For those of you who do not know I embarked upon a round the world trip in the latter end of 2007 and took 7 international and 13 internal flights. When you visit that many airports in a relatively short period of time you begin to realise how much time is actually wasted queuing in airports and passing through check points.

For international flights you are always advised to arrive at the airport 2 hours before take off and you need to allow enough time to get to the airport which in my experience is always on the outskirts of the city and can take ages without a Metro system. Once at the terminal, you need to queue to check in, queue to go through security, queue at the gate, queue on the runway and that is if there are no delays and is just for the outbound leg. There is still baggage collection, customs and security when you land! So this started me thinking. “I wonder if I could drive from my home in London to a hotel in Paris quicker than a plane doing the exact same route.” I did some research on the internet into distances and times and used my own experience of travelling to Paris.

I will start with driving. The metrics have been calculated assuming the car is travelling at 110 kph roughly 70 mph (UK speed limit). I have factored in some traffic but I would be leaving after rush hour so would expect no hold ups, and also check in times at the channel tunnel.

By Car

London to Dover: 102km = 1 hour 12
Channel tunnel: 1 hour
Calais to Paris centre: 293km = 2 hours 49

Total: 5 hr 01

For flying I have assumed the car is parked at Gatwick and not in an out of area long term car park, and the transfer from the airport in Paris is by Metro.

By Air

Home to Gatwick airport: 60km = 1 hour
Airport time (UK) = 2 hours
Flight time = 1 hour
Airport Time = 1 hour
Transfer Time = 30 minutes

Total: 5 hr 30

As I suspected flying London to Paris is only 1 hour in the air but is also 5 hours of waiting around and transfers to and from the airport. This is an exceptional circumstance because there are not many other countries I would even consider driving to, but the main point of the article was to highlight the amount of time spent messing around at airports especially now security is much tighter. Flying is clearly the quickest and only option for long haul flights but I would like to see airport time significantly reduced for intercontinental flights and domestic. I can only dream.

In 2007 the last leg of my round the world trip was from Boston to New York City. I was looking around for a cheap bus service between the two cities and stumbled upon the Fung Wah Bus Company. For a budget traveller it was top notch as the three and a half hour bus journey only cost $15! To put this into perspective, the cab fare from the hostel in Boston to the bus terminal was the same price.

I travelled at about 11am and the bus was completely full but I guess this all adds to the atmosphere right? Despite the cheap price, you may have to put up with mediocre on board entertainment which for us happened to be a low budget martial arts movie, so I just put on the iPod and closed my eyes (what a party animal). However, after a little research on the web, I found that my Boston to New York price could be beaten by the Lucky Star bus company. They could offer the same journey for as little as $1 if you were prepared to travel at 6am, or competitive prices at other times of the day.

It does seem that these Chinatown buses from Boston do offer very good rates travel and beat the Greyhound services hand down. It is always wise to shop around online for alternative bus companies to the Greyhound as you may be surprised by what you find. There are other cheap services operating down the East Coast to Washington, Philadelphia and Georgia to name a few so always consider these before you pick the tempting yet pricier option of a budget airline. For a comprehensive list of alternative bus services at competitive prices so be sure to take a look here.

If anyone else has bagged a transport bargain on their travels please leave a comment so we can all ‘tap that resource’.

It is always fun watching the TV to see different countries across the globe welcome in the New Year. Generally only the larger cities get a mention such as Auckland, Sydney, Tokyo, Athens, London, New York and LA but I wanted to know who celebrates the New Year before everyone else.

I did some research online and my findings were that Kiritimati (or the Christmas Islands to you or me) is generally considered the first place in the world to see the dawn of the New Year. It appears that with GMT daylight savings adjustments, the Christmas Islands can be as much as UTC/GMT +14 hours. Someone please correct me if I am wrong about this as it is a tricky subject. For example, it seems Australia has vertical and horizontal time zones which only exist in the summer, and other countries such as India and Nepal are UTC/GMT +5:30 and UTC/GMT +5:45 respectively, which do not conform to the standard integral numbers.

Following the New Years theme, it seemed appropriate to research the last country to welcome the New Year too. It seems Samoa takes this title as they are UTC/GMT -11 hours. Interestingly, as Samoa and the Christmas Islands have a 26 hour difference, the 2nd of January has arrived in the Christmas Islands before New Years day has in Samoa! There are two land masses in a separate UTC/GMT -12 hour zone, but as they are uninhabited there is nobody to see in the New Year after the Samoans. I would like to go and live on these land masses and rule my own time zone. Anyone is welcome to join me.

More interesting time zone facts
New Years celebrations around the world

As promised I have comprised a list of good ideas to minimise the costs of a ski trip this coming season.

Get a late deal

To get a late deal you need to be flexible with your holiday dates and sometimes where you fly into or from. Booking as late as a week before your desired date of departure can save you hundreds of pounds on accommodation because companies are eager to fill every empty bed. The biggest savings are commonly found on chalet accommodation and less so on hotel rooms. If you need to go on a certain date and want to go to a particular location, then waiting for a late deal is extremely risky. It pays to be flexible.

Book a chalet not a hotel

If you have a big party or even if you do not, a chalet can be very cost effective as most of the time they offer half board living. In every chalet I have stayed in I have received breakfast and a three course meal in the evening with a good helping of wine. This is great value as restaurants in ski resorts can be pricey especially as the Euro is so strong. Chalets in my opinion are also much more comfortable than hotels as you have your own living area and not just a bedroom, plus it is a good way to meet other people.

Buy a Sensible ski pass

Use common sense and be realistic when you buy a ski pass. It will obviously be cheaper to buy a weekly pass over 5 or 6 daily ones, but also think about where you want to ski. Many resorts are huge and have hundreds of kilometres of runs in several valleys. Buy a pass which includes a couple of valleys but not all. It is unlikely you will get time in a week or be quick enough (unless you are a very confident skier) to get across to further valleys and back in a day anyway so save your money. In the unlikely event that you do tire of your current ski pass boundary, you can usually buy daily passes to other areas. If you buy passes through your tour operator you can sometimes get a discount so ask.

Slope cuisine vs packed lunch

Ski resorts can be quite snobby places and this is one of the reasons why the mark up on food is quite high. You will find a lot of eateries on the slopes but you can easily pay over the odds. The food is great but do not just stop at the first convenient place. Ski around on the first day or ask people’s advice for the cheaper restaurants/cafes where you can get a pizza, a sandwich or bowl of soup. I have experienced mountain restaurants at either end of the price scale so I know what it means to find a suitable restaurant. Alternatively you can take a packed lunch onto the piste. On a good sunny day you cannot beat it plus it is by far the cheapest option. Many chalets will offer a packed lunch to you for free or you can pick up supplies in the resort before you take the gondola up to the slopes.

Drinks and Apres Ski

A lot of money is thrown away in the evenings at ski resorts in bars and clubs. You can pay up to £5 for a beer at a bar and more for spirits so be sure to either pick up a crate before you get to the resort from a supermarket or get tanked up on free wine at the chalet if you are staying in one. I will add that nightlife in ski resorts is always good natured and very lively, often with live entertainment, but the drinks will burn a whole in your pocket.

Borrow or buy equipment

If it is your first time skiing or boarding then definitely hire your gear and take out the insurance. If you know someone with a pair of skis or a board then ask if you can borrow it as this will save you a packet. Alternatively, if you have been a couple of times and plan to go again, consider buying your own gear because it will be a very worthwhile investment over a 5 to 10 year period. If you do think this is the way to go then always wait until the end of the season before making a purchase. Ski shops generally have their sales then to make room for the new season’s stock. Many a bargain can be had.

Holidays in the snow are typically very expensive at the best of times because there a lot of extras to consider. Once you have paid for the flight and accommodation, you need to include the cost of the ski hire, the lift pass, winter sport insurance, expensive mountain restaurants and of course the après ski (evening drinks which are not cheap). A ski trip will hit your account hard at the best of times but in the current economic climate what will this mean for people heading to the Alps?

I for one am trying to organise a ski trip France in the New Year but am in two minds about when to book and what company to go with. I can see many smaller ski operators going bust as not so many Brits will be making the journey to the slopes in 2009 as the purse strings tighten. It is a pretty safe bet that companies will be offering very competitive prices to entice the business in order to survive the recession. Therefore there is a strong chance that you could get a really good deal on ski packages if you can wait until the last minute to book. This is a risky game though if you are not flexible as there is always a chance that you hold out for that cracking deal and nothing comes up for the location, accommodation, or airport you need.

Lets say you did get a last minute deal I think many people still would be deterred from going because the pound is so weak against the Euro right now. Prices in the mountains are always higher so it is good to be prepared for this and think of ways to cut the costs. In my next article I will outline a few ways you can save the pennies on the slopes.