Phil Byrne

We all know those people who spend a week preparing for the flight they are about to make - at least the one they are about to make in seven days!

However, it needn't be like that because, these days, there is so much to do before you actually step on the plane, and it doesn't always have to begin with duty free.

Most people aren't lucky enough to live near their departing airport and many opt to stay in a hotel the night before.

We've all done it, haven't we? You walk through the hotel doors, it all seems smaller than you'd expected for this price - a lot smaller - and the ever so slightly bored receptionist checks you into a cramped room that overlooks the delivery area. There's a thin layer of dust on the bedside lamp, the stiff curtains smell faintly of smoke and the TV only has four channels.

There's so much rhetoric about flying that sometimes you're not quite sure whether to board a plane or not. If it's not delays it's the threat of something else from a long list of 'possibles'.

However, the number of passengers still seems to be increasing according to BAA, the leading airport company that owns seven of the UK's airports including the largest, London Heathrow.

Out of all the years of traveling throughout Britain as the director of a marketing company in Bristol, I have learned that hotels are a better option for the professional traveler in many ways. Let's face it, bed and breakfast owners are not as flexible as a hotel reception when it comes to the common delays in airports and train stations. Late arrivals and early departures make hotels more convenient when arrivals and departures go wrong.

Millions of British people will have experienced bed and breakfast accommodation at some point in their lives and most will know that the stereotypical days of strict landladies, nylon sheets and clunky plumbing are over. Thankfully, the dated establishments and mediocre service of the good old 'B&B' have been refurbished with a more attractive, competitive approach.

Bristol is filled with free activities to keep you entertained all year-round. If your a wordly traveller, then you may find that Bristol is a city with a little bit of Boston, a little bit of San Fransisco, very multi-cultural and yet, purely British. With its vibrant student population, friendly atmosphere, you will be spoilt for choice of events to attend.

London's biggest concentration of theatres lies at the heart of the bustling West End, traditionally bordered by The Strand, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Kingsway. Some people also include the complex on the South Bank in this definition of Theatreland. The Strand itself is one of the prominent streets for theatres, together with Drury Lane and Shaftesbury Avenue.

Love it or dread it, Christmas is inevitable. No sooner have the stores taken down their Halloween displays than they're replacing them with huge spangly icicles, gold stars and beaming Santas. The pressure's on to fight late night shoppers, order turkeys and vast pork pies, and work out how to be in three different places on Christmas Day. There's no escape.

Sitting on the beautiful River Avon, Bristol was once England 's second largest town and a major port, with a floating harbour at its centre. Today, although the docks were closed and the port activities have moved out of town, Bristol remains a thriving city, with a vibrancy that attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Bristol has risen to the tourist challenge, celebrating the city's maritime heritage and transforming its original floating harbour and docklands into a flourishing area.