Smart Traveller

Costa Coffee, sponsor of the Costa Book Awards, is running a promotional competition in which the first prize is a trip to Italy. The trip is worth £3,000 and is being provided by Citalia, a company which specialises in Italian holidays. Three runners-up will receive a Sky+HD Package consisting of a 32″ Sony LCD TV, a Sky+HD box and a year’s subscription to Sky+, Sky+HD and the Sky World entertainment channel package.

To enter the competition, visit the Costa Book Awards website and decide which of the five 2008 Costa Book Awards category winners you think will win the Costa Book of the Year Award. The five category winners are: “The Outcast” by Sadie Jones (First Novel category); “The Secret Scripture” by Sebastian Barry (Novel category); “Somewhere Towards the End” by Diana Athill (Biography category); “The Broken Word” by Adam Foulds (Poetry category); and “Just Henry” by Michelle Magorian (Children’s Book category).

Entries must be received by the 26th January 2009.

Image courtesy of: © Wam1975 | Dreamstime.com

If you’re looking for the ultimate adventure holiday, how about storm chasing? There are many different storm chasing companies in the USA offering holidays that will allow you go in search of tornadoes in order to see the Mother Nature release her wrath up close.

The USA’s famous “Tornado Alley” is the media name given to the area of the country where most tornadoes occur. Although tornado experts don’t agree about exactly which areas are covered by Tornado Alley, the U.S States featured are predominantly in the Mid-West and include Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota and North Dakota.

Most storm chasing companies offer trips which last 7 - 14 days and which take place during the height of the storm season (April to June). You’ll spend much of your time travelling in an SUV chasing storms, but on days when the weather means that storms are unlikely, many tour operators will arrange for visits to local attractions, so you’ll still have plenty to keep you occupied. You’ll be accompanied by a professional storm chasing team and will learn all about the science of storm chasing and how tornadoes are formed, as well as hopefully being able to actually see tornadoes.

Storm chasing holidays usually aren’t cheap, with prices for a week’s trip starting from $1,800, and this doesn’t include flights or food. However, for a unique experience, it’s well worth the money.

Storm chasing tour operators include Tempest Tours, Tradd Storm Chasing Tours, Weather Gods and Violent Skies.

The Guardian is currently offering readers the chance to win a holiday in Greece. The prize consists of two return flights from London Stanstead airport to Athens with Aegean Airlines, return flights from Athens to any destination in Greece which is served by Aegean Airlines, and three nights luxury accommodation in one of the Myconian Collection hotels on Mykonos or one of the Maris hotels on Crete.

You can enter the competition on the Guardian’s website and entries must be received by 23:59 on Friday 23 January 2009. The holiday must be taken before 30 November 2009 and some dates are not available, so check the competition’s terms and conditions before entering.

Image courtesy of: © Lars Christensen | Dreamstime.com