
Global search for tranquility

Mallorca - Chill here
New Thai eco-resort

Frogs in the loo and a clear concience
The resort company, Six Senses, longtime pioneers of sustainable travel, recently unveiled their new Eco Villa in the hope of raising their standards. Standing proudly in a jungle clearing at the Soneva Kiri resort, on the Thai island of Koh Kood, the prototype, off-the-grid Eco Villa may look prehistoric but may also signify the future of sustainable accommodation. Read More
Never book with Ryanair at weekends
If you must use Ryanair (and our advice is – don’t) then do yourself a favour and do not use the airline’s online booking service at weekends. If anything goes wrong, there is absolutely nothing you can do – the switchboard is closed, and in our experience nobody answers their premium rate enquiry line – that’s right, their 1 Euro a minute enquiry line is apparently unmanned. They areally are the most hateful bunch of swine, as everyone agrees. Read More
Free travel insurance – Planning for the unexpected

Things can only get better
Unpredictable variables can change travel relaxation into stranded frustration: Financial riots in Greece, oil spills off the coast of Spain and Florida, ash storms from an unpronounceable Icelandic volcano … it’s a mess out there.
Insurance is now good, in fact its a rip-off in most cases as it does not protect you from the most likely causes of travel problems – best to buy the tickets on your credit card, thus benefitting from the cardholder travel insurance offered on many cards to guarantee your basic medical bills and rely on your own wit and intelligence for the rest.
There are several things you can control when planning your summer vacation. Strategic planning will allow you to make the most of your money while still having a good time. Read More
Flights, hotels….. relax! Web travel is low stress and low carbon

Air Firefox - fly me
Flight booking
You may not have heard of it, but this is a powerful flight-search website with software that can access the low-cost airlines and little-known local ones that aren’t available to most flight-search websites. Its my first stop for finding a flight.
Train journeys
Train travel on short haul is so much more relaxing. No need to leave home four hours early for a distant airport, arrive bang in the middle of town, and your carbon guilt will be practically nil. But trying to figure out how to get from Glasgow to Gerona can be difficult. That’s where The Man in Seat 61 can help explain how to travel by train from Britain or Bali to countries all over the world, Read More
South African Eco-resorts (How to avoid the world cup)

Every guest lives in luxury
REFLECTIONS ECO-RESERVE
071 683 4133
If eco-chic’s a real word, then it was invented to describe Reflections Guest Farm. Many talk the eco talk, but this lodge, built on 26 hectares of what was once alien vegetation and pine forest, is most certainly walking the eco walk too.
After an enormous clear-out, the new indigenous vegetation is thriving – a tribute to Tim’s determination. It is quite hard to believe what has been achieved here actually.
The three chalets are totally “off-grid”, which means a full solar/ wind turbine hybrid system. The pine-wood chalets are cosy, yet spacious with crackling fires, soft-cotton sheets and wrap-around decks.
Sip an ice-cold lager in your outdoor shower while gazing out at the raptors circling above the chalets. Read More



