Best places to watch the world go round

By Nikki Bayley

The world's best Ferris wheels

To celebrate the launch of the Brighton Wheel, we've put together our favourite places to sit and watch the world go round and round. Ferris wheels, or observation wheels if you're going to be posh, are a fun way to get a different view on the city and you can take some superb aerial photos while you ride. Oh -and they also make for a restful change from pounding the streets to see the sights!

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The Brighton Wheel

The most recent addition to the world of wheels, Brighton's is much-travelled. It was the one that kept everyone entertained during the recent world cup in South Africa - but now it's come to the south coast seafront. Offering views out to sea and over the famous Palace Pier, the 51m wheel will give you a 15-minute trip for just £8

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The Wheel of Brisbane

Glorious Queensland has so many attractions, from golden beaches and the Great Barrier Reef to the beautiful rain forest. Head to the state capital to see a man-made marvel, the Wheel of Brisbane. At 60m high, the wheel is based in the centre of the city's cultural and entertainment district, the Parklands on the South Bank. Hop on board for a leisurely three or four turns in one of the 42 air-conditioned cars.  Transport to Gatwick Airport

The Lille Wheel

Just a quick zoom across the channel via Eurostar you'll find Lille, which hosts an annual Christmas market that is perfect for picking up bargains as well as enjoying all the fun of their Ferris wheel. The Lille Wheel (try saying that a few times!) is in place from the end of November until mid-January and is on the main square, the Grand Place. At 50m high, it's not the tallest wheel, but what it lacks in height it makes up for in festive views! Euro transfers Airport London

The Singapore Flyer

At a breathtaking 165m tall, the Singapore Flyer is the world's largest observation wheel. There are 28 pods holding 28 passengers (the number 28 means 'easy to prosper' in Cantonese), and one whole rotation takes just over half an hour. Brilliantly, the wheel used to go in a counter-clockwise direction, but changed in 2008 on the advice of a Feng Shui master. While you're up there, you'll get a superb views across Marina Bay all the way to the Singapore River and the Padang.

Navy Pier Ferris Wheel, Chicago

Named and modelled after the world's very first Ferris wheel, which was built for Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, the Navy Pier Ferris wheel is on the upper deck in Pier Park. At just under 46m high, this little wheel gives great views across Chicago's stunning skyline and also the lake front. It's just a seven-minute ride, so make the most of it. Gatwick airport to heathrow airport taxi transfer

Montreal's Grande Roue

Head to Montreal in Quebec to ride the roue, a 45m-high wheel that you'll find in the La Ronde amusement park on St Helen's island. There are plenty of frankly terrifying rides in the park, so the Ferris wheel makes a sedate change and gives great views over the city and St Lawrence River.

Vienna's Riesenrad

Make like Orson Welles in the Third Man and ride the famous Riesenrad in Vienna's Prater amusement park. The Riesenrad was built by Brits in 1897 to celebrate Emperor Josef's Golden Jubilee and was, at the time, the highest in the world at almost 65m. You'll get a great view over the city and the rest of the amusement park from the little red cabins. A must-do if you're in Vienna.

Wheel of Gothenberg

West Sweden has its own fabulous Ferris wheel, and you can usually find it next to the Gothenburg Opera House at the bottom of the main street, Avenyn. However, at the end of this year, it's making its way across town to a new home in the famous Liseberg amusement park. The wheel is 60m high and you get a 15-minute ride within the glass-windowed gondolas. Taxi to stansted airport London

World Cup - 60,000 to watch Wales in Millennium Stadium

 

Over 60,000 people will cram into Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to watch Wales's World Cup semi-final 12,000 miles away. 
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Fans have snapped up free tickets in huge numbers for the match against France on Saturday morning, which will be shown on giant TV screens.
As a result, more people will be in the Millennium Stadium than at Eden Park in Auckland where the game takes place.
Stadium manager Gerry Toms said he was amazed by the response. Initially 20,000 tickets were made available, but massive demand meant two more batches were printed.
"We've now topped 60,000," Toms told the Daily Mail.Cardiff to Heathrow Airport Taxis
"The response has been absolutely overwhelming. The lads in the team will not believe what they are going to see.
"This is a big gesture by the WRU, a thank you to the fans. It's a unique opportunity and one which would not have been possible without the support of Cardiff City Council, the bus service and retailers. They've all got behind us."
Officials plan to beam images from Cardiff into the Welsh team's dressing room just before kick-off, while fans in Wales will be able to buy the official match programme. Cardiff to gatwick Taxi
"When the Welsh team takes the field at Eden Park, they will be in absolutely no doubt the fans of Wales are behind them," said WRU chief executive Roger Lewis.
"It will be very emotional to hear the national anthem sung around the stadium. The sound will echo around the world to New Zealand."
Wales are in the semi-finals for the first time since the inaugural World Cup in 1987 - since then they have reached two quarter-finals and gone out in the group stage three times.
Eurosport

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Top ten tipples around the world

By Nikki Bayley

If you're planning a trip to the capital this week, try to catch London Cocktail Week, which celebrates that most civilised of pastimes, getting pleasantly blootered with a divinely decadent drink in your hand. More than 200 bars will be serving bespoke drinks, so hop on board the special vintage buses and take a tour of London's finest drinking establishments. To get in the mood, we've decided to make a virtual tour of our top ten favourite tipples from around the world.

Canada - Caribou
There are few things we love more than a good party, especially a party that has its own special drink-in-a-stick. The annual Winter Carnaval in Quebec City is probably the most fun you can have in the snow and it's the only place to drink a Caribou. Caribou is served up in a hollow striped walking stick; a sugary blend of maple syrup, port, mineral water and brandy, designed to make you forget the -10°C weather and instead concentrate on grooving like the Carnaval's mascot 'Bonhomme' instead.
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Portugal - Ginjinha
If you love sour cherries and you like a drink, you will adore the sweet-sour taste of Ginjinha. I'd read about it before I went to Lisbon for the first time and couldn't wait to give it a whirl. It arrived served in a long shot glass, chilling in its very own bowl of crushed ice. Nice. Rather wonderfully, the town of Óbidos, on the west coast serves it up in its own little edible chocolate cup. Yet another reason to head to Portugal.

Spain's Café Carajillo
That long siesta snooze, the late-night dining and all those sunny beaches... no wonder Spain is one of the most popular places for us Brits to visit. But when you ponder the tradition of the café carajillo, you can see the real attraction starts at breakfast time. Try the PG version - a shot of espresso along with a shot of brandy that your waiter sets alight to burn the alcohol off. Or go for the over-18s version, with a teeth-rattlingly strong espresso and a side of brandy, rum or a creamy liqueur like the very more-ish Crema Catalana.


Croatia - Maraska Kruskovac
The many charms of Croatia are becoming increasingly obvious to the British travel market, and one of those charms, for me at least, is Maraska Kruskovac, a gorgeous pear liqueur. Ignore its scary yellow colour, trust me, try it over ice and get ready to become just another hopeless convert to its vanilla-y, honey-ish delight. It's made from the pears that grow along the Dalmation coast, which has to count as one of your five a day, right?!

Switzerland - Rivela
The first time I had a sip of Rivela I was hooked. Gorgeous! Hmm, but what was that mystery taste in the much-loved Swiss soft drink? Berries? Honey? Er, what's that? Milk whey? Um... wow. Yes, as well as being famous for their love of cuckoo clocks and chocolate, the Swiss, it seems, are also mad for a fizzy milk-based drink. But it's lovely. Really! They even do a fizzy soy version for the lactose-intolerant.
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Malta - Kinnie
One for the non-drinkers, this tipple is a real love it or hate it drink. Kinnie is Malta's favourite soft drink. It's made from herbs and bitter oranges, and unlike most fizzy drinks, it's not at all sweet. That first swig of an ice-cool Kinnie is definitely a bit of a shock. It's sour and aromatic, very grown-up, not a kids' drink at all. But oh, it's so refreshing! I've never found it anywhere but Malta, perhaps they like to keep the good stuff all to themselves...

Mexico Michelada
Mmm, beer. Mmm, cocktails. But a beer cocktail? How about a beery-Bloody Mary? Sounds bad, but in Mexico it sort of feels (and tastes) just right. Start with an icy-cold beer and then add either tomato juice, or clamato juice (yup, tomatoes with clams) along with salt, lime, tabasco sauce and powdered chile. Make sure the rim of the glass is dipped in salt and chile too for that extra kick. Boom!


Brazil - Cachaça
If you're thinking about Brazil, then you're probably imagining Rio or maybe Sao Paulo, but I think you should be pondering the magic of Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais, instead. It's the bar capital of Brazil, in the state which makes the best cachaça in the world, which is made from sugar cane and the main ingredient in those sweetly-lethal caipirinhas. Leave the white cachaça for cocktails and hunt down an aged golden sipping cachaça instead...

Japan - Kids Beer
No round-up piece on drinking would be complete without a mention for Japan and their love of truly crazy drinks. It was a toss-up between the memorably weird 'Water Salad' (yup, all the nutrition of a salad and the hydration of, er, water) and 'Kids Beer' - and with a slogan like 'Even kids cannot stand life unless they have a drink!' I think you know who the real winner is.
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Sri Lanka - Toddy
One of the most common sights in Sri Lanka is the King Coconut trees swaying in the breeze, with their characteristic orangey-yellow coconuts. Delicious to drink neat from the coconut, the canny Sri Lankans make a sweet instantly-intoxicating brew from the sap of the flowers too. It's called Toddy and if you ever get offered any, say yes. Just don't make any plans for afterwards...
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33 ways to sleep better at a hotel

By Elissa Leibowitz-Poma

 

Heathrow Chauffeur, express airport Taxis to London Hotels

We've compiled one of the most comprehensive guides available to ensuring a good night's sleep in a hotel, covering everything from what you should ask when you're booking the room to how you can swiftly take care of noisemakers so you can get back to sleep.

When making your reservation
1. Ensure that you get a quiet room. Two requests are absolutely vital and pretty widely known when selecting your hotel room: a room on an upper floor and away from the elevators. But some other tried-and-true tips from frequent hotel guests could doubly ensure a peaceful experience.
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2. Booking a room midway along a hallway. This is generally the quietest part of the floor, as it's away from the ice and vending machines, guest laundry facilities, exits, housekeeping closets, and other on-floor locales where noise can be made.

3. Asking for a room on the concierge or suite level, if the hotel has one. Sometimes those rooms have taller ceilings, giving you a little more air space from the people above you.

4. Avoiding rooms facing a pool. While the view might be pretty, the pools can be late-night gathering places — despite posted closing times — and noise echoes off water.

5. Asking what time the trash is collected if there are dumpsters or recycling bins outside your windows. If the time is too early for your liking, get a different room.

6. Requesting a room at the back of a low-rise hotel. They are generally quieter (especially if they're away from the parking lot). Even if the view is poor, it's worth the peace.

7. Getting a room at least two or three levels above banquet rooms, bars or other public spaces if the hotel has them. You'd be surprised how many floors a pulsating and thumping bass beat can penetrate.

8. Ask if the hotel is undergoing or has recently completed renovations. Usually these are done in segments — a floor or section at a time. You want to avoid floors that are adjacent to those currently being updated. But you do want to be on a renovated floor — which will usually be cleaner, smell better and have newer beds and linens.

9. Inquire whether guestrooms have blackout shades. These are the heavy, thick curtains that keep the light out, and you want to have them.

10. Make sure yours is a non-smoking room. If you're not a smoker, the scent of old cigarette smoke will keep you from feeling at ease (awake or asleep).

11. Ask about pillow options. If you're vulnerable to neck or back pain from using the wrong pillow, find out if pillows with different levels of firmness are available. Some hotels stock firmer ones in guestroom closets, or the front desk has a secret stash. If the hotel doesn't offer what you need, consider bringing yours from home.

12. Request two beds if you're traveling with a friend. You'll get a more peaceful night's sleep if you snooze alone than you will if you bunk with someone you're not accustomed to being next to.

Packing for your stay
13. Pack earplugs. Uncomfortable as they can be, wadding little bits of foam in your ears is far less annoying than being kept up all night by noise.

14. Bring eyeshades. They are for your eyes what earplugs are for your ears — and they're especially important if your room doesn't have blackout curtains.

15. Tote along your own sheets. If you have space to pack them, your own set of sheets could help you sleep better, as you're already used to their feel and scent. They also are helpful for folks with skin sensitivities who are worried about the detergents or bleach used to clean hotel linens.

16. Or at least bring your own pillowcase. If packing a whole extra set of sheets isn't an option, bring the pillowcase from the bed back home, to enjoy its worn-in feeling and smell from home.

17. Spray your room. The chemicals used to clean hotel rooms or launder sheets can be a little overpowering. Add your own scent with a spritz or two of a gentle linen spray you bring from home. Ones with lavender are often known to be soothing.

Preparing to hit the hay
18. Don't read, eat or work in bed. Admittedly, this is not always possible, as seating can be limited in a hotel room. But try not to use your bed to do anything but sleep.

19. Don't eat a humongous dinner. A belly that's churning away digesting a big meal interferes with your ability to sleep soundly.

20. Ready a small nightcap. More than a quarter of all respondents to a recent IndependentTraveler.com poll say a glass of wine before bed helps ensure a good night's sleep at a hotel. Too much alcohol can inhibit sleep, so keep it moderate.

21. Sip tea. A small cup of chamomile tea or other warm, non-caffeinated beverage can induce sleep. Don't drink too big a mug, though, else you'll get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

22. Ask the front desk to hold your calls. Have the reception desk take messages or send calls directly to voice mail during your specified hours. This is especially helpful to prevent wrong numbers from getting through and waking you up.

23. Decide how you'll mask outside sounds. Commonly referred to as white noise, sound masking involves adding a non-intrusive artificial sound to your sleep environment in order to drown out other noise. Your hotel room might come equipped with a white noise machine, or the front desk could have a few to lend. You can also bring your own travel-size white noise machine, download a white noise app onto your smartphone or stream white noise from your laptop on a free Web site like SimplyNoise.com. If none of the above are an option, run the ventilation fan in the bathroom or the fan in the room's air-conditioning unit.

Just before bed
24. Hang the "do not disturb" sign on the outside doorknob. This is especially important if you're planning to sleep in. Some housekeepers start their service at 8 a.m. or earlier. If your room doesn't have a "do not disturb" sign, request one from the front desk.

25. Set backup wakeup calls. How many times have you set an unfamiliar alarm clock, only to wake up the next morning in a rush because it never went off (or awakened in the middle of the night merely worrying it wouldn't work)? For greater peace of mind, use backups — such as the hotel's wake up call service, or your cell phone, wristwatch or travel alarm clock.

26. Take a warm bath. In addition to providing relaxation, a bath lowers your body temperature slightly, which can help you sleep better.

27. Adjust the room temperature. Generally speaking, most people sleep better in a cooler room. Set the thermostat to just slightly cool — you don't want to shiver. If you prefer an open window (not always an option), just open it a crack — too much could allow cold air and noise to waft in.

28. Turn the bathroom light on. If you get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom at home, you know you can make it there, do your thing and get back to bed half asleep. That's harder to accomplish in an unfamiliar hotel room. Keep the bathroom light on and shut the door, just to help you see your way with minimally intrusive light. Alternately, you could bring a small nightlight with you.

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29. Choose a non-controversial show or soothing music if you must keep the television or radio on before bed. That means no horror flicks, war documentaries or Rage Against the Machine on your iPod. And keep the volume down so that you don't disturb your neighbors.

Once in bed
30. Breathe deeply. Being out of your element can be stressful. Take some deep breaths before bed to help you relax and unwind tense muscles.

31. Don't wait to report noise. Hotel rooms have notoriously thin walls, and a lot of the time, people don't realize their conversations are crystal clear to you. Sometimes a quick pound on the wall will do the trick to quiet down a noisy neighbor. (See When the Hotel guest next door won't shut up.) If you're not comfortable doing so, just ring the hotel front desk. They'll phone the guest or send security personnel to the room with a warning. Excessive noise or repeated warnings could result in the guest being asked to leave.

32. Ask to move rooms. All hotels should give a guest the option of relocating to a quieter room if uncontrollable noise — such as traffic, a humming ice machine or the elevator — is persistent. Of course, it's not exactly peaceful to have to pack up your belongings and relocate in the middle of the night, and sometimes the hotel could be sold out. But this is an ideal solution for the next morning if you're staying in a hotel for multiple nights.

33. Get out of bed if you can't sleep. This is a good all-around rule, for traveling or at home. Rather than tossing and turning, get out of bed, turn on a low light and read a mindless magazine.

Most expensive holidays In The Wolrd

By John Fitzsimons

If money is no object, these are the best ways to get some rest and relaxation.

While for most of us holidays will consist of a couple of weeks in the South of France, for the ultra-wealthy, they tend to be a little more extravagant. Here, I've had a look at some of the most expensive holidays around. I’ve had a look at a variety of different trips, from safaris to Antarctic expeditions. As a result, some chance-of-a-lifetime trips begin to look positively value for money!
Your own yacht
How do you fancy chartering your own yacht? The Andreas L, available from Liveras Yachts, is a 60 metre Benetti yacht, with three different deck areas for dining or sunbathing, a Jacuzzi on the sun deck, and an air conditioned gym and massage room.
There’s room for up to 12 guests, with an onboard staff of fifteen. Best of all, you can choose exactly where it takes you. It’s pretty pricey though.
During the summer high season, it will set you back a whopping €315,000 (£277,739) a week.

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Explore the Antarctic
2011 marks the 100-year anniversary of the first human arrival in the South Pole. And if you want to tread in the footsteps of Shackleton and Scott, you can do so on the Kapitan Khlebnikov, a Russian icebreaker on a 29 day expedition.
Departing in December, you’ll start off in New Zealand, take in the Auckland Islands where you can see yellow-eyed penguins, pretrels and albatross, before moving through the shifting pack ice of the Ross Sea taking in Emperor Penguin rookeries, historic exploration bases and modern research stations. Then it’s on to the Balleny Islands and McQuerie Island, before finishing in Australia. What’s more, this may be the last chance to ever experience this expedition, as the Kapitan Khlebnikov is heading back to Russia once it's finished.
But to enjoy it, it may cost you as much as £38,940 per person.

Rent your own island!
Often the worst thing about a holiday is the other tourists that you have to share the resort with. No such worries if you simply rent the entire island yourself!
For example, there’s Necker Island, a British Virgin Island in the Caribbean owned by Sir Richard Branson. You’ll be outnumbered by staff, and can enjoy the indoor garden, a floating dining pavilion, or - if you fancy getting dressed up in your finest – enjoy the private dining room, with its silver, lace, linen and crystal place settings.
Prices start at $322,000 US for seven nights (£197,552). Of course, if you’d rather have your own island on a more permanent basis, you could always just buy one. And they may be cheaper than you’d think – we've discovered you can buy your own island for £95,000!
Lake Como
OK, this isn’t quite your own island, but you can rent a villa on Lake Como which is only accessible by boat – the next best thing!
The Villa Lake Como XIII offers seven bedrooms with all mod cons, a drawing room, family kitchen and dining room with space for 24 people. There’s also a 30,000 square metre garden area, featuring another four homes, heated swimming pool gym and cinema.
And to ensure your stay is comfortable, you’ll enjoy the services of a butler, head housekeeper, cleaner, house manager and two gardeners.
For a week in the villa, you’ll have to fork out €115,000 (£101,397).

A private safari
One of the biggest selling points of a holiday in Africa is the chance to go on safari. And you can do that in serious style in South Africa, at the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve.
Owned by the Oppenheimer family – the family behind the De Beers diamond dynasty – you have the choice of two different forms of accommodation. Tarkuni is the family’s own home within the reserve, offering five luxurious suites, your own chef, vehicle and personal field guide so that you get to experience the safari on your own terms. You also have your own pool.
For bigger parties, there’s the Motse (meaning village), consisting of eight suites. Each suite has a bedroom with its own open fire, indoor and outdoor showers, a study area and a private waterhole, and the various animals that make use of it.
For a week in a Double Family suite, you’ll be shelling out £12,692 per person.
Live like Hugh Hefner!
This may just be my personal favourite – the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas! Who wouldn't want to live like the Playboy boss?
For the paltry sum of $40,000 a night (that’s an unbelievable £25,000) you can enjoy two floors all to yourself, capable of holding 250 people. You have your own fully-equipped gym, an ‘extra large’ show tub, a wet bar, Jacuzzi, media room, dining room, poker table, private elevator and eight foot rotating king-size bed, with mirrored ceiling.
The walls are covered with the Playboy art collection, while there’s also incredible views of the strip to enjoy. Sadly, you’ll have to sort out your own Playmates!

[See also: Taxi to Gatwick Airport travel on time]

Using a specialist
If that isn't quite creative enough, then you can always make use of specialist travel firms, who can create a bespoke and completely different holiday experience.
For example, Black Tomato told me about these barmy but brilliant holidays they have put together before:
Custom-built igloos
Your house of ice, based in Greenland, will be equipped with a bedroom, living room and veranda, all heated by a special internal heating supply. You'll get your own chef, who comes to the property by snowmobile, to cook you the very best Nordic cuisine. And best of all, you'll get your own swimming pool! This will cost around £80,000 per person.
Heli surfing
You can make use of your own private helicopter to enjoy both of New Zealand's islands. You won't have to waste time researching which beaches are best, as your pilot can deposit you there directly! This will cost around £30,000 per person.
Another firm, Elite Travel Boutique, told me about the following:
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Carcassonne
A private jet was hired to transport six travellers to the UNESCO medieval citadel for a weekend. A private tour was included, as well as dinner in the Michelin-starred restaurant, golf sessions for the male guests, spa treatments for the girls, all finished off with an al fresco lunch on the coast on a private yacht. This came to £25,000 for the party.

Airlines defy ruling to stop charging 'unfair' fees

By Donna Ferguson
If you’re about to book a flight for your summer holiday, beware.



Airlines are continuing to introduce ‘unfair’ and ‘misleading’ card charges, despite a ruling just weeks ago by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) that these charges should be banned.
Not only are airlines ignoring the ruling and refusing to stop charging these fees, two airlines - Swiss Air and Lufthansa - are actually introducing new card fees. Both of these airlines will start charging £4.50 for any purchases made on a debit or credit card from November 2nd, even though the OFT has warned airlines that such charging practices are ‘misleading’.

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How come airlines are able to ignore the ruling?
Unfortunately, the OFT does not have the power to legislate, only to make recommendations to the Government that such charges should be prohibited.
It is lobbying the Government to change an existing UK law, the Payment Services Regulations Act, to ban the charges.
But until MPs take notice, the watchdog is practically powerless and merely seems to be hoping airlines will comply of their own accord.
When the ruling was announced a little over a month ago, the OFT told the BBC - perhaps a little optimistically - that it expected travel companies to include their charges within their headline prices by the end of the year.
But while clarity on the total prices you have to pay upfront would make airline fares less misleading, it would not make the charges any fairer. The fact is, these charges are a rip-off - on average, it costs companies just 20p to process a debit card payment and no more than 2% to process a credit card payment.*
Yet the typical card fees that travel companies charge are significantly higher than this - and what’s worse, each one charges a different amount, making it extremely difficult to accurately compare the total cost of different fares.
Plus, they make the fees very difficult to find out about - here are the number of pages you need to go through for some of the UK’s biggest travel firms before you find out about the surcharge, according to the OFT:

Travel firm	Number of pages
DFDS Seaways	8
The Trainline	7
EasyJet	6
British Airways	6
BMI Baby	6
Ryanair	4
Virgin Atlantic	4

Source: OFT
As if that wasn’t enough, the fees are almost impossible to avoid when buying online, as you usually have to pay by a card of some sort.
How much do different travel companies charge? Chauffeur, Taxis Gatwick Airport Travel
Sadly, until the Government gets its act together, the most you can do is to ensure you’re fully informed beforehand about the fees you will charged by different travel companies. Here’s a table to help you:

Trader	Credit card surcharge	Debit card surcharge
British Airways	£4.50 per passenger	£0
BMI Baby	£4.50 per journey	£3 per journey
EasyJet	£8 plus 2.5% of transaction	£8 per transaction
Jet2	7% per transaction (min £4.99)	3.5% per transaction (min £4.99)
Ryanair	£6 per journey	£6 per journey
DFDS Seaways	2.5% per transaction	£0
Irish Ferries	£5 per transaction	£5 per transaction
The Trainline	£3.50 per transaction	£0
Rail Easy	4.5% per transaction	75p per transaction

Source: OFT
Hope is on the horizon...
The one shining hope on the horizon is that, earlier this week, the European Commission launched an inquiry into airline ‘add-on’ charges.
The commission’s vice president is going to look at whether EU rules need to be amended to ensure greater ‘price transparency’.
Unfortunately, his report will only be published in the autumn with legislative action not expected until next year. Airport journey Travel taxis
With airlines raking in £300m a year from credit card and debit card charges, I very much doubt airlines will do anything to reduce these charges until either UK or EU legislation comes into force. Instead, my prediction is that we will see more airlines and travel companies following Swiss Air and Lufthansa’s lead and actually introducing card surcharges over the coming months.

8 of the best naturist hotels

By Laura Tait
Ever get so hot on holiday you wish you could take ALL your clothes off? Unfortunately, that sort of behavior tends to be frowned upon in most resorts. Unless of course you’re in a hotel targeted at those who prefer the freedom of going 'au naturel', where nudity is allowed and even encouraged. Want to know where you can find such hotels? Here are some.

Hotel Panorama
Zakynthos, Greece
The Hotel Panorama is a family friendly naturist hotel, with a swimming pool, snack bar, TV area and small children's playground all within its well-tended grounds. As its name suggests, there are panoramic views of the countryside and sea, with snorkelling, sailing, diving, water skiing, windsurfing, tennis, paragliding, biking (we’d definitely recommend sticking your shorts back on for this one) and fishing are all available in the vicinity. 
Caliente Caribe Resort and Spa
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
It’s a high-energy all-inclusive resort with a laid-back attitude about the wearing of clothes, where you’ll find glorious ocean views direct access to its own private (nude) beach. Activities are varied, and you can spend days doing anything from Spanish lessons to Water Volleyball and your evenings with anything from karaoke, to Dominican Dance Revue. They also have – somewhat ironically for a clothing-optional resort – dinner dress themes each night, including ‘Silk, Glam & Glitter’ and ‘Sexy black & white’. 

Hedonism II
Jamaica
As far detached from the family friendly naturist options as you can get – this is more of a non-stop, flat out party. In fact it’s only for singles and couples (aged 18+), with an ‘anything goes’ ethos. Sat on the tip of the legendary Negril Beach, it’s a luxurious, all-inclusive resort, and if you don’t want to make a holiday of it but fancy tipping a toe into hedonistic waters, you can book yourself into another hotel and get a day/night pass to the hotel. London Chauffeur services

Hidden Beach Resort
Cancun, Mexico
Another adults-only property, you can literally spend your entire holiday naked. The beachfront resort is totally secluded and private, prohibiting entrance and views to anyone but the resort guests and staff, and they even offer nude dining at the all-inclusive restaurant, nude bars as well as a nude disco. The swimming pool is connected by an artificial river accessible by all first floor swim-up suites and the central area of the pool contains a large swim-up bar.
Hotel Vera Playa Club
Almeria, Spain
A fun family oriented complex with a chilled out atmosphere but a strict policy about when you can and can’t wear clothes: never by the pool, optional around the rest of the hotel, always in communal areas after 8pm. Fun for all ages comes in the form of a sun terrace with palm trees and garden area, main pool and children’s pool, gym, play and game zone and adults-only Jacuzzi. It’s also right in front of a naturist beach, accessible from the outdoor pool area so you can easily flit between the two, without the inconvenience of having to put on clothes. Airport taxi in London
Ada Bojana Hotel
Ulcinj, Croatia
Not just a hotel, this is more of at this island of nakedness, deliberately isolated from the chaos of the city and completely engulfed in nature, surrounded by the river on three sides. It’s strictly nudes at this villa complex, which is arguably one of the most famous naturist compounds amongst those who love the freedom of no clothes, but it’s not all about lying around naked – activities include volleyball, windsurfing and tennis. Taxi to London Gatwick Airport

Hotel Vritomartis
Crete, Greece
Vritomartis broadly complies by guidelines laid down by the International Naturist Federation: none of the indoors areas of the hotel are naturist whilst all the outside areas are naturist from sunrise to sunset (except the road to the beach so as not to offend locals) and naturism is essential by the pool and on the beach. Some of the fun (naked or otherwise) to be had includes garden chess, tennis and volleyball, plus there is (clothed) traditional and international live music and dancing to keep you entertained in the evening. Heathrow taxi's
Desert Sun Resort
Palm Springs, California, USA
Clothing optional (most people opt out) and adult-only, this luxury complex is set in five acres of secluded paradise which incorporates lighted tennis courts, three heated pools, two hot tubs, a full spa, a fitness centre, bars, restaurants and a night club – and its non-judgmental attitude and dedication to privacy draws in a few celebrities who are partial to naturism. Their rules for first-time naturists include no staring, no photography and sitting on a towel wherever you go

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