Travel accessories have come a long way since the humble money belt. I remember wearing a money belt almost every day on a trip around South America. It certainly came in handy and I was one of the only ones in our group not to have something stolen. But there was a high price to pay as a money belt is a pretty sure fire way to get your stomach sweaty. Comfortable it wasn't.

Now you can get all sorts of flashy bags. Men are becoming more metrosexual and in my opinion the travel bag is just a cunning way for them to get away with having a handbag. I mean DJ Erick Morillo just went to Selfridges to launch a new range of bags by Knomo.

They were obviously paying him a lot of money to say "One of the best parts of my job is that I get to travel the world, meeting interesting people and finding out about different cultures.
"Whether I'm playing in New York, Paris or Ibiza I need to travel light and keep my things in good order. It is often the case that I fly in, play my set and then leave again the very next day."
"When Knomo approached me, I was excited to create my own line of travel bags. What we have come up with works for me.

He added: "The bags are durable and fashionable so my equipment, music and laptop are safe while I still look trendy."


The travel accessory market is now so big that they have an annual travel accessories show.  The industry experts at that show commented on how there are a whole range of different travel accessories to cater to different tastes.

For instance you might want a mini fan which could be life saver for those times when you are stuck on public transport with no air conditioning.
Everyone hates to sit on an airplane next to a crying baby, even when it is your own! That's why the airplay toy is a work of genius. It is a little play unit which you can attach to the back of the seat in front with all sorts of interactive games.


Another fantastic idea is an antibacterial portable bed cover which can be fitted over the sheets in your room. It's perfect for any journeys to third world countries which are not known for the best bedding, like Egypt and Thailand. You could even find use for it in England and American given how many hideously filthy hotels are infested with bedbugs.

The Daily Mail ran a hilarious piece at the end of last year about a man who ended up perched on a cliff edge because he was following his sat nav. In the dead of night he had heeded sat nav instructions which told him to turn off the road and onto a field. The thin path soon turned to a precipice and before long his car was teetering above a house.

He was charged with dangerous driving and the explanation " I was just following my sat nav" did not wash with the court.

Used properly sat navs are wonderful devices and they can take a lot of stress out of a journey. If you are driving on your own it is almost impossible to read a map without having to pull over regularly. If you or the passenger are not good with maps anyway, then a sat nav is still a better option.

The problem with sat navs is that the road conditions change quicker than their information database. I used to work as a journalist for a local newspaper and many of our stories (yes it was an exciting part of the world) revolved around lorries getting lost and stuck or damaging public property in the process.

Sat navs are often used by long distance lorry drivers as many of them come from abroad and don’t even speak the local language. They are not to know that the road which the sat nav advises them to take has now become a one-way or blocked off at one end. The biggest problem is that sat navs don't show low lying bridges. Knowing that they can't turn around, many lorries will attempt to get under the bridge anyway but then get stuck.

Many out-of-the-way rural destinations are difficult to access by sat nav. Even testers of the new CoPilot system, a sat nav which is compatible with your iPhone, were not impressed. The huge map download took quite a long time, and half an hour longer to copy the software to an iPhone.

Then comes the real catch. If you are finding that it is not working in a foreign country, it's because you have to set your cell phone to roam. This is extremely expensive as people who have tried to use the internet abroad would testify. You could have an unpleasant bill waiting for you upon your return.

So it seems that in spite of all the incredible new technology we have access to, the good old map will always have a place in the world.

Unfortunately bikes are incredibly easy to steal. In some countries where there are a lot of bikes, the stealing of them becomes an art form. I remember calling the police in Holland to report a stolen bike and the police just laughed. It happens so often that no one in the Netherlands ever buys an expensive bike, it's not worth the trouble.

Even if you have to best kind of lock and you lock it up in what you think is the most secure place, a practised bike thief will find a way to make away with it. But if you are really into cycling or motor biking, and you want to get a nice set of wheels for yourself then having bike insurance makes sense.

There are millions of companies on the internet which offer to find the cheapest going rate for bike insurance. In that respect it just like having a car insured; you need to shop around for the most competitive quote. These companies can also insure motor bikes and quad bikes so any type of vehicle could be covered.

Once you have decided which company to choose then you need to work out which kind of bike insurance you will need. You can get comprehensive insurance which covers you for everything or third party insurance which just covers the third party if you have an accident, as well as incidents of fire and theft. Motorcycle riders definitely need to get bike insurance as riding a motorcycle is much more dangerous than having a car.

By law you must have bike insurance but it is also a sensible option. Even if you are not using your bike but want to get it covered in case of vandalism or accidents you can get off road bike insurance at a reduced rate.


There is usually an age limit for motorcycle insurance. This tends to be 19 years of age but again shopping around will show that different companies might have different age limits and some will be more suited to your needs than others.

Breakdown cover can often be included as part of your bike insurance and some providers will also give you legal cover, such as Carole Nash which offers up to fifty thousand pounds of bike insurance legal cover in the United Kingdom.

Van Insurance is very important and allows drivers to protect a vehicle of up to three and a half tonnes in weight. No matter whether you have a small van or a large van, legally your van must be insured.

Although most people would rather spend their money on something else, van insurance can be a blessing when things go wrong.

The British Post Office has recently released a memo advises businesses to make sure that they cover themselves properly by taking out van insurance.
Government research was conducted which showed that vans account for 13 per cent of all the traffic on United Kingdom roads. More than two thirds of these vans are used for business purposes so there are huge benefits to making sure that the van and its contents are properly insured.

Over the past ten years there has been an increase of 3.2 million vans doing daily business, all of which need to be insured for the road. Half of the journeys they take are for work purposes while a quarter of their trips are made to deliver and collect goods. If you get the Post office insurance in covers you for damage to a third party when you are towing goods and this includes trailers. Other popular insurance companies include Auto Net Insurance, Rhino Van Hire, Tesco and Go Compare.

Most of these companies do big savings by booking online. Shopping around will allow you to compare quotes and look for the best value deal for your van. You just choose whether you want comprehensive van insurance, third party fire and theft van insurance or third party only cover.

When you have your van insurance you need to think about van insurance premiums. To lower your premiums you may want to think about purchasing van security measures. Recent figures have shown that 30 per cent of customers choose van security, including van insurance as the most important factor when it comes to choosing their vehicle.

Commercial Vehicle Manager at Swinton, Phil Moss, said: "Installing security features can have a positive effect on the van insurance premiums.
He added: "Commercial vehicle drivers can get a secure van with a decent premium to match by shopping around."
Van insurance is also known as commercial vehicle insurance or commercial van insurance.

Though it will never rival car hire in terms of volume, motorcycle hire is growing in popularity. While car hire caters to families and all kinds of customers, motorcycle hire tends to be the preserve of singles and couples who are looking to have a good time. A long motorcycle ride can be very romantic way for two people to travel, or the ultimate way for one person to really clear their thoughts and have some great alone time. The main brands of motorcycles that are popular to hire are Japanese, Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki.


However if you go to specialist motorcycle hire companies there is the chance to get a signature vehicle like the Harley Davidson which really will be the envy of all your friends. This kind of motorcycle is good for countries which have long open roads, for instance if you are doing a road trip through Australia or America. There are also exotic models of motorcycle hire like the Fireblade. Motorcycle hire companies can rent these to people who have always wanted to ride a Fireblade without being able to purchase it.  Motorcycle hire can also encompass smaller European vehicles such as the scooter or Vespa. These are ideal for crowded cities like Rome or Paris and there are a lot of romantic connotations associated with the Vespa.


With motorcycle hire insurance is not only a legal requirement but a necessity as motorcycles are much more dangerous than cars. You should always wear a helmet and protective clothing as your chances of surviving a serious accident on a motorcycle are a lot lower than on a car. Shop around for the best deals and see our blog on bike insurance.

Because of the dangers of riding a motorcycle the motorcycle test is much harder than the car test. Of course to hire a motorcycle you need to have a valid licence specifically for a motorcycle and the correct grade, for example you’d be foolish to try and hire a Yamaha R1, reputed as one of the fastest road going production bikes, with a CBT (uk 50cc licence)! The age to rent tends to be a bit higher than with cars, unless you are getting a low powered motorcycle like a Vespa or other scooter.

The massive advantage of motorcycle hire is the amount of time you can save yourself in traffic. While cars have to sit there stationary, their drivers cursing, you can zip right to the front of the queue. For this reason more and more businessmen and women who commute are using motorcycle hire to get to work on time.  So if you are considering a biking holiday or just want to experience the sheer exhilaration of of the open road on a sports bike there are many companies out there that can help including www.motorcycle-hire.co.uk, www.newhorizonsbikehire.com and www.abouttownbikehire.co.uk.