Trip Advisor, the US based travel organisation recently conducted a survey of over 3,000 travellers. Their findings are that the top three most desirable travel destinations in the next year, if money were no object, are Australia, Italy and Hawaii.

The top three airlines, according to respondents, are British Airways, American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. Surprisingly, American was also one of the three least favourite airlines, and British Airways was overwhelmingly least favourite among travellers from the U.K.

Delta was the least favourite airline and yet nearly 40 percent of those who chose Delta as least favourite participate in the Delta Skymiles program. US Airways and American tied for second least favourite airline but 36 percent of those who chose them are still enrolled in US Airways’ Dividend Miles and American’s Advantage programs, respectively.

Top considerations for choosing their favourite airline were friendly and helpful staff, sticking to schedules, and best fares and comfortable seating tied for the third.

Spotted by Mac: this is a useful source of information to plan your travel. See: RTW Travel Planner

Discover the world in a day at Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show, the essential event for travel inspiration.

Get tips from the travel experts while experiencing Destinations Sensations, demonstrations of global culture, culinary delights and live entertainment on the World Entertainment Stage.

Meet the Expert Theatres feature inspirational talks to fuel your imagination, experts include John Simpson – BBC World Affairs Editor (London Show), Jake Meyer, the youngest Briton to climb Everest and Nick Middleton, presenter and writer of ‘Extremes Along the Silk Road’. Plus, participate in interactive sessions on topics from Travel Writing and Photography to Argentina: Beyond Buenos Aires.

• Destinations 2006 takes place at London Earl’s Court: 2nd-5th February 2006 Time: Thursday 10am – 8.30pm, Friday, Sat & Sun 10am – 5.30pm
• Birmingham’s NEC: 3rd – 5th March 2006 Time: 10am – 5pm

eNewsletter readers can buy tickets under a 2for1 ticket deal, just quote “Globetrotters email“when applying for tickets. Full Members of the Globetrotters Club are entitled to an improved offer, see your latest copy of Globe for details.�

Tickets cost: �8 in advance /�10 on the door and are available from the Destinations Hotline on 08701 200 332 or log onto www.DestinationsShow.com (Calls charged at national rate. Booking fee applies.)

My reason for belonging to Globetrotters is to share ideas and information about travel. Because of this I wanted to share the following info with all it’s members before it is too late.

My friend in Jakarta sent me the following link because he knew I was going to be travelling in Asia this summer. I bought 5 regional flights and only paid $65 for tax/airport fees.

I believe that any other member going there before Oct. 2006 would appreciate knowing about it. However, booking is required before Dec. 28, 2005. So, please view the sight ASAP and determine if this is something you can share with all the members so they have the chance to take advantage of this. Air Aisa’s page opens with a banner stating there are still 1,500,000 free seats. Booking Period: 7 – 28 December 2005 Travel Period: 7 February – 10 October 2006 Available for online & mobile booking only.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office advise all travel to the island of Ambae, where the Mount Manaro volcano is threatening a major eruption. The Government of Vanuatu has begun evacuating people from the centre of Ambae, and is considering a wider evacuation of the entire island.

We advise caution when considering travel to the islands of Tanna and Ambrym, which are also currently affected by volcanic activity (see Natural Disasters Section). The Government of Vanuatu issued a warning, advising people not to go near the crater of the Mount Yasur volcano on the island of Tanna.

Vanuatu is in an earthquake zone and suffers frequent tremors and shocks. Three earthquakes measuring between 6.2mw and 5.6mw hit Vanuatu on 25 and 26 September 2005. No serious injuries or damage were reported.

The British High Commission in Port Vila closed to the public on 21 October 2005. There is no longer any British consular representation in Port Vila. Routine consular services for British nationals will be provided by the New Zealand High Commission in Port Vila. The British High Commission in Fiji will be responsible for non-routine consular matters. Please see Travel Advice: Fiji for contact details.

Violent crime is increasing and you should avoid visiting isolated locations alone.

The threat from terrorism is low. But you should be aware of the global risk of indiscriminate terrorist attacks, which could be against civilian targets, including places frequented by foreigners.

The Peruvian judiciary’s web page has been targeted by a suspected Chilean hacker. There have historically been disputes between Chile and Peru. Now they are embroiled in a diplomatic dispute over fishing waters in the Pacific Ocean. Peru is claiming a 37,900 sq km (14,600 sq miles) area that is currently under Chile’s control.�

In the past, Chileans and Peruvians have also argued over the rights to Pisco, an alcoholic drink which Peru claims as its own but is trademarked, produced and marketed in greater volume by Chile. They have even argued over whose seafood is better.�

The Peruvian authorities said the suspected Chilean hacker posted several anti-Peru messages on the country’s judiciary website. One read: “We fight for what is ours. The ocean and pisco are Chilean!” There were also insults directed at Peruvians in general.�

Media reports say that a cyber attacker has posted missives proclaiming: “We do as we like with our policy and our ocean” and “Nobody can match ceviche (citrus-cured fish) and pisco, or equal their quality”.

A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a �1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have �1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we’ll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

Need to convert currency?

Take a look at The Globetrotters Currency Converter – get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet – create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.

UK based Neil wrote in to the Beetle warning travellers about Garuda. This is what he says:

Garuda have a reputation for being unreliable. On a recent trip to Indonesia and East Timor I had first hand experience of this. At check-in at Heathrow I found I was not on either the flight to KL or the onward flight to Bali. All my tickets were confirmed. The supervisor said this was common, and promptly found me a seat on both (Malaysian were the carrier in association with Garuda and Virgin).

In Bali, three days before I was due to fly, I found that I was not on the flights (flying with Merpati Nusantara) to and from East Timor. These had been booked through Garuda (by Trailfinders) in London. After phoning Trailfinders from Bali, the flights were re-booked, but had to be paid for again in Bali, a considerable inconvenience.

The moral of the story is never assume that that you have confirmed seats on flights booked with, or through, Garuda. Reconfirm at least three days before departure.

Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid