Travel Destinations (Guides & Photos)

- Turin (Torino) in Italy

- Brighton (United Kingdom) 

 - Liverpool (United Kingdom)

First thing to remember is that London has five different airports. It might not always be an easy task to travel from and to each airport. The most common airport we all have heard of is called Heathrow Airport; you can reach Heathrow Airport by taking the Picadilly Tube line (Navy Blue on the tube map) straight into the airport, very convenient. Gatwick Airport, Stanstead Airport, Luton Airport are all a bit outside of London but can be easily accessed using the rail network. London City Airport is the smallest airport out of the bunch.

We discovered an interesting website that lists all the capitals of the world, quite handy when you plan your next trip. Capitals of the World <— Click There

Easybus is a great service for travellers on a budget. If you book in advance on their website, you can get a single trip from Central London to either Luton or Stanstead Airport for £2. If you did not bother to book anything, you can show up and pay £8 on the spot to get a space on the mini bus.

Travel Destinations (Guides & Photos)

- Turin (Torino) in Italy

Airport Security Procedure:

There are some restrictions in place for a few weeks now and I am starting to think it will become the norm. Untl we hear of something else, here is the deal and what more or less to expect at the airport.

Hand baggage - one bag rule
Each passenger may take only ONE item of hand baggage through security control. It must be no larger than:

• 56cm (22in) tall
• 45cm (17.7in) wide
• 25cm (10in) deep

Travelling with liquids - 100ml rule
Only limited quantities of liquids may be carried through security control as hand baggage. This includes bottled drinks, suntan lotion, fragrances, cosmetics and toiletries.

Not allowed
Sharp or pointed items must not be carried in hand baggage and will be confiscated at security control.

This includes knives, scissors, razor blades, cutlery, tools, hiking poles, hypodermic needles (unless medical necessity can be proved), catapults, corkscrews, toy or replica guns, sporting bats or cues and darts.

Cigarette lighters and non-safety matches may not be carried. However, you can carry one cigarette lighter on your person.

NOTE: Please check with your airline before you intend to fly for the correct and updated procedure. They may change at any given time. We do not want to wreck your holiday before it even started.

Travel Insurance is next on our agenda. When applying for a visa to go on holiday somewhere in Europe, the embassy will ask if you have travel insurance. It is one of their requirements before they will actually give you the visa. Before purchasing a single trip or multi trip travel insurance policy, make sure what you need and what the policy offers. A lot of people just click yes and enter their card details and off they go without checking if anything important is covered. I personally feel that insurance is there to rip us off but it can be useful some times. I found this handy website which explains the whole travel insurance thing without making it sound like gibberish.

Foreign Currency:

It is a crying shame that the worls does not share one currency system that we now have to exchange our money every time we go on holiday or take a business trip. You can exchange your money to a foreign currency in two ways. Exchange your hard earned pounds for any other foreign currency in cash or request a travellers cheque. This all can be done quite cheaply at an local Post Office. Do yourself a favour and avoid exchanging currency at any airport, they will nail you hard with fees and will most probably not give you good rate. The Post Office are always promoting their 0% commission offers and I must admit, they do give the better deal out of the lot. When exchanging foriegn currency, they will require a form of ID such as a passport or drivers license. You can even exchange currency directly onto your credit card, makes going on holiday a little bit easier if you really do not have the cash to spend at that time.

Daily Updated Exchange Rate - Check it here before you exchange to hunt down the best deal!

I might as well tell you all about the new Post Office Travel Card, it looks like a credit / debit card. You can load it up with money and use it anywhere in the world, you can take out the money from the card directly as Euros, Dollars or even Pounds. Quite nifty if you ask me. You can use it at any machine displaying the “Visa” sign around the world. Only catch it that you will have to pay a once-off fee of £10 for this card.

Post Office Money Card - Read more about it here

Handy Tips:

1. Chew chewing gum when taking off or landing, it helps with the pressure in your ears.
2. Always take a book with you on holiday, even if you do not intend on reading it.
3. Print off maps by using Google Earth or Google Maps, will save you a few pounds.
4. Always take 2 x memory cards for your camera, store them in a save place, you might just lose your camera but you will at least have the memories.
5. Take a few of your own snacks on the plane. Airline products are quite expensive.