Package holidays are the family sunshine break godsend. Quick, easy and usually cheap, there are many destinations that embody everything a package sunshine break should, and one of those is summer favourite, Lloret De Mar. When combined with a night at one of the great selection of airport hotels, your package break becomes something even more special.

I put this idea to the test last year, and booked a night pre-flight at one of the Gatwick hotels. I combined this with airport parking and saved money, whilst adding convenience and comfort to my travel plans. As a result, my two weeks in the sun not only started earlier, but began with me calm and rested, not tired and grumpy. This is also a fantastic idea when travelling with young children.

Flights head regularly over to the Costa Brava, and a great idea is to combine your Lloret De Mar holiday with a few days in bustling and dramatic Barcelona. Flights head either into Barcelona, or Girona, which is the nearer airport, with buses from either plentiful. Once you’re based in resort, getting around is easier, and most things are within walking distance.

Of course, family sunshine breaks generally centre around the beach, and Lloret de Mar is the main beach in resort, with a range of water-sports. There are smaller beaches dotted around, but for the best in the way of facilities, this is where you need to be. For splashing away from the beach, the kids will love WaterWorld, and a day here is fun for all the family.

When splashing, be it on the beach or at the water-park, gets a little tiresome, get out and explore. Sant Joan Castle is a good one for history and architecture fans, with great views too, so remember that camera! Fancy a bit of retail therapy? The Tuesday market at Carrer dels Mestres is a good choice.

Bright, varied and plentiful – that sums up Lloret De Mar’s nightlife, and with something for every taste, nobody will be bored. Food-wise, similarly there’s something for everyone too, with many international dishes on most menus, and most restaurants catering for British guests.

When your dinner has digested, you can choose to chat and have a few drinks, sing a spot of karaoke, watch the football, or party on down. If you choose the latter, head to the Avinguda Just Marles, and take your pick of bars and clubs for your evening’s entertainment.

As far as package holidays go, Lloret De Mar sums it up perfectly, with the sun shining down in the background. Take my advice and pre-book an airport hotel prior to travelling, especially useful if you have an early flight, and your holiday will be that little bit extra special. Combine your hotel with airport parking and you save even more – what could be better?! Check out the large range of hotels Manchester Airport, if you’re flying from the north, and look forward to your holiday starting even sooner than planned!

London, UK – Beyond Luxury Media Ltd, the organiser of leading travel trade events PURE Life Experiences and LE Miami, announces the launch of a groundbreaking new travel trade show that will turbocharge business opportunities for Africa’s finest travel products.

The show will be called We Are Africa and will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, starting in May 2014. Announcing this new event Serge Dive, CEO of Beyond Luxury Media Ltd, said:

“Over many years our team has consistently broken the mould of traditional trade shows by creating superior events that redefine key industries in travel: luxury, experiential and contemporary. However, the Africa-based participants at these events represented just one section of our global exhibitors. It is therefore not surprising that once close working relationships were forged with Africa’s key travel trade players, we were continually asked to create an equally game-changing ‘All Africa’ travel show exclusively for product from this great continent. I have listened carefully to our partners across Africa and as a result am presenting We Are Africa, a totally new platform for buyers to do business with suppliers of African tourism.

This groundbreaking event will not be about luxury travel or experiential travel. It will be, quite simply, a platform to showcase remarkable brands and operators that constitute the very best of African tourism: brands that are worth talking about and above all have the potential to truly excite an internationally discerning clientele. Africa is uniquely rich in outstanding tourism product, which we will select by invitation only to attract buyers from all corners of the world.

Participating buyers and suppliers will be selected from the ‘best in breed’ across tourism markets so that We Are Africa encompasses all the ingredients needed to make a successful, modern travel trade show. Buyers from the world over will be hosted and offered a comprehensive menu of familiarisation trips across Africa. The event will include scheduled appointments, a conference, workshop sessions and an exciting new African awards ceremony to highlight the best in breed. Finally, no event organised by Beyond Luxury Media would be complete without our ‘special ingredient’ – fabulous parties for all buyers and exhibitors to network the night away!

We Are Africa will differentiate itself from other travel trade events in two respects. Firstly, our show will concentrate on bringing new markets and new business to Africa. Secondly, we will focus on assembling a unique community that is passionate about promoting the very best of Africa to the world, sharing sales and marketing ideas that will create as many networking and lead opportunities as possible.

In the spirit of all the shows that the Beyond Luxury Media team has built, We Are Africa will herald the creation of a genuine movement for those who want to stand out, be counted and celebrate and promote the unique beauty of Africa to the world. I believe that these values are epitomised by the name of our show: We Are Africa.”

The timing of the show in early May 2014 will give each buyer hosted by We Are Africa the opportunity to extend their stay and to go to Durban to meet other South African travel trade suppliers.

For more information contact:

Ryan Wallace, Exhibition Manager, We Are Africa
ryan@beyondluxury.com

Beyond Luxury Media Ltd is a UK registered company, wholly owned by Serge Dive and Sarah Ball

The main holiday expenses are displayed in this infographic

Whilst the infographic portrays the holiday habits of those in Northern America, it is probably fairly much the same across most western nations.

Source: FastLoanTree.com

An Infographic

With the rise of visual based social sharing sites such as Pinterest, so has come the rise of the visual infographic. I love infographics and have been collecting them on Pinterest since I joined. These have mainly been for social media statics and some general business ones I’ve come across in my interweb travels but I’m now starting to see more travel based infographics. Here’s a cool one I’ve seen recently which I thought I’d share.

By the way, you can catch me on Pinterest and check out my dream, travel board.

Find Your Way to the Perfect Family Vacation by vacation rentals site FlipKey.com