What better way to spend a weekend than to spend it with your friends? A few beers, a BBQ in the garden, and as it’s summer, some great summer songs to top it all off. But why not take that one step further and think about a road trip with your mates? Bournemouth perhaps as it has beautiful beaches, or how about Camber Sands? Why not just take a long drive up north or where ever you all fancy. But in the midst of preparing a road trip with your friends, nothing will top it all off more, than to have some memorable songs. So when you are relaxing with them, you can say “Hey! Remember this song? We listened to it on our road trip to Bournemouth! What a laugh that was!” Besides, it’s always great reminiscing about the fun things you have done!

So this week on our Friday Drivetime, we are looking at those ultimate road trip songs with your mates. You know, the ones that when you hear again all you can think a bout is the good times you had.

Here are my Top Ten Songs to go on a Road Trip with your Friends:

1. Electric Six – GayBar
2. The Beatles – With A Little Help From My Friends
3. The Hives – Walk Idiot Walk
4. Muse – Feeling Good
5. Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual
6. Young Lovers (Sam Sparro Mix) – Love Grenades
7. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
8. The Kinks – Lola
9. Flight of the Conchords – Business Time
10. The Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage

What songs would you take on a road trip with your mates? Can you think of any that remind of a great road trip with your friends? Let us know!

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Christopher Columbus discovered Cuba on the 28th of October in 1492 declaring it “the most beautiful country human eyes had ever seen,” and named it Juana. However, the indigenous people had always called it Cuba and this was the name that eventually took. He reached what is now Bariay, a harbor a few miles to the east of Holguin, which is also where I stayed.

The people of Cuba are just wonderful, so friendly. They always have a smile on their face and are great to talk to. We stayed at the Sol Rio Luna y Mares All Inclusive Hotel Resort, were looked after by Alexis and had a great time. The hotel was an hour transfer from Holguin and the weather was great. It was an eye opener seeing people living in very challenging conditions, but this was the result of Hurricane Ike on the 8th of September 2008. The devastating storm caused £4.6billion ($7.3billion) in damages thanks to its high winds of about 120mph (193km/h) which caused flooding destroying over 200 homes. However, the rest of the view was beautiful and everybody was always happy.

There is a lot to see and enjoy in Cuba. In our resort they offered us everything. Unlimited drinks and snacks as well as three meals a day and a great variety of sports and activities to do. Snorkelling was popular here as there was a giant catamaran everyday that went past our resort to go the best snorkel place near us. We also went out sailing with a great guy called George who gave us the history of Cuba and some of its myths and legends, one being on the saddle hill where Christopher Columbus took port there is a lot of hidden treasure and people have been looking for it for thousands of years. Another day we took out a pedalo and went around the warm ocean. Playing tennis in the heat is very challenging but it was great fun when you just wanted to be outside doing something, but the best part was being able to dive into the pool after a game to cool down.

Bicycles were a plenty as well as motorbikes for hire so you were able to go off by yourself and explore your surroundings. This is highly recommended as the countryside is stunning. A bike ride into Guardalavaca (the next village along) is really tough but worth every gruelling minute of blood, sweat and tears because you feel awesome after you get back, like you have achieved something great in that dying heat, not to mention the dive into the pool or sea after.

There was a beautiful archaeological site and zoo a 15 minute walk away which had some great animals such as large iguanas, turtles, hundreds of crabs, flamingos, hawks and even a crocodile! It was a great way to spend an afternoon, also further along, the archaeological site offers great discovery of flora and fauna and a beautiful look-out point on the bay, perfect for a great photo of Cuba.

One of my most favourite moments in Cuba was the thunder storm we experienced. Almost 5 – 6 days of pouring monsoon rain, thunder and lightning so close the sound crackled in our ears. It was so beautiful and enjoyable having a romantic dinner on the beach only to look out at sea and admire the storm giving us it’s very own light show.

There are many other things to do in Cuba as well, excursions a plenty with trips to the capital Havana for three nights, go fishing in the local area or head out to sea for some deep sea fishing in the hope to catch some large tuna. Or you can take a tour of a cigar factory and see how the best cigars in the world are made and take some home with you or swim with dolphins in the aquatic park. Alternatively visit part of an old fishing village where you can see the real Cuba and get a taste of what life is really like here.

It is such a wonderful a peaceful place, even after all the woes they have been through with hurricane after hurricane, and despite the losses they have suffered every person we saw always had a smile on their face and said hello.

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According to a recent article in the Times Online, the creators of a new ‘artificial intelligence’ style car safety device have signed a multi-million pound deal with several European governments to run trials.

The Cohda intelligent transport system uses a GPS locator and a chip that allows cars to communicate their speed and location to other similarly equipped vehicles within a 500ft radius. Its makers (Cohda Wireless) say it can detect the potential for a collision, then will give a warning or even take over the controls if the driver’s reactions are too slow.

The first versions will tighten seatbelt tension and intensify braking pressure to prepare for a crash. But the ultimate design is intended to include steering control, autonomous application of the brakes and even lowering a shield over the windscreen to prevent a panicking human from seeing what’s about to happen.

This new system is the latest in a number of devices being developed around the world to combat the damaging effects of judgement errors, lack of concentration and wilful law-breaking on the roads. Lane departure warning systems are now being introduced to stop drivers drifting out of their lane on motorways, and automatic speed-limiting devices will be installed in a fleet of cars in London this summer for a study to prove the effectiveness of the technology.

So will future drivers need to pass a driving test at all, or will their car do all the work for them? Road fatality statistics in the UK still make for grim reading, despite the introduction of more speed-curbing measures, so should any new way of minimising accidents be welcomed, even if it means depending even more heavily on our on-board computers?

Just like many new advances, this development has its pros and cons. It could prevent thousands of deaths, as long as we don’t forget how to react properly when our techno-car needs re-booting. Will it just make us lazy drivers, with no sense of responsibility for our actions behind the wheel? Do let me know your thoughts on the subject.

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Here’s another of our monthly updates from Auto Europe’s Commercial Director for the UK and Ireland, Peter McAree:

After a cold winter of financial discontent, it’s been a difficult time for everyone, but we’ve been encouraged by the general determination most people have to find money in the budget for a holiday. Most of us are willing to cut back on lifestyle spending, but to sacrifice those few precious days away from it all is for many a step too far.

Just like almost every other business in the UK, Auto Europe is experiencing the effects of the recession, but perhaps not in the way you might expect. Instead of a slow-down in car hire bookings resulting in a surplus of unused vehicles, we’ve seen complete sell-outs in the most popular destinations, particularly during the busy school holiday periods.

This is because many of the major suppliers have been buying fewer new cars this year. As a result, fleets are reduced and availability is limited. Over the Easter break we sold out of vehicles in some of the major holiday destinations in Spain.

With a predicted 12 million people holidaying closer to home in 2009, the UK is performing strongly, closely followed by France, and it’s likely that each of these countries will certainly run tight and together with Spain, could even run out of rental vehicles during the height of the summer season.

Another affect we’ve noticed is the increasing trend for last-minute booking. It’s understandable that travellers are reluctant to commit early-on to plans when the future is still uncertain, but I’d strongly recommend making an advance booking to avoid disappointment if you’re planning to hire a car this year.

Making a reservation now will guarantee that you get the type of car you need from the pick-up location you want. There’s no risk involved if you book with us, as you can amend a booking free of charge or cancel for a full refund up to 48 hours before the time of collection. Late bookers could find it impossible to find the right vehicle, and when they do, prices could be substantially higher.

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Nicky Faux, go to the top of the Spanish trivia class! Antoni Gaudi did indeed create the building depicted in last week’s quiz (along with lots of other amazing structures).

Now here’s the last of our Spanish-themed questions. The building pictured below is the official residence of the King of Spain – King Juan Carlos – who makes use of it for official ceremonies.

Its origins date back to the 9th century. The original building on this site (the Alcázar) was destroyed by fire in 1734 and the “new” structure was finished by the middle of the same century. The interior rooms are decorated in a striking style and are well worth viewing if you visit the part of Spain it lives in. Can you name it?

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We are happy to introduce a special guest travel article from Jo Kessel – freelance travel writer for the national newspapers:

Saint Tropez on a shoestring – it’s not possible. Or so I thought. Until I found a French self-catering specialist, Pierre & Vacances, with studios in their holiday village Les Restanques from just £367.00 for a family of four. Flights were booked, a car hired from Toulon airport, and off we set.

Despite having traveled the world, for me nothing beats the French Riviera. With rolling hills sweeping to the Med, the picturesque villages of Provence with their indigenous pastel houses and slatted wooden shutters evoke a charm of a bygone era. But it comes at a price, and with much currently made of the euro/pound exchange rate, could this part of the world be visited on a budget?

Amazingly enough, it appears that it can! Les Restanques was quite a find. A beautiful village set around a lake in a 25 acre landscaped estate, accommodation all typical of the region. Not only were the grounds a botanical delight, bursting with colour and the scent of lavender, but the facilities were amazing too. Two swimming pools, one with a wave machine and water slides, tennis and basketball courts, a football pitch, a children’s playground and a roller-skating park. Moreover, fantastic kids clubs (which my brood absolutely loved) were included in the price and there were even free aerobics classes.

We could have stayed put, but instead the kids (twins Nathalie and Gabriel, 6, and Hannah, 4) went to the children’s clubs in the mornings, whilst afternoons were spent exploring. Les Restanques was brilliantly situated. Saint Tropez was only a ten minutes drive away. Here we managed to somehow admire the yachts in the harbour and all the designer shops without giving in to temptation. The best time was had wandering the narrow cobbled streets of the old town and hanging out on the main square, watching locals playing petanque (French bowls). For £2.00 we all even enjoyed an ice-cream (great economising) by buying a six-pack of own-brand cornettos from the Spar supermarket opposite.

Whilst we loved St. Tropez, it was the smaller, less-known Port Grimaud which stole our hearts – a gem of a faux-medieval walled town built on a network of canals linked by bridges. Here we hired an electric boat for a slightly different perspective, breezing past the marinas and admiring the peach, mustard and terracotta-coloured houses on the water’s edge. Also not to be missed was Grimaud itself, a majestic, ancient stone village tucked away from the crowds of the Riviera, set on a hill topped by an 11th century castle.

To keep expenses low we stocked up for the week at the extremely cheap supermarket Lidl, and kept meals simple. Lunches were pasta in our basic, 2-bed apartment. Dinner was a picnic of baguettes stuffed with various cold cuts. The greatest trick was managing to stick to a tight budget whilst never feeling deprived. And this we did with a style that Brigitte Bardot would have been proud of!

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Hello everyone, it’s that time of the week again when we get talking tunes. Driving tunes that is, and this week is quite pertinent as we are about to have a beautiful bank holiday weekend. If the weather-men can be believed. Prepared by Seetal and posted by me whilst she is, hopefully, enjoying a fantastic trip to Cuba, we bring you: Holiday Driving Songs. This top ten is designed for sunshine trips along coastal roads in a convertible with the top down . . . well we can dream!

The Auto Europe Top Ten Beach Holiday Driving Songs

1. DJ Sammy – Sunlight
2. Belleruche – Anything You Want (Not That)
3. Chicane – Offshore
4. Justin Timberlake – My Love
5. Röyksopp – So Easy
6. Moby – Porcelain
7. Air – Kelly Watch the Stars
8. Télépopmusik – Breathe
9. Jakatta – American Dream
10. Ashlee Simpson – Pieces of Me

What do you think? Can you beat our suggestions with even happier tunes for holidays?

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If you have had to save a little harder than usual to enjoy a summer holiday this year, then spending money is probably more precious than ever. That’s why a new survey from Which?, the consumer watchdog, on how to cut the cost of your holiday cash is so very timely.

The Which? team of researchers contacted 21 foreign currency providers regularly during February, March and April 2009. An online provider Eurochange came out best overall (but we find the website confusing) and, probably unsurprisingly, airport Bureaux de Change desks were revealed as the worst. Travelex came out as a particularly poor choice, in fact $500 was £40 more in Travelex than from Eurochange, and €500 was nearly £47 more expensive. Just to put it in perspective, if you had a £500 allowance for holiday spending you could lose almost 10% of it by purchasing your foreign currency from Travelex in the Airport!

So, the message is clear: organise your foreign currency before you get to the airport. In general the best deals were all online, even the Post Office offered much better rates to its online customers than to customers in store. What’s more, ordering online is much safer than it sounds. You order the currency and it is delivered to your house by courier. However, you’ll usually need to factor in a delivery charge for this service when comparing rates. The Post Office stands out here by offering a ‘best of both worlds’ scenario, order online to get the best rate and then collect in store to avoid delivery charges! Saga is another good online choice as they offer free next day delivery for orders over £300 and do not charge for using Visa or debit cards.

Here a few other tips to help you get the best foreign currency deal:

• Don’t be fooled by flash promises of “no commission” as this is fairly meaningless. Currency exchange providers make their money by what they charge over and above the official exchange rate, meaning a provider that charges commission could still be cheaper than one that doesn’t.
• Remember to ask your bank what you will be charged to use your cards abroad so you know which will be the cheapest. You may even want to take out a new card for the holiday as cards which are cost-effective for spending abroad are usually uncompetitive for use in the UK (and vice versa).
• If you would like to have some contingency money with you, just in case of emergency, then get a UK Sterling traveller’s cheque as you won’t waste money on exchange rates and its less easy to spend on a whim.

Two other top tips from personal experience – do not carry more cash than your travel insurance covers and remember to let your bank know your holiday dates so they do not freeze your account! Happy travelling and enjoy the savings you are (hopefully) about to make . . .

PS – one other money saving tip is that Vodafone is abolishing roaming charges from 1 June to 31 August 2009, this represent s a 75p saving for every text or phonecall home made via Vodaphone!

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Congratulations to Donny C and Jamie for correctly guessing that the most successful football club of the 20th century was Real Madrid FC. Now from the beautiful game to beautiful buildings. See if you know the answer to this week’s question.

Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is a cosmopolitan Mediterranean city that incorporates in its urban street pattern Roman remains, medieval districts and some of the world’s most beautiful examples of Modernism and 20th century avant-garde art.

Which famous architect designed a number of highly stylised structural masterpieces throughout the city (like the one illustrated below), which have now been declared to be World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

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If you travel by air frequently, the chances are that at least once you’ve been left at the carousel waiting for a bag that doesn’t appear. In the vast majority of cases (no pun intended), it’ll turn up within a couple of days, safe and intact.

Inevitably, a few unlucky lost luggage owners are parted from their possessions for good. When airlines are unable to trace these passengers, the items are auctioned off for charity.

But if you thought you’d never see your Hawaiian shorts and favourite bikini again, you could be mistaken. Eccentric Londoner Luna Laboo has just launched a new website which allows users to rifle virtually through the contents of other people’s lost suitcases.

www.isthisyourluggage.com features photographs of luggage purchased by Laboo at auctions. Simply click on each case to see pictures of the items packed inside. “I go to these auctions and buy the cases so I can photograph them for my weird, voyeuristic passion” she openly admits.

According to a report in Travel Daily, Laboo first became fascinated by the subject following the chaotic opening of Heathrow’s terminal 5 in March 2008. She is keen to hear from the original owners of the cases she’s purchased. What isn’t clear is how she would respond if any of these people wanted their things returned.

Perhaps some people will consider this a useful service. Many will be tempted to have a look (I must admit I did), but most travellers will probably feel rather uncomfortable at the possibility of their swimming trunks being photographed and posted online. Do let me know your thoughts on the subject. Do you think it’s just a bit of fun and guilty pleasure, a way of tracking down those things you thought were gone forever, or does it just add insult to injury for a person who’s already fallen victim to airport inefficiency?

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