Travel: Check in

A plane

ValuJet, the low-fare US airline that suffered the fatal crash of a DC- 9 in the Florida Everglades, has been relaunched as AirTran. No-frills flights through Atlanta link cities such as Boston, New York and Washington DC with Orlando, New Orleans and Dallas. New York-Dallas costs $105 (pounds 65) one-way if you book three days in advance; the Boston-Philadelphia short hop is $42 (pounds 26) if booked 14 days in advance. Call 001 770 994 8258 for bookings from the UK.

A train

Summer officially begins on Britain's railways next weekend. As The Independent has reported, Virgin's west coast service is being challenged by other operators offering slower trains but cheaper fares. North Western Trains, running from 25 May from Manchester, Rochdale and Blackpool to Euston, may offer a walk-on fare of pounds 10 single from Manchester to the capital, pounds 15 from Blackpool - plus a 34 per cent reduction to railcard holders. Between Birmingham and London, Silverlink County will offer a day return fare of pounds 14.90 on off-peak trains from 31 May.

A boat

Before you board that Brittany Ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff, call in at the port's new National Marine Aquarium (01752 600301). It is open from 10am to 6pm; adults pounds 5.99, children pounds 3.99.

A room

The same ferry is being used by the British Museum Traveller (0171-323 8895) to investigate the Arthurian Legend. It takes in Somerset and Brittany, plus "the Chateau of Comper-en-Broceliande, a shell built by Merlin to hide the crystal castle built for Vivien, the Lady of the Lake". The six- day tour departs 3 August, cost pounds 675.

A meal

"Greek home cooking can be wonderful, and the tourism authorities have recently taken a laudable, if long overdue, initiative to persuade restaurants and tavernas to reinvent it. Please boycott any self-service establishment you find; the whole fast-food and self-service culture is so obviously the antithesis of everything the Greek experience offers that such enterprises should be strangled at birth" - Colin Murison Small, in the Hidden Greece (0181-766 7868) programme notes for this summer.

A drink

The Biggles Bar, which takes its name from Captain WE Johns's aviation hero, is just the place to steady your nerves before a flight from Lydd International Airport in Kent. Your destination is likely to be Le Touquet, the only route served by Sky-Trek Airlines (01797 320000), standard return fare, pounds 69.90.

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