Travel: Something to declare

Bargain of the week:

Upper Class for lower fares

Transatlantic travellers will know that business-class fares are expensive. When the going economy rate to New York and Los Angeles is around pounds 250 and pounds 300 respectively, British Airways is charging more than pounds 3,000 to US East Coast destinations, close on pounds 4,000 to the West. Luckily, travellers who want more luxury can qualify for vastly reduced fares on Upper Class services. Because of the code-share arrangement between Virgin Atlantic and Continental you can find Upper Class seats to New York for around pounds 1,150, while Los Angeles is about pounds 1,850 - half the official fare through discount travel agents.

Trouble Spots:

"We would actively encourage readers to take a considered view of the risks of travel to Uganda" - `Bradt Travel Guide To Uganda'

Every guidebook writer runs the risk that events will overtake the destination. So it has proved with Philip Briggs's otherwise insightful third edition of the Bradt Travel Guide to Uganda, where eight tourists were killed earlier this year.

The author says that "any concerns about political violence in Uganda belong to the realm of fancy" and, when we can book adventure holidays through high street travel agents, it is understandable that we assume things will be "all right". But being on holiday doesn't protect us from political reality. What happened in Uganda wakes us up to the fact that we travel, not in a bubble, but in countries that often have dire real- life circumstances.

Generally, a holiday is an enjoyable experience - and Uganda should be no exception. If you do plan to travel to Uganda the Foreign & Commonwealth Office currently advises that, before travelling up-country, you should contact the British High Commission in Kampala (00 256 41 257 054/9).

Sue Wheat