decorated Rathauspark – where the famous Heart Tree, festooned with 280 glowing hearts, awaits – has written the opening chapter to many a love story over the years. And perhaps you will meet the Vienna Christ Child on its walk around the park, or listen when it reads a Christmas story in front of the crib.

There is a packed program of arts and crafts for kids and teens at the Christmas workshop. During the six weeks of the Magic of Advent, youngsters are hard at work painting, shaping, turning, sawing, stenciling, applying glitter, threading beads, sticking, firing, decorating and packing as they create a total of around 70,000 presents for their parents and grandparents. Over the years the Christmas workshops have featured virtually every imaginable art and craft. Some of the creative spirits who tried their hand at arts and crafts in the workshops back in the 1980s are now returning as adults, and can’t wait for their own children’s first cookies and artwork.

The vibrant and colorful Christmas market, offering a vast array of Christmas handicrafts, tree decorations and other yuletide gift ideas, is the centerpiece of the Magic of Advent in Vienna.

Evocative Advent aromas, festive concerts, a tall tree blazing with countless Christmas lights against the backdrop of City Hall, and the enchantingly decorated Rathauspark are just some of the highlights that give the Magic of Advent in Vienna its unique appeal.

This year the official opening will take place on November 13 and run until 6 p.m. on December 24, when Christmas really is just around the corner.

A copy of the free Magic of Advent brochure can be obtained from branches of the Austrian National Tourist Office or the Vienna Tourist Board by calling

(+43 1) 24 555, Fax: (+43 1) 24 555 666.

Source: http://www.christkindlmarkt.at/English.39.0.html

Tapas in Spain – A Big World of Little Plates

admin — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:07:35 +0000

Going to Madrid? Do not miss out the “Tapas”. Experience a tapas and wine tour in Madrid

Vintagespain is offering an easygoing tour.

There are two “Madrids”: the one you can’t help but see, and the one you need a local person to show you. We’d like to invite you to enjoy the experience of “ir de tapas”, as madrileños do.

You will discover hidden spots, even in the very heart of Madrid, each of which has something special to offer, be it a typical dish, a specific type of wine or its atmosphere. Get into the swing of things: go to a bar, enjoy your wine and your free tapa, order something extra to eat if it catches your fancy and, once you’ve finished, move on to the next venue. It´s as simple as that!

Be ready to stand in bars, drinking slowly but surely and sampling a variety of tapas and wines which, although originally from different Spanish regions, have found their place in the melting pot that is Madrid. By the end of the evening you will have discovered the key to wine and gastronomy (some of it is for the fearless only!) and heard many anecdotes of 17th century Madrid, along whose streets we will stroll.

We’ll start in one of Madrid’s most emblematic venues, drinking sherry, the world-famous “generous” wine from Andalusia, and we will learn how this wine is closely related to the origin of the word tapas to refer to small portions of food… some of which we will, of course, enjoy.

The tradition of having food to go with your wine (and not the other way around) is, however, much older. We’ll acquaint ourselves with the history of this custom in an old style Castilian tavern, surrounded by huge blackboards showing the names of dozens of wines sold by the glass and the tapas available.

The concept behind the next place we will visit is as old as it is unique nowadays: the store that conceals a bar, or the bar tucked away at the back of a shop. If you like what you eat or drink in the bar, you can purchase it from the shop. Likewise, if you are intrigued by what you see in the shop, you can sample it in the bar.

We won’t waste any time: onwards to the next bar! This one is all about bulls and matadors: enjoy the traditional Feria fare surrounded by bullfighting paraphernalia.

And finally, we’ll round up the evening in style, with Serrano ham and wine at the last bar that we’ll visit, which can only be defined as a typical “Madrid tavern”. Hidden, dark, cozy, warm, roguish, immortal; like all those places that feature in novels, but rarely in the tourist guides.

Someone said that to be a madrileño you just need to spend the night in Madrid and enjoy the streets more than your home. We offer you the freedom of the city. And its drinks. And its dishes.

The tour includes:

Visit to three or four tapas bars where you would have some tapas and wine. Enough for dinner or lunch
Guided tour of the area where you will learn about some of Madrid’s most characteristic places.
Duration: The tour takes approximately 2h 30 min. Recommended from 13.00-15.30h or 20.00 – 22.30 h.

For Bookings: Vintagespain.com

SkyRide standing seat will save money on airline-tickets

admin — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 10:30:18 +0000

New airline seat: SkyRide for budget travelers. The Italian company Aviointeriors is introducing a new “SkyRide” standing seat which aims to allow airlines to put more passengers onto budget flights.

What is this SkyRider – a much reduced seat pitch, an ultra-high density seat or Stand-up-cabin?

From various media reporting we understand that some airline companies would even want to go for a “Stand-Up Cabin”? We are proposing a 23-inch pitch or less; the “SkyRider”.
Aviointeriors is one of the leading Aircraft Seat and Interiors manufacturers with extensive R&D on the subject.

The “SkyRider”, is an ultra-high density seat presently completely engineered and to be finally tested. The SkyRider has been designed and engineered to offer the possibility to even further reduce ticket prices while still maintaining sound profitability, which, even with a dual or three class seating arrangement, will allow maximum certified passenger capacity of the aircraft.

With a much reduced seat pitch, the SkyRider preserves a comfortable position for the low fare passengers.

The SkyRider is intended as a new basic class. The passenger’s seating position is similar to that of a touring motor-scooter rider. This posture permits that the overall longitudinal space occupied by the seat
with the seated passenger is far less than that of a conventional, very high-density 28” economy class seat.

Furthermore, in the SkyRider arrangement, a partial overlapping of the passengers seating between rows is allowed, thus further increasing the cabin density.

The seat structure itself also provides space for personal baggage.

Avioninteriors

Ryanair Opens Barcelona (El Prat)

admin — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 10:13:58 +0000

Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline, officially opened its newest base at Barcelona El Prat on September 1st and will operate over 400 weekly low fare flights to/from Barcelona El Prat

8 based aircrafts and 23 low fare routes will help reverse declining traffic at El Prat airport. Airtraffic fell by 3m passengers in 2009.

Ryanair’s El Prat routes will sustain over 2,500 local jobs as well as 400 direct Ryanair jobs among pilots, cabin crew and engineers.

Ryanair will operate over 400 weekly low fare flights to/from Barcelona El Prat in an investment of over $550 million in the airport. Ryanair’s 23 new El Pratt routes are the first low fares routes to/from Barcelona El Prat and will allow the airport to tap into the low fares market, which continues to grow, and which has so far been absent from the airport.

Ryanair opened its Barcelona El Prat base by releasing 500,000 €6 seats for travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on over 500 routes across its European network in October. These seats are available for booking on www.ryanair.com until midnight Thursday (2nd Sept).

In Barcelona Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“Ryanair is pleased to officially open its 42nd base at Barcelona El Prat with 23 new routes and 2.5m passengers p.a. which will allow El Prat airport to tap into the low fares market, which is the only market which continues to grow – thanks to Ryanair’s low fares, for the first time.

Barcelona consumers and visitors can beat the recession by choosing Ryanair’s low fares on 23 exciting routes from El Prat to destinations all over Europe including France, Italy and Germany among others. Ryanair’s 2.5m passengers p.a. will sustain 2,500 jobs locally at Barcelona El Prat Airport.”

Source: ryanair.com

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Manchester Airport Evacuated In Bomb Scare

admin — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 10:02:05 +0000

A simple bottle of gripe water and some leads caused a major security scare at Manchester Airport.

Air passengers have been warned to remember hand luggage rules when they go to the airport.

Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport re-opened at 11:50am on 17/09/2010 after it was evacuated at 08:50am as a precautionary measure while police investigated a suspicious bag.

At approximately 8.50am Friday 17th September, Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport was evacuated while a suspicious bag was investigated at the main security search area by Greater Manchester Police.

An evacuation is a standard precautionary measure while the investigation is completed to ensure the safety of our passengers and staff.

The bag was identified by security staff as part of the normal hand baggage security process in Terminal 1.

Although an investigation by specialists from Greater Manchester Police confirmed that the bag was not a threat, we would like to pay tribute to our highly trained security staff. They view millions of x-ray images but any suspicious items have to be taken seriously to ensure the safety of our passengers and staff as was the case today.

Around 1200 passengers and 20 flights in Terminal 1 were affected by the disruption. Operations at Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 were not affected by the evacuation of Terminal 1, which was closed for approximately three hours.

Source: Manchester Airport

Ryanair: Spanish Court Victory Against Atrapalo

admin — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 09:58:29 +0000

Ryanair wins Spanish Court Victory Against “screen-scraper” Atrapalo

Ryanair, the world’s favourite lowcost airline, welcomed its victory in the Commercial Court of Barcelona (in a case brought by screen-scraper website Atrapalo), which confirmed that Ryanair is entitled under the Spanish Constitution to exclusively distribute its low fares.

The Spanish Court also ruled that Ryanair’s comparative advertisements complied with Spanish law. These same ads were previously censored by another Spanish court, a decision which Ryanair appealed to the Constitutional Court of Spain.

The Court finally upheld Ryanair’s right to defend its exclusive distribution policy by publicly addressing screenscrapers in terms such as: “illegal sellers”, “parasites of the sector” and “dead wood”. The Court ruled that Ryanair is not allowed to describe screenscrapers as “bastards”.

This Spanish court victory is yet another milestone win for Ryanair after similar court wins against other screenscrapers in Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK.

Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:

“This Spanish court victory is another milestone in Ryanair’s fight against internet screenscrapers and resellers. Websites such as Atrapalo have for too long been getting away with unauthorised reselling of Ryanair’s flights, with the addition of charges which consumers don’t pay when they book directly with Ryanair.

Ryanair is pleased that the Spanish Court has recognised Ryanair’s constitutional right to exclusively sell its low fares on www.ryanair.com. This policy is at the core of Ryanair’s low-cost / low-fare business model and at the heart of our ongoing pro-consumer fight against the unauthorised use of Ryanair’s website.

Genuine price comparison only websites, who wish to present Ryanair’s low fares information to consumers, as opposed to reselling Ryanair flights with additional fees and charges, can enter into a licence agreement with Ryanair to provide price comparison only information. If Atrapalo is genuinely interested in providing an honest price comparison service, it is welcome to sign up to this licence which is subject to a charitable donation of €100.”

Sorce: Ryanair.com

Steinau – The city of Brothers Grimm

admin — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 05:47:49 +0000

Secreted away from the throngs of visitors in almost the centre of Germany is a fairy tale town, called Steinau an der Straße.

Steinau an der Strasse is the magical town where the authors of some of the best loved children’s fairy stories spent their formative years. It is where the Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm spent their childhood. They wrote the enchanting stories such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella or Hansel and Gretel.

Steinau is situated in the Kinzig valley about 50 minutes by train away from Frankfurt. It is like stepping back in time to a fairy tale town with a street of medieval half timbered houses, a splendid renaissance palace, a Puppet Theatre and a magnificent Town hall. The oldest, permanently inhabited house dates back to1520 and it is also a private museum and well worth a visit.

The beauty of Steinau is that almost all its splendid attractions are within a short walk of where ever you choose to stay.

Download this article in pdf. Tourist Office Steinau

Fairytale Route in Germany

admin — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 05:24:12 +0000

On the German Fairytale Route your daily routine will seem like an eternity away.

Covering more than 600 magical kilometres from the River Main to the sea, it runs through a region full of literary invention all the way to Bremen’s market square and the statue of the Bremen town musicians.

It takes you on a magical journey from Bremen to Hanau, linking more than 70 towns and villages associated with the Brothers Grimm and the realm of fairytales, sagas, myths and legends.

It takes in Sleeping Beauty’s palace and Cinderella’s castle, the quaint little town where the pranksters Max and Moritz got up to their tricks, as well as the enchanted castle where Rapunzel let down her hair. This route boasts a wealth of art and culture, eight nature reserves, charming highlands and river scenery. Quaint old villages and romantic towns associated with the Brothers Grimm follow hot on one another’s heels, like turning the pages of a story book.

Enjoy the lush, green countryside and the shady forests, feel the energy in the vibrant towns and enjoy the hospitality along this route, one of the oldest and most popular in Europe.

Read the rest of this article in germany-tourism.de