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Today, Monday 23rd of January 2012, processions with Chinese drums, grand dragon and lion dances, colourful festive flags and firecrackers will welcome the Year of the Dragon all over the world. The traditional celebrations will last for 15 days, resulting in the lovely Lantern Festival. The Year of the Dragon reoccurs ever 12 years as part of the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. Chinese dragons are a symbol of power, strength, good luck and control over water, rainfall, hurricane, and floods. In 2012, the celebrations will be extra special for people who were born in another Year of the Dragon, such as:

Continue reading... Happy Chinese New Year... even in Cyprus!

World triathlon Champion Alistair Brownlee and his brother Jonny, who came second to his brother in Beijing this September, have an unsurprisingly grueling training schedule in the lead up to 2012. The British brothers, who are based at cosy student digs in Leeds, stick to a regimented 35 hours of training a week, including weekends. The pair swim, run and cycle, all before midday, and then go for long runs again in the evening. The boys claim to do 95 percent of their training together and believe their consistent top 10 positions come down to tactical co-operation and teamwork.

Continue reading... The Brothers Brownlee Swap Rainy Leeds For Sun Drenched Lanzarote

This November, the entire world is coming to London. Before you start to worry that it's going to get a bit crowded, we're talking about one of the best travel events in the yearly calendar - the World Travel Market. Today, 7th of November, is the first day of this annual gathering of the great and the good from the travel industry, and this is the perfect opportunity for anyone involved in the business to get the real inside tips from their counterparts from across the globe. Thomas Cook is be there, ensuring that we find out what the 'must-visit' destinations for 2012 are. If you're at the WTM2011 as well today, drop by at the Thomas Cook Sport stand on UK1350 and have your picture taken with the Barclays Premier League trophy.

Continue reading... World Travel Market in London

A challenging short film festival is going to be held at Sanford. It will feature a talented set of filmmakers from Florida and is scheduled to be held in February. There are several other filmmakers from all over the world who will participate in it. In case you wish to attend this festival, you must book your flights to Sanford at the earliest.

Continue reading... Short Film Festival in Sanford

The Tenerife Wine Route is an association that is not for profit. It was established in 2005 and consists of close to 50 members. The aim behind its establishment is to generate awareness about the traditional and cultural wine growing that forms part of Tenerifes heritage. Foreign visitors who want to experience something unique can hop on to this bus. It is indeed a welcome tourist option that not just promotes Tenerifes wines but also takes you to the nitty gritties of running vineyards and preparing wines. There are several flights to Tenerife from many parts of the world. From London you can reach Tenerife through Thomas cook flights. You can also fly from Liverpool to Tenerife through Ryanair airlines.

Continue reading... Tenerife Wine Bus

International Lanzarote Duathlon is a race conducted at Club La Santa that includes a long run followed by biking and then concluding in a short run. The event is meant for everyone to participate. You can reach Lanzarote for the Duathlon by boarding flights from wherever you are. There are major airlines from Belfast, London, Birmingham and many other places, with several flights to Lanzarote that you can take.

Continue reading... International Lanzarote Duathlon

The Spirit of Burgas is a festival organized to celebrate the talent among people of different cultures giving more emphasis to regional and local artists. The festival was held from Aug 13th to 15th this year and even though it is a short festival it hosts several acts by artists and has an aim of completing 100 different varieties of acts in 7 phases. The festival has also been awarded as the Best European Festival in the UK Festival Awards held during 2008. In 2009 it was recognized as the Best Overseas Festival.

Continue reading... Spirit of Burgas

Festivals are a constant feature throughout the year with many small local feast days celebrated in towns and villages, the fabulous Sardine Festival at Benitses and the acclaimed Varkarola Music Festival at Paleokastritsa, both held around mid-August. But this year sees a new attraction added - surely unique among the Ionian islands - The Corfu Cricket Festival.

Continue reading... Corfu welcomes a new festival

If you want to make sure you start practicing on time for the Virgin London Marathon in april 2011, book your flights to Sharm now and take part in the half marathon that will be held the 5th of November 2010. The international event called SharMarathon will start at 9.00am in Sharm-El-Sheikh, and the route will lead runners and joggers through Ras Mohamed National Park. The 21.1 km long track passes by Hidden Bay, the salt lake and back to the coast by Yolanda Bay and features sand dunes, rough mountains and mangroves. Even if you're not in shape yet, you don't want to miss out on this stunning setting for a marathon route. If your family is not impressed with your time, just tell them you were distracted by the view.

Continue reading... The Charm of Sharm in November

From the 10th of July to the 21st of August, Alicante will be holding its annual Musicas Del Mundo Festival, translated Music of the World Festival. Musicians from all backgrounds from around the globe will be gathering to play near the city's port area with a total of 8 concerts throughout this time. The opening of this exciting event will be by Colombian pop group Fonseca and on the final day of the Festival, the legendary Flamenco guitarist, Paco De Lucia will be closing the show. Other people playing between these dates are Mexican Pop star, Alejandro Fernandez, Puerto Rican group Calle 13, Richard Bona, Bela Fleck, Dr John and so many more acclaimed musicians. Tickets will cost between 15 and 40 Euros. Money well spent!

Continue reading... Musicas Del Mundo Festival in Alicante

The cultural heart of Tunisia is Monastir, where Islamic architecture historic sites are the backdrop for a thriving scene of contemporary art and tourist attractions. Located on the central shore of Tunisia but other than that surrounded by deserts, Monastir is an enchanting oasis. From the 10th of July until the 8th of August 2010, the city will celebrate the El Jem festival for the 25th time.

Continue reading... Top concerts in one of the oldest Roman amphitheatres

Pomos is a small village on the north west coast of Cyprus about 40 miles north of Paphos. Because it's such a small village with only a tiny harbour giving shelter to just a few fishing boats, it's surprising that Pomos is home to jazz festival, but during September this year the coastal town puts on several jazz concerts as part of the Paradise Jazz Festival.

Continue reading... Paradise Jazz in Cyprus

Almost three years ago, the small harbour in Skiathos was full of excitement and expectation as film crews descended on the town to film part of what would become one the biggest box office hits of the following year: Mamma Mia!

Continue reading... Skiathos Anniversary

The town of Bodrum and the surrounding peninsula in the south of Turkey provide a unique mix of abundant history and are a perfect holiday destination.

Continue reading... History and Tourism Hand in Hand in Bodrum

One of the unfortunate tourists that got stuck on Tenerife due to the volcanic ash cloud were Gary Lineker, his wife Danielle and their five children. After spending Christmas and New Year's even in Barbados, they were polishing up their tans in the Canary Islands right before the ash cloud halted all flights in Europe. Though the journey back to London must have been extremely stressful, the tan the Welsh lingerie model acquired during their prolonged stay seems well worth it. For those who want a holiday tan like Danielle's, flights to Tenerife have resumed.

Continue reading... Where Danielle Got Her Tan

If you're tired of Glastonbury or feel too old for festivals, then maybe it's time you thought about travelling to the Greek coast for a music festival like no other. From July 1st to the 4th each year the idyllic town of Preveza plays host to the International Choral Festival. Now in its twenty seventh year, the event is unique in that it is split into two distinct parts.

Continue reading... The Soundtrack of Greece

April is a month of tradition, sport and culture on the Atlantic island of Madeira.

Continue reading... Madeira Island Open Golf

The Castle of San Jose on the island of Lanzarote is the unique setting for a series of concerts taking place over a four month period this year.

Continue reading... Lanzarote Museum Concerts

The famous city of Venice in Northern Italy is known for the water that surrounds and infiltrates the whole area. This wonderful city is located unusually, within a protected basin of water that borders the Adriatic Sea. Besides walking, boats and water taxis are the most common method of transport in Venice for visitors. You can drive onto the island of course as there is a road and rail bridge that connects the network of narrow roads within Venice to the mainland, but you can't drive around the main island and you will be expected to park in one of the large car parks as soon as you arrive. The main canal that winds its way right through the heart of the city is only crossed by three bridges so progress by road would be almost impossible.

Continue reading... Along the Lido de Venezia

Doesn't that spring breeze make you long to go sailing in the sun? Even if you don't have any sailing experience whatsoever, you can treat yourself to a splendid day on board a catamaran near the Canary Islands. Lanzarote, also known as The Island of Eternal Spring, is famous for its mild climate and the clear blue sea is home to huge shoals of bright fish. Honestly, can you imagine a better place to go sailing?

Continue reading... Catch a Tan on a Catamaran

The island of Tenerife was showcased in a different light on the big screen when a new movie premiered in the UK.

Continue reading... Tenerife on The Big Screen

March was the time when Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt received hundreds of hardy athletes, ready to tackle the 4th annual Sharm El Sheikh Half Marathon.

Continue reading... Half Marathon in Sharm El Sheikh

The resort of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife's West coast is the venue for a more unusual tradition that is very popular these days. The annual Canarias Infinity Xtreme Race is a type of obstacle course for adults and is certainly a spectacle that anyone in the area at the time is bound to enjoy. The emphasis here is not on professional sports performance, but having as much fun as possible whilst raising money for local causes.

Continue reading... Mad Race in Puerto de la Cruz

Inspired by the Winter Olympics? If you still want to have a go at it this season, now is pretty much your last chance to book a holiday to one of the ski resorts in Europe.

Continue reading... Happy Skeaster Holidays!

During the winter period, flythomascook.com offers flights to Paphos in Cyprus from three UK airports, namely London Gatwick, Nottingham East Midlands and Manchester. Once we get to April, however, the schedule adds departures from a further seven airports and lots more flights. There are a number of ex-pats living in Cyprus, so flights from the UK are always popular, but Cyprus also makes a great destination for a winter or early spring break, particularly as the weather can be kind at that time of year.

Continue reading... Approaching Spring in Paphos

Many new marathon runners in the UK will know if they have a place in this year's London Marathon and will already be training hard, but experienced marathon runners may be looking at events abroad to satisfy their running hobby. The big races in the United States like the Chicago Marathon and the New York Marathon don't take place until October and November, so places like Egypt or Malta could allow you to race earlier in the year.

Continue reading... Run In Luxor or Sharm

If you've ever wondered what the main reasons are that make thousands of winter holiday fans book flights to Hurghada in Egypt, then you've probably quickly come up with sun and sand. And you'd have been right. So what else, if anything, does this resort have to offer that makes it stand out from other winter sun destinations?

Continue reading... Reasons to visit Hurghada

The carnival season is an important time of the year in Gran Canaria and because the resort of Maspalomas and the capital Las Palmas are the two biggest towns on the island, it is not surprising that the most spectacular carnivals are held there. We will cover those events in more detail as they approach, but there are also other towns on the island that host their own programmes.

Continue reading... Gran Canaria Celebrations

Due to there location, several thousand miles from the European mainland and the balance of resident and tourist population, the islands of the Canaries rarely benefit from visiting pop stars and celebrity performers. Premier music concerts featuring big stars are few and far between on the islands. In the past performers like Rod Stewart, Gloria Estefan and Elton John have all played on Tenerife. Even Michael Jackson included Tenerife in his "Dangerous" tour during 1993, when 45,000 people watched him on stage in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Continue reading... Celebrity Musicians in Tenerife

There may have been a big freeze across northern Europe at the beginning of January but the attractions for tourists soaking up the sun in Gran Canaria were added to on 8th January when the Canary Islands Music Festival started in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Continue reading... Canary Islands Music Festival Schedule

Winter breaks to the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh are proving very popular this season and flythomascook.com had some very competitive prices for journeys during January 2010.

Continue reading... Sharm Flights In January

The social calendar during December on the island of Malta has a familiar British ring to it and that's no surprise given Malta's history and its long associated with Britain.

Continue reading... December Events in Malta

One of the best ways to experience the true Gran Canaria is to take part in the annual carnival that started this year on the 26th January 2010.

Continue reading... Las Palmas Carnival

The 17th December, was the shortest day of the year in Funchal on the island of Madeira in 2009, dusk arrived at 4 minutes to five in the afternoon only 600 minutes after sunrise. Compare that to London whose shortest day came a day or two later and was only 470 minutes long. So a winter break on the island of Madeira will not only provide more sun and warmer temperatures, but the days will be over two hours longer too.

Continue reading... Funchal's Shortest Day

The Corfu Trail was established as a way of seeing some of the forgotten highlights of the island. The full length of the trail is over 80 miles, so would present a serious challenge even to an experienced walker, but taken in sections or with the help of a guided trip, it will take walkers to some of the prettiest villages on the island and through some of the most spectacular scenery.

Continue reading... Walk The Trail in Corfu

During January Tenerife hosts the Festival de Musica de Canarias, a celebration of classical music that first started in 1985.

Continue reading... Music Festival in Tenerife

The Challenge, or to give it its full name the Malta International Challenge Marathon, took place again in November for the 19th time. The format of this popular running event is very different to that of your typical London or New York marathons. In this race the distance to be covered was split into three more manageable pieces and tackled over consecutive days. It gave runners more chance to see different parts of this remarkable island whilst at the same time making the challenge of running a marathon slightly more accessible.

Continue reading... Malta Marathon Challenge

New Years Eve celebrations seem to be getting bigger and bigger every year. London now stages a major public fireworks display, centred on the London Eye on the Thames, while TV news broadcasts always show the New Year being welcomed in different parts of the world. These reports usually show fireworks displays in Edinburgh, Paris, Sydney, Copacabana beach, Hong Kong and or the million or so revelers who converge on Times Square in New York. The New York celebrations are interesting as they first started in 1904 to commemorate the opening of the New York Times' new offices, when 200,000 people came to enjoy an all-day party put on by the newspaper. It is now estimated that 1 billion people worldwide watch the Times Square celebrations.

Continue reading... New Years Eve on the Algarve

The islands of Tenerife and Lanzarote are no strangers to the international film industry. Tenerife hosts an international film festival, the next edition of which happens in June 2010 and the islands have also been used numerous times in films such as The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and also several episodes of Dr Who.

Continue reading... Film Crew in the Canaries

The Mallorca Festival of Music has now concluded, its two final concerts were held in October and November.

Continue reading... Mallorca Festival of Music

Colourful skies were promised at the annual Fuerteventura Kite Festival in November this year.

Continue reading... Fuerteventura Kite Festival

This local festival first started back in 2006, despite its name which would indicate it dates back much further than that. The content however does look back many years to the ancient traditions of an island that has plenty of history to recall.

Continue reading... Ayia Napa Medieval Festival

Gran Canaria in October is much the same as Gran Canaria in September and November. The usual warm Autumn weather, lots of tourists arriving on the island for a late summer break and plenty of things going on. However the first weekend of October this year did seem to have an unusual combination of events on the calendar.

Continue reading... Cheese, Rock and Art Celebrations

Extra flights have been added to the schedules at FlyThomasCook which bring greater flexibility for passengers travelling to the island of Lanzarote from Manchester, East Midlands and Gatwick.

Continue reading... Extra Flights to Lanzarote

Hilton Hotels Corporation is obviously placing a huge amount of faith in the future of this part of Turkey, having announced plans for 11 new hotel contracts last year, which effectively doubles their footprint in Turkey. Ongoing plans are reported to include 40 hotel openings in Turkey over the next 5 years.

Continue reading... New Hilton Dalaman Resort on track for Summer opening

If you've ever been to Corfu, or Kerkyra, during your younger years then you probably spent most of your time either on the beach or in a bar or nightclub, but a return to the island later in life may reveal a different side. Traditional holiday hot spots for the twentysomethings include Benitses on the East coat and Kavos in the extreme south. Both have the benefit of the sheltered and warmer waters that lie between Corfu and the mainlands of Albania and Greece which are visible in the distance on a clear day.

Continue reading... A Return to Corfu