Luxury Treks and Tours

Alex Humphrey is missing in Panama

Alex Humphrey, a very good friend of someone close to me, went missing in Panama 7 weeks ago and since then, there has been no trace of him. Everyone who knows Alex is desperate to know what has happened to him and are looking for any news whatsoever.

Alex went on an independent walking and sight-seeing holiday alone, and was due to fly back to his Manchester home and job on 29th August, but was last seen on the 14th August, leaving Hostal Vearon in Boquete, in Chiriqui province, where he was apparently heading out to see the Balneario Majagua waterfall.

If you have travelled to Panama recently - or even Costa Rica where Alex actually flew to and was to head back out of - do you know anything about Alex? Did you meet him or speak to him?

I know Alex personally, and as a journalist I wanted to help get some coverage to alert people in the UK to the situation. I wrote an article for The Guardian after talking to his mum Gill earlier this week. Please do read the full details as it might help trigger your memory about any contact with Alex.

Let's hope the article will help bring forward any news of Alex.

If you have any information that might help in the search for Alex Humphrey, email aghumph@yahoo.co.uk or telephone Greater Manchester Police on 0161-872 5050

There is a Facebook group called Find Alex Humphrey, plus the Alex Humphrey website.

Visit our Facebook group 'Travelicious Adventures'!

If you are on Facebook - or even if you are not - go and take a look at our Travelicious Adventures group! Great for people who'd prefer to not use their email to stay ahead of our features and offers, and especially wonderful for people who love Facebook and want to be part of a fun group!

I'd also love to know what you'd like from being a member of the group - so please leave comments on the wall there, or on the blog here, and I can respond and cater for you accordingly!

Private transfers make you feel so much more special!

Coming out of customs on a standard package is always a drag - especially when you're tired, or if you are travelling with children. Not only do you have to fight your way with the crowds to get your name signed off for the coach, then tediously wait for everyone to get on the bus, but then it's 5 drop-offs before you reach your own hotel.

However, imagine getting to the airport and as soon as you come out of customs with all your bags, you spot someone waiting for you with your name on a card? How nice is that idea? Especially if arriving in busy and frantic airports such as Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt, which is a popular destination at this time of year.

Instead of having to follow the hoards and hang around for ages for everyone to find their way and get their cases on board, you are immediately whisked off to your private car and driven straight to your accommodation - no stopping to drop off anyone else.

That's the beauty of private transfers. And when it comes to returning home after such a fabulous start to your holiday, it's as easy as when you arrived.

Luxury tour operators naturally provide private transfers, and Wren Elite Travel works with a number holiday companies which only offer this type of journey to your resort or hotel. For example, Classic Collection Holidays, as well as Kirker, are two operators that provide private transfers and really look after customers while travelling.

ITC Classics and The Azure Collection, who are very much preferred tour operators, are two others worth considering, especially for Indian Ocean holidays and going further afield.

On your next holiday, isn't it time you decided top opt out of the mass market and get a little more special treatment for yourself?

Is it goodbye to last minute deals?

Early birds catch the boat...

As we all know, times are a-changing, and while we have enjoyed an era of last minute holidays and knock-your-socks off deals if we're prepared to hang on until a few weeks before departure, it seems that this era may have pretty much come to an end.

A result of the last very painful few months of upheavals in the travel market and the global economy generally, capacity has been tightly squeezed and cutbacks mean that seats on planes, as well as the airlines' routes, are much fewer. XL's collapse left a huge gap in capacity, and even no-frills airlines Ryanair and easyJet have caused rumbles with many winter routes stopped. And these are but a few.

The consequence of this for the consumer is that the 'lates' market we have become so accustomed to has shrunk considerably, and combined with the fact that fuel supplements can add so much to the price of travel now, the bargains we were used to no longer can be had. And this appears to be the general consensus from the travel trade.

In a recent issue of the TTG (Travel Trade Gazette), managing director of Virgin Holidays Amanda Wills claims that now it is the “early bird that catches the flight”, for the very reasons stated, and she warns that “leaving it late doesn't guarantee a lower price. But it may guarantee a smaller choice.”

Just one example I'm aware of comes from the cruise market, where it is the early bird that catches the boat. Viking River Cruises have already sold 65% of capacity for 2009 after having an early launch of their programme, offering major price benefits for customers who book at beginning, instead of the end, of the sales period. So, that's almost two thirds of their 2009 holidays already sold.

It does, of course, depend of what you are looking for. But even for the independent traveller who rarely books any kind of holiday or cruise package, with less 'bum-space' on airlines overall, those who leave it late to book flights could find they end up not flying at all, either because there is no availability, or the price is prohibitively expensive.

Unless we are prepared to forego any real choice when it comes to picking a holiday, and be left with the bottom of the barrel, the best deals on offer now are available well in advance of travel. If you have your heart set on a particular holiday, it's probably best not to leave it until you've got 3 weeks (or even 3 months) to go.

Andrea Wren

BACK TO Wren Elite Travel

Travel blogs worth their salt (according to The Telegraph)

At the weekend, The Telegraph featured an article called The World's Best Travel Blogs, and listed 25 blogs (that is 'web logs', or a type of on-line journal like this, for those who don't know) in a number of categories that were viewed by the author as worth checking out by the traveller, as a source of information or reviews or whatever else.

It was encouraging to see that a blog I write for (other than my own, of course!), A Luxury Travel Blog, made the grade in Best for Luxury, as well as Darren Cronian's much-acclaimed consumer-focused site Travel-Rants in Best for Practical Advice.

Epicurious came out as Best for Foodies, although I think there are a number of food and dining related blogs that are as equally excellent out there - and as valuable a resource that Trip Advisor is, it's not a blog, yet is featured in the article.

When a cheap airline deal is not so cheap...

There was a great article in the recent November issue of the Sunday Times Travel Magazine, about how the so-called 'cheap' airlines can end up out-pricing the others, once you've added everything else on, including putting luggage in the hold, meals and credit card fees.

On a random sampling on one date for a family of four for flights to Alicante from London, 'low-cost' airline Ryanair came out as the most expensive option at £703.56 - almost double the price of a British Airways flight for the same route, which was the winner with a total cost of £346!

Back from the ABTA Travel Convention 2008 as a TTG Roving Reader!

Last week was a great time for me at the ABTA Travel Convention 2008 in Gran Canaria, as I was hosted by the travel trade magazine TTG to act as a Roving Reader - with duties to report on a couple of parts of the Convention.

It was great fun - a lot of camaraderie amongst the other Roving Readers and a wonderful opportunity to network and build up contacts. I met many fabulous people, as well as found there was a lot to learn, see and do.

The parts of the Convention that I reported on particularly were two of the Master Classes - Selling Luxury, and Finding & Reaching the Baby Boomers, which can be read on my TTG blog.

Gran Canaria Tourism also offered wonderful hospitality - particularly the grand dinners and spectacular entertainment!

Emirates Palace launches a lavish Million Dollar Package!

The stunning grandeur of one of the most expensive hotels ever built demands ultra-luxury offerings for its guests, including unrivalled facilities and incredible tailor made designer packages. The Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, exceeds all expectations with its latest - a fantastic once in a lifetime all-out package with a hefty value of $1,000,000!

Register travel plans online to Locate you if emergencies arise

The Locate programme is a scheme that was launched by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in May to persuade holidaymakers to list their details online so that they can be easily found in case of emergencies during foreign travel. According to travel industry news site Travolution, Locate is proving to be popular, with 54,000 registrations in the last six weeks.

The programme was created so that British citizens can be easily traced in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake, or during civil unrest overseas, and was develope after a survey found that two-thirds of people do not know where family members are staying when on holiday.

FREE mini-eBook for all subscribers to the newsletter!

As a gift to anyone who subscribes to the newsletter and mailing list, I've compiled a free mini eBook called 'Your Ultimate Guide to Comfort in the Air' - an 11-page booklet which is packed full of hints and tips on how to make your in-flight experience the best and most comfortable ever!

From where is the best place to sit on the plane and how to grab some much needed shut-eye, to good health tricks and what hand-luggage essentials to pack, I'm hoping the guide can offer you a few extra hints to making your next journey more pleasurable.