Travel insurance is one of life's little annoyances. You know you need it, but having to sit down and sort it out is a bit of a chore. And unfortunately the older you get, the harder it can become to find a policy to suit you without paying extortionate premiums.

It's fair enough that insurance companies charge more to insure older travellers - you are more susceptible to many medical conditions, a lot of which make you a higher risk when travelling abroad, and particularly when you fly.

That said, as people live longer, and older generations stay more active, more over 50s are embarking on foreign adventures all the time. This means that insurance companies are starting to tailor-make policies more suited to the older age bracket. These policies aren't exactly common, but they do exist so it's just a question of knowing where to find them.

Thinking of booking a holiday? Or a hotel or flight somewhere? If you are, then the internet is your friend. There are hundreds of websites that can help you choose a destination, decide where to stay and cut the cost of your holiday.

So which websites should be your first port of call before you book your next city break or long-haul trip?

We've taken a look at five of the best.

The past year or so has seen numerous travel firms and airlines go bust. Scottish airline Flyglobespan was the latest travel company to go to the wall, following others including Albury Travel, XL Airlines, Freedom Direct Holidays and Cambuslang Travel.

Travellers with these firms found themselves stranded abroad or unable to set off on a holiday they had booked and paid for.

With the recession far from over, and in the midst of holiday booking season, it's worth asking how you can protect yourself if more travel firms go into administration.

England fans will spend up to £319 million – or £6,399 each - if the team goes all the way to the World Cup final on July 10th, according to Virgin Money.

Getting through all three group C games against Slovenia, the United States and Algeria will set England fans back £2,445 in flights, tickets, accommodation, food and a new replica shirt for the tournament. And the costs will rise to £3,904 if England gets to the quarter finals.

So how do the costs break down?

The traditional holiday booking season has been as quiet as a wet weekend in Margate this year. It's not as if the weather has been so stunning that we've been tempted to stay home, but according to research by Sainsbury's Travel Insurance, there has been a 19% drop in holiday bookings compared with last year.

This is bad news for the tour operators, who will have to pull some decent discounts out of the hat later in the year to spice things up, but the same survey revealed an even more worrying statistic.

More than a million people with holidays booked don't have travel insurance and don't plan on buying any either.

So why is this so worrying?

For the organised among us, now is the time to start planning and booking our summer break. Though the internet is a wonderful resource for booking holidays, it can be a bit of a minefield knowing exactly which websites really do offer the best deals.

Here's my pick of the best out there to help you get started.

Not content with running Europe's least-exciting visitor attraction – the Blackpool Lights – Blackpool has triumphed once again by hosting Europe's worst hotel.

Nobody enjoys a dirty weekend more than we do, but there is a difference between 'dirty' and 'just plain nasty'.

I can't comment personally, because I have never been, but according to the users of popular travel website, Tripadvisor, the Grosvenor Hotel in the Lancashire town is the very last place in the whole of Europe you want to spend a weekend.

'Parting is such sweet sorrow,' as Juliet blubbed to Romeo while he stood looking a bit embarrassed and hoping none of his mates could see. And anyone who has witnessed the departures gate at Heathrow or Gatwick knows that tearing yourself away from a loved one can be a wet and strangely noisy business.

But according to climate-change scientists, such farewells are also leaving polar bears up a certain creek, as lovers drive to the airport and back just to wave goodbye to their paramours, their cars gaily pumping CO2 out into the atmosphere.

For this reason, said boffins have just been given a hefty wodge of taxpayers' cash to develop airport video booths to say a 'virtual goodbye', presumably allowing couples to romantically hug the screen while bestowing 1,000 little kisses on the camera.

With the possibilty of more bad weather to come, and the coldest winter since the 80s, our little island is suffering under all this snow. If you're about to go away and worrying about the weather disrupting your journey, now more than ever you need to make sure you've got comprehensive travel insurance.

So what should you be looking for in a good policy?

Move over Ryanair, there's an airline with its sights set on taking the title for the most cunning ways to bump up the price of a ticket.

Air France KLM has hit on the cunning rouse of charging obese people extra, by making them buy a second seat on the plane.

From April 1, they will generously give them a 25% discount, but will demand the overweight buy an extra seat. They say anyone refusing to buy two seats will be turned away at the plane door.

This isn't the first time the airline has had a bash at this. In 2007 they charged a passenger as he got on the plane. In that instance they were taken to court and the judge ruled they couldn't do it, because the rule wasn't in the small print.

Now they are changing the small print, and fatties will have to pay up.

Is this fair?

Millions of people dream of owning a holiday home. The idea of being able to escape the cold drudgery of life, jump on a plane or a ferry at a moment's notice, and be somewhere comfortable, affordable and sunny in a couple of hours, is too much to resist.

For many of us it's just a pipe dream - something we'll get round to once we have sorted the credit cards and upgraded the car to one that actually works. So for those who achieve their goal, it's a massive financial success that will transform their life.

Or so they think.

But a ruling from the courts yesterday has thrown that into question, as one couple have been ordered to destroy their home by the Cyprus authorities.

Another day, another shocker from the British Airways union, Unite. There's no longer any shock or surprise, or even much anger, just a deep sigh of disappointment in the self-inflicted demise of a once-great company.

But while this will surely spell the end of the business, what should you do if you are booked to fly this Easter?

Female-focused insurance firm Sheilas' Wheels has launched its first travel insurance product. Yes, the company that us the singing Sheilas with their catchy car insurance tunes now has a special travel insurance policy especially for girls.

Men are welcome to buy the policy too but it has some special features aimed at women: these include 'handbag on holiday' cover; free Sheilas' Wheels Holiday Hotline; 'Kids go free' even on single parent policies; and a 'by your side' pledge for added peace of mind.

But what do these features actually mean?

People who work in one place think there's something glamorous about working away and staying in hotels. Anyone who actually has to do it for a living knows that it's the exact opposite. So before you decide that a special room rate of £12 might be worth booking for a leisure experience, read on:

Finding Your Room
Your room key will normally be a plastic card in a paper sleeve with your room number on. If it's a metal key you are in a bed and breakfast. If it's a metal key with a key fob the size of a sideboard door, you are in a country hotel. There are two ways of finding your room. One is to follow all the little signs that say Rooms 143-194. After a day on the road it can often be quite difficult to work out whether 174 is within this range or not. The other way to find your room is to listen to the sound of a very loud television doing its best to drown out four screaming children. Your room will be the one next door.

Being made redundant is one of those unpleasant things which has sadly become much more common over the last 18 months. It's tough to deal with and can be very demoralising.

Having said that, if you get into a positive frame of mind, you can turn the situation on its head. Instead of a problem, see it as the perfect opportunity to have a career change, or do all those things you never thought you'd have time to do.

Here are a few of my ideas about making your redundancy a success story.