The campaign, by the European Commission, is to highlight unknown or increasingly forgotten rights that passengers have when, for example, trains are cancelled, flights are delayed, bags go missing or customers are denied boarding. This comes in light of the chaos caused by the delays and cancellations made during to the ash cloud chaos where many airlines were accused of trying to shirk their responsibilities by forcing stranded passengers into paying for their own accommodation.

There will be posters at stations and airports across Europe as well as free leaflets and an associated website to look up rights and responsibilities of airlines and train companies here.

There is much more detail on the website, but in short for Rail, your six fundamental rights are as follows:

• Buying your ticket without hassle
• Travelling in Safety
• Equal service for passengers with reduced mobility
• Information on accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility
• Compensation in case of injury or death, and liability for luggage
• Protection from rail companies failing to meet their liability obligations

Interestingly, passengers can receive refunds/compensation for delays, these are the EU guidelines:

“If, when travelling on board of an international rail transport service, your train arrives at least one hour late at the final destination under the transport contract, you are entitled to compensation, provided the cause of the delay was within the control of the railway, as follows:

• From 60 minutes to 119 minutes of delay: 25% of the fare you paid for the delayed train; from 120 minutes of delay: 50% of the fare you paid for the delayed train. The payment should be made within one month after submitting your claim in vouchers or in cash(on request).

As a rule, compensation will be paid only if it is at least equivalent to €4. Special compensation rules apply to passes such as InterRail, Eurail, etc. and season tickets.”

The rules for flights are more complicated, so reading the website is probably best for the full overview, however it may be interesting to know passenger rights in relation to long delays, as this appears to be where many were confused during the ash crisis:

“You are entitled to care by the airline (phone call, refreshments, meal, accommodation, transportation to the place of accommodation) if the delay is: two hours or more for flights of 1,500 km or less; three hours or more for longer flights within the European Union or for other flights of between 1,500 and 3,500 km; four hours or more for flights of over 3,500 km outside the European Union.

“If the delay is more than five hours, and you decide not to continue your journey, you are also entitled to have your ticket reimbursed and be flown back to where you originally started your journey.

“If you get to your final destination with a delay of three hours or more, you may be entitled to identical compensation to that offered when your flight gets cancelled, unless the airline can prove that the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances. Additionally, airlines can be held liable for damages resulting from delays.”

The commission hope to extend their policies to other forms of transport across the EU such as ferries and coaches, but for the meantime click here for information on air and rail travel.

The initiative is funded through a matching program of up to $100 million in private sector contributions and a $10 fee on visitors to the US who do not pay $131 for a visa to enter the country. The fee will be collected once every two years in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security’s Electronic System for Travel Authorisation. This will mean the US taxpayer will avoid making any contribution.

The Corporation will work with the US departments of Commerce, Homeland Security and State to develop a nationally co-ordinated, multi-channel marketing and communications program to attract more international visitors and explain changing travel security policies.

Caroline Beteta, chair of the US Travel Association and president and CEO of the California Travel & Tourism Commission, said: “We know how successful a public-private partnership to promote travel can be from our own experience at the state level.

“With the best minds coming together from government and private industry to boost international travel to our country, we can make travel an even stronger economic engine for America.”

Commenting on legislation which establishes the Corporation, US Travel Association president and CEO Roger Dow said: “The United States Congress has sent a clear message that travel is a high priority to our nation and that tangible steps must be taken to increase travel to and within the United States.”

It has also been reported that US airlines must also take an active role in the new partnership, not out of good-will, but out of self-interest by purchasing advertising space on the DiscoverAmerica.com website once the site traffic has increased and thus improving their own exposure.

I imagine that this step for Google and Russian Railways will push forward the virtual world that many use  already online, it will enable people looking at different places to go on holiday to get a realistic taster of the feeling of being there rather than staged shots in travel guides where a lot of the pictures can be quite similar.

Some state that this could be an alternative for cash-strapped people who want to look at areas of the world they may never get to travel to, however I think that it may give those with the natural curiosity to travel even more itchy feet; it certainly did me! For whatever reason you’d like to see the Trans Siberian Railway though, this new view is worth a look. Check it out here.

We’re just putting the finishing touches to the latest issue of Holiday Villas & Cottages magazine. I’ll add another post when it hits the shelves (and when we add it to the virtual newsstand here on Villaseek!) But before that happens, I wanted to highlight a few of the articles from the last issue (HV & C issue 2).

First up, Jos Simon discovers a quieter part of Crete – starting off at the Drapano Peninsula, near Chania.

And we have a brief intro to the other articles you can find in Issue 2, right here.

We’ve got articles on the Costa de la Luz, a guide to holidaying in Fuerteventura (Canary Islands), a piece on Sarasota (Gulf Coast), plus loads more features — 268 pages of travel articles and holiday villa listings. I hope you enjoy reading it – and please let us know what you think, either by adding a comment below, or by getting in contact via Villaseek.com.

Love the holiday but hate the hassle of getting there?

Travel writer Gillian Thornton has 30 stress-busting tips

• Travelling by car to the Med? No need, then, for
  minimalist packing, but have you packed everything
  that’s legally required for your vehicle, such as spare
  bulbs, a warning triangle, and a fluorescent yellow
  vest? Check with the AA, RAC or your car insurers
  before you travel. www.drivingabroad.co.uk
  provides detailed info on the rules of the road in the
  USA, Western Europe, South Africa and Australia.
  And remember you’ll need a Green Card if you want
  fully comprehensive cover while driving abroad.
• You can save money by pre-booking your airport
  parking. Off-site car parks are usually the best value,
  but allow extra time to reach the terminal. Purple
  Parking offer competitive off-site parking at almost
  20 UK airports (www.purpleparking.com) or try the
  British Airports Authority website, www.baa.com.
• If you’re travelling by low-cost, no-frills airline, you
  can save money by packing snacks for the journey
  rather than buying at airport or airline prices. But don’t
  forget that current security regulations about carrying
  liquids mean that you will need to buy bottles of drink
  once you have passed through security.
• Check to see whether your villa owner or holiday
  company includes the option of pre-booking a
  welcome pack on arrival. If you’re arriving late or
  have a long transfer time, the last thing you want to
  do is head off in search of a supermarket. But it’s
  always worth taking a few non-perishable essentials
  such as tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits, dry pasta and a
  sachet of pasta sauce.
• If you’re planning on trying any adventure sports
  such as paragliding, rafting or jetski, make sure that
  your holiday insurance covers you. Better to pay a
  small supplement than a big hospital bill.
• Travelling within the European Union? Make sure
  you all have a European Health Insurance Card,
  which entitles you to free medical treatment. Full
  details from your local Post Office.
• Make two photocopies of your passport, driving
  licence and travel insurance documents. Leave one
  with friends or family at home and take the other
  with you, keeping it separate from the originals.
• Put one member of the party in charge of tickets
  and passports, but give everyone a copy of essential
  details such as villa address, directions for finding it
  and contact phone numbers.
• Cancel the milk and newspaper deliveries, and
  ask a neighbour to keep watch for post or free
  papers sticking out of the letterbox. If the house is
  alarmed, make sure someone has a key to get in and
  turn it off if necessary.
• Check the five-day weather forecasts on the
  internet before you travel, so you know whether to
  take waterproofs or extra layers.
• Know where you’re going. It sounds obvious, but
  make sure you know exactly how to get to the
  airport at this end (some people do actually go to the
  wrong one!) and to your villa at the other. A bit of
  pre-planning can save a lot of frayed nerves and
  family arguments on the road.
• Leave more time than you think you’ll need.
  Better to sit at the airport over a snack or a good
  book, than stuck in a traffic jam. Don’t underestimate
  the time it can take to get through security checks in
  peak season.
• If your departure airport has more than one
  terminal, check which one you need with your tour
  operator or via the airport website.

Packing up

• If you’re travelling by air, eliminate the tedious wait
  at baggage carousels by carrying hand luggage only,
  especially when you’re travelling in the summer with
  light clothes. But check hand baggage allowances
  with your airline before you travel – weights and bag
  sizes vary – remembering that you may want to bring
  extra purchases home with you. Some airports and
  airlines now allow two pieces of hand luggage while
  others still enforce the one bag rule.
• With tough security measures still in place, you can
  only take liquids, gels and pastes in containers of up
  to 100 ml in your hand luggage – with the exception
  of baby food and baby milk – and these must be
  packed in a re-sealable plastic bag no larger than 8” x
  8”. Visit www.baa.com for the latest regulations.
• Most people pack far too many clothes, so I advise
  women to lay their holiday wardrobe out on the bed
  and be ruthless about leaving things behind. Go for
  coordinating items in neutral colours then jazz up
  with a bright top or accessories. Don’t forget the
  golden rule: work out how much clothing you think
  you’ll need, then halve it; calculate how much
  money you’ll spend, then double it.
• Wherever possible, choose fabrics that don’t
  crease, but remember that if you roll clothes rather
  than fold them, they’ll come out looking far less
  crumpled. Remember, too, that if you haven’t got it,
  you can almost certainly buy it at your resort, and if
  your villa has a washing machine, you’ll need to take
  even fewer clothes.
• Travel in your bulkiest pair of shoes, then pack a
  pair of flip-flops and some lightweight shoes for
  evening. Blister plasters are far less bulky than taking
  extra footwear!
• Carry a basic sponge bag, clean underwear and
  swimwear in your hand luggage; if your luggage
  goes to Costa Rica and you’ve gone to the Costa
  Blanca, you can still enjoy a dip in your villa pool
  and freshen up afterwards until your bags arrive.
  Swop an outfit with a travelling companion so you’ve
  both got something to wear if your luggage is
  delayed. A sarong can be used in a multitude of ways
  until your full wardrobe arrives – just ask David
  Beckham!

In this article from Issue 68 of Holiday Villas Magazine, Ron Toft turns his back on the beaches and bars of Cyprus to follow the tourist trail celebrating the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.

In Search of Mighty Aphrodite

It was an uncomfortably hot day –
somewhere around 35°C – as the
sun’s rays blazed down on us from a
cloudless, cobalt sky. But after a 30-
minute climb up the dusty, pebble-
strewn track, we eventually reached
the top of the hill above stunning
Lemesos Bay on the south coast of
Cyprus, and there, all around us,
were what we had come to see: the
remains within ancient Amathous of
the sanctuary of Aphrodite – the
Greek goddess of love and beauty,
and the divine protector of the
delightful Mediterranean island on
which, the myth has it, she was born.

Amathousis is one of the highlights of
the cultural trail comprising 36 sites,
including 11 museums, associated
with and celebrating Aphrodite.
The first traces of a sanctuary on the
acropolis date from around 800 BC,
when Phoenicians settled in
Amathous. Another important date
on the Amathous timeline is 22 AD,
which was when Rome allowed the
Temple of Aphrodite – then one of
the island’s three most important
temples – to retain the right to offer
asylum.

Aphrodite worshippers were driven
from the temple when Christianity
was established at the end of the
fourth century AD, after which it was
repaired in the fifth century and used
as a church for 250 years until the
site was destroyed by Arab raiders.

By far the most striking
archaeological structure is a colossal
stone vase – dating from the seventh
century BC and weighing 12 tons –
at what was the entrance to
Aphrodite’s sanctuary. Originally
there were two of them – the other
is now on display in the Louvre in
Paris. It’s thought that both vessels,
quarried from the north cliff of the
acropolis, held water used in
purification and other rituals
associated with Aphrodite.

One of the sites worth visiting as
much for its natural beauty as for its
connection with the goddess of love
is Petra tou Romiou– the
legendary birthplace of Aphrodite
15 miles east of Paphos. A series of
rocks jutting out from the sea, Petra
is where Aphrodite is said to have
emerged from the briny foam…

You can read the full, illustrated article in our online version of the magazine.

A Taste of the Real Spain

Spain has a glitzy Costa for every day of the week
but the Costa Calida, which has only recently
been discovered by foreign tourists, is a
leisurely destination for discerning visitors and
Spanish families. South of Alicante, in the province of
Murcia, the ‘Warm Coast’ is keen to assert its
individuality, and with good reason. It claims more
sunny days than any other, more than 140 miles of
shore fringed by crystal-clear waters and a lush
hinterland dotted with historic towns and hill villages
tucked among vineyards and citrus groves.

A long forgotten corner of Spain, Murcia is
developing fast but, with a few exceptions, high rise
sites remain refreshingly sparse, with areas of natural
beauty carefully managed and protected. It offers the
best of both worlds: a taste of real Spain with delightful
holiday villas and amenities on your doorstep.

Golf and spa

Ours was a short break so we headed straight for the
Mar Menor Golf Resort at Polaris World, where the
nine-hole course, open to non-residents, will soon be
extended to 18 by the Nicklaus Design team. It plans
a total of six prestigious courses, each one unique,
‘challenging and enjoyable’, suitable for all levels and
landscaped to enhance the environment, enough to
inspire any golfer keen to follow in legendary
footsteps.

Duly impressed, the men set off to tackle the
course while we vanished in search of the spa.
Imagine stepping into a subdued sensuous world of
sound and fragrance, closing the door on all your
cares as you edge into the vitality pool, feel the
warmth of the sauna or the freshness of the ice
fountain, then relax in an inner patio straight out of
the Arabian Nights – and all this before your
treatment even begins.

Then it’s decision time, hot stone, ayurvedic, body
wrap, massage or the ultimate age-defying facial? I
must admit, my greatest need was for the last option
and one hour and 50 minutes of blissful dreams. Cool
aloe and spearmint, scented cypress, lavender, sweet
almond, frankincense, avocado and more, a
gorgeous garden of Eden was at work to enhance my
looks, without the slightest effort on my part.
My face was sprayed with extracts of ivy, jojoba oil
and mallow; my eyes revitalised with an antioxidant
mask and my hair massaged with pink mud. Scrubbed,
moisturised and smoothed to a polish, I emerged on
top of the world, hoping there would be enough time
before dinner to wash the mud out of my hair.

Click to read the whole article, or search for a villa in Spain.