“What is there in Verona apart from an amphitheatre and a balcony?” a friend asked just before my weekend away. It was a good question, and I didn’t really have a good answer. I had only booked it because I fancied a romantic yet inexpensive weekend away somewhere with my...

Summary OK, another long report. If you don’t have time to read the latest Schofs’ Travels epic, then just trust me on one thing; go to Bora Bora. Do it now. Quit your job, sell your kidneys, and take out any savings that you’d put away for a rainy day. Bora Bora is quite...

Purple Parking (Drop off) We’ve recently moved a little further away from Heathrow, meaning a return taxi trip would have cost over £100, so I thought I’d try out some Heathrow parking. After pricing up a few alternatives, Purple Parking came in cheapest at £69 for the 14 nights...

Tokyo – Tahiti in Air Tahiti Nui Business ClassThis was a flight I was looking forward to, because I was finally on my way to one of the most beautiful places on the planet; Bora Bora.Another trip on the Narita Express saw us rolling up to Narita Terminal 2, where Air Tahiti Nui fly...

Bora Bora – Tahiti in Air Tahiti Economy The boat took us right to the airport, and as we went into the terminal we grabbed a few last minute presents for family from the small selection of shops. We then checked in our bags, collected our boarding passes, and went to the bar opposite...

Tahiti – Tokyo in Air Tahiti Nui Business Class The check in desks were immediately in front of us as we entered the terminal. There was no queue at the Business/First desk for Air Tahiti Nui, and the whole process was as simple as it had been in Tokyo. I did ask how much it would cost...

Tokyo – London in British Airways FIRST Class With our bags already waiting in the hotel lobby area, we climbed into a taxi and our bags were loaded in. We’d be flying out of Narita Terminal 1 back to London, so the hotel staff explained this to the driver, and we were off. It was...

>Here’s a video clip from the Skiing in St. Anton… it seemed so much faster when I was on the slopes!

>Planning The TripIt was 1st April 2006, and Alex and I were sitting at a blackjack table in a casino on the Isle Of Man. It was approaching 2am, and Alex was all out of chips (having lost a huge £10). I on the other hand was £43 up, and a small crowd was gathering; this is big money over...

>…but don’t worry – I’ve got a few trips planned before the end of the year…August – Flying in BA FIRST to LA with a mate, hiring a fast convertible, driving across the desert to Vegas, winning loads (that’s the plan anyway) over the 3 nights...

>IntroductionFirst things first… this Bonanza was a lot crammed into a little time. The write up however is a lot with no cramming… sorry! So rather than the usual single post write up, I’ve split it up into days.Select which section you’d like to see:All SectionsIntroduction /...

>London Heathrow – Boston in British Airways First ClassFollowing a clear run in the taxi to Heathrow Terminal 4, I met Phil in the First Check In area, and we went to collect our boarding passes from the desk. As always, we’d checked in 24 hours before hand online, and had secured the...

>Boston – San Francisco in American Airlines First ClassThanks to the 5 hour time difference, getting up at 5:30 am felt more like having a lie-in. As our eager taxi driver sped into the drop off zone, a guy was about to step onto the crossing just in front of us, but then thought better of...

>The Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, HonoluluAs we’d booked 5* hotels for the rest of the trip, we thought we’d stay on a budget when booking the Hawaii nights (so long as we got miles or points for the stay!). Most of the hotels in the area were fully booked, or extremely expensive. However...

>Honolulu – Los Angeles in American Airlines First ClassAt 5:30am we checked out of our hotel, and drove back to the airport to return our car to Avis, and then took the courtesy bus to the main terminal.To be honest, the time wasn’t really a problem because of the time difference… in...

>Still Out in San FranciscoOur flight back to Boston wasn’t until 1pm, so when I got up I decided to hire a taxi to go to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was about 20 minutes drive from the hotel, and when we reached the bridge we drove over it and pulled up at a look out point.While the lookout...

>Out in BostonWe went down to have a chat with the concierge about Bus tours, and he recommended Old Town Trolley Tours. There’s also a tour on an amphibious bus/boat, but that didn’t cover nearly as much. We bought our tickets from him for $26 each (he convinced us we looked like...

>I wasn’t really expecting to be faced with a bill for $1000 on check out, but there it was. I calmly looked over the bill and said “That’s great, but could you just remove the mini bar and film for me as I’m a Royal Ambassador”. A few seconds later a new bill...

>New York – London in British Airways New Club WorldAnd there it was… the early alarm that said “Holiday’s over”. Well… not quite. Normally when I fly back from the US, I take an evening flight and make use of the flat bed to get a good night’s kip....

>Planning the TripWell, this is the first time I’ve been able to say this… but every last bit of the organising, from the location and accommodation to the flights – was done by someone else. Consider that a completely unnecessary disclaimer, because it worked out to be a...

The morning after I used my AA miles to book Hong Kong – Tokyo – Tahiti – Tokyo – Hong Kong, I received a 1 liner email from AA saying “Please contact AA regarding a problem with your booking”.I should point out that at this point that I had already booked...

Yup – I’ve made a few calls, and hey presto, Option 4 has now been booked!The route is:London – Hong Kong (BA First)Hong Kong – Tokyo (JAL Business)Tokyo – Tahiti (Air Tahiti Nui Business)Tahiti – Tokyo (Air Tahiti Nui Business)Tokyo – London (BA...

OK, so that’s not always strictly true, but today it is. Flying from Manchester to London this morning was a bit of a rollercoaster, but at least I arrived. Turning up for the return flight this afternoon at about 3pm, I thought I might see if I could get on an earlier flight which I...

>There comes a point, when all the miles and hotel points have to mean something… and that something is to be as far removed from home life as possible… just for a little while.So realising that I could throw a load of my Priority Club points towards an Overwater Bungalow at...

Welcome to Schofs’ Travels…Those of you who know me will already know that I enjoy travelling, particularly flying to places I’ve never been, and getting as much out of it for as little money as possible :)I’ll try and update this as much as possible with past and...

>British Airways fly London – Bahrain – Doha – Bahrain – London every day, with a full 4 class service (World Traveller, World Traveller Plus, Club World, and FIRST).You can purchase a return flight on the Bahrain – Doha – Bahrain section very cheaply in...