Travel

The Rough Guide to Greece: 15th edition: £16.99Greece is a country of contrasts, from sleepy villages and crystal clear bays with sparkling sands to rugged mountains, vibrant cities and a strong clubbing scene.It also boasts classical ruins and wonderfully hospitable tavernas, but it also provides surprises, like a cricket pitch in the middle of Corfu Town.Let’s start there. It...

Jet2 is to fly to Fuerteventura and Turin for the first time and will have over 135,000 seats available for booking this winter from Edinburgh Airport. The schedule for winter between 30 October 2016 and 25 March 2017 is the biggest yet, with more than double the number of seats offered last year. Existing routes have proved popular for those...

A staycation might be in your plans when the lockdown restrictions ease up a bit.And if you do, then Luxury Scotland which represents a collection of 29 of the finest properties and experiences across the country is a good place to start.The destinations they can help you with include the iconic highland hotel, The Torridon, The Royal Yacht Britannia’s sister...

Although the Edinburgh Principal has a new name it is still known to locals as 'The George".When the hotel wanted to promote itself as pet-friendly they asked Golden George the VisitScotland Ambassadog to come along and try out their facilities. The hotel manager Andreas Maszczyk was pleased to welcome him and offer the Very Important Pooch some of their best service.They...

Apex Hotels is offering the perfect excuse to book a break as it has launched its biggest sale yet.Anyone making a booking at one of nine Apex Hotels in the UK between 19 November and 1 December 2020 will enjoy 30 per cent off their flexible room rates – with savings valid on stays into 2021.Apex’s ‘biggest sale of...

Canadian airline WestJet will operate a new route between Edinburgh and Toronto from summer 2022.The service will fly three times a week between the cities in a first for the airline which has not operated from the capital before. The airline will use its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said: “We...

Changes to Edinburgh trainsEvening peak train extended to Glasgow Central New Sunday morning service between Edinburgh – North Berwick New departure times between Edinburgh – North Berwick / Dunbar Changes to station ‘calls’ between Edinburgh – Helensburgh / Milngavie /Glasgow CentralChanges to ScotRail’s timetable from 8 August will see the introduction of a new Sunday morning service between...

HIGHLAND SAFARIS CELEBRATES “LEAD, MOTIVATE & SUCCEED” ACCREDITATION AS IT PREPARES TO ONCE AGAIN LOOK AFTER CUSTOMERS ON LAND & WATERWith just a week to go until the biggest, fastest boat on Loch Tay returns to the water, under its Loch Tay Safaris banner, two of Highland Safaris Customer Experience Supervisors, Nancy McKay and Megan Moore, together with Denise McNaughton, Retail...

Private House Stays, one of Scotland’s most popular staycation booking sites, is to focus on holidaymakers’ wellbeing in its bid to breathe new life into the tourism sector.The company lists hotels, B&Bs, glamping sites and private and self-catering houses with rooms to let all over Scotland.Owner Cassie Bouverie is expanding her selection of properties as the lockdown restrictions ease and the...

A property at Balloch on Loch Lomond – the former Woodbank Inn - was rebranded a year ago and became a modern, competitively priced 22 bedroom Hotel called The Loch Lomond Hotel.The hotel is celebrating its first successful year of operation, with a restaurant a recent addition.With 22 modern en-suite bedrooms on offer, including five family rooms sleeping up...

Will 2018 be the year Scottish tourism runs out of steam? Jacobite Steamer, Glenfinnan viaduct. Roelof Nijholt by John Lennon, Glasgow Caledonian UniversityFancy a trip to Scotland? You certainly won’t be the only one. With apologies for blowing our own bagpipes, Scotland offers a winning combination of world-class scenery, dynamic cities and beautiful islands – not to mention value for money, relative...

The overnight train service has received a £50m cash injection and new carriages are now running between Scotland and London. David Mundell, the Secretary of State for Scotland, welcomed the launch of the new Caledonian Sleeper service at Central Station in Glasgow.The investment highlights the UK Government’s commitment to invest in infrastructure, safeguarding a prominent economic link between Scotland and...

DORNOCH CASTLE HOTEL PRESENTS ITS AUTUMN FOOD & DRINK FEASTWhisky Tastings, Special Dinners & Festival Fun on the agenda Head north this October and check out Dornoch Castle Hotel, home to Thompson Bros Organic Mill to Still Gin, which has kicked off one of its strongest ever programmes of dining and tasting events, as it approaches both the annual Dornoch...

Earlier this afternoon Flybe issued this advice to passengers. We hope you all have a bed for the night if you are stranded in Edinburgh (where better to be stranded?) Due to the adverse weather that is being experienced and forecasted over the next few days with the potential to impact travel across large parts of the UK, airports may...

Edinburgh residents have the chance to be part of Scottish history, by winning a Golden Ticket for a VIP seat on the first passenger train to the Scottish Borders to mark the launch of the new Borders Railway.The City of Edinburgh Council, in partnership with This is Edinburgh, has 30 pairs of Golden Tickets up for grabs through the thisisedinburgh.com website.Offering a...

Edinburgh tourism business wins national innovation competitionAn Edinburgh-based ethical tourism business has scooped an award in a national competition. The Social Innovation Competition, delivered by social enterprise agency Firstport, celebrates individuals and start up companies in Scotland using their creativity and imagination to solve pressing social issues, focusing in 2017 on the themes of culture, heritage and tourism. Scotland’s Social...

Looking for festive gift ideas, to get everyone out and about next year?A gift voucher from Highland Safaris can be used to explore the spectacular natural environment of Highland Perthshire all year round, with a 4x4 Landrover Safari, or a day at Highland Safaris' gold panning, visiting the Red Deer Centre, and having lunch in the café.Use the voucher...

Brexit still looms large but people from the Lothians still look to Europe for short-breaks and longer holidays. Insight Guides have published a Western Europe guide with nearly 500 pages of detailed maps, in-depth features, great photography and bags of essential information.A quick guide to top attractions is provided with an editor’s choice for great buildings, art and culture, ancient...

Jet2.com has responded to strong demand from skiers and snowboarders looking to get back to the slopes and airports at Edinburgh and Glasgow are two of the departure points.Confirmation came after the Swiss Government said pre-arrival testing is no longer required for vaccinated customers.Bookings are strong to all of the eight ski destinations that Jet2.com operates to, Chambery, Geneva,...

Lateral City Apartments have an offer for you if you fancy coming to stay in Edinburgh city centre for a night or two. These apartments are super luxury and there is a gym on site.If you book between 1 - 8 December 2016 using the code JANFLASHOTC you may get a studio apartment for just £109 per night.Booking details here. t 0131...

SILVERWOOD LODGE OFFERS TO TEMPT YOU FROM THE CITYWith Christmas approaching, some Capital dwellers may want to go further afield for festive shopping, dining and attractions. Dundee, with the new V&A, is proving to be a popular choice.If you are looking for lovely accommodation nearby to make a short break of it, Silverwood Luxury Resort at Errol can provide...

The Bay Hotel & Leisure Centre in Kinghorn has completed a major refurbishment of its iconic Horizons Restaurant and Waterfront Lounge.The new look, completed in less than three months, and designed in house by Director Tommy Wallace, has, as its centrepiece, a stunning T-shaped bar with a “cracked ice” effect glass frontage.The new bar is complete with glass shelving...

The High Street will be closing between Blackfriars Street and St Mary’s Street from Monday 24th May for works to replace the setts on the road and various other improvements.This is to allow for works involving the re-construction of the existing setts using re-claimed setts, the final road level at the junction will be raised to the footway level...

ScotRail is adding more seats for fans travelling to Scotland’s Six Nations home game at the BT Murrayfield Stadium this weekend.Scotland play Italy on Saturday 2 February at 2.15pm, and to help the day run smoothly extra carriages will be added to key ScotRail services on the following routes to/from Edinburgh:• Fife Circle (Glenrothes with Thornton / Cowdenbeath)• Dundee...

SIX MORE BOTHIES TO OPEN IN SPRING 2022Following a bumper year for staycations, during which the business picked up an Enterprise Award - Cairngorm Bothies expands.Following a bumper staycation season where getting “back to nature” was at the fore for many holidaymakers, a green tourism brand based deep in the heart of ancient woodland in the Cairngorm National Park,...

Leaders from Scotland’s conference and events sector are reaching out directly to Edinburgh’s key business influencers, encouraging them to take a more proactive role in bringing prestigious and lucrative business events to Scotland. With business tourism events currently worth £1.9bn annually to the Scottish economy, the new Think Scotland, Think Conference (TSTC) initiative is a fresh strand of business tourism advocacy that...

The Edinburgh Reporter's Mike Smith got married last week and spent part of his honeymoon in London. Clearly, he wasn't impressed...It's been nearly ten years since I was last in the Big Smoke and, given my experience this week, it's likely to be at least another ten years until I return.The train journey down on Sunday morning went pretty much...

The airline with the lovely red and white planes wants to offer you a cheap flight to America. Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos said: “Since we started flying from Edinburgh in 2009, we have grown to 6 routes and have now carried over 1 million passengers - but this is only the beginning of our plans for expansion. Edinburgh will play...

Flybe has already started its summer schedule with flights available on this timetable till the end of October.The airline has now completed its first year of flying from Edinburgh to Heathrow with recognition for being best in terms of noise and emissions at the London end.There are four flights to London each day with additional weekend flights on Saturdays...

Jet2 has confirmed that it can take passengers and holidaymakers to 32 sunshine destinations next year from Edinburgh Airport, and flights are on sale now.There are three new weekly Greek routes to Skiathos, Santorini and Preveza, as well as Izmir, Naples and Thessaloniki.Flights are also on sale now to the Canaries, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Portugal.Gordon...