Conveniences - for anywhere under the sun

Here is a list of the best inventions for the travel enthusiast! This is all the convenient inventions to help you get there, make your stay comfortable, and keep costs as low as possible!

#1 - Sat Nav

Although a little more on the costly side of things, it's the most convenient invention for anyone driving long distance or short, simply input a postcode and your favourite driving music and off you go! Download the latest updates to ensure you get there without hassle - no more Google maps with missing roundabouts...

#2 - Balanzza
The digital luggage scale
www.balanzza.co.uk

Ok, so you can probably get cheaper versions on Amazon or Ebay, but the idea can't be beaten. Simple and easy to use, with no more umming and ahhing over if it's just too heavy! Save yourself the cost of a kilo and invest in this little treasure for any traveller.

#3 - www.holidayweather.com
For keeping tabs on where's hot and where's not

I've used it, and now you will too, and all your friends when you pass on the knowledge. Desperate for some off peak heat? Check up on this website for average temperatures, sea temperatures and rainfall predictions for any holiday resort, any month of the year.

#4 - Mini's

For ladies who like to look good on the go! Invest in mini moisturisers, shampoos, conditioners, hair spray, you can get hold of anything you can think off to keep you looking and smelling beautiful, and they are cute too! They take up less luggage space and are perfect for weekends away. Even the lads - if they aren't too shy to shop for them, will find mini antiperspirants, shaving creams and toothpaste tubes.

#5 - Portable stove

More for the adventurous types, they are great for camping, walking, or fishing holidays. When you need a quick cuppa' or fancy some food just insert a mini gas canister and watch it self ignite.

#6 - Travel earplugs

A pre-flight precaution for anyone who needs to ease pressure on their ears during take off or landing. Ear pain is one of the top causes of discomfort while flying. You can buy them at many chemists and airports, or can even get them custom made if you have left enough time before you travel.

#7 - Signal search travel locks

Signal search travel locks are for those who like to keep their luggage safe while avoiding interference with security screenings. They can be opened by any TSA screeners without damaging your lock or suitcase. You can also tell if it has been opened during it's airport transfer when you collect your suitcase after a flight.

#8 - In car entertainment
including portable DVD players, in car tvs and hand held game consoles

All of which are great for boys who get bored on extensive car journeys! And for ladies occupying the passenger seat (who have their men in order!) may find them better than a book or latest gossip mag. Again a little more expensive but I'm sure these will all be lad's buys that you can borrow from time to time.

#9 - Wheely suitcases

They've been around forever but are a must! And perfect when going away with the girls, don't make a mess of your image by shuffling aimlessly towards your hotel with a suitcase that's too heavy for you.

#10 - Funky passport covers

Travel in style with a fashionable passport cover, available in various styles from various companies and suitable for both men and women. From black and slick to pink and girly - there's something to suit everyone and certainly something to suit you.

Should fear replace fun?

18 to 30 holidays - beyond the fun.

Was I crazy?...

...Definitely for alcohol and sun, or crazy for booking an 18-30 getaway?
Sea, sand and sunbeds was all I could think about for months after booking a holiday to world renowned Magaluf, for it’s dirty dealings in neurotic night life.

My friends and I were lucky, our holiday was innocent fun. But my thoughts often drifted to the reps and their responsibilities of acting caretakers over the drunk and hung-over. Especially the ones that stripped naked during Sangria fuelled booze cruises across the Med…never asking themselves what sort of 18year old would want to see a forty-something ‘babysitter’ in the buff anyway.

Then I read of rapes, attacks, accidents, and drugs – and all the stuff that’s supposed to avoid the headlines when it comes to the drink driven tradition.
In 2008, an unnamed Thomas Cook Press Officer revealed all to the Daily Mail and what they said left me in shock. What reps did to earn excursion money and to entertain their near out-cold crowd was shameful, but what the press office would sell to keep things under wraps was disbelieving.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1044123/Binge-drinking-rapes-squalid-deaths-Club-18-30-insider-reveals-horrific-truth-Britons-abroad.html

For tour operators holidays such as these rake in the cash, but is it a question of false advertising? And is encouraging youngsters to drink excessively, in a strange country taking advantage of a common ‘I’ve paid, I can act how I like’ attitude?
Do they question their representatives, who drive young holiday-makers to act like them in all their rotting liver glory? Of course not – as long as they are making profits.

A 2008 report from Malia in Crete exposed that each day no less than 100 British girls were requesting the morning after pill. A further report, covering 15 popular 18-30 holiday destinations, counted 4,603 arrests in 2007 and 104 reported rapes.
There have been reports of death or near-death incidents in the papers for years, occurring in clubbing resorts such as Ibiza, Greece, and Majorca.

When I was away I received the ‘no naughty behaviour’ talk with reps reminiscing over the poor lad who broke his shoulder jumping off a boat. Didn’t he get the talk then, too?
Sometimes, it may be down to the reckless singleton who's trying to show off.
Then again - was it really a good idea to send us to a water park with a free bar and open the biggest rides, trying to nick our bikini tops on the way down? And it really isn’t professional to advise your minors of what not to do when you know full well you’re off to do it when the sun goes down.

Maybe touring operators should reconsider what reputation they are really after, before long fear will replace fun, and consequent in fines for the companies.
What will it take for them to really see the danger, for them to employ people who aren't taking advantage of the party vibes and tropical locations, and instead get some people with sense to look after the senseless.