Every month on the STA Travel Blog, we invite our resident nurse, Michelle Sellors to bring you up to speed about everything you need to know about a particular subject, related to her favourite subject of travel health.

Michelle has 11 years experience in the industry, and now works closely with our teams in our STA Travel Clinics, in Liverpool and Manchester.

This week, she’s chosen to focus on one of the world’s most misunderstood diseases, yellow fever. These are the facts, as seen through the eyes and experience of Michelle, a professional nurse. Continue reading →

‘I want a holiday’. How many times have you uttered that sentence so far this year? For me, it’s got to be around 26 times (yep I’m boring myself as well as everyone else).

If you’re in my position but your bank balance is out to spoil your fun, then you should find this list of affordable adventures pretty interesting.

Here are 12 of our best value, week long, adventures, meaning that you can get away on the kind of awesome experience you’ve been jealously hearing about from your friends for the past few months. Which one’s caught your eye?

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Dubai is already a huge stopover hub for flights en route to China, Japan, India, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand as the home of Emirates, one of the world biggest airlines.

And from 1st April, thanks to a new partnership between Emirates and Qantas, the other huge airline servicing the same side of the world, it’s set to become a lot more popular as Qantas begin to stopover in the Arab state too.

So the question should really be; if you have to stopover in Dubai, and you have the chance to spend a few days exploring this unique city as an added extra, why the heck wouldn’t you grab the opportunity with both hands?!

The sad thing is, many of those travellers won’t even see outside of the airport departure lounge as they spend a few hours sat in Burger King and stocking up on duty free before carrying on with their journey.

Maybe that’s because many people aren’t aware of the option for a longer stopover, maybe it’s because they don’t have the time, or maybe it’s because they’ve been sucked in by a few age old myths about travelling to Dubai.

Think Dubai’s Not For You? Think Again…

Below are 5 myths we commonly hear about travel to Dubai. Reasons which, somewhat unfairly, stop people from making the decision to explore Dubai for themselves. So it’s time to bust them – once and for all!

See something a little different to the insdie of the departure lounge on arrival in Dubai.

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Tourism brings prosperity to previously impoverished areas of the world and provides locals with a way to make money and provide for their families. However, as travellers, it’s responsible of us to be aware of how our presence effects the local communities we come into contact with.

The basis of responsible tourism is, very generally, concerned with respecting the places you visit, minimising the impact you have on the surroundings as you pass through, and giving something back to the local communities.

You can find out more about how we at STA Travel are doing our bit towards becoming a more responsible travel provider on our website.

Small considerations we make while travelling can make all the difference to the communities we encounter on our trips and to the local environment.

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Part of the fun of travelling the world is all the weird, wonderful, and completely random situations that you get yourself into.

One minute you’re saying a tearful goodbye to your mum at the airport (the tears are hers not yours of course) and then next you’re on a plane to some far flung destination, before hopping onto the back of a moped taxi, with all your worldly belongings strapped to your back; and that’s where the journey really begins…

Continue reading →