Helen Hayes Details Her Delight On Turkish Airlines by Travel Writers Radio produced by the Professional Associatioon of Lifestyle and TravelWriters (PALAT)Read More 

Read More 

Graeme Kemlo speaks tonight with travel writer and tourism entrepreneur Kate Webster about not only her travel writing that recently told the story of over-tourism in, of all places, Africa. We know about Barcelona, Paris and some other cities concerned at tourist numbers, but Kate talks about an issue in the Serengeti that disrupted a mass migration incident. We welcome Kate to the team as an occasional travel broadcaster reporting for Travel Writers Radio. And Kate has also formed a separate partnership with TWR for our team to produce and present Private Label Sponsored Podcasts that tell the story of her clients in the travel industry in their own words. More information: travelmonitor.com.au and africabeat.com.au
Photo: Kate Webster.Read More 

Read More 

Graeme Kemlo has been on the Gold Coast – Australia’s sixth largest and fastest growing city. It is expecting to reach one million residents from the current 680,000 over the next 15 to 20 years. Part of the growth in this city, which stretches 57km along the coast from the outer suburbs of Brisbane to the New South Wales border, is from southerners fleeing the cold weather, and families seeking opportunities for work and lifestyle. Graeme Speaks with Avril Harris of Experience Gold Coast about This Is Gold Coast – the event he attended.
More information: experiencegoldcoast.com.au
Photo: Avril Harris by Graeme KemloRead More 

Read More 

Manly is really only 30 minutes away from the busy Sydney CBD, but when you get to the beach and the rolling surf of the Pacific Ocean, you could be half a world away. There’s a different lifestyle, a mindset change that kicks in when you’ve left the big smoke, the traffic and the office culture. People are surfing, playing beach volleyball, running, walking, drinking coffee and taking in the salty air. For 50 years, Manly Pacific Hotel has been a Manly icon right opposite the Norfolk Pine-fringed beach. But it has been reinvigorated by a $40 million transformation that includes an Italian restaurant complex, Cibaria by Alessandro Pavoni. Graeme Kemlo was invited up to check it out and he speaks with the Manly Pacific General Manager, Dylan Cole.
Photo: Graeme Kemlo
More information: manlypacific.com.auRead More 

Read More 

Here’s what you will discover on Travel Writers Radio this week. Our usual informative interviews on lifestyle and travel plus we bring back our popular Travel Writers Radio News segment to keep you abreast of all the news you can use.
To get in contact, email us – info@travelwritersradio.com
Thanks for listening and if you enjoyed our show, please tell a friend.Read More 

Read More 

Helen Hayes kicks off the show following her visit last week to ILTM Asia Pacific, the luxury travel expo in Singapore. She reports on the trends in luxury travel, who is travelling, the new affluents and the trends in this sector for 2025/26.Read More 

Read More 

Travel Writers Radio was invited to speak with the CEO of Accor Pacific, Sarah Derry about the latest information on the recovery of the hospitality sector and new developments at Accor. The French-owned group is Australia’s largest hotel operator, with 73 hotels and 11,800 rooms in Victoria alone. It is also well represented across the country with brand names including Novotel, Ibis, Pullman, Movenpick and its leading five-star, Sofitel, Graeme Kemlo speaks to Sarah in a special interview.

Flying to Europe is quite a journey; so the decision on the airline as well as the day that you choose to fly is important.

I live in Melbourne and I prefer to fly with one of the three Middle Eastern airlines operating out of Melbourne Airport.  Their flight times and routings suit my personal travel patterns. They all depart late, somewhere between 7.30pm and 3.00am and the longest leg (almost 14 hours) is the first one.  I get on board after a full day; then enjoy a late dinner, a drink, a movie and with luck I then sleep for up to eight hours.  I arrive in the Middle East in time for breakfast, after which it’s only a short eight hour daylight flight to my destination.  As I arrive in the middle of the day, I find the transition to local time is easier because of the shorter time span before I revert to a “normal” sleep pattern.

Friday is my favourite day for business travel, as I end one working week at home and start another overseas, and that works best for me.  On holiday it is less important but I prefer flying midweek (Tuesday – Thursday) as it often less crowded on board and because I arrive in the middle of a working day, which can mean less crowds and traffic on arrival.

Whoever you choose to fly with make sure that you pick the airline and the departure day that works best for you.

Using your iPhone or other smart phone overseas can cost a fortune due to the way they use data, and the cost of data roaming. Every time your iPhone checks for emails it can cost you over ten dollars, and your phone will do this every minute unless you make changes to your settings!  Bills of over $3,000 are not uncommon for unsuspecting travellers accessing data overseas.

For example an average 1GB movie downloaded from iTunes, charged at a standard data roaming rate of $20 per MB will end up costing you over $20,000!

The key tips to reduce your data roaming charges are: Stick to the basics – only do the minimum required on your smartphone and make sure that you keep data roaming switched off, and only turn it on when you actually want to connect to the Internet.  Use free Wi-Fi hotspots wherever possible. Popular cafes, restaurants and hotels often have free wifi available, especially in the USA and throughout Europe, McDonalds is a great spot for a coffee and a Wi-Fi session.

Buy a prepaid roaming simcard before you leave home, you will get one number and one sim and will save up to 80% on your global roaming bill in over 190 countries. Simply swap sim cards and save. Business options where you are contactable on your number are usually available as well.

How do you save money when you use your mobile phone overseas?  That’s easy you can save a fortune on your next overseas trip by using a pre-paid Global SIM Card in your phone?

Do you know that if you make and receive 20 minutes of calls to/from  Australia with normal roaming it will cost on average $700. With a prepaid Global SIM, the bill will be around $170, saving you over $500!

The top tips for saving on your mobile phone bill when travelling overseas are:

First use more SMS, this is an excellent way to communicate cheaply when international roaming. However, avoid texting conversations as these can quickly become more expensive than one quick call.

Have people call you, it is cheaper to receive a call when overseas than to make one back to Australia. Even with normal roaming where you pay to receive calls, this is a cheaper way to stay in touch. Send a text to your family and friends to call you back. With most Global SIM cards it is free to receive calls in a large number of countries.

When I travel overseas I always carry a Global SIM, there are plenty of options available so do your research to out find what suits you best. For the last three years I have used a company called BackChat Mobile; I find them to be most efficient and supportive and they have most certainly saved me money.