For the last couple of weeks I have been working with the North Africa team to add Lebanon to our website and today I was pleased to be able to finally put it live.

Lebanon will sit next to Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Syria and Tunisia under the North Africa & The Middle East section of the website. The comprehensive information included on the Lebanon section means it’s easy to learn more about travelling to this fascinating destination; a country that we’ve missed having on our site since the new website was launched two months ago.

Find out about some of Lebanon’s highlights, read about some of the places in Lebanon you can visit on a trip with Audley, or discover a number of the experiences and excursions available to travellers.

Alternatively speak to our Lebanon specialists directly, on 01993 838 400.

Our website is a great source of inspiration as much as a guide to all of the countries that Audley offers. I thought it would be interesting to share with you the top 10, most-visited inspirational sections of our site.

If you haven’t yet planned your trip for 2010 (or beyond), some of these sections make a great starting point. But of course nothing beats talking to someone who has actually been there. So if any of these prove inspirational, why not give one of our specialists a call on 01993 838 925 and they can tell you more?

Interactive web guides

1. Inside a Japanese ryokan »
2. Guide to the wildlife of the Indian Subcontinent »
3. Cruising the Nile in style »
4. Whale and dolphin-watching trips »
5. Polar bears – where and when to see them »

Guides by travel theme

1. Responsible Travel »
2. African safari trips »
3. Ultimate luxury »
4. Wildlife Trips »
5. The world’s greatest journeys »

The new Audley Travel Home Page

I was looking at our Home Page yesterday and realised that it was about time we gave it a “lick of paint”. It’s not that there was anything inherently wrong with it, but, as they say, a change is as good as a rest. Plus there are plenty of new sections we have added to the site since we designed it, which needed promoting a bit more heavily to all our visitors.

So yesterday afternoon I got out a big sheet of paper and a pencil and sketched out the new layout. Nick, one of web developers was able to quickly turn that into reality. Not a radical new look – but a freshen up if you like.

See the result of his work on our tailor made holidays website.

We’ll keep an eye on it over the next few weeks to see how it goes, while we are busy working on a much bigger project – more news on that soon!

The old Audley Travel Home Page

A gathering of dervishes, watercolour, Isfahan, c. 1640. From the Ardabil section. © The Trustees of the British Museum.

‘Shah ‘Abbas: The remaking of Iran’ is a brand new feature that I have just added to the Iran section of our website. The feature focuses on an exhibition currently running at the British Museum with the same name. Shah ’Abbas:  The remaking of Iran is the third major exhibition in a series by the British Museum that focuses on great rulers and is running until 14th June 2009.

The feature also includes a page on visiting the British Museum, details of how to book tickets online and travel to Iran through Audley, but most exciting for me is the video content that has been included! A welcome addition to the Audley Travel website I am sure this is the start of lots more, exciting video content to come, so watch this space!

If you are interesting in travelling to Iran please contact one of our Iran Specialists or fill out a Quote Request form online.

To visit the British Museum website click here.

After some thought and much discussion, we have come up with our favourite top 10 websites from the web development team here at Audley, shown below in no particular order.

See if you agree with our choices.

When the first version of Google Earth was released, we were in awe at the ability to ‘fly’ to literally anywhere on the planet from the comfort of your armchair. Now that they have just added the possibility of diving beneath the oceans, plus the surface of Mars and the Moon, there’s never been a better time to download Google Earth. We promise you, you will lose hours… the only better thing is going there!

Sharing your photos is fun. Browsing other people’s photos is a great way to be inspired. Whether to travel or to take better photos.

Our favourite photo sharing website is simple to use and very user-friendly. Set up a free account and upload your photos to share with just your friends or the wider world.

You have probably already experienced virtual tours on the web where you can look around a scene by moving your mouse. But these high quality, full screen images of beautiful places around the world are amazing.

You may need to download Quicktime (it’s free and the site will prompt you if it’s not already installed), but it’s worth it for the sumptuous views. Just don’t move your mouse too much or you may get dizzy.

Many of Steve McCurry’s award-winning images will be instantly familiar. His style generally focuses on the human face and his ability to capture a moment so perfectly makes us all green with envy as we take our snaps on our own travels.

(Requires the Flash plugin – your computer will prompt you if you do not have it installed)

Growing in popularity by the day, this photo blog started by Alan Tyler, a web developer at the Boston Globe, highlights news stories in some of the most amazing, high quality photography seen on the web.

Often beautiful, sometimes shocking, he adds new sets of photos 3 times a week.

Dedicated purely to travel videos, this website is a great way to explore other people’s travel experiences from around the world.

Containing almost 8,000 online videos, some made by travellers themselves, others professionally produced, you can spend hours here exploring destinations you might be considering yourself.

There is plenty of choice when it comes to producing photobooks, but our favourite is Bob Books with their hard back, full photo covers and quality feel. Download the free Bob Books software and in no time at all, you’ll be producing the most beautiful photo books using your own photos and captions. The software comes with built in templates to make it really easy.

These photo books make a great souvenir of your travels or the perfect gift. They also can take a video from your camera or digicam and turn it into a flick book. It’s so retro we love it!

This fascinating website is seeking to chart the migration history of the human species using analysis of DNA contributed by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. The results so far are fascinating and if you wish, you can get involved by ordering a home DNA test yourself which will be analysed to reveal your ancestry lines. The data you provide is then anonymously added to the database to assist with the project.

We all love to read about travel, and no other website is as comprehensive for travel reading as the Stanfords website.

Browse by continent, country or city and find guide books, maps and travel literature all of which can be ordered online.

Although this site is no longer updated by the BBC it still contains an amazing amount of content from the highly successful Planet Earth series. If, like us, you loved watching this ground-breaking series, you can watch clips from each episode and explore a virtual earth to discover the wildlife, see behind-the-scenes clips and watch footage from the series.

John Brewer, Audley Director, collects the Wanderlust award for Top Website 2009 from Lyn Hughes, Wanderlust.

This year’s Destinations Show was as exciting as ever, with lots of our regular clients coming to see us at our stand, as well as plenty of new faces who were able to chat with our travel specialists face to face about their travel plans. We were certainly kept busy!

The icing on the cake was when we discovered we had been voted “Top Website 2009” by Wanderlust readers. What makes this award particularly special to us, is that it is voted for by the public.

So thank you so much if you voted for us – it’s a pleasure to know that our hard work on the website is well received. And if you didn’t vote for us, find out what all the fuss is about by visiting our “Top Travel Website 2009“!!

If you are looking for inspiration on where to go on holiday with Audley, we’ve just added a new section to our website with lots of holiday ideas arranged by theme or “holiday type”.

From family holidays to the world’s greatest rail journeys, wildlife trips and safaris. Or perhaps you are looking for a cultural experience or an adventure cruise.

Whatever your interest, our specialists have compiled their recommendations including the best countries to visit for each type of holiday, accommodation suggestions and itinerary ideas.

For more details on any of these holiday types visit our Holiday Ideas section or click a link below:

• Wildlife Holidays
• Safari Holidays
• Culture & History Holidays
• Family Holidays
• Great Journeys
• Railway Journeys
• Adventure Cruising Holidays
• River Cruising Holidays
• Self Drive Holidays
• Walking and Trekking Holidays
• Activity & Adventure Holidays
• Off the Beaten Track Holidays
• Ultimate Luxury Holidays
• Beach and Relaxation Holidays
• Responsible Travel Ideas
• Honeymoon Ideas
• Special Offers

Indian Forts map

India is famous for its fort cities. Jodphur and Jaisalmer are both well known. There are countless smaller forts around North India which you can stay in and experience the world of a bygone era.

We have just launched a special website feature including an interactive map showing the location of some of our specialist’s favourite Indian Forts.

Visit our guide to Indian Fort accommodation to find out more.

It’s about time, but we’ve recently added a site search to the Audley website. One of those things we have been meaning to do for ages and ages, but never quite got round to!

Now it’s really easy to find whatever you want on the site. We love it!

Search our site for tailor made holidays.

Plan your trip with our interactive wildlife map

We’ve just launched a new section on our website all about the wildlife of Indian Subcontinent. It’s amazing what diversity of wildlife there is in this region – it’s not just all about tigers.

While tigers would be the obvious attraction for a lot of people, there is plenty of other wildlife which is also of interest. You can find out all about it using our new interactive map which allows you plan your trip to the region depending on what wildlife you are interested in and when you want to travel.

Simply select a month of travel and the wildlife that interests you and the map will highlight parks and places which offer exceptional viewing opportunities.

Once you’ve identified a park of interest you can click to see the accommodation options including pictures and details.

Try it out for yourself on our website.

After many, many months of work, the new Audley website is up and running. It’s always a bit of an anti-climax when a project you’ve been working on for so long comes to an end.

In the days and hours leading up to the “big day”, colleagues around the Audley office would come up to me and ask if we have some big red button which we press to make it all live! They had visions of the old website dissolving into the great internet abyss, lights dimming and flickering as the new website gradually takes form on the screen.

The truth is much less exciting than that – we edit a number on a screen and…erm, that’s it. Within a few hours the new site is live around the world. End of story!

Of course the anti-climax of it all didn’t stop us from having a little launch party here at the office. Everyone from around the building was invited for a lovely buffet lunch and a game of Nintendo Wii tennis which we beamed onto a large wall with an overhead projector!

As with all websites, there isn’t really an end. Websites are never complete. After a couple of weeks of settling in, fixing the odd bug and improving the way things work, we will start on the next phase of the site.

This is but the start and we have some great ideas lined up to make the site truly unique. Watch this space!

If you are visiting the Destination Travel Show this year, why not pop along and give us your support?

We’re very excited about this new addition to the range of Audley websites. Not only can we update you on the latest news at Audley, including new brochure and destination announcements, offers and special events, but it’s also your chance to join in and share your travel thoughts with us and other Audley clients.Whether you have already travelled or are about to travel with us, we’d love to hear from you. Just look for the comments link at the end of each blog entry. Got a suggestion or comment about our website? Let us know by using the Feedback form.

We hope you enjoy this “behind the scenes” look at Audley and come back regularly to see what’s changed. If you’re feeling technical, you can even subscribe to an RSS feed from this site which will keep you up-to-date automatically. For more details about setting up an RSS feed, click here.

If you want more information about blogging, or perhaps you are thinking of having your own blog for your trip, visit our “Blogging Guide” page.