Jet2’s gets big service tip
when the weeping willows that line its lake are all lit up, and there’s a laser show after dark, along with smells of spiced wine, toffee almonds, waffles and honey cakes. A romantic themee park for couples. ESSENTIALS: £14 for aged eight and over, under eight goes free, tivoligardens.com. The closest theme park to the UK is this unlikelysounding offering on the coast of Belgium by the resort of De Panne. It’s just across the border from France – look out for the sign that reads “Calais, AIRLINE Jet2 is flying high – and has left low-cost rival Ryanair stalled on the runway, according to a pas passenger survey by Which? The consumer group f found flyers were impressedi by Jet2 Jet2’s s c customer service, ervice, its new Dunkirk, Plopsaland”. This Flemish theme park’s characters,ch from the Plop dynasty on children’s TV, arear unknown this side of the Channel and the rides arear not as death-defying as other parks on this list. ButBu it has its own charm and who can resist the chancech of buying a souvenir in the Plop Shop?
There’s also the additional attraction of the BelgianBe Riviera on its doorstep, with its wide sand beachesbe and double-fried chips. ESSENTIALS:ES £9 for visitors under one metre tall, £3 £31 for the rest, plopsalanddepanne.be. anne.be. This is three theme parks in one site just outside Salou, an hour down the coast from base at Stansted Airport and its latest routes to Corfu, Faro and Malaga. Ryanair came bottom for poor food and drink options, seat comfort and customer service. Full findings are in the latest Which? Travel magazine. Barcelona. There’s the main PortAventura park, the Caribe Aquatic waterpark and the newest addition, Ferrari Land, a cousin of the Ferrari park in Abu Dhabi which opened this year. The main park has themed areas based on five settings – the Mediterranean, Wild West, Mexico, China and Polynesia, and a Sesame Street section for younger visitors. Each area has its own special kind of adrenaline-rush rides and shows. And during the height of the season, some rides stay o open until 3am. It’s allal good fun, well-organised and clean, if not asa glossy as the equivalent over in Orlando.Orla But it is considerably cheaper, andan with the three parks, you could easily spendsp three days here, particularly as thereth are five hotels on site. ESSENTIALS:ES PortAventura entry adults £4 £40, children £34. Three parks in three day days, adults £68 and children £51, port portaventuraworld.com. IS there a way to collect air miles for budget airlines without flying? NORWEGIAN Air has launched a Reward eShop, where members earn points on everyday spending at top UK retailers. It is free to join and members earn CashPoints, valued at one NOK (about 0.10p), which can be used for Norwegian flights, baggage, reservations, insurance and booking changes. Points can be earned for online shopping at 1,000 retailers including, Tesco, John Lewis and M&S. For example, if you buy a 12-month family bundle with Sky TV using the eShop, you earn 642 CashPoints, worth £60 – enough for a return flight to most European destinations. Go to uk.eshop. norwegianreward.com. IF photography is your thing when you are away on holiday then pack this Manfrotto PIXI Mini tripod in your suitcase. It folds down small and weighs only 190g but can support a compact camera of up to 1kg. The shooting angle is adjusted by twisting a ball and the wind turbine-style legs keep things stable. With its Italian design, it looks the business too.