This may only be a rumour but the Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston has been looking at hotels on the island of Crete close to where her Greek dad John as born.  She gave staff at the Elounda Beach hotel the shock of their lives when she turned up scouting possible hotels and venues.

The actress who was married to Brad Pitt is looking to get married in July to her current boyfriend (possible fiance) Justin Theroux or so rumours have it. 

In our opinion she couldn't of picked a better location than Elounda, and its a town that most stars flock to during the summer to get away from it all and the town recently played host to Americas Next Top Model starring Tyra Banks.

Going back to the venue the Elounda Beach hotel is a popular choice and very luxurious, with stunning beach and views of the Mediterranean Sea.  he hotel offers a wedding package which includes a dedicated consultant, the completion of paperwork, a ceremony at the hotel’s private church, bridal bouquets, and a bottle of champagne for the bride and groom from £1400 if your thinking of following in Jennifer's footsteps.

We have had a lot of people recently emailing and phoning us asking if its safe to go to Greece this year.  People don't want to book a holiday and find there hotel closed or the hoteliers have gone on strike.  So we thought we would try and reassure people of what the holiday and tourist industry in Greece and particularly the islands are doing.

Our initial response is that the strikes wont really affect your holiday, and if they did it may only be by a day or two.  Greece along with most countries has strikes for one thing or another and most holidaymakers are not affected.

Firstly the islands although troubled by the current economic climate in Greece are on the whole getting on with things and the tourist towns, villages and resorts even more so.  The people that live and work in the tourist areas rely on tourist income to see them through the winter rather than a government wage.  The majority of the strikes are coming from public sector workers which apart from air traffic control and some transport services shouldn't affect you.

Again if the national bus drivers go on strike you might have to get a taxi but normally your holiday comes with a private coach transfer so you should be safe there.  If there are air traffic control strikes like in 2010 then you might be a little stuck but they don't normally go on for long and they weren't striking due to the current economic climate. 

A tip would be if your thinking of holidaying in Greece is to make sure you buy your travel insurance before you go or when you book your holidays.  This tip of buying travel insurance when you book your holiday should be heeded all the time really though.  Many people don't realise this and if your holiday company was ever to go bust and you hadn't insured your holiday before you flew you might be in a bit of trouble.

People have also been asking about power cuts, and again these are something that can happen in Greece even when the current climate is gloomy.  They happen quite regularly over the summer in some smaller resorts and power is normally only off for a few hours.  Most power cuts happen during the day and you wouldn't even notice it.

The question that will the Greek strikes affect my holiday has been asked many times on various forums, blogs and holiday review sites like TripAdvisor and the large majority of people can be reassured that the strikes wont affect your holiday. 

Just been generally surfing the web and before I made another holiday purchase I thought I better check my bank balance and noticed Barclays bank are offering a new free service to put your own photos on a debit card of your choice that you have with them.

So thought I would give it a shot and got some pretty good results.  The photo below is of course Greece related and fear not for those who think I should have a nice picture of myself and my future wife instead of some panoramic they need not worry as we have a joint account, so our picture will go on that one and my picture of whatever I want will go on my own debit card.

I choose a picture of Pefkos but probably going to have a play around with it and find some other holiday photos on facebook then choose the best one.  But if you are a Barclays Bank customer then go and try creating your own free card.

We know money is tight so thought we would link to a few money saving voucher codes to save money on your holidays.

easyJet Holidays – Save £20 on easyJet holidays – code to be used before 30/4/12 - EJHEASTER20

Thomas Cook – Save £30 off Thomas Cook holidays over £300 – to be used before 30/4/12 – TCSAVE30

Resorthoppa – Get 15% off your resorthoppa transfers – to be used before 6/4/12 – HOPEASTER

Thomson Holidays – Get £100 OFF May to July 2012 Cruise Holidays – to be used before 10/4/12 28356

Thomson Holidays – Get £40 OFF April & May 2012 Holidays – to be used before 9/4/12 28306

Hopefully these will help you on your way but keep up to date with the latest codes by visiting our voucher codes page

XEY4TS5KP56A

We have been reading a fair bit about single travellers wanting some more options when travelling to Greece and after a bit of research we have found some details on an amazing hotel that offers single travellers the opportunity to visit Greece without being marginalised or left feeling like a wallflower in the hotel complex.

In the area of Maleme just 20km from the town of Chania on the Western side of Crete sits the hotel Mistral owned by the Gialamarakis family.  The family welcomes guests with open arms and make them feel like part of the family.  They take areal interest in you and what you would like to do  and have plenty of trips off the beaten track.

The hotel is just a few minutes walk from the beach and around another 10 minutes to beach bars and small Tavernas.  The hotel is mainly half board and every evening their is a meal prepared on the shaded Terrace by the family and its a great way to meet other people within the hotel and just chat and share life stories.  Many a new friendship has been forged here at the Mistral hotel and although the hotel is not aimed at those looking for love their have been a few romances in the hotels history and even a few Mistral weddings.

The hotel has a lovely pool and you can sit and relax and sip cocktails all day or you can join in with some of the day trips organised by Vassilis who has an indepth knowledge of the areas which he lives.  He will take you on a tour of Falasarna which was founded in the sixth century BC and its port was a home for pirates.  Another excellent tour was to the pink sandy beaches of Elafonisi and we have an excellent guide to Elafonisi here.

If trips are not your thing then you can always learn a new skill as they teach painting and drawing in the hotel grounds and there is so much to  take inspiration from.

If your thinking of visiting the Mistral hotel then take advantage of their reasonable rates with no supplements for the single traveller staying in a double room.  Try typing Mistral hotel into Google for more information.

The government has tightened its squeeze on the British public by increasing the air passenger duty or APD to 8% now.  For short haul flights to the likes of Greece it went up from £12 to £13 so an extra pound per person for each flight you take.  The long haul traveler has been hit the hardest with an increased from £85 to £92 if flying more than 6000 miles.

In light of this increase the major airlines called for the government to review this tax but hopes are slim of them changing their stance now, as it looks like they are defending the rise saying they froze it last year and brought private jets into the equation.

A more sensible option to me would have been to freeze it last year and bring private jets into the equation earlier since the people who charter or own private jets aren't short of a bob or two.

In a joint statement the bosses of easyJet, British Airways owner IAG, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic said the increase would "hit millions of hard-working families and damage the wider economy". "We urge [Chancellor] George Osborne to make APD the first tax to be examined under the Treasury's new review of the wider impacts of taxation on the economy," they said.

They added that further planned rises in the tax before 2016 would mean a family of four paying £500 in tax to fly economy class to Australia. In 2005, they said, the same family would have paid £80.

As for the price rises they will be factored into normal buying costs when you look at your total so when the fuss dies down people will forget this but its another kick in the teeth the Uk and potential tourists to the UK.

In the news lately a lot of people are being put off visiting this wonderful country from what they see in Athens and other large cities.  Now we aren't going to pretend things are all great and rosy as you know that Greece is in a bit of a pickle to put it lightly, but this shouldn't stop you thinking about visiting Crete or one of the many Greek islands for a summer holiday.

You will find less of the troubles have affected the islands and the tourist resorts are as normal as they rely on the tourist income to survive and not so much on the government for their salaries.  I think if you make the effort to support Greece or its islands in this time of hardship by choosing to holiday there then you will be rewarded with golden sandy beaches, amazing local food and a warm welcome from the islanders of Crete.

We have linked to a couple of our guides on visiting the West of Crete or the East of Crete but our website is full to bursting with travel guides and top tips for visiting each resort.  Please feel free to comment on your favourite resort and tell others the best places to visit.

We would like to thank all our readers and visitors for helping us grow in 2011 and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Remember you can find cheap deals to Greece at any of our websites so get searching for your perfect 2012 summer holiday.

Today is Remembrance Day and we hope everyone has bought a Poppy and will join in with the 2 minute silence today to honour the fallen.

Please try and donate or buy a Poppy today at The Poppy Appeal or The Royal British Legion

The new Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has said the priority of his incoming coalition cabinet is to seek unity to keep Greece in the eurozone.

“The choices we make will be decisive for the Greek people,” he said, adding that the euro was vital for prosperity.

Debt-laden Greece must quickly approve a EU bailout to secure vital loans.

Mr Papademos, a former European Central Bank vice-president, was named on Thursday after protracted talks. and is the 183rd Greek Prime Minister of Greece.

Mr Papademos, who is not a member of parliament, will head the interim government until elections can take place in February.

Taken from The BBC – continued at source