Jetsettersblog

Fly, drive or walk across the border – the choice will soon be yours

Thousands of British holidaymakers could soon fly directly to North Cyprus from the UK.

Negotiations are currently underway to change the rules regarding ports of entry to North Cyprus and leading independent North Cyprus specialist Direct Traveller is at the front of the queue to secure a licence from the CAA.

When it launched in 2003, Direct Traveller was the first tour operator to offer visitors travelling to the north of the island a direct route - flying direct to Larnaca or Paphos in Greek southern Cyprus and then transferring across the border into North Cyprus.

The new agreement however will mean holidaymakers can fly direct to Ercan without having to touchdown in Turkey or travel via a South Cyprus airport – another first for the industry and potentially for Direct Traveller too.

“This is the opportunity we have been waiting for in order to add extra value and give more choice for our customers. If the current negotiations and our licence application go smoothly, we would be the first specialist tour operator to offer direct flights to Ercan to our customers.” says Direct Traveller Managing Director, Ramadan Ozdemir.

The discussions between Cypriot President, Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Tabit have been welcomed by the North Cyprus tourist board and by travel agents and tour operators in the UK.

Orient Lines has revamped its rate structure in response to the current financial crisis. The line’s owner, entrepreneur Wayne Heller, has launched a new Leadership Pricing initiative, with 11-day Europe cruises priced from $1,799 per person, based on double occupancy. “The economy is still in a very, very precarious place,” Heller said.

“This is the time for Orient Lines to take a leadership position in the industry and truly do something that helps consumers. Our new Leadership Pricing translates to savings of up to $5,000 per cabin off brochure rates.” Heller purchased the assets of Orient Lines and is resurrecting the destination specialty line. Under the new rate structure, two 11-day Mediterranean cruises are priced from $1,799 per person, double, reduced from $2,999. Two 16-day Baltic cruise-tours, which include an overnight hotel stay and sightseeing in Berlin, are priced from $2,999 per person, double, reduced from $4,649.

The 11-day Aegean Odyssey departs Port Said, Egypt, on April 29, and visits Cyprus, Rhodes, Antalya, Didim and Kusadasi and Istanbul.

Overnights are scheduled for Cairo and Istanbul. Black Sea Explorer is an 11-day roundtrip from Istanbul departing May 9. Ports of call include Trabzon, Turkey; Batumi, Georgia; Sochi, Russia; Yalta, Sevastopol and Odessa, Ukraine; and Nessebar, Bulgaria.

The round-trip Istanbul voyage includes an overnight aboard ship before departure. The line’s 16-day Great Baltics I and II cruise-tours operate between Dover (London) and Szcezin, Poland, and include a one-night hotel stay and city tour in Berlin. The highlight of the cruise is three full days in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ports of call include Amsterdam; Travemunde (Lubeck), Germany; Copenhagen; Stockholm; Helsinki; Tallinn, Estonia; and Riga, Latvia.

Savings are also offered on fall voyages. The Passage to Rio, departing Nov. 8, 2009, is a 20-day cruise from Barcelona to Rio de Janeiro, priced from $1,799 per person, double. Ports include Malaga and Cadiz (Seville) in Spain; Casablanca and Agadir, Morocco; Lanzarote, Canary Islands; Sao Vicente, Cape Verde Islands; and Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. An overnight is scheduled aboard ship in Rio de Janeiro.

As part of Orient’s Leadership Pricing initiative, the number of air gateways has doubled to 40 in North America. Round-trip economy class air add-on fares to Europe are priced from $695 from the East Coast, $795 from the Midwest and $895 from the West Coast. The maiden voyage of the Marco Polo II is set for April 15. The classic 650-guest Marco Polo II features four open-seating dining venues, six bars, a show lounge, cinema, casino, library and Internet center, card room, fitness center, spa with indoor pool and outdoor swimming pool. Experts from the fields of academia, politics, science and the diplomatic corps will be featured on every voyage.

On longer voyages, gentleman hosts will be along to dance and dine with unescorted female travelers. For more information, call 800-333-7300 or visit www.orientlines.com

Europcar - Prius - final.docWorkers and residents in and around London can now escape the city whilst saving fuel, congestion charge costs and their conscience with the availability of the Toyota Prius from Europcar. The UK’s leading vehicle rental organisation is now offering the Prius, the world’s first and most successful hybrid power vehicle, from all of its London locations.

Driving pleasure, comfort and space haven’t been sacrificed to provide an eco-car. Instead the Prius combines style and superb handling with state of the art technology needed in these environmentally conscious times.

The fleet of vehicles are exempt from the London Congestion Charge and can be driven certain distances using electric power only at the press of a button. This means zero emissions, less noise and better fuel economy – perfect for city and country driving alike.

“The availability of the Prius provides customers with an opportunity to put the hybrid to the test following news that Toyota aims to sell at least 1 million hybrid vehicles annually in the early part of the next decade.” said Catriona Lougher, Marketing Director for Europcar.

“Renting a car with Europcar is already a green choice as all our vehicles are on average just 3 months old and fitted with the latest technology to cut emissions. The average CO2 emission of our fleet is 157 g/km compared to the UK car parc of 164.9 g/km*. However, by making the Prius available we are bringing our customers a new way to drive greener that will also help them cut costs in terms of fuel and congestion charges. It’s all part of our commitment to exploit new manufacturer developments to bring customers the latest models to hit the road and a great rental experience.”

*Source SMMT 2007 report.

Reservations Phone: 1-800-626-0126Website: www.amawaterways.com

Virgin Holidays Cruises showcases its best cruise holidays ever in the new 2009 brochure packed full of ideas, from sunny Caribbean Cruises to chilly Alaska.

New cruises for 2009 include:

 New York City breaks, followed by a Puerto Rico Stay & Cruise from £1,499 - for the perfect blend of shopping and sunshine - and a cruise of the Nile, with a choice of three pre-cruise stays from £899.

The brochure will be displayed in eight Virgin Holidays information points in Tesco and Debenhams stores nationwide and features highlights of Virgin Holidays Cruises portfolio.

The full product range can be found online at www.virginholidayscruises.com

Cruising has seen a huge increase in popularity, with the Passenger Shipping Association forecasting that over 1.5m Brits will cruise in 2008.

Virgin Holidays Cruises offers the perfect holidays to suit everyone – from first-time cruisers to seasoned pros.

There’s a world of destinations to choose from too, with Virgin Holidays Cruises offering cruises in six of the seven continents.

Visit www.virginholidayscruises.com

 to book or call 0871 781 9893

Prestige Holidays Highlights Cyprus

Prestige Holidays (www.prestigeholidays.co.uk 01425 480400) is offering breaks at the luxurious Columbia Beach Resort in Cyprus from £1229 per person during the hotel’s gourmet celebration. Departing 27 October the package includes: return scheduled flights from London Heathrow to Paphos with Cyprus Airways, private taxi transfers, seven nights BB accommodation in a junior suite with garden view and the services of Prestige Holidays’ local representative. The gourmet dinners are payable locally.

The three Michelin Star chefs participating in the Resort’s gourmet celebration are Denis Felix who received his first Michelin Star at Giardino restaurant in The Columbia Hotel Bad Griesbach in Southern Germany last year, Volker Drkosch Chef of the Navette restaurant at the Columbia Hotel in Russelsheim, and Kevin Fehling who has been recognised in this year’s Michelin Guide with a star for La Belle Epoque restaurant at the Columbia Hotel Casino Travemünde on the Baltic coast.

Columbia Beach Resort offers 94 suites arranged in ‘villas’ clustered around an 80m lagoon style pool surrounded by rugged cliffs and acres of vineyards in the valley behind. Facilities at the Beach Resort include a highly regarded spa featuring Molton Brown spa treatments, floodlit tennis courts, squash courts and a fully equipped gym.

From Holiday Options

Holiday Options has launched its 2009 ‘Mediterranean & Atlantic Islands’
brochure – featuring Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica, Port Santo, Madeira, The
Azores, La Gomera and Cape Verde – and offering a wealth of new ideas and deals

There’s expansion in Corsica, with chambres d’hotes – often part of a family home - making their debut. An ideal way for visitors to experience rural life on the island, these village rooms are on offer in the Patrimonio and Porto Vecchio areas and are all inspected and licensed by local tourist boards.

Prices start at the twin share rate of £715 per person inclusive of return flights from Gatwick and half-board accommodation. Car hire can be arranged on request and flights are also available from Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester.

Other additions in Corsica include villas with pools, new hotels – including a former Franciscan monastery in Calvi – and a ‘Great Scenic Rail Adventure’ travelling through the mountains from Bastia to Ajaccio.

Further new ideas in the 2009 programme include:

• Madeira – ‘The Family Experience’ with ‘soft’ adventure and whale watching
• The Azores – short breaks in Ponta Delgada and/or Furnas, plus two UNESCO World Heritage Hotels
• Cape Verde - direct flights from Birmingham to Sal, plus a family-run boutique-style guesthouse on Boa Vista
• Sicily – the island of Pantelleria, plus more three-star hotels in Taormina and Giardini Naxos
• Sardinia – new flight from Edinburgh to Olbia
• The Canaries – the introduction of Tenerife

Prices in the brochure, valid between November 2008 and October 2009, lead in at £399 per person for seven nights at the Hotel San Marco in Sardinia inclusive of return flights from Gatwick, transfers and accommodation with breakfast.

Early booking incentives, for reservations made by 30 April 2009, include savings of up to £800 per couple on 14-night holidays on selected dates at the four-star Relais and Chateaux Grand Hotel de Cala Rossa on Corsica.

ATOL-bonded Holiday Options also offers the option of flexible holiday durations from three nights upwards, utilising a choice of airlines including scheduled, low-cost, as well as their own charters.

Reservations: 0844 477 0452, www.holidayoptions.co.uk

The Eurail Group is bringing out several special edition extended rail passes, offering free travel days good for travel throughout Europe in the spring. With fewer crowds, lower airfares and more availability in hotels, spring is a good time to travel to Europe.

Tourist attractions, such as museums and monuments, are less crowded and the weather is also pleasant. Eurail is launching a special off-peak promotion, offering free travel days on two of its products: the Eurail Select Pass and the Eurail Global Pass.

The Eurail Select Pass allows customers to choose three or more adjoining countries in which to travel, enabling a tailor-made rail pass. For those wishing to cover more ground, a Eurail Global Pass gives travelers access to 21 participating countries from January.

Customers buying a 15- or 21-day Eurail Global Pass will instead receive 21 days or one month, respectively. The Eurail Select Pass 3 Countries, valid for six or eight days within two months, now comes with an additional two travel days.

These passes go on sale worldwide (outside of Europe) from Oct. 1.

To be eligible for the additional travel days, passes must be purchased before the end of November. Travel can start as from March 1 and must be completed by May 31.

All Eurail Passes are available from Eurail’s network of authorized Sales Agents worldwide: ACP Rail International (www.eurail-acprail.com);

Eurail (www.Eurail.com); Flight Centre (www.flightcentre.com);

www.OctopusTravel.com;

Rail Europe (North America: www.raileurope.com,

rest of the world: www.raileurope.fr),

and STA Travel (www.statravel.com)

A 7-night cruise from Venice to the Greek Islands and back to Venice by way of Croatia, is selling through ecruising.travel from an amazingly low $699pp twin-share in November of next year.

And as well, children up to 18 years sharing a cabin with two adults will cruise free, paying only port charges.

There are just two departures available at this super-low price – November 16 and 23 2009 – on board the 102,000 tonne mega-liner Costa Fortuna, that will sail each cruise from Venice to Bari in Italy, the Greek ports of Katakolon, Santorini, Mykonos and Rhodes, Dubrovnik in Croatia and back to Venice.

All dining in any of three restaurants, nightly showroom entertainment, late-release movies, and gratuities are included in the price.

Costa Fortuna has four pools, six Jacuzzis, a jogging track, tennis court, spa, gym and fitness centre, and there are eleven bars and lounges and a casino.

Full details on 1300 369 848 or www.ecruising.travel , who can also arrange best-possible-price air to join these cruises.

ADDITIONAL SHIP INFORMATION: Costa Fortuna’s design was inspired by the grand Italian steamships of yesteryear that once served the busy liner routes from Italy to America.

Models of many of these ships are incorporated into the décor of Costa Fortuna, while in the Main Lobby twenty-six such models alone depict the more recent history and growth of the Costa company.

Auto Europe has extended its free GPS rental offer in Europe with car rental services.

Travelers will receive a free Gamin Nova 270 or similar for the duration of their rental with routing maps of Western Europe and most of Eastern Europe with car rental services in Italy, France, Austria, Ireland, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and Norway. In addition, Auto Europe is also offering this promotion with any Peugeot Open Europe lease of 17 days or longer and with any long term rental of 21 days or longer. The free GPS offer is valid with minimum seven-day car rental reservations booked now through Sept. 30. The offer applies in Italy, France, Austria, Spain and Norway with any intermediate car rental or larger for travel through Nov. 30.

The GPS offer is valid in Ireland and Switzerland for travel through Oct. 30. Germany is valid with any compact car rental or larger for travel now through Oct. 31. UK is valid with any intermediate car rental or larger for travel through Oct. 31.

Free GPS offer is valid on select Peugeot models with Auto Europe’s Peugeot Open Europe program for travel through Nov. 30, and with any car category booked for 21 days or longer for travel through Oct. 31. Free GPS rental validity dates exclude shipping and handling charge of $40. Optional insurance is available at $1 per day.

Offer is subject to change without notice. Additional restrictions apply.