I have worked at Regal Travel for 22 years, starting as a full time trainee. Later I worked part time while bringing up my children and now I have gone full circle and am working at the Bridgend office full time as the branch Manager.
During this time I have had the opportunity to travel to many places, from long haul to European holidays with my family.
One of my favourite destinations if the west coast of America, and this year I will be visiting it again this time with my family going to San Francisco and the Grand Canyon. Having worked a young travel consultant, going on party holidays, family holidays with my children and now looking at holidays that a couple can enjoy, this has given me the experience to deal with the variety of requests that I get from my clients.
Twenty two years after starting as a junior and seeing the changes from ringing to check availabile to having everything in front of me on the internet, I am still loving the challenges of working in travel.
This was the perfect holiday to combine sight seeing and a beach holiday. We visited glamorous Los Angeles. Hollywood with the walk of Fame and trip to see the homes of the stars.
Exciting San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown and the famous prison island of Alcatraz. This can also be a base for a trip to Disneyland and Universal studios.
Visit San Diego on the Mexican border for fabulous beaches a flavour of Mexican life. A lazy day on the beach to build up your tan and strength ready to face the shopping malls!
My tip for this holiday would be to plan your trip, make sure you know what you want to see and what is available in each city, so you can get the most out of your experience in the Sunshine state.
The most memorable part of my trip was the boat ride around Alcatraz which was eerie and surreal. When we go as a family my son wants to go into the prison, I don't know...........................
I have visited a few camps over the years from Haven to Park Resorts and most recently Butlins. When my children were young this type of holiday was ideal as I did not want to take them overseas when they were very young.
Accommodations range from Mobile Homes to Self Catering apartments. There are great indoor pools and evening entertainment for children and adults with daily activities.Most sites are on beaches.
One of the nicest destinations we went to was a Haven holiday site on the Isle of Wight. The island was so family friendly with a short ferry crossing and so many places to visit from Blackgang Chine to Osborne House.
Most recently we visited Butlins in Minehead for a weekend. My children are now older and enjoy the freedom of going to the indoor pool with numerous slides and plenty of shows and daytime activities from rock climbing to dancing and acting. We stayed in chalet accommodation with self catering facilities on a half board basis, and the food was brilliant.
We chose a weekend that had a whole lot of guest stars including Shane Ward, Chicco and Ray Quinn. We all really enjoyed the whole weekend. I don't think it matters what time of year you go, even if it is a winter break or a Summer holiday. Even if the weather is awful there is so much to do that you won't notice.
I have visited Malta on two occasions, once as a child and then again while doing my travel/tourism course, when we all went around the island and took a ferry trip over to the island of Gozo.
Malta itself is steeped in history so if you are not a beach lover there is plenty to do and see. The Medina. The medieval city, and the capital Valetta in the fortified city offer a variety of sights with beautiful old buildings and churches and the old harbour.Visit the village where Popeye was filmed or go swimming with dolphins.
Malta is not renowned for it's beaches, most swimmers tend to dive in from the rocks in most resorts bur Malieta Bay has a lovely golden sand beach. If it fabulous beaches you want then visit or stay on the island of Gozo, which can be reached by ferry or more recently by small plane. Getting about the island is again very easy car hire is reasonable but the local buses are really cheap. They drive on the same side of the road as in the UK.
You can visit Malta all year round, summer temperatures can be very hot and during the winter months there are sunny days but cool evenings where a cardigan or light jacket is needed.
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Office: Bridgend 01656 668725