Mac spotted a website www.walkabouttravelgear.com that has a lot of good travel tips. He says: they include using empty gatoraide bottles for water instead of water bottles as the gatorade bottles are more leak proof. Another suggestion was to put duct tape around a pencil to carry duct tape that way and use less space.…

The Globetrotters Club has been approached by the BBC about a programme they are working on about young gap year travellers. They are looking for UK based people aged 18-25 who’s either already out on their travels around the world or about to go out to potentially go out and film for a week in…

We are a semi-retired couple in our late 50’s from Adelaide, South Australia who will be visiting UK from May 21st 2004 – sometime in August 2004. We are experienced campervan grey nomads, looking to swap campervans either simultaneously or if you wish to travel to OZ at some other time, we could work out…

State-owned Air Malta has announced that it will operate low cost flights between Malta and London for USD$53 one way from March 2004. Qantas will start a low cost carrier called owned JetStar in May 2004 to compete against Richard Branson’s Virgin Blue started in September 2000. Good news for air travellers: Hong Kong-based Cathay…

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on capital cities. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess! What is the capital city of the following countries: Bangladesh Guyana Oman Syria Vietnam For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

The Foreign Office is urging travellers to avoid all non-essential travel to major Turkish cities following November’s bomb attacks in Istanbul which killed at least 27 people, including three British citizens, and injured 450. Updated advice on the Foreign and Commonwealth website (www.fco.gov.uk) now reads: 'There is a high threat from terrorism in Turkey. We…

If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites

A tour company in Kuala Lumpur are offering a tour on Asian ghosts, spirits and superstitions. It costs US $44 and starts at the site where more than a decade ago, a terrible triple murder occurred in Bangsar in Malaysia. Two children and their maid were killed by a security guard who had just started…

Win a Frommer’s guidebook on the USA 2003. See www.frommers.com for info on Frommer’s guidebooks. The winner of last month’s Frommer’s guide to Los Angeles is Nancy Haggarty. Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do some research; try google.com or Ask Jeeves, if you need help with the answers. What is…