As the sun-drenched shores of Zanzibar welcome travellers with their pristine white sands and turquoise waters, this exotic archipelago nestled in the Indian Ocean whispers tales of ancient cultures and tantalising adventures.

I first noticed Otis’ Instagram account (@otis.dublin) in a post by the legend that is Captain Chris (@CaptainChris) back in September 2020, aptly titled ‘Instagram Bromance’ - they both work for Virgin Atlantic.

I’ve been a huge fan of Palm Springs from my very first visit which must now be at least fifteen years ago. I’ve been back a few times since and have loved every visit, regardless of what time of year it is. In 2020, we were so lucky to visit during Modernism Week, just really before the world started closing down due to the Covid pandemic.

Being a big fan of holidays to the Seychelles, I was really delighted to see that as of March 25 (2021) they will reopen to every other country, except South Africa.

Captain Chris Pohl is a Senior Captain with Virgin Atlantic, and is responsible for training other pilots on the Airbus A350 aircraft (a long-range, wide-body equivalent to Boeing’s Dreamliner). He qualified at the age of 19 in Australia and started working for Virgin in 1993 but had moved to the UK earlier (in 1990) following an Australia-wide industrial dispute.

Travel has obviously been severely restricted since March 2020 with Covid lockdowns/travel bans, but as well as some local trips we also managed to get away (short-haul) to Croatia in August.

Having meant to have spent the week at Le Sirenuse in Positano Italy but due to Covid restrictions applied late on we had to cancel, we decided at short notice to book a few nights at The Gleneagles Hotel near Auchterarder followed by The Fife Arms in Braemar.

Having had a number of trips cancelled during the lockdown period and not wanting to (yet) book anything further afield or too far in advance, I opted to book 8 nights in Croatia split equally between Dubrovnik and Hvar, with a night en-route at the Sofitel London Heathrow.

The last international flight we took was back in February, returning from LAX having visited Palm Springs and Las Vegas. March through July seemed to have passed in a blur, and here we are in August returning to the skies but with a very different service.

I’m a huge luggage fan, well to be honest - a fan of anything associated with travel. I already have some Tumi and Rimowa pieces and love those brands, but the check-in cases we had were really too bulky for our first post-lockdown trip to Croatia, where we would travel on a high-speed ferry between Dubrovnik & Hvar and needed a case that would be easily manoeuvred on and off a ferry.

I’ve been to Japan twice now and loved both trips - there are so many things to do, see and experience with amazing, wonderful people. Other than the people, the sites and the incredible punctuality here are just some of my alternative top 10 reasons to visit.

On our first day I had booked tickets to go and visit Schönbrunn Palace (https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/), this was located about a 20 minute drive from our hotel, Hotel Sacher Wien. I

Lots of people often ask me how (1) I can book everything myself and (2) am I not conferenced about not booking through a travel agent?  The answers to (1) is simple - the internet, and the answer to (2) is no, I’m not concerned at all and I would much rather be master to my own destiny.  

Sugarloaf Mountain is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Rising 396 m above the harbour, its name is said to refer to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar.

Highlights of a recent trip to the wonderfully unique island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

Amazing landscapes and unique wildlife on the 4th largest island in the world.