Air Travel in Italy
The price of flying within Italy is often comparable to the cost of train travel, although be sure to factor in the expense of getting to and from the airport. When flying out of Italian airports, always check with the airport or tourist agency about upcoming strikes, which are frequent in Italy and often affect air travel.
Booking Your Flight
When you book, look for nonstop flights and remember that “direct” flights stop at least once. Try to avoid connecting flights, which require a change of plane. Two airlines may operate a connecting flight jointly, so ask whether your airline operates every segment of the trip; you may find that the carrier you prefer flies you only part of the way.
Carriers to Choose from
When flying internationally, you must usually choose between a domestic carrier, the national flag carrier of the country you are visiting (Alitalia for Italy), and a foreign carrier from a third country. National flag carriers have the greatest number of non stops. Domestic carriers may have better connections to your hometown and serve a greater number of gateway cities. Third-party carriers may have a price advantage. On international flights, Alitalia serves Rome, Milan, and Venice. The major international hubs in Italy are Milan and Rome, served by Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines. American Airlines flies into just Milan. US Airways serves only Rome.
Alitalia and British Airways have direct flights from London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports to Milan and Rome. From Manchester, British Airways has daily flights to Milan and Rome. Smaller, no-frills airlines also provide service between Great Britain and Italy. EasyJet connects Gatwick with Bologna. British Midland connects Heathrow and Milan. Ryanair, departing from London’s Stansted Airport, has daily flights to Milan, Rome, Pisa, and Venice. Meridiana has two or three direct flights each week between Gatwick and Olbia on Sardinia in summer, and daily flights to Rome and Florence throughout the year. From its hub in Brussels, Virgin Express files to Milan, Catania, and Rome.
Alitalia connects Canada and Italy. Air Canada flies to Munich for connections to Rome, Florence, and Milan via Lufthansa. Qantas flies from various cities in Australia via Bangkok, arriving in Rome. Alitalia and New Zealand Air fly from Auckland to Rome with a stop in London. Another option if you’re coming from Australia or New Zealand is Thai Airlines, landing in Rome via Bangkok.
Tickets for flights within Italy, on Alitalia and small carriers such as Meridiana and Air One, cost less when purchased from agents within Italy. Tickets are frequently sold at discounted prices, so check the cost of flights, even one-way, as an alternative to train travel.
If you are looking for cheap holidays and cheap flights, contact Escape Travel.
Sphere: Related ContentWhale Watching at Hervey Bay
On our recent Australian holiday we stayed in Hervey Bay and while we were there it was the annual whale watching season. Hervey Bay is a colourful seaside resort town with a magnificent beach and a number of stylish shopping centers.
The town is filled with great accommodation, wonderful restaurants and sensational shopping. Hervey Bay is the main jumping off point for Fraser Island which is the worlds largest sand island and it lies just offshore. The Island forms the eastern shore of Hervey Bay and the protected waters inside the bay become the home for hundreds of Humpback Whales during their annual migration from Antarctica.
During the months of July through to early November many of these gentle giants visit the bay to mate and suckle their calves before their arduous journey back to the Antarctic. The calm waters inside the bay are one of the few places in the world where these wonderful creatures can be viewed from close range in calm waters. The Whale Watching industry in Hervey bay has been operating for over 20 years and is now a sophisticated operation. Many quality vessels make up the fleet.
You can choose from a range including fast half day trips to relaxing full day expeditions aboard a luxurious sailing catamaran. There is also a host of accommodation options in Hervey bay to choose from. Hervey Bay is located north from the sunshine coast in south east Queensland and is an ideal destination for your next holiday. I took my family and we decided on self catering apartment accommodation to help with the budget and we were delighted with the result. We booked our accommodation and whale watching cruise through www.qldtravel.com.au who are specialists in all Queensland tours and accommodation. There was a massive range of accommodation on the site to choose from.
Self contained bungalows, hotel accommodation, apartments or one of the many sensational new resorts which were all part of the offering. The quality is excellent. Getting there was really easy as there is a domestic airport Hervey Bay and you can fly in direct from Sydney. Most resorts offer airport pickups. The site was really easy to use and the staff there are super helpful when we had questions to answer. Anyway, back to the accommodation in a moment.
Hervey bay and Fraser Island are a great destination from which to visit The Great Barrier Reef. You can fly from Hervey bay direct to Lady Elliot Island which is right on the reef itself. The southern end of the reef is known to have the best diving and snorkeling on the reef. The visibility is usually between 20 and 30 meters. There are many other tour options to choose from. There are also many tours available to Fraser Island. You can choose from many day or extended tours and self drive tours are also very popular. Fishing charters are also very popular from Hervey Bay and there a number of operators. Weather permitting they will take you onto the open ocean chasing Pearl Perch, Coral trout or one of the many species which abound in this region.
Anyway, back to the accommodation. We stayed in the Peppers Pier resort Apartments which overlooks the hustle and bustle of the Esplanade and the Urangan Pier. It was only a walk across the road to the beach. I would recommend this to anyone. Hervey Bay was a great family holiday destination and we enjoyed the whale watching immensely. There was so much accommodation and tours on the website to choose from we sent the operators an email and one of their staff helped us to decide which style to choose. I would certainly recommend you to do the same.
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Chris Alfreds is Marketing Manager at QLD Travel, the one stop shop for all your Queensland holiday needs. Qld Travel can help plan your whale watching experience and arrange your Hervey Bay accommodation.
Source: http://www.articletrader.com
Sphere: Related ContentSouth Indian Meals: What to Have for Breakfast & Snacks?
Australians on holidays love a big breakfast to get them ready for the day’s adventures. Many Australians also adore Indian food. In South India breakfast foods also appear at other times during the day as snacks. Everywhere in the south you will come across idlis (spongy, round, fermented rice cakes), which are accompanied by chutney (chatni, often coconut) or sambar and frequently both. Usually, idlis are served in portions of two to three at a time.
Also popular, and often eaten with idlis, are vadai, which are deep-fried dhal and vegetable cakes (sometimes called ulundu vadai in South India). These come with a sambar and fruit chutney. Less common is uppuma, which is a savory dish made from semolina, pounded rice, vegetables and spices. Puttu is a sweet breakfast dish made of pounded rice and coconut.
Equally popular throughout southern India, eaten as lunch or breakfast, are the wafer-like pancakes called dosa. Dosas come in a number of different forms: masala dosa (a lentil-flour pancake stuffed with a potato masala); uttapam (a thicker dosa topped with chopped spiced vegetables); and paper, or semolina, dosa (lacy, thinner than other dosa and with no filling). Dosas usually come with coconut chutney and a sambar, and are generally about the size of a dinner plate, but sometimes they are larger. Think of them as southern India’s answer to pizza ! Udipi in Karnataka is considered the home of the masala dosa.
In Kerala especially you will come across appams, which are pancakes made from fermented rice flour and coconut. The final product is crispy at the outsides and rather like a pancake in the middle. Appams are often accompanied by a hard-boiled egg in a curry sauce and this is a snack you’ll find in chai shops everywhere. Idiyappams come in vermicelli strands which are often served with milk and sugar as a dessert.
Other snacks that you’ll find in chai shops everywhere are samosas (triangular pastries stuffed with curried vegetables), namkin (spiced nibbles), bhaji (bite-sized pieces of vegetable dipped in chickpea flour), bonda (spiced potato or vegetable balls dipped in batter and deep fried), pakora (deep-fried vegetable cakes), sundal (spiced whole chickpeas), purr (deep-fried rounds of bread usually served with spiced potatoes) and paratha (flaky, pan-fried bread usually served with spiced vegetables including onion),
For the Meat-Eater
Although South Indians are predominantly vegetarian due to the expense of meat, carnivorous meals are widely available, eaten mainly by the Muslim and Christian communities. Goat (known as ‘mutton’ since the days of the Raj even though it isn’t sheep), lamb and chicken are the mainstays (religious taboos forbid Hindus from eating beef and Muslims from eating pork).
You’ll find biryanis (rice-based dishes made with meat, dried fruits, nuts and with added spices), kebabs, chicken tikka (succulent pieces of marinated chicken on a skewer) and the ubiquitous tandoori chicken (marinated with a blend of spices called tandoori masala and cooked in a special clay tandoor oven). In Mumbai, you can sample the Parsi’s signature dish, dhansak (a one-pot wonder consisting of meat and vegetables in a spicy puree of several dhals).
Goa, with its Portuguese and Christian influences, is famous for the eye-watering vindaloo, a pork curry made in a marinade of vinegar and garlic. Be warned it is hot. And remember there is a difference between Indian hot and Australian hot!
Other pork specialities include chourisso (Goan sausage) and a pig’s liver dish known as sorpotel. Xacuti, a spicy chicken or meat dish, is another Goan speciality. Chicken sukka is made with grated coconut and coconut milk.
You will never run out of interesting foods to try in India. It’s imaginative, affordable and very, very tasty.
If you’re looking for inexpensive international flights visit studentflights.com.au. Student Flights have outstanding round the world flights packages that means value-for-money travel for young people and the young at heart. STSF3010083
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