Based in Crook, Co. Durham

Clare Davis

Looking for help with your business travel? Find out how I can help here

It's Nice To Meet You

Hi, I’m Clare and I am a Travel Counsellor based in Howden-le-Wear, Co. Durham. Thank you for taking the time to visit my webpage.

Having spent the last 19 years living on the south coast in East Sussex, we have recently relocated back to the area that I grew up so that we can be closer to my family. I live here with my husband and two of our three daughters; Bethany (11) and Emily (8).

I have worked in the travel industry for over 21 years and I became a Travel Counsellor in 2015. Prior to this I have spent most of my career working for American Express Centurion Travel and Lifestyle Service specialising in business and luxury VIP travel.

I am passionate about the travel industry and I have been lucky enough to travel to many destinations including Cyprus, Ibiza, Marrakech, New York and Canada. My husband and I love to go on city breaks to soak up all of the culture and as a family we love nothing more than a good beach holiday.

As a Travel Counsellor I am able to give you a personal service that you won’t forget. I have recently received a number of 100% customer service scores back from those of you who have made a booking. This lovely feedback means the world to me and I assure you I will still be giving your travel arrangements 100%.

I take great pride in my work and would love to arrange your next trip. I treat every holiday as if it were my own and I love finding the perfect holiday experience to help make your holiday dreams become a reality. I will also take away the stress away of searching for your holiday whilst saving you time.

As I work from home, I can make myself available to you at a mutually convenient time. So whether you are travelling on business or pleasure, within the UK or to the other side of the world, please get in touch. I would love to discuss your next adventure!

I look forward to discussing your next trip with you very soon.

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My Videos

A Multi-Centre Trip in Thailand

4/7/2021

Created by a colleague, take a look at her multi-centre trip in Thailand. I love creating bespoke itineraries to this amazing country!

What can I help you create?

3/30/2021

When you are ready, I am here to help you create your moments that matter.

US Road Trip finishing off in Las Vegas

3/24/2021

Some highlights showing a different side to the US. Get in touch to discuss your kind of road trip around this great country!

Sail to Antarctica

3/22/2021

Tick this far flung destination off your bucket list when you sail to Antarctica! Learn about it's fascinating history and science on an expedition cruise.

5 Reasons Why

3/19/2021

5 Reasons to trust me with your holiday plans.

Dubai

12/8/2020

A quick insight into the city that offers you EVERYTHING!

Why Book With Travel Counsellors

12/1/2020

Want to know why you should book with a Travel Counsellor?! Take a look...

Lapland

11/23/2020

Lapland; a trip of a lifetime for any child, young or old.

#TCExperience

1/1/2018

Footage shared with us from some of our clients showing you what their #TCExperience was. Let me help to create your next dream trip!

myTC

1/1/2017

myTC - our app and online account where you can have all of your enquiries and bookings at your fingertips! Why not download it today?!

Trusted Travel

11/16/2015

From our 24/7 Duty Office, to our fantastic Travel Counsellors Trust, we have got it covered. #trustedtravel

My Blog

I absolutely live and breathe travel and I love to write about my experiences! Please take a look through my posts - you might find your own holiday inspiration.

British Columbia Continued....

09 October 2023

Just an hour and a half’s drive from Penticton, we travelled here twice. Our first visit was to the Kettle Valley Steam Railway for their Great Train Robbery and BBQ. Here we got to experience the ‘Old West’ and the Garnet Valley Gang. The actors / volunteers were great at reassuring all of the smaller guests that it was all acting and for fun and so the children were able to really engage when the robbers held us up at gun point and boarded the train to ‘rob’ us. All monies taken are donated to various charities and we were advised which ones they were currently supporting at that time. Our second visit to Penticton was more for the adults (!!) where we spent a lovely afternoon wine tasting. We stopped by the tourist office on our way through Penticton and were given some great advice on which ones were good to stop at for lunch, were good for children and we also received a couple of free wine tasting vouchers. Our first stop was to Serendipity Winery, and this was my favourite spot. With a bistro located on their outdoor patio, we enjoyed a lovely tapas style lunch before sampling some of their wines. Another stop was to Lake Breeze Vineyard which had been recommended to us by the tourist office. Whilst Shawneen and I went off wine tasting, the men took Bethany and Emily around the farm and played giant, outdoor chess with them – a perfect combination keeping the whole family happy! Around exploring the local area from Princeton, we also went away on two camping trips – horse and dogs included. Paul and Shawneen have an amazing trailer that includes a tack room and horse box making it possible for the larger animals to come too. Our first trip was to Manning Provincial Park, and we stayed on the equestrian camp site; Headwaters. With hitching posts, corrals, and small open areas for the horses, it is fully equipped to take your horses with you. We were very lucky with the time we spent there as we had the whole site to ourselves. Trails are located straight from the campsite however due to storm damage earlier in the year, we weren’t able to ride the full loop that Paul and Shawneen would normally do from here. This park is also home to Lightning Lake, a freshwater lake where you are able to swim, kayak and paddleboard. We spent two days by the lake as the weather was so warm whilst we were here. Bethany and Emily loved hand feeding the ground squirrels and we all loved exploring these huge lakes on the kayaks. Our second camping trip was to Kane Lake, Merritt. Another equestrian camp site, here we spent all of our time horse riding. By the end of this trip, Bethany and Emily were dab hands at all things to do with having horses – and of course were nagging us for their own once we returned to the UK. Another beautiful site that is equipped for horses and where you are able to access trails directly from your pitch. As with all adventures, our time with Paul and Shawneen, along with Canada, came to an end. We all loved our time in BC however there are still so many areas that we haven’t explored, and we could have easily spent another 3 weeks and not been ready to come home. If you are looking at doing a self-drive tour of Canada, I would recommend the car hire and accommodation route over the RV. We were lucky as the equestrian sites allow you more space and you aren’t on top of one another however we did see the standard RV site and you are packed in – not something that appeals to me! Whether this has inspired you to explore BC further, do a huge trek across Canada or visit another part of this beautiful country, I would love to help you design a holiday to suit you….and of course, I know we will be back to BC. I just hope its sooner rather than later!

Beautiful BC

09 October 2023

This year, Dan and I will be celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary and with that, we thought what better reason to do a big holiday this year! My uncle lives in Princeton, British Colombia, and Dan has wanted to fly out and see this part of the world for some time. Combine these two factors and we had our family holiday destination for this year! Not liking to make things easy for myself, the day before we flew out to Vancouver, we also completed on the sale of our house in advance of us relocating to the north-east. What got me through that last week of packing was the thought of a refreshing drink as soon as we got through security at Gatwick – and boy did it taste good. For the first week of our holiday, we travelled around the smallest fraction of BC, just the 4 of us. BC is situated between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coast with the most popular areas to visit being Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler – all 3 of these featured in our first week. After a 9.5 hour flight direct to Vancouver, our only aim for the first day was to stay up as long as possible to try and combat our jetlag. With this in mind, I booked us in for the Fly Over Canada experience – great if you have kids but quite expensive for how long it lasts. We only had one full day in Vancouver, and we spent that at Grouse Mountain. With a complimentary shuttle bus departing from Canada Place every half an hour, this is easily accessible from the city centre. A must do for families and a great place to spend the whole day. Upon leaving Vancouver, we collected a car from the airport that we had with us for the remainder of our holiday. If you are going to be travelling around, hiring a car is a great way to do it. We hired a larger SUV so that we could enjoy the views, and hopefully spot some wildlife, whilst we were doing the longer drives. We travelled on to Vancouver Island and spent a few days here exploring the culture and heritage of the two places we stayed in. In Victoria we stumbled upon a great little diner for breakfast, Floyd’s Diner, which served great food and was popular with the locals – always a great sign! We spent the morning on a Whale Watching Tour hosted by Orca Spirit Adventures and were lucky enough to see three humpback whales swimming together. This is really unusual and the guides themselves rarely see this. A real bucket list moment! The guides were incredibly knowledgeable and really made the trip. Back over to the mainland and we spent 2 nights at Whistler. The drive up from Vancouver is absolutely stunning! We stayed at the Adara Hotel, a modern boutique style hotel located in Whistler Village. Perfect location for walking up to the village hub within a minute or two with good facilities. Whistler is a year-round destination and whilst I was sitting in the village centre enjoying breakfast on our first morning, I could really get a sense of how it would feel being there in the winter. A lot busier than our previous couple of nights on the island, we threw ourselves into exploring the resort including a Treetop Trek Tour and riding the Peak 2 Peak Gondola between Blackcomb Mountain and Whistler Mountain. Our week of exploring alone came to an end and we travelled from Whistler to Princeton where we met up with my uncle and his partner. They live roughly a 15-minute drive outside of the town in a beautiful lodge that they have built. Along with their 3 horses and 3 dogs, the time we spent there was idyllic. To read more about the 2 weeks we spent with them, read my next blog on BC!

Mount Toubkal Trek

06 December 2022

As the children were returning to school following the summer holidays, I was preparing for the biggest challenge, and adventure, of my life. Travelling with a colleague and a friend, I was headed to Morocco to climb to the peak of Mount Toubkal; the ‘roof of North Africa’. On top of the challenge that I was setting for myself, I was also doing this to raise money for a charity close to my heart, Reuben’s Retreat. Early on a Tuesday morning, my friend Lucy and I travelled to Gatwick for our flight to Morocco. We had decided to travel out to the city two days before our trek started so that we could spend some time relaxing, along with exploring. On arrival into Marrakech, we made our way to our pre-booked private transfer. This took us into the city centre but as we were staying in a riad (a traditional Moroccan house built around a courtyard) and these are located in the medina walls, our driver advised us that he could only take us to the walls where we would be met by a member of concierge from the hotel. No sooner had he told us this, I spotted a gentleman sat in a large cart, in hotel uniform – our escort was here! After loading our cases into his cart, Mohammed took us on a brief, hairy walk, on the streets of Marrakech, before we walked through the medina walls and took a short walk to our hotel. We stayed at Palais Sebban which is simply beautiful. The staff here are attentive and helpful. The hotel is perfectly located to explore the souks, walk to Jemaa el-Fnaa (the main square and market place) along with good proximity to the new part of the city. For a traditional stay and to be located in the old part of the city, I would highly recommend this property and would be more than happy to return. Having been to Marrakech before, I don’t want to talk in depth about this part of my trip (please take a look at my previous blog from 2017) as this was all about the big climb. After our two relaxing days, it was time for Lucy, Sam and myself to move to our group hotel in the newer part of the city. Our first evening started off with a group meeting where we introduced ourselves to the rest of the group (a fabulous team of 28 climbers!) and explain why we were doing the challenge. We also met our two wonderful guides, Mohammed and Ibraheim, who were truly amazing throughout. Sadly, within the early part of our welcome meeting, the sad news of our Queen’s passing was announced and so we took some time to pay our respects and gather our thoughts. Once we regrouped, we headed off for a last night in Marrakech where we were treated to a walking food tour. This is great for first time visitors to the city as you see some of the key sights in and around the main square whilst sampling traditional Moroccan delights. Friday morning came around and the group was full of excitement and nerves for what lay ahead of us. After a hearty breakfast, we were loaded into two minibuses, and we set off on our 1.5 hour transfer into the Atlas Mountains. We arrived at Imlil village, which is 1740 metres above sea level, and after a few last group photos we were off. We were told that we had a couple of hours walking before we would stop for lunch. Once we were out of the village and had entered the National Park, we started to notice the difference in fitness levels and naturally split into two groups. With a group size this large, this was always going to happen, and it allowed us all to take on the mountain at a pace that felt comfortable to us. Our guides were incredible at keeping our spirits up and motivating us when we had a dip. Our two our walk to lunch turned into 3.5 hours and we soon realised that this climb was likely to take us much longer than we anticipated. Our lunch stop was located close to the pilgrimage site of Sidi Chamarouch, home to the tomb of the local marabout (Muslim holy man). Only Muslims are permitted to cross the bridge and approach the large white stone that serves as a shrine. Lunch consisted of lots of carbs and salad, something we were going to get used to! After lunch we started to climb steeply. Sam had warned me at lunch that this would be the time we would notice the altitude and some of us would start to suffer. I quickly noticed the altitude was affecting my breathing so started to slow my pace down and stop every few steps to take a bigger breath. Sam noticed I had dropped back and slowed his walking down to my pace and helped me through my slump until I had my breathing back under control and was able to enjoy the climb again. I was lucky in the fact that my breathing was the only affect the altitude had on me. Some of my fellow climbers were not so lucky. After a further 4-hour climb, we were overjoyed to see our overnight accommodation in the distance. Toubkal Base Camp is situated in Neltner, 3207 metres above sea level. Having climbed almost 1500 metres in one day, we were all feeling proud of ourselves and excited about rising early the next day to finish our climb to the peak of Mount Toubkal. Base Camp is a hostel with shared dorms. We had a room with two quadruple bunks and were able to share with the girls in our group. Our evening consisted of freezing cold showers, repacking our day bags, filling ourselves full of more carbs and an early night in preparation for the next day. Unfortunately, the beds weren’t very comfortable, and the walls were very thin so I don’t think any of us were fortunate enough to fall into a deep sleep and feel rested when we rose at 3am the next morning. Our early alarm call was a welcome sound after our unsettled night, but we were soon laughing and joking as we dressed in plenty of layers and headed down for breakfast. We set off from Base Camp at 0430 walking single file with our head torches on and concentrating on each step in front of us. As soon as we set off, I could feel the struggle in my breathing again. We soon realised that today was going to be a much harder climb with it being far steeper and seeing us scrambling for much of the initial climb. After literally climbing boulders after crossing a stream, I needed to have a word with myself to get my breathing under control and remind myself to enjoy this experience.

Toubkal Continued

08 December 2022

This part of the climb was much slower with more stops for us to refuel. We had hoped to summit for sunrise, but we soon realised this was unachievable. That said, when sunrise came, it was a magical moment and a boost that some of the team needed. The 960 metres needed today to summit Mount Toubkal, took me 4.5 hours and from roughly an hour before we reached the peak, I was running on adrenaline and buzzing about our achievement. The final ascent was very slow, saw us scrambling again and the altitude affects were getting worse. When we got finally got to the top, it was a time for celebration! We spent some time taking photos under the structure at the very top, taking in the incredible views and congratulating ourselves on this huge achievement! Whilst we waited at the top for the rest of the group to summit, we saw not one but two proposals within our group – what a special moment to be part of. Once Nicola, Reuben’s mummy, arrived at the top, we took some moments to pay our respects to Reuben on what was his 12th birthday. After a well-earned break and celebrations, it was time for us to start our descent. Prior to this trip, I had not given much thought to the descent, I was more concerned with the climb up and how the altitude would affect me. The descent was by far, for me, the hardest part of this challenge. The terrain at the top of Mount Toubkal is shale and it was like walking on marbles! It took me 3.5 hours to make my way back to base camp and every single step we took had to be taken with care and concentration. As a group, we fell over more times than we could count. This part of the mountain is very steep too – it would have been easier to ski down it although it would most definitely be a black run! Once back at base camp, we had time to rest, refuel and reflect on our accomplishment before we put our walking boots back on and continued down the rest of the mountain. By this time, a few of the group were unable to go on and so were carried down by mules. Others were severely affected by altitude sickness too. This final descent (for the day) took me a further 3 hours so by the end of this day, I had been walking for 11 hours – all on very little sleep and with my body slowly succumbing to the effort. Our final night in the Atlas Mountains was back in a small village in more of guest house style accommodation. We sat and cheered every team member back through the door. We had done it! The next morning, we had final group photos, a quick 45-minute walk back to the mini-buses and we were then headed back to civilisation. Once back in Marrakech it was time to celebrate! We had arrived as strangers but left as friends. A huge achievement claimed together, and we wouldn’t have got through it without one another. Mount Toubkal; you were everything I expected and more – good and bad. I am proud to have this accomplishment under my belt….now to look for the next big adventure!

A Few Days in Madrid

29 June 2022

Another holiday delayed by Covid finally upon us – this time 3 nights to Madrid with my husband Dan. 18 months later than planned and originally booked as part of his 40th celebrations. We had picked Madrid with intentions of catching a Real Madrid game or at the very least a stadium tour. Sadly, neither were possible! The stadium tour, which we had thought would be a given, was not possible due to ongoing building work at the grounds. This aside, we were both very much looking forward to 3 nights as Dan and Clare, rather than mum and dad. I normally always book us an airport transfer or jump in a taxi at the airport. This time round, having looked at the various options on travelling from the airport, we decided that we would give the metro a go. Whilst this was the cheapest option (roughly EUR18 for 2 adults) it took about 1.5 hours from getting through arrivals at the airport, to arriving at the closest station to our hotel. On the return we booked a taxi via the hotel reception and the journey took 20 minutes and cost EUR30.00. I think it is good to give the local transport a go but when it comes to an airport transfer, I have decided I much prefer the ease of jumping in a taxi / pre-booked car at the airport. If you do decide to use the metro system in Madrid, it was easy to use and as you can see, prices were reasonable. We arrived late afternoon and as we had been on the go all day, we headed straight to the rooftop pool at our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Catalonia Gran Via Madrid, which as the name suggests, is located on Gran Via. Gran Via is a long road in central Madrid with lots of shops and nightlife located on or just off it. One of the sights that Gran Via is famous for is the Carrion building with its large Schweppes sign. Our hotel was a modern 4* property and we were lucky enough to be upgraded to a Superior Room with views over Gran Via. We looked out onto the Museo Chicote cocktail bar which I would recommend stopping at for a pre-dinner drink or for a few late-night cocktails. We spent a few hours here at the bar watching the talented bar men making their creations which of course, ended up us trying more than we had intended too! Madrid is a walkable city however as Dan has suffered a football injury in the week leading up to our trip, we thought it best not to aggravate his injury and jumped on an open top city sightseeing bus. The audio provided spent a lot of time talking about the architecture and pointing out significant buildings. This wasn’t something hugely of interest to us however we did learn a few interesting facts about Madrid along with finding locations of other sights we wanted to see. Had Dan been more mobile, we would have swapped the bus for a bike or Segway tour instead. El Retiro Park is a must see when you visit Madrid. One of the largest parks of the city, this used to belong to the Spanish Monarchy before becoming a public park. Must see’s whilst you walk through the park are The Monument to Alfonso XII, located on the edge of the artificial lake where you can take a boat ride and the Palacio de Cristal; a glass building used for art exhibits. There are street performers around the park along with drinks carts and little cafes. Teleferico de Madrid are the cable cars of Madrid and about a mile from where we were staying. We did the return journey – currently there isn’t much to do at the other end as the café is no longer open. You can take a picnic with you and wander through Casa de Campo. The journey takes 11-minutes each way and the cars offer amazing views over the city where you can easily spot the palace and see the vast amount of green space. The cable cars don’t start operating until 1200, something we hadn’t noticed when looking into them, however we were able to sit and pass the time with an ice-cold beer and a bowl of olives whilst basking in the sunshine! My top highlight of the trip and an absolute must to include is a stop to the Mercado de San Miguel. A historical building home to a variety of Spanish food and drink delights. Stop here at any time of the day, for a quick pit stop or to spend a couple of hours trying a selection of the many eateries. We stopped by at lunch time and we lucky enough to have live music. The atmosphere was amazing! We came away buzzing. Madrid is made up of many plazas and places to stop for a quick drink and some tapas. If nothing else, you can kill a few hours to a whole day just wandering the streets and stopping every so often for a refreshment break. We may have had to wait some time to make it to Madrid and without the football we had hoped for, but we loved our time here. Now to decide which European city is going to make it to the top of my list next!

Stunning Seville

11 March 2022

This long overdue trip had originally been booked at the start of 2020 for us to travel in the August of that year. Now on our third amendment for this trip and none of us could quite believe that we were actually going! Having sent clients to Seville throughout my career, in the couple of years leading up to the pandemic when I was creating trips to this city, it was pushing its way higher and higher up my list of top European cities that I wanted to visit. We took an early flight out of Gatwick and after both the short flight and a quick transfer into the city, we arrived at our hotel Fernando III. As we had arrived by midday, our room wasn’t ready however we were able to store our cases and go out into the city and explore. This hotel is centrally located and easily accessible to the key sights of the city. As we were there on a Monday, we were able to visit the Royal Alcazar of Seville free of charge. TIP: pre-book your tickets online prior to travel and entry after 1600 on Monday’s is free. The Alcazar is the oldest royal palace in Europe that was originally a Moorish fort but over the years the architecture has been developed and influenced from many areas of the world. Spend a couple of hours wandering through the grounds and take a moment to sit in the beautiful gardens and escape normality. My favourite tourist spot of the city was Plaza de Espana. This is the most instagrammable spot as well as the most famous square in Seville and it is not hard to see why once you arrive! Located in Parque de Maria Luisa, this was a little further away from our hotel but still walkable. You could spend hours sitting listening to the flamenco dancers perform followed by casual walks through the park whilst stopping at one of the cafes located around the edge of the park. A top highlight of the trip for me! On our last morning, we had booked an electric bike ride tour which none of us had done before. We were a little apprehensive about riding on an electric bike but after a couple of minutes on the bikes, we were loving this way of exploring the city! Our guide Phillipo, from ELECMOVE, was incredible. He speaks great English and took us around lots of the key sights of the city that we had already seen along with many others. En-route we made several stops where Phillipo would give us the history of the sight and answer any of our questions. If you are looking at exploring the city in a different way, I would highly recommend this and it doesn’t matter at what point of your trip that you add this in as you will gain something from it. Another hugely popular spot and highlight of our trip was to the Metropol Parasol, also known as ’The Mushroom’ to locals. The largest wooden structure in the world and a great spot to head to and watch the sun set. Once the sun has gone down you can enjoy the immersive light show. Whilst we were at the top of this, we spotted a little rooftop bar and managed to find it once we had left. Casa de Indias is located opposite The Mushroom and served great sangria with a close up view of the light show. Seville was amazing and the weather perfect for being able to wander and explore under our own esteem. Take the trip and go and explore this beautiful city that offers rich architecture, plenty of Spanish culture whilst you enjoy tapas, sangria and flamenco!

Searching for Santa!

21 December 2021

From the moment I first saw a Lapland poster advertising day trips from Newcastle in my first travel agency role, it has been a dream of mine to go. Fast forward 20 years and that dream finally came true. In true lockdown style, we booked this holiday of a lifetime in November 2020 to travel the following December and managed to keep it a secret from our 3 girls until we travelled – not an easy feat for my husband! Having told our girls the night before we flew, we were up and off to the airport early on a cold December morning. Little did we realise how mild the UK temperatures are in comparison! As we were making our way through Gatwick, our excitement grew by the minute each time we spotted someone with a jumper, t-shirt, or badge on stating that they were off to Lapland. After a tense couple of days after returning from Krakow waiting for a negative PCR result, I couldn’t believe it; we were finally on our way to search for Santa. As Lapland is a specialised tour, there are charter flights operating out of many of the UK airports. We flew into Rovaniemi which is a 3.5-hour flight, and the outbound flight is full of Christmas cheer with Christmas worksheets offered to the children, crew dressed in Christmas paraphernalia and even Christmas carols over the tannoy. From there we were met by our rep who stayed with us for our whole trip and travelled a further 1.5 hours to Luosto; our home for the next 3 nights whilst we completed our search. Little did I know that minutes away from the airport, you cross the Arctic Circle – another huge bucket list moment for me. You are offered the option of cabins or a hotel room on this trip. As we are a family of 5, there was only the option of the duplex family room in the hotel available to us. This had 2 beds downstairs and then a ladder up to the mezzanine level with an additional 3 beds. The ladder would not be suitable for young children. Our youngest was 6 when we travelled, and I was nervous about her going up and down it when she was sleepy due to how steep it is. We had booked the buffet style meal plan which is catered for the masses and not our usual holiday style. If this isn’t for you either, then I would recommend you upgrading to the a-la carte dining. Both restaurants are in the hotel along with a bar. All you need to pay for locally are any drinks and souvenirs. The cabins are approximately a 10-minute walk from the hotel and whilst I didn’t see the inside, some of our fellow Santa Searchers told me that they were comfortable and some even had a sauna. The one downside to me for these is that you have to walk 10-minutes to your restaurant which means putting on our layers, thermal suits and boots each time you are going to eat. As we were in the hotel, we could simply walk down in our normal clothes. Day 1 saw us being collected early doors to set off on our search for Santa. Daylight is limited in Lapland, so it was still dark when we were collected at 0830 however as we were driving to our first location, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise. Our Arctic Star (otherwise known as a rep) was helping us with our search telling us sights she had seen on her way to collect us and little riddles for us to work out where we were going. The first one indicated a trip to see huskies. A husky ride is generally a standard inclusion of a Lapland trip and on realising this was our first stop, my emotions overcame me. Each stop on your search you will meet elves who are fantastic at entertaining the children whilst you are waiting to take part in your activity, and a fire where you can warm up. Temperatures were as low as -31C on our trip so we had to quickly get used to whipping boots and socks off to warm up little frozen toes. Over the course of the 2-days we were searching for Santa, we met his 5 special elves who entertained and provided more clues, spent a couple of hours sledging in the snow and enjoyed various activities including a sleigh ride, snowmobiling, visiting the North Pole Post Office and the elves house. This trip is jam packed and tiring but completely worth it! When we were travelling from the airport on our arrival, we were told that the previous tour had been lucky enough to see the Northern Lights every night. Another bucket list moment for me meant our girls got to sledge late at night as we went off in search for them. By our last night, we still hadn’t managed to see them, but I wanted to give it one last go. Just around the corner from our hotel was frozen lake and we had been told this was the best way to walk to try and spot them. As we bumped into some other families from our coach on our way out, they told me that they hadn’t managed to see them again. With that knowledge, we said we would continue on the walk as it was our last night, before heading back to our room. I am so pleased that we did; on our return one of the other adults had been looking for me to tell me they were out! As our girls were pretty cold by this point, Dan said he would continue walking back to the hotel. On my own, I climbed down the hill to the lake, found a little gap in the trees and as I looked out over the frozen, snow-covered lake, on the horizon there they were, the Auroras. This was quite simply, the most incredible finish to our holiday of a lifetime. That moment of being stood on my own, in complete silence will stay with me forever. Lapland, you were everything and more! A hugely popular holiday so if you are hoping to do this amazing trip, don’t hang about as availability is always limited – let me know how I can help you make your dreams come true.

Our Long Awaited Trip to Krakow

03 December 2021

During the first Covid lockdown, when easyJet released their winter 2020/21 flights, I noticed that they were offering a great price for flights to Krakow. A city which is famous for being home to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a former Nazi concentration and extermination camp, and the Wieliczka Salt Mines – these two attractions alone are generally the main reason tourists travel to the city and I am one of them! Flights booked and hopes were held high that come late 2020, we would be back to travelling and a city break would be a great escape. Fast forward to November 2021 and I am finally travelling on this long-awaited trip. With travel still being affected by Coronavirus, airlines are still having to make schedule changes either to flight times or on occasions, the UK departure airport. Our flights were moved from Gatwick to Luton and so we decided that we would take advantage of the Luton schedule by increasing our stay to 4 nights; after all – we had waited long enough to go so why not?! This was my first experience of flying out of Luton Airport and whilst it was hard to drive past not one, but two London airports to reach it, I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the airport and how smooth travel currently is, despite the added requirements that are currently in place. The airport was very quiet and with all our travel documents in hand, we soon found ourselves relaxing in the airport lounge. When travel is operating as ‘normal’ a lounge is a great addition to your holiday, along with being a lovely way to start your holiday off in style, it allows you to escape the hustle and bustle of the main terminal and relax before your flight. Upon our return to Luton, within 15-minutes of landing we had passed through passport control, collected our hold luggage and were on our way to the car! It must be said that if our flight had been full (it was less than a quarter full) I am aware that this would have taken longer but there are certainly some perks to the current situation! On arrival into Krakow, we had decided to travel into the city by train. The station is attached to the airport terminal and the journey was really smooth. I travelled with my dad, and we had booked a 2-bedroom apartment in the Old Town of Krakow. The Antique Apartments are just off the main square of the Old Town and in walking distance of many restaurants, tourist attractions and the collection point of our tours. Well equipped and comfortable, with a lovely cocktail bar next door, my only disappointment was the noise each morning at around 6am. I am a light sleeper so if you are one who can sleep through anything then this should not put you off! Like many other visitors, the main reason for our trip was to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau. I would recommend pre-booking a guided tour that includes your transport from the city, and this is quite often offered with a second half day excursion to the Wieliczka Salt Mines. Located approximately an hour and half outside of the city centre, we travelled there on a snowy winter’s day which felt appropriate and gave us only a small fraction of an idea of the cold, bleakness that those who suffered there would have endured during their time at the camp. The guided tour spans across both sites and lasts roughly 4 hours. With knowledge of Auschwitz and the suffering that went on, I thought I was prepared for what we would see. Whilst the trip was educational, thought provoking and incredibly emotional, you need to prepare yourself for how harrowing witnessing these sites is. A must for everyone to simply pay your respects and understand the horror that went on here. The other hugely popular attraction in Krakow is the Wieliczka Salt Mines which are only a short 20-minute coach ride from the city centre. After such a long day the previous day, this tour only takes half a day and will certainly lift your spirits when you see the amazing sculptures that have been created over the years from salt. Discovered over 6000 years ago, the salt mines were active until the late 1990’s. Now the only salt mined comes from the water that still runs through the lower-level chambers and this is done in order to prevent flooding of the whole attraction. This tour would not be suitable for anyone with walking difficulties. Something that is highly encouraged is to lick the walls at some point during your tour! Main tourist attractions aside, another huge pull for us was the Polish food. There are plenty of restaurants to try and if Polish isn’t your thing, then don’t worry – all cuisine is catered for. My favourite restaurant, which was recommended by our taxi driver, was Morskie Oko. Named after the famous Polish lake in the Tatras Mountains, this restaurant has a traditional highland feel to it with stunning Polish food. I had the grilled sheep cheese to start followed by boar loin, both traditional dishes and both amazing! You can’t visit Poland without trying their famous dumplings and traditional soups. Don’t be surprised if your soup turns up in a bowl made of bread, including a bread lid. As I was told when asked if I wanted bread with my soup, ‘when in Poland you must have soup with bread’. Having travelled to Krakow in late November, we were also able to take in the Christmas markets. These too were in the Old Town, and we spent a couple of afternoons wandering around the stalls, tasting the street food, and washing it down with a compulsory (in my opinion!) Gluhwein. As our time came to an end and we spent some time reflecting on our trip, I would recommend visiting at this time of the year to take in Auschwitz in the cold but if you were to return, head back when the city is in bloom to see it in another season. With plenty of tourist attractions yet to be explored, this is a city that could certainly be given a second visit. My travel head is already looking at the bigger picture and taking me to the next European city to explore but never say never….Krakow, you have plenty more to offer – until the next time!

Self Drive to Brittany

08 December 2020

For our family holiday this year, we booked a week in Brittany. I have never done a self-drive holiday as an adult and our girls were excited that we would be going by car and taking the ferry from Newhaven – Dieppe; something on our doorstep that we have never done. We left the UK on a hot summer’s afternoon and sailed to Dieppe where we stayed at the Dieppe Ibis Budget hotel overnight. This hotel is a mere 10-minute drive from the ferry port and easy to find. With free street parking outside of the hotel until 9am, we were soon tucked up in bed ready for our drive down to Brittany the next day. After an early start and a good breakfast, we left Dieppe and travelled approximately 7 hours and arrived at Camping du Quinquis late afternoon. The sun was still high in the sky so whilst we settled ourselves in our caravan, our new home for the next week, all the children headed straight for the pool to cool off. Quinquis is a small family campsite, approximately a 10-minute drive from Guidel, Le Pouldu beach and 5-minute drive to a Carre Four. Quinquis is not a large, commercialised site and is in a beautiful, unspoilt corner of Brittany. With 2 large pools, a pool bar, and a snack bar, this had all we needed for a quiet family holiday – much needed after the year we had had so far! You can purchase wrist bands that you can pre-load with euros and you can then use these to buy snacks and goodies from the snack bar, reception shop and pool bar. We bought these for our two younger girls, and they loved the independence of being able to go and buy their afternoon ice cream and crepes themselves. Don’t miss out on the fresh local pastries and bread that you can pre-order each evening and collect hot from the oven the next morning! A definite highlight of the trip was collecting these and enjoying for breakfast. The accommodation on site varies between 2- and 3-bedroom static caravans. Fitted with all mod-cons, these do vary in age and with this you can see the difference in the standard. Our caravan was approximately 10-years old so felt slightly dated inside but it was clean and had all the facilities that we needed. We travelled with other family members and their caravan had a larger decking area than ours, so this soon became our social spot for al fresco dining and pre-dinner drinks! The staff on site have daily activities set up in the afternoon for children and then evening entertainment. The family we travelled with stayed for a second week and advised us that all the activities and entertainment varied in their second week so if you did go for two weeks, it would not feel repetitive. One afternoon we saw all of our younger children sitting doing arts and crafts where they created a few things to bring home and, on another afternoon, there was a slide and splash competition held on the field. The evening entertainment whilst we were on-site included a pool and darts competition (which my sister and I thoroughly enjoyed!), a pool party and a silent disco. All these things were right up our street and a lot of fun! Our first day was a Sunday so we headed straight for Guidel market where you can purchase hot meats, fresh food, clothes, and a small selection of souvenirs. The market was very busy and there was no-one monitoring how many people were wandering around. This surprised me given that we had not long been out of lockdown however everyone was wearing face masks and I did not feel unsafe. The market was full of lots of locals so this made us confident that all the food we were buying for our dinner would be good – it did not disappoint! We only visited one beach during our stay, and this was Le Pouldu Beach. This is a wide, long beach with a few rock pools to explore. There are toilets and first aid located on the beach and over the road is a free car park, crazy golf and a creperie. There are plenty of small, French towns to explore in the area. We spent a morning in Quimperlé, an old mill town, with a river running through it. We had a lovely couple of hours wandering through the streets and we finished off with a stop for a coffee and crepes on the riverside. We drove to Doelan one evening in the search for dinner however this small fishing village only has 2 restaurants and a creperie. On a hot summer’s evening, this was heaving with locals so we were unable to find anywhere that could accommodate us all – make sure you pre-book if you want to dine here! In the end we headed back to Quimperlé where we found a lovely restaurant in one of the squares which served great burgers and steaks! This lovely, quiet area of Brittany was just what we needed for a week away from the stress of daily living in 2020 but all too quickly our week was coming to an end. There are still plenty of places that we have not yet discovered, and Brittany stole all our hearts for a much-needed family holiday. If a self-drive holiday is something that you would like to know more about, then please do get in touch. Now, where to next?!

Adults Only in Dubai

22 November 2019

I was lucky enough to travel to Dubai in 2015 on a fam trip and instantly loved it! Since then, I have been trying to sell this incredible city to my husband. Fast forward to this year and I finally managed to do just that! We decided that this would be an adult only trip, much to the dismay of our eldest daughter, and booked our flights to depart a few days after school went back in September. We flew out of Gatwick with Emirates who are one of my favourite airlines. The on-board service is fantastic and as we had no children with us, I was able to enjoy movie after movie without being interrupted. Upon arrival into Dubai, I had booked us a private transfer which we found with no problem and after a short drive, we arrived at Hilton the Walk. Located on the marina, this 4* hotel is over the road from its 5* sister property, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah. We were booked in for 2 nights at both properties and you can use the facilities of both hotels when staying at either. We were upgraded to a 2 Bedroom Apartment at The Walk which would be fantastic for families. With a main bedroom that overlooks the sea and The Walk's pool, a separate twin bedroom, 2 bathrooms and a further separate toilet and a decent sized kitchen, a family could easily go self-catering here. The hotel is within walking distance to shops and restaurants and as soon as we had freshened up, we headed out to find somewhere to eat. By this time, it was almost 11pm and still 37 degrees and very humid! We were up and out early on our first morning as we had tickets to go up the Burj Khalifa first thing. There is a taxi rank directly outside Hilton the Walk so we jumped in one and after about 25-minutes arrived at Dubai Mall. We used taxis over the course of our trip and found them relatively cheap although if we were to go back, I would try out the tram as this accesses most of the city. The entrance to Burj Khalifa is through the mall and on our way, we saw some of Dubai Aquarium which was amazing. We arrived at the Burj Khalifa and soon found ourselves in the elevator on our way to the 124th floor at the speed of 10 metres per second! As we had booked our tickets for 0930, it wasn’t too busy. As soon as we walked out onto the observation deck the 40-degree heat hit us! Dubai is known for its hot and humid weather and this can cause fog on a morning which I hadn’t considered for our visit to the Burj Khalifa. As I had been to Dubai before, I was able to pick out key areas of the city and along with maps around the observation tower, I was happy that we had identified plenty of key parts of the city, even with the fog. Once we were back on solid ground, we made use of our 72-hour hop-on hop-off bus and travelled back along the coast to The Mall of Emirates where we saw 02nd December Street; a popular street in Dubai connecting the city and was renamed so when the UAE celebrated its 40th anniversary, as well as the iconic Burj al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Brunch on Friday’s in Dubai is a must do and having spent some time researching where to go, we had booked ourselves into Toro Toro at the Grosvenor House Hotel. I was very excited about this experience and it did not disappoint! On arrival we were given a glass of sangria and shown to our seats where a party atmosphere was already in full swing courtesy of the in-house DJ. With a South American theme throughout the décor is amazing and the food compliments this. My husband’s personal favourite was the Cordero a la Notera which went down beautifully with a glass of the Spanish red! Brunch here runs from 1500-1800 and you are then given a complimentary drink in the bar upstairs where the party continues into Friday night. Saturday saw us halfway through our trip and changing hotels to Hilton Dubai Jumeirah. This was my favourite hotel of the two and as you walk into the reception area, you can instantly feel the difference between the 4 and 5* properties. As we had another excursion in the afternoon and didn’t have access to our room, we spent the morning chilling by the pool. This hotel has a good size pool and the sun bed area takes you down to the beach where the hotel has its own private section. What I loved when we were laid on our sun beds were the ice-cold flannels being served by the pool staff – these are so refreshing in this heat. In the afternoon we were picked up from out hotel by a tour company and taken out of Dubai to the desert. If you haven’t been to Dubai before, a must do is a desert safari. You are taken about an hour out of the city in a 4-wheel drive in small groups of about 6. Once you arrive, you are given some time to buy your typical tourist gifts from a small shop. My advice here would be to ensure you take your cold drinks from the hotel as we paid about £9 per bottle of water!! After the drivers let the air out of the tyres, we were off into the desert for some dune bashing. As we set off, we were told by the driver to let him know if we felt sick and he would pull over. The look on my husband’s face was not good and I thought I was in for a rollicking at the end of the bashing! Having said that, it only takes a few minutes for you to get used to the hair-raising drive and we soon started to enjoy ourselves. This trip is amazing and allows you to see the desert which is of course, what Dubai started as.

More Dubai

22 November 2019

For our final full day, we got up early to do some more tourist bits which included more of the hop-on hop-off bus which we took to the Atlantis Hotel at the top of the Palm. Our bus tickets included entrance into the Aquarium which we thoroughly enjoyed and even took some time to just sit and watch all the fish, something I find quite peaceful and relaxing. Following this we headed to the original part of the city. The journey took us past the palace where the Sheikh lives which was stand alone in years gone by but is now surrounded by the city. Once in the original part of Dubai, you see traditional buildings and this area has a much different feel to it compared to the new modern Dubai. We spent some time walking along the creek where we stopped for something to eat before attempting to walk through the textile souks. The sellers in here were quite pushy and I kept on losing Dan so we soon left and walked up to Dubai museum before getting a taxi back to our hotel. The journey took about half an hour journey and early into it, we passed the QE2 hotel – I am always on the lookout for hotels! Our final afternoon was spent by the pool and finished off with a cocktail at the pool bar whilst we watched the sun go down. Another thing that you must do when in Dubai is visit the fountains underneath the Burj Khalifa. These run for approximately 3-5 minutes every half an hour and as you can imagine, attract many tourists. After taking these in, we picked from one of many restaurants on offer outside of the mall and enjoyed an amazing final meal. Overall, my second visit to Dubai did not disappoint and there are still plenty of things that I would like to do meaning I will be back. Dubai is ideal as a stopover on the way to the Indian Ocean, Far East or Australia or simply as a city or beach break. There is something for everyone here, and you can go and relax on the beach or spend your days being a tourist. Dan and I certainly took advantage of our time away from our girls and enjoyed every second. My only unanswered question to him now is where we are going next!

Family Holiday in Kalavasos

21 November 2019

For our summer holiday this year, we decided to head back to the beautiful village of Kalavasos in Cyprus. Having visited 2 years ago, we fell in love with the tranquillity of the village and how it was a complete escape from our everyday lives. As before, we travelled with extended family making us a group of 10. Flying with easyJet, we didn’t depart Gatwick until mid-afternoon, so we decided to book into My Lounge in the North Terminal and avoid the hustle and bustle of the airport terminal. As we were classed as a group, we had our own private area in the lounge. All the children were kept happy with the constant supply of food and access to a PS4 and football table whilst us adults were able to relax over a glass of wine before we flew. We landed late into Larnaca and had hired cars again due to the village being slightly remote. By the time we collected the cars and arrived into the village, it was after midnight and we went straight to bed. For this trip, we tried out apartments that we had used before; Charalambos Holiday Cottage. This accommodation is made up of 5 apartments each with their own kitchen. It is rare for accommodation in the village to have a pool. Where we had stayed previously had a small plunge pool however at Charalambos, they have a good size pool with sun beds to cater if all apartments are occupied. As we are a family of 5 it can be hard to find a room large enough to accommodate us all. At Charalambos, they offer a 2-bedroom apartment with plenty of toys, games and other necessary items when you are travelling with smaller children. Our kitchen was a separate entity completely and soon became the groups main kitchen due to this. Andreas, the owner of the apartments is a lovely Greek guy and very accommodating. We were provided with his mobile number in case of any issues whilst we were there and he popped in to check on us on a number of occasions throughout our week where we were delighted to be given fresh cakes and pastries from Larnaca and he would stay to share a beer and chat with us. Andreas even made a special trip to the village on the evening we left to give us all a farewell gift and to say goodbye! Due to our accommodation having its own pool, we spent half of our week chilling here. Kalavasos has all you need should you not want to travel far. Dinner was eaten all but one evening at one of the three village tavernas; since our last visit, George’s taverna has closed as the owners have retired. Our firm favourite across the group soon became the Retro Tavern. Offering homemade Greek dips, generous sized Greek salads and kleftiko on Friday nights (must be pre-ordered), I would highly recommend a meal here. As with our last visit, we spent one evening at Tochni Tavern, located in the village of Tochi approximately a 10-minute drive from Kalavasos. This restaurant is part of a hotel and located on a hillside overlooking Tochni. We decided to share the meze here and the amount of food that was served could have filled us for days! Be sure to order for at least 2 less people should you decide to visit. A couple of days into our trip, we decided to head out to Mazotos to visit the Camel Park there. This tourist attraction could fill your day as it has a restaurant, swimming pool and kids’ activities. As we had become accustomed to the tranquillity of our apartments, heading into a busy tourist attraction didn’t appeal for the whole day, don’t get me wrong though, you could easily fill a day here! Having looked around the park, fed all the animals and taken a customary camel ride, we were happy with our visit and headed back to our own ‘private’ pool. The highlight here was all 10 of us riding on the camels! On our last day, we decided to spend the day at Fassouri Waterpark which we had visited on our previous visit. We arrived for the park opening and were once again, one of the last families to depart having been asked to leave the lazy river due to the park closing! Another fun-filled day complete with all ages of our group having something to keep them happy including my 14-year-old braving the kamikaze slide! This beautiful village is unquestionably a favourite family destination for us, and we will be back. If you prefer to be off the beaten track, don’t mind hiring a car and like to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life then Kalavasos could be for you! Let me know if you would like to know more.

The Launch of MSC Bellissima

19 November 2019

On a dreary Sunday morning in March, I headed along the coast with 2 fellow Travel Counsellors to Southampton for the launch of MSC’s latest edition, MSC Bellissima. The ship had invited around 3500 travel agents from around the UK to the launch and it was set to be an incredible 24 hours on board. Having only done one trip on a cruise ship many moons ago, and a couple of ship visits, I am keen to expand my first-hand knowledge of cruising. On arriving into Southampton, it is easy to park, and you are a short walk to the embarkation area. Much quicker and easier than flying, we were onboard within about 20-minutes. As we were excited to explore the ship and were concerned that we would run out of time, the three of us agreed to meet back in the main reception area 20-minutes later. I had been allocated a balcony cabin on deck 13 which was not too far from the lifts. During this visit, I decided to embrace my vlogging skills and upon opening my cabin door, shared what I saw live on my business Facebook page. One thing this taught me is to perhaps check you can open all of the doors before hitting the live button! However, I saw the funny side of not being able to access the bathroom and proceeding to fall into the room and I hope my followers did too! A spacious cabin for two with the option of a sofa bed however I would feel cramped if you were to do this. Back at the main reception, MSC had pulled out all the stops to ensure that we would experience the best of the ship and have a great time. With a glass of bubbles in hand, myself and my two colleagues decided that we would explore the Atrium on deck 5 along with some of the speciality restaurants on decks 6 and 7. As this was a ship visit, the restaurants were offering small taster dishes with a wine to compliment it. My two favourites were the Kaito Teppanyaki and Butcher’s Cut, both located on deck 7. Of course, our food and drink tasting wouldn’t have been complete without a visit to the champagne bar! Having filled up on some great tasting food, we decided to spend some time exploring the various show cabins that were open for us around the ship. Being a family of 5 myself, I was blown away by the size of the Balcony Cabin for families. As you walk in, there are bunk beds to your left or right of the cabin door with their own storage space and curtains to close should you wish to give your children some privacy whilst they are sleeping. A large cabin with enough space for a family of 5 or 6, the main area has a double bed and a double sofa bed. The cabin we saw interconnected with another cabin which was the same allowing you to sleep up to 12 people in one party and not be separated. All the cabins were lovely, and it was great to see a variety including an interior studio, interior cabin and my other favourite; the Duplex Suite. This cabin covers two decks and has a larger balcony with a whirlpool bath. For anyone wanting to spend a little more time in the cabin and enjoy some extra comfort, this cabin would be perfect. The evening saw us meet in the casino with the whole group of Travel Counsellors; there were around 250 of us on board! After catching up with friends, we had a group photo before dining together at Il Ciliegio. The service here was very good and the food did not disappoint. Straight after dinner we headed to the bar in anticipation of our evening entertainment; Craig David who was doing a DJ set. I am a huge Craig David fan, and this was to be my third time of seeing him this year and having had an early start to get to Southampton followed by a jam packed day exploring the ship, I was soon ready for my bed. A quick trip to the Marketplace Buffet for late night pizza and then I was done. Whilst exploring the ship, it would be unwise of me not to mention all the other amazing facilities that this ship has to offer. A large ship, catering for families, your children would not be bored. With an amusement park including a 4D cinema, simulator and bowling along with indoor and outdoor pools that include an aqua park and swing bridge, days at sea would pass by in a fun-filled blur. On top of this, there is the spa and gym meaning that adults would be able to have their own down time should they take advantage of the kids clubs that are available. Overall, my experience onboard has strengthened my desire to take my own family on a cruising holiday. This ship would be one that I would recommend for families and groups and my only disappointment was the stormy weather meaning that we stayed in dock for the 24 hours on board. Thank you MSC Bellissima!

Girls Trip to Ibiza

03 December 2018

Myself and a couple of girlfriends have been talking about a trip to Ibiza for ten years and we finally managed to go this year. As Craig David fans, we knew that he was playing his TS5 Pool Party on a weekly basis at Ibiza Rocks. Working around this, we booked a three-night trip, staying in San Antonio Bay. An early start out of Gatwick saw us flying at 5 am but with a quick flight of two hours, we were in a taxi by 9 am heading towards San Antonio Bay. We stayed at the Marina Playa which is an adults-only hotel. Situated across the road from the beach and about a 30-minute walk to the centre of San Antonio, this was the perfect setting for us. Although our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, the hotel was very accommodating and provided us with a place to change and store our bags, so we could head straight out to the pool. By 10 am it was already pretty hot! There are plenty of sun loungers and beds at the hotel and if you want shade, there is a place throughout the day which doesn’t get the sun. After lunch, a resident DJ arrives and plays music from the venue into the early evening. This isn’t overpowering and adds to the mood of simply being in Ibiza. We had booked a studio room which was located at the back of the building. We had requested a pool view however these were all fully booked and on arrival, we were pleased we hadn’t got one. It was nice being located at the back of the building so that if we wanted somewhere quieter to rest, we had it. The room was fine for three to share with twin beds and an additional sofa bed. The kitchenette facilities were adequate for what we needed. Just around the corner from the hotel are a couple of convenience stores where you can get basic supplies. On our first evening we walked along the promenade and had dinner in one of the restaurants overlooking the beach. Following this, we continued to wander towards San Antonio and explore some of the bars and clubs. As we had had such an early start, none of us were up for a big night however we were offered free entry into one of the super clubs, Es Paradis. Not wanting to waste this opportunity to see one of the super clubs, we spent about an hour in here. There is a reason you are offered free entry into Ibiza clubs, and that is because it is so early, they have hardly anyone in there. This club hosts water parties where the club fills with water to almost waist deep. Luckily for us, we had not chosen one of those nights to visit! Having heard how expensive Ibiza is for drinks, we only discovered this when we drank here – make sure you have factored in a small fortune for drinking in the super clubs and beach clubs. A round of drinks for the three of us cost about EUR50!! It was great to see this club as the décor and design is incredible. I would have been happy to attend one of the water parties, had I gone prepared, but unfortunately, as we arrived when it was quiet, we didn’t really experience the full super club vibe. After a couple of hours in the sun at our hotel on our second day, we decided to go to Ocean Club for the Hedkandi party. Ocean Club was a short walk from our hotel and tickets could be purchased on the gate for day entry. Prices do vary depending on the theme, Hedkandi cost EUR20.00 per person. One thing to bear in mind for these beach club parties is that if you decide to leave, you are not able to re-enter. I was nervous to attend a beach club as my preconceptions were that it would be full of super glamorous men and women with to die for figures. Don’t get me wrong, these people were there in abundance, but I did not once feel like I shouldn’t be there. All manner of people attended the day we were there, and my understanding is, this is the norm. Don’t let TV programmes such as TOWIE put you off attending a beach club! I would highly recommend Ocean Club for its parties. From the minute we arrived, until we left, there was entertainment from the staff and amazing music being played. While our ticket gave us entry for the day, what is an additional extra is if you want a bed. If there are a large group of you then these are worth it. You receive table service for both food and drink and of course, have a place to sit or relax other than the poolside. After leaving Ocean Club, we cleaned ourselves up and readied ourselves for the main strip in San Antonio. As the walk is so lovely along the promenade, we decided to take our time as we headed towards the strip. As soon as we hit the street, you could have been on any ‘strip’ in any main party resort in Europe. Music pumping, promotion men and women up and down the street tempting you into their bar with drinks promotions and plenty of people younger than us were falling around. This aside, we found a handful of bars that played our kind of music and of course, much more affordable drinks! Sticky floors and a bad smell outside are two key things I took away with me but overall, we had a great night. Our last day was all geared around heading to see Craig David. We had hoped to use the water taxi which picks you up from San Antonio Bay and drops you off in the heart of San Antonio. Unfortunately, after waiting for almost half an hour, we gave up and jumped in a taxi. The water taxi runs every half an hour and costs a couple of euros. We had seen it operating from our hotel, so we were just unlucky when we went to use it. Craig David’s TS5 Pool Party takes place at Ibiza Rocks which is tucked away in a back street of San Antonio. You can stay at this hotel although it would not be my choice of accommodation. Rooms do overlook the pool which would be perfect to party on and have an amazing, private party view for each day’s entertainment. While the hotel is great for these pool parties, I would be disappointed to be a residential guest. A very different set up from the beach club we had visited the day before. The stage where the DJs played from backed onto the pool and had a good size standing area to the front. DJs play before and after the main act, so you can spend the whole afternoon, and evening, partying here. Craig David did not disappoint, and we spent an amazing few hours, in the blistering heat dancing to songs old and new. A fantastic way to bring our long overdue girls trip to an end. Ibiza, you did not disappoint after the wait we all had! I would do it again in a heartbeat and would recommend the Marina Playa hotel.

24 hours off in London

19 October 2018

My husband and I managed to get away for a brief overnight stay in London. I had booked a voucher that gave us access to The Shard along with a 3-course meal at Marco Pierre White’s New York Italian restaurant at London Bridge. This was reason enough in itself to add on a hotel stay. I have not previously stayed in this area of London and it made sense to me for us to be within walking distance of these attractions. Having done some research into hotels in the area, we decided to book The Bermondsey Square Hotel which is a quirky 4* hotel within walking distance of London Bridge, Borough and South Bank. We arrived early evening and checked into our Club Rom which offered us access to the Club Lounge. From here we had views over the square below where markets are held on a weekly basis. The room was a good size with the bed in the middle of the room and great amenities. The hotel does not offer a bar however they are happy for you to bring your own drinks into your room and provide you with a fridge and glasses. Breakfast is served in the ‘b2 at home’ lounge on the ground floor. We had booked a rate inclusive of continental breakfast which was a buffet style. You can order hot breakfast from a menu if you wish. Marco Pierre White’s New York Italian is situated in The Mecure London Bridge. This was a quick taxi ride from our hotel (I wasn’t going to walk this in heels!) and upon arrival I loved the setting and décor. Unfortunately, both the service and the food were a slight let down for us both. We couldn’t decide whether we had booked our table too late or the fact that we were eating from a set menu had an impact. The first two courses were served too quickly and closely together and we never received the bottle of wine we ordered. Once the main course had been served, the staff seemed to disappear meaning we then waiting a long time for desert and further drinks. Perhaps I had expected more with it being a Marco Pierre White restaurant however I wouldn’t rush back here. We left our luggage at the hotel upon check out before venturing to The Shard. The weather was on our side with a beautiful, Autumnal day. We met my brother at the entrance of The Shard and quickly ascending to level 69. The lifts take you up 2 floors per second! There are 2 viewing platforms at The Shard; The View at level 69 and Skydeck at level 72. There is a bar on both levels and level 72 is partially outdoors. On level 69 there are key London attractions listed on the side they can be viewed from. We spent a good hour across both floors taking in the views and pointing out various landmarks. Following our visit to The Shard, we wandered towards Borough Market and spent a short time wandering through it before stopping for a drink. There was a great vibe to the market as we wandered through and we all wished that we had more time to spend here. All in all, our 24 hours in London was a great break from our everyday routine and thoroughly enjoyed. I would highly recommend this hotel and would be tempted to stay here again so that we could further explore this great area of our capital city.

Cornwall

19 October 2018

Cornwall is an area of the UK that I have wanted to visit for many years, but the journey time has always put me off. As we weren’t having an overseas family holiday this year, we decided that we would spend our UK holiday in Cornwall. A 6-hour journey from Seaford, traffic permitting, with parts of the journey single carriage. Once you hit Devon, you are on the A30 which travels from the top to the bottom of Cornwall making the whole county easily accessible. I booked us a 4-bedroom contemporary cottage at Atlantic Reach which is a holiday park located approximately 8 miles outside of Newquay. We chose this over a sole cottage due to the facilities offered onsite. Perfect for families, this site has an indoor and an outdoor pool, soft play area, coffee shop, bar and restaurant as well as evening entertainment. I felt that Newquay was the perfect location for us to explore parts of Cornwall both North and South to where we were staying. The Eden Project is a must if you have never been. This was approximately a 30-minute drive from where we were staying. Pre-book your tickets online to save some pennies, you collect these at the entrance and they are valid for a year. My highlight at the Eden Project was the tropical rainforest dome although I am still disappointed with myself that I didn’t make it up onto the platform that is suspended over the middle of the dome. I discovered half way up that I suffer slightly from vertigo! Allow a full day for this attraction which is suitable for all age ranges. My children enjoying tubing on the ice slope and taking a rocket to Mars! Before we departed for our holiday, someone had told my husband that Cornwall has funny times for meals. We found this to be correct on the first day with most places not serving food between 4-6pm. A short drive from the Eden Project took us into St Austell where we had to try our luck at a few restaurants before finding one that was serving before 6pm! We stumbled across a Nepalese Gurkha restaurant in the centre of St Austell. First impressions weren’t high however the food and service were exceptional. Be sure to hunt this restaurant when you visit St Austell. Cornwall has a huge selection of National Trust properties and with membership between our family, we spent an afternoon exploring Lanhydrock, a late Victorian country house. With picture quizzes for the children to complete, we spent a fun few hours exploring this beautiful property and learning more about the family that owned it. Fistral Beach in Newquay is world famous with surfers and you need spend no more than a couple of minutes here to understand why. A wide, open beach, with a plenty of wind and home to the The Headland Hotel where Roald Dahl’s, The Witches, was filmed. We spent an afternoon on Fistral Beach before exploring the cliff walks. From here you can walk to a lookout shelter at Towan Head and see where the original life boat station is still standing. This boat station had one of the steepest slipway’s in the country which is still visible although no longer in use. We ate at Rick Stein’s fish restaurant which overlooks Fistral Beach and offer amazing views as we dined. Another must for me whilst in Cornwall was Lands’ End. The weather was on our side the day we visited, and we spent a day in glorious sunshine, soaking up the views from various stops along the clifftop walks. Lands’ End is free to enter but you do need to pay for parking, £6 covers you for 7 days. As you arrive at Lands’ End, the main tourist area is just that, geared towards tourists. Don’t let this put you off! We stopped for a coffee before visiting the famous Lands’ End lamppost, the First and Last Post Box and the First and Last House. From there we walked along the cliff path quite some way. It didn’t matter where we were, I was totally blown away by the beauty and views of this place. We decided to eat at the Lands’ End Hotel before heading back to our cottage. Whilst the food here is a little more than elsewhere, the views out over the Celtic Sea make it totally worthwhile. Having only visited one of Cornwall’s beaches, we decided to spend our last afternoon on another local one which had been recommended to us; Holywell Beach. For any Poldark fans, this is where some of Poldark has been filmed. A huge beach with sand dunes and a stream running from the top, all the way down to the sea. After trying, unsuccessfully, to show our girls how to play on the sand dunes, we found a spot close to the stream so that they could play in the water without us having to worry about the waves. When we walked down to the sea edge, there were some surfers out at sea but nowhere near as many as what we had seen at Fistral Beach. This beach is also National Trust, so members can use the car park free of charge. Close to the top of the beach, and the car park, is Pirans Inn Diner. Sticking to the Cornish ways, and not serving food until after 6pm, it was worth the wait and a great spot to finish our week off in Cornwall. Having waited so long to visit, I would agree with the many that Cornwall is a beautiful part of our country and most definitely worth a visit. I would like to go back again and visit other areas we didn’t have time for but would venture to a new part of the county. UK breaks are something that I can book and are often overlooked. When you are next thinking of a break in the UK then please get in touch!

Afternoon Tea at The Berkeley, London

11 October 2018

The Berkeley has been one of my favourite luxury hotels in London for a long time. I am lucky enough to have experienced Afternoon Tea at this stunning hotel a few years ago so when the opportunity came up to experience again, it was a no brainer! The Berkeley is part of the Maybourne hotel group which also includes Claridge’s and The Connaught in London. The Berkeley is located on the corner of Knightsbridge, walking distance from Harvey Nichols and Harrods, and overlooking Hyde Park. Having travelled up to London Victoria on the train, I jumped in a taxi with a fellow Travel Counsellor and we arrived within 10 minutes. Upon arrival into The Berkeley, you walk into a stunning reception with two large Chesterfield chairs with a beautiful fresh flower display in between them. Afternoon Tea at The Berkeley is simply fabulous. It is served in the Collins Room and inspired by the fashion world. The menu of couture cakes receives a makeover every six months to mirror the latest fashion trends, designs and colours. The Afternoon Tea is made up of a selection of finger sandwiches, savoury bites and the infamous couture cakes. A choice of loose teas is presented to you before it is served, and the waiting staff are more than happy to help you with your selection if you find this a little out of your comfort zone. I opted for White & Green’s white peony, a mild tea which I found delicious. As you would expect from a 5* hotel, the staff are outstanding. They talk you through each course of the afternoon tea and are very accommodating with any additional needs. I was not disappointed with my second helping of Afternoon Tea here and I will most definitely be visiting again. Perhaps I will take my husband the next time and allow him to treat me to a bottle of champagne to accompany it….

Spa Break

11 October 2018

I was lucky enough to join a group of nine fellow Travel Counsellors on an overnight stay at Yspa at Wyboston Lakes as a thank you from one of our suppliers. This beautiful hotel is located just off the A1 between Bedford and Cambridge making it easily accessible. As I am located on the south coast, it was a 2-and-a-half-hour drive for me to get there. Upon arrival, we were met by two members of staff from our supplier who were hosting us for the next 24 hours. I immediately started to relax after being a handed a gin and tonic and my appointment time for a facial that afternoon. Lunch was served in The Waterfront Restaurant and Grill and was a wide selection of hot and cold buffet food along with a selection of deserts. As suggested, the restaurant was situated with great views over the lake. Following lunch, we had the afternoon at leisure to use the spa facilities. With both indoor and outdoor facilities, the weather was on our side with one of the first hot days of the summer and we all headed outside to grab a sun lounger and enjoy relaxing by the pool on a Tuesday afternoon. Early into the afternoon, I had my ySpa facial. The spa is located upstairs, and they offer a wide range of treatments. The facial also included a small foot massage and by the end of the treatment, I was completely relaxed. The remainder of the afternoon allowed me to make use of the outdoor pool, enjoy a couple of glasses of fizz with my colleagues before finishing off in the steam room, sauna and ice room! Our bedrooms were located on the ground floor of an adjacent building to the restaurant, bar and spa. A small twin room but perfectly suited for an overnight stay. After freshening up, we reunited in the bar for an aperitif before making our way back to The Waterfront Restaurant. The evening meal was 3 courses and a selection of good British food. The following morning saw us rise as normal for breakfast before heading back to work. Breakfast was buffet style again and I enjoyed the beautiful setting over the lake one last time before we checked out. UK breaks are another break that I can help you plan and book. With spa breaks being a firm favourite for me, I would most definitely recommend this hotel. Easily accessible from various parts of the country and in a gorgeous setting. I hope to visit again!

Jersey Weekender

27 September 2018

Jersey has been a firm favourite of mine since I was little. This was where we headed for our family holiday for many years when I was a child. At the time, we stayed in a guest house overlooking the beautiful bay of Greve de Lecq which is situated on the north coast of the island. The owners of this guest house just so happened to have 2 children similar ages as my brother and myself and from this, lifelong friendships have developed. Fast forward to my adult years and I am lucky enough to still have these two friendships. I try and visit every couple of years but if I had my way, I would be over every year. From Gatwick, the flight is a mere 35-40 minutes and on a good day you have some amazing views whichever direction you are heading. My latest trip to Jersey was over the first Bank Holiday in May. I headed out on the first flight from Gatwick with easyJet and on this occasion decided to embrace my new inner tech savvy self and go paper free for the flight. Using the myTC app, I had uploaded my boarding cards as I would for any other client and breezed through security simply showing my phone each time I was required to show my boarding card. On arrival, I was greeted by my friend and we were planning on heading straight to the supermarket to stock up on supplies for the weekend. Upon arriving back at her car however, we discovered she had a puncture and so I found myself heading straight back to departures! This was of course simply to have a coffee whilst we waiting to be rescued by her Mum. Slight hiccup in our schedule aside, we made it back to her house in St Saviour. St Saviour is situated next door to St Helier making it a great base for a short stay break if you want to make the most of the capital. We headed straight out to St Clements beach for a walk with her two rescue dogs. This is a firm favourite with locals for dog walking but is also a lovely beach to spend a couple of hours sunbathing! Our first afternoon saw us heading to St Brelade’s Bay Hotel for afternoon tea. St Brelade’s Bay is a popular tourist spot and the bay is enough to draw you here. There are a couple of hotels here located on the sea front as well as restaurants and your usual tourist shops. We sat inside for our afternoon tea as it was quite breezy however the hotel has a lovely terrace where you can enjoy food and drink too. The afternoon tea was made up of a selection of finger sandwiches, cakes and scones which came with jam, cream and Jersey black butter! If you don’t stay in St Brelade’s Bay, I would highly recommend a trip here, even if you simply sit on the terrace enjoying a cold drink. Friday night was a quiet night in, which meant that we could head into St Helier on Saturday for a spot of retail therapy. With the annual Boat Show taking place and Liberation Day the following week, St Helier was filled with bunting and a real holiday atmosphere. When visiting St Helier, make sure you wander through the indoor market and visit the department stores. I always love wandering through the streets of St Helier, it really gives me a feeling of being much further away from home. Saturday night we headed out early as we had a reservation at Banjo’s which is in St Helier. A converted Victorian Gentlemen’s club, Banjo’s is a European Brasserie with a wide selection of both food and drink. Our waitress was extremely helpful in helping us select our food and wine which would complement it. Following dinner, we moved through to the cocktail bar and with the atrium roof combined with the décor, made you feel as though you were sitting outside. To finish our evening, we made our way to The Yacht, a firm favourite with locals and tourists alike. On Sunday we made our way back into St Helier to wander around the Boat Show. This was the 11th annual event which generally takes place over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. A free event to attend, it takes place around St Helier Marina, Weighbridge Place and Marina Gardens and is organised by Ports of Jersey. The marina was full of vessels ranging from super yachts to practical water craft, which were open to the public. And as the sun was shining, we thoroughly enjoyed stepping on board a couple of these lovely boats whilst enjoying a light refreshment! All too quickly, my time in Jersey had come to an end however I know very well that I will be back. Jersey is sometimes overlooked, but with such a short flight from the UK and encompassing its own micro-climate, it has so much to offer as both a short break and a longer holiday.

Fort Lauderdale

22 December 2017

I was lucky enough to travel to Fort Lauderdale on a fam trip at the beginning of December. The trip was hosted by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Conventions and Visitors Bureau and I travelled with a representative from the company along with three other colleagues from different areas of the travel industry. In July this year, British Airways launched a new direct service from Gatwick and this trip was the first hosted to celebrate the route. With Miami a mere 30 miles away, this route is a great opportunity for Fort Lauderdale to compete as a beach destination with its closest neighbour. After a comfortable nine-hour flight, where we were lucky enough to experience Club Class, we arrived into Fort Lauderdale. We were greeted by our driver and transferred the 15-minute drive to our new home for the next three nights, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. This 4* hotel is located approximately 15 minutes inland from the coast, but this should by no means distract from what is a fantastic resort complex. Perfectly situated from most attractions, this was a great base for us to get to know Fort Lauderdale better. With a couple of hours free between check in and dinner, we headed straight to the pool to catch the end of the day’s sunshine and explore the outdoor facilities. Make sure you don’t miss out on a relaxing soak in the hot tub followed by a fun slide down to the lagoon-style pool. While we found the entrance tricky to find to make our way up to the top of the mountain rocks, the effort put in was definitely worth it. Dinner was in our host hotel at their amazing Japanese restaurant, Kuro. This was my favourite meal from the whole trip and if you are lucky enough to go there, make sure you try the spicy tuna and corn kakiage! Our first full day saw hotel inspections in the Hollywood beach area of Fort Lauderdale. Up until this point, I hadn’t realised how Greater Fort Lauderdale was made up of smaller areas all feeding into the next one. We visited Hollywood Beach Marriott for breakfast which is at the quieter end of the beach. Within minutes of walking down Hollywood Broadwalk, you are in the thick of the hustle and bustle of this area. My highlight excursion of the trip was the Segway Tour which was hosted by Jon Rosen from Ultimate Florida Tours. We spent 2.5 hours segwaying all the way up to Dania Beach Pier, along the intracoastal dock and down the Hollywood Broadwalk. I was excited about this experience beforehand but having now had the chance to do this, I will be highly recommending this as a way of sightseeing wherever possible. We went from nervous newbies to pros in those couple of hours mastering full speed and no hands with numerous giggles along the way. Tuesday evening saw us venturing into Fort Lauderdale where we visited the Riverside Hotel which is situated on the famous Las Olas boulevard. Dinner at Wild Sea is another ‘must do’ and I would suggest sitting outside where you can watch the world go by. We finished the evening with a wander along Las Olas before a drink at Yolo’s, a highlight of the Fort Lauderdale nightlife scene. A trip to the Everglades Recreation Park allowed me to feed my inner adrenalin junkie and get up close to a couple of alligators! When Captain Bob advised us of where the lifejackets were in case the boat sunk, my thoughts were more focused on what good that would do with alligators out there! That aside, Captain Bob was an exceptional host and his passion for the area and the ‘gators shone through as he gave us our tour. Knowing where to go to hunt the ‘gators out, we were all very excited (and slightly apprehensive due to the proximity) when we finally came across three alligators. I was shocked at how close these animals got to the boat but nevertheless, a trip that must be included when visiting this area. Following our adrenalin fuelled morning, there was only one way to follow this up and that was with an afternoon spent abusing our credit cards at the second largest attraction in Florida, Sawgrass Mills shopping centre. Our final evening saw us venturing to another great area of Fort Lauderdale, Gulfstream Park. Situated close to Hallandale Beach and the Fort Lauderdale/Miami border, Gulfstream Park is a small town built around a racetrack. We dined at Yard House, a traditional American sports bar, and had an amazing waiter who made perfectly suited suggestions from starters through to desert and drinks to match. Upon checking out of the Hard Rock, we were transferred to the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort, situated on its own private beach in the heart of Fort Lauderdale. A perfect setting for our last breakfast where we ate outside overlooking the ocean and even managed a spot of dolphin watching! From here, we had a two-minute car journey to the Jungle Queen where we took a 90-minute sightseeing cruise and got to truly understand why Fort Lauderdale is also known as the ‘Venice of America’. If you visit Fort Lauderdale you must take this river cruise or use the water taxi, from here you will get to see where the rich and famous live, gasp at some mega yachts and really fall in love with this beautiful destination. Once we disembarked, we stopped at Bubba Gump’s for our ‘farewell lunch’ and, in my opinion, when visiting Bubba Gump’s, you have got to have shrimp! Overall, this fam trip has completely opened my eyes to what Fort Lauderdale has to offer. I had not realised how close it lay to Miami and how different both cities are. With a direct service from Gatwick, beautiful beaches and plenty of great activities, Fort Lauderdale is much more than a stopover en-route to a cruise or a transfer to another destination – Fort Lauderdale is a beach destination in its own right. If you have not considered it before, pick up the phone to me today and discuss why you should be adding this to your list!

Kalavasos, Cyprus

04 October 2017

Our family holiday this year has been long overdue as we haven’t been abroad altogether in over 3 years. Cyprus has always been a destination that I have wanted to visit but I have ventured elsewhere previously due to Cyprus being that little bit more expensive to get to. My father-in-law and his wife have been visiting the same village, Kalavasos, in Cyprus for over 20 years and we decided that it was finally the time that we travelled there with them to see what it was all about. We flew with Norwegian Air to Larnaca, a first for the whole group (there were 10 of us travelling together in total) and we were on one of the first flights out of Gatwick. An extremely early start saw us leaving home at 1am for a 0535 flight. My learning of the day when we arrived at Gatwick is that the shops airside do close. As we were on one of the first flights, there were only a handful of coffee shops open when we came through, however the shops slowly started to open whilst we sat and enjoyed a well needed coffee. It was quite an experience seeing Gatwick so calm and quiet. I had heard great things about Norwegian prior to travelling with them and they didn’t disappoint; friendly staff offering a great service and complimentary Wi-Fi – great to occupy the children! We had hired two cars for our duration and upon collecting them from Larnaca airport, we first headed to Tochni to collect the keys for our apartment and then on to Kalavasos. Kalavasos is a small, traditional Cypriot village with a population of approximately 700. The calm and peaceful setting was just what I needed for a relaxing holiday where we all switched off from our everyday life. There is a main square in the village with a scattering of taverna’s around which has a great atmosphere on an evening. Walk through here in the middle of the day and you will wonder where everybody is. A 5-minute walk to the one end of the village brings you to George’s taverna, a favourite of our in-laws where we enjoyed several delicious traditional meals over the course of the week. The village has a small supermarket which is well stocked with all of your essentials and a 5-minute walk in the other direction will bring you to the village pool. There are no facilities here but as you are only minutes from your apartment this really wasn’t an issue. Situated at the top of a number of steps, you have a beautiful view of the countryside and a very quiet place to spend the day. The day that we spent here there was no-one else there but us. Governor’s Beach is about a 15 minute car journey from the village and this is where we spent half of our week. The beach itself is two sunbeds wide therefore wherever we sat we were close to the water’s edge and it meant that we could keep a close eye on our smaller children at all times. This beach has a continental shelf which again added to the safe feeling. The girls dipped in and out of the sea right in front of my sunbed without me having to worry too much! As much as the beach had this safe feeling to it, what let it down were a couple of things. The first one being that we were charged for the use of the sunbeds. I wouldn’t normally complain but each day that we went, we needed to clean off the beds due to them being covered in the black sand off the beach. The second, and most upsetting thing, was that the beach was dirty. Bins were at reasonable intervals along the beach yet there was a lot of rubbish scattered around. Between us we cleaned up our area but this was a big let-down for the beach. This aside, if you hired a sun bed, you could use the toilet facilities of the Hotel Thalassa which is situated on the beach and has a lovely beach bar serving food. At the half way mark of our holiday, we took a day trip to the Fassouri Waterpark located just outside of Limassol. This was about an hour’s drive from Kalvasos so we set off early to ensure we arrived for the park opening. We enjoyed a brilliant, fun-filled day here with slides to accommodate all age ranges. On the Sunday, after we visited my in-law’s Greek friends (and the owners of George’s taverna) we headed off to Maroni Beach. As it was a Sunday the beach was packed with locals. This beach was much smaller than Governor’s and felt more like a cove with large rocks marking either side of the entrance into the sea. The beach area was narrower yet deeper than Governor’s with about five rows of sun beds. As we arrived there towards midday, we were at the back of the beach making it difficult to keep an eye on the little one’s whilst they were in the sea. Not a problem as I am very happy sitting on a rock with my feet in the water watching the world go by! There were toilet facilities here and a small kiosk selling food and drink. For more advanced swimmers, out in the bay was a platform that had many children jumping in and out of the sea. Had we had longer in Cyprus, I would have headed back to this beach again. All too quickly, our week in the sun was coming to an end and as we reflected on the week I’d have to say the highlights for me were the peace and tranquillity of the village, the beef stifado at Tochni Tavern and snorkelling with turtles at Governor’s Beach on our last day. Having seen and experienced for ourselves the beauty of this village and why my in-laws have returned time and time again, we will be back!

Family Adventure to Legoland Windsor

26 June 2017

Legoland Windsor has been on my family’s ‘to do’ list for several years now and this year, we finally booked it for our family adventure. We decided that we would book the 2-day park tickets and include an overnight hotel at the Hilton St Anne’s Manor, Bracknell which is a 20-minute car journey from the park. Travelling from Seaford to Windsor was quicker than I had expected and having set off from home by 8am, we were at the park for it opening at 10am. As we hadn’t told our younger two where we were off too, their faces were a picture when we pulled off the main road and they took in the Legoland sign. My main concern prior to arriving was that my eldest daughter, who is now 12, may have been too big to enjoy the park however it quickly became apparent that I needn’t have worried. Having opted for the 2-day park tickets, we decided that we would spend the first day doing all rides with shorter queues and leave the park early to hit the hotel pool. With many of the smaller rides having queues of 20 minutes and under, our first day was jam packed with rides. I had brought a packed lunch for us for the first day and we timed this perfectly with sitting and watching a mini-pantomime in the Duplo Valley part of the park. By half 3 we had managed to walk in a big loop around most of the park so we decided to leave and head to the hotel. The second part of the surprise for our girls and this didn’t disappoint! Upon check-in, I was handed 3 goody bags for my children and our room was ready for us to check in to. I had booked a standard family room for the 5 of us and when we arrived, we were greeted with a generously sized room which had 2 double beds, a double sofa bed and still plenty of space for our 2-year-old to burn off steam! A quick change and we headed down to the indoor pool which had plenty of woggle floats for children. Over 8s can use the steam room, sauna and jacuzzi so my husband and I could take turns in enjoying these with the biggest while the two little ones got to swim. In the changing rooms, there was a hand operated dryer for your swimming stuff – ideal as we planned on letting the girls go in the splash park at Legoland the next day. The Hilton St Anne’s Manor is a 5-minute drive from the centre of Bracknell where there are various large chain restaurants along with some pubs to choose form for dinner. Dinner was available in the hotel however as a wedding was taking place there we decided to go out. We opted for Pizza Express as this is a firm family favourite! The following morning, we got to fill our boots on the all you can eat buffet breakfast in the hotel before leaving for our second day of adventure. The breakfast had a good selection and was very tasty, so tasty that we ate so much we did not need lunch while we were in the park! Upon walking from the restaurant back to our room, we stopped for a quick play on the hotel’s X Box, PlayStation and giant Connect4 and Dominoes – this hotel is really well equipped for families. Day two saw us taking in more of the larger rides which inevitably meant queueing for longer. A parent-swap system is in place at Legoland; we all queued together, my 12 and 4-year-old got to go on the rides that my youngest was too small for with one parent and when they had gone round, we simply swapped over places on the ride and with the 2 year old and off they went again for a second round. I have never come across this before at theme parks and think it is a huge selling point. Not only did my older two get two goes in quick succession but they also got to experience rides with both parents – win win! Overall, we had a great family adventure at Legoland and we are all keen to revisit it soon. A journey time of under 2 hours would make this a good day trip however for any first-timers, as we were, I think a 2-day ticket is the way forward.

Marrakech and Essaouria

19 April 2017

I visited Marrakech and Essaouira, in Morocco, at the end of March with a group of 40 Travel Counsellors. We were hosted by 4 members of the Moroccan Tourist Board and with the theme of Much Morocco they went out of their way to show us how much MORE there is on offer in Morocco than you may think. The weather in March is usually hot, with the temperatures in the mid-20s the week before….and the week after we were there. We were not so fortunate with the weather being very similar to what we had left behind in the UK. As I hear myself saying to clients, we cannot guarantee the weather and of course this did not dampen our spirits or indeed the trip. Our first stop was 3 nights at the Movenpick Hotel Mansour Eddhabi which is in the new part of the city. The layout of Marrakech finds the medina and old part of the city in the centre with the new city surrounding it. What jumped out at me immediately was how modern and clean the city was. Where we were located, there were many large hotels, bars, restaurants and just down the road from us was a shopping centre. After settling into our hotel rooms and having lunch, we were split into smaller groups and taken by a guide to the souks in the medina. I had arrived with a preconception of being hassled and it being full of cheap souvenirs. What I found were narrow streets where you had to walk close to the souks to give way to the many motorbikes whizzing by, beautiful items that I could have spent hours perusing and an atmosphere that I soaked up. I was slightly blown away by the souks and could have happily spent hours wandering through taking it all in. We left the souks and headed towards El Fnaa square where there are market stalls including street food. The street food tables were filled with locals, a sure fine sign that the food is good! A quick pit stop at a roof terrace for a cup of mint tea, the national drink which is made with lots of sugar (make sure you take your sweet tooth with you!) before heading to Le Salama for dinner. We were treated to traditional Marrakchi food here along with entertainment provided by belly dancers and lady’s balancing huge candelabras on their head. Hotel visits were the main part of day 2 but the highlight to me was visiting La Maison Arabe to attend a cooking workshop. We were shown the art of making mint tea and enjoyed a cup alongside freshly cooked bread before heading to the kitchen to be shown how to make chicken tagine by a dada (traditional Moroccan chef). Once the dish was cooked, we were seated in the dining room and given our dish to eat. A little souvenir from Le Maison Arabe was a Moroccan recipe book, I am looking forward to trying some of the dishes out on my family! On our third day, we were whisked off to the Atlas Mountains to visit a brand-new hotel, L’Amandier, which is opening to the public this June. The show around was undertaken by one of the owners and it was evident how much passion he has for this amazing little gem of a hotel. Following lunch, we could relax by the pool and terrace. The sun was shining although the wind was up so without realising quite a bulk of the group came away wind burnt, myself included. Wherever you stay at this hotel, you are overlooking the mountains and being just an hour away from Marrakech this would be a perfect addition to a city break to finish your holiday off with a few days simply getting away from it all. Beware though, for someone who suffers from travel sickness, the journey to and from the hotel is testing. Marrakech was a city I wanted to visit but what I found there was more than I could have expected. Much more than a city break, I hope to return with my husband to show him what it has to offer. After 3 nights in Marrakech, our last day took us out to Essaouria. This is a 4-hour transfer from Marrakech and located on the coast. You can fly direct from Luton to Essaouria however the flights are not daily and did not fit into schedule of our trip. En route to Essaouria we stopped at an Argan Oil Cooperative. Here we were shown the process of extracting the oil from the nut and the many products that are derived from it. A quick spot of shopping at the gift shop saw most of our group walking away with an argon oil product. We had some free time in the afternoon where we could visit the medina and souks. What a contrast to Marrakech; wider and more spacious, the tell-tale sign of less tourists was evident from an ever so slightly more persistent nature of the sellers. This did not put me off and I could have spent more time than we had meandering through the streets. Our last supper saw us being treated to Moroccan and French style food at L’Heure Bleue, a Relais and Chateaux property. The food, setting and beauty of this riad hotel and restaurant was a perfect end to our trip. Essaouria was a coastal resort that I hadn’t come across before but will be at the forefront of my mind to recommend to those clients looking to enjoy a beach holiday in Morocco. Be sure to get in touch if Marrakech, Essaouria and indeed Morocco are on your list as the next place to visit.

A Short Break to Lanzarote

03 March 2017

As my Mum is hitting a big birthday this year, we decided what better reason for a few days in the sun. You are limited in February for short-haul destinations with guaranteed sunshine. Over the many years that I have worked in travel I would always suggest The Canaries for this, so we decided on 4 nights in Lanzarote. Unfortunately, we were unlucky with the weather and did experience heavy rain showers and cold days. We did manage to have one full sunny day which was warm enough to lie out in and of course, the day we flew home was looking to be another warm one! The weather aside, I was away with my Mum and Gran and was guaranteed a fun time and a break from being ‘mum’ myself. We stayed at the Beatriz Costa and Spa located in Costa Teguise. This was my first visit to Lanzarote and I soon learnt that I had chosen one of the windiest resorts on the island! To avoid the winds, you need to look at staying in Puerto del Carmen which is more sheltered. While the Canary Islands are typically windy anyway, Lanzarote is more so especially throughout May-August. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our driver for our private transfer to the Beatriz Costa and our transfer took 15 minutes. The hotel is rated 4*, a 4* in my opinion or rather a 3* plus. This hotel is rather large with one restaurant and a pool bar, 4 large outdoor pools and a great indoor Thalassotherapy spa. We had 2 rooms which had been allocated on the ground floor and were interconnecting. I had requested they were close together but having them interconnecting turned out to be very handy. We stayed on an all-inclusive basis although bed and breakfast and half board are available. The hotel is approximately a 15-minute walk down into the resort centre or 2 minutes in a taxi should you wish to eat out. We booked a Short South Tour with a local excursion company. The tour was EUR25.00 per person and was 6 hours long. We visited the Timanfaya National Park where you can see the 7 active volcanos and have an opportunity to get out and see some small experiments. Lanzarote’s landscape has been defined by 6-year long volcanic activity hundreds of years ago. A drive through the national park is fascinating however I would strongly recommend you do this on a coach tour as on our exit from the park, the queue for cars to enter was approximately a 2-hour wait! Also included in the tour was a stop to see the camels where you can take a ride for an additional EUR5.00 per person and to a vineyard where we were able to sample 2 local wines. The hotel provides a free shuttle bus to the beach three times a day so we also took advantage of this and took a walk along the sea front. Costa Teguise is well set up for tourists with a wide selection of shops, bars and restaurants. The beaches here are sandy with some black sand mixed in. I did brave the sea water up to my ankles and it was still very cold! Overall, the three of us had a great holiday despite the lack of sun and I would definitely go back to Lanzarote for a family holiday.

A Whistle-Stop Tour of Edinburgh

31 December 2016

Today I spent a few hours in the beautiful city of Edinburgh. I haven’t visited Edinburgh since I moved to the south-coast almost 13 years ago! I knew I loved the city but I had forgotten just how much. As I am staying with family in the Scottish Borders, we drove to Newcraighall and used the park and ride to travel to Edinburgh by train. A quick journey saw us arriving into Edinburgh Waverly, right in the heart of the city. Edinburgh is easily accessible either by train or a short flight, depending on where you are travelling from. We exited straight out onto the famous Princes Street where you are greeted by a vast number of shops and right next to the 5* Balmoral Hotel. If you turn around when you walk out of the station, you’ll see the magnificent Edinburgh Castle perched upon the top of a hill right behind you. As we only had a few hours in the city, it really was a whistle-stop visit. But, as my husband had never visited before, my in-laws wanted him to see as much as possible in the short space of time we had. We started off with a coffee, plenty of coffee shops to choose from, and then we were fuelled for a couple of hours of walking! Our first stop was a walk up Princes Street with a couple of trips to the shops. A true shopper’s paradise! On the opposite side to the shops are the Edinburgh Christmas Markets. A Big Wheel and plenty of food stalls were visible and there was lots of activity in preparation for Hogmanay in a couple of days. Once we reached the top of Princes Street, we turned back around and walked back down and towards the castle. With a buggy in tow, the hill to the castle looked to be a challenge! With a few stops on the way up to admire the view, architecture, and just to catch our breath (!) we were at the entrance to the castle before we knew it. I was blown away at the views from here and how beautiful this city really is. From the castle, we walked down the Royal Mile where we were able to take in The Scottish Whiskey Experience, The Witchery Restaurant, St Giles’ Cathedral, The Hub (where the Edinburgh Festival is organised) and The Royal Chambers; home of Edinburgh City Council. I would have loved to have spent a full day wandering through the city, visiting the Christmas Markets enjoying a glass of mulled wine, and generally soaking up this amazing city’s vibe. I will most definitely be back to do it at a more leisurely pace!

Gozo

10 November 2016

After spending three nights on Malta, I travelled to Gozo with nine of my fellow Travel Counsellors. The ferry takes 25 minutes and takes car and foot passengers. We travelled as foot passengers and it couldn’t be easier. Ferries run every 45 minutes and you buy your ticket on your return to Malta. A quick, smooth and effortless journey. Gozo has been described as Malta’s prettier sister and I have to agree. A smaller and greener version is what greets you and the harbour that you step off into is very welcoming. A ten-minute transfer took us to our home for two nights, Ta Cenc Hotel and Spa. The hotel is quite traditional and set at Gozo’s highest point. All of their rooms are on ground level and my room opened out onto the main swimming pool. We ate at the hotel both nights, starting off on the terrace with pre-dinner drinks. The hotel offers a great four course set menu for €30 which is exceptional value and we were able to pick courses from the main menu if there was nothing on the set that we fancied. As with Malta, all portion sizes are generous although by this point we were certainly accustomed to eating a lot! Gozo is a popular destination for divers, not a place that I would have thought of recommending before my visit. When we took a trip to Dwerja it was apparent just how many people travel here for the diving. Whilst at Dwerja we took the opportunity to take a boat ride to see the inland sea; a secluded bathing pool with crystal clear waters surrounded by cliffs. Not only is the sea so blue, but the colour of the coral at the bottom of the cliffs is a site not to be missed too. Whilst we didn’t have the time to swim here, I would certainly recommend you take a snorkel and mask with you so if diving isn’t your thing, you can still take a dip and visit the world below. Another island and another capital city must be visited. Victoria is a smaller city than Valetta but still has plenty to give. A visit to the Citadel provides you with 360 degree views of the island and whilst we were there we had to stop for lunch. If you can, stop at Rikkardu’s which is located within the Citadel and provides you with traditional Maltese food. The highlight of our trip to Gozo for me was on our final morning. Having checked out of the hotel, we were met outside by our guide for the morning from Gozo Quad and Buggy Hire. After our safety demonstration and a run down on how to drive the quads, we set off in pairs for a 2.5-hour tour of the island. What a great and fun way to see it! Along the way you get to see the rocky coastline, charming city streets and majestic views of Xlendi Bay. A must stop are the salt pans where you can learn how rock salt is made and buy a small pouch to bring home with you. I will definitely be recommending a visit to Gozo now to anyone visiting Malta. If you are looking at combining a city break with a few days relaxing, then Valetta and Gozo are the perfect combination.

A Brief History of Malta

09 November 2016

I visited Malta and Gozo at the end of October with a group of fellow Travel Counsellors. Having never visited either of the islands before and having some preconceptions about these destinations, I was looking forward to seeing what they had to give. The trip was hosted by the Malta Tourist Board and our itinerary was packed with a diverse selection of heritage sites, activities and seeing a lot of the islands. On our first day, we were whisked off to Medina, the original capital city of Malta. This city is surrounded by fortified walls and once inside you could spend hours wandering through the streets absorbing all of the history and culture that it contains. We spent three nights in Malta in the tourist resort of Qawra. We were overlooking the bay and there are a good selection of bars and restaurants to pick from on an evening. A walk along the promenade would take you to the Malta Aquarium which is a great place to visit. We stopped here for lunch on our last day in Malta and for a tourist attraction, were amazed at the quality and selection of food they had to offer. The highlights for me of our stay on Malta were the time we got to spend in Valetta and the Three Cities. Valetta is the new capital of Malta and this was due to the position of the Grand Harbour in the city. Valetta was designed like a chess board so the streets are all straight and run parallel to one another. Valetta is a great place to spend a day visiting cathedrals, museums and watching the world go by with a glass of wine! There are plenty of opportunities for you to shop within the city and a vast selection of English shops. A walk up to the Upper Barrakka Gardens is where you will have a great view over the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities. Valetta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the 2018 European Capital of Culture. I will certainly be recommending Valetta as a city break following my visit. The Three Cities are made up of Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. More history of the country can be found here and you could spend another half a day wandering through the streets soaking up the culture. Don’t miss out on seeing the Couvre Porte; a complex system of gateways through which you could gain access to Vittoriosa. A stop at Don Berto’s restaurant for lunch with views overlooking the harbour is a great way to spend an hour or two in the sun while having some great food. The portions were huge here; something that seems commonplace throughout Malta and Gozo; so be sure to arrive with your appetite. Our afternoon within the Three Cities was spent exploring them all on Rolling Geeks. The Rolling Geeks are golf buggies fitted with a tablet that acts as a sat nav as well as your own personal guide. Whilst following the route through the Three Cities, the table explains the sites you are passing and even suggest where is a good spot to stop for a drink or take a photo. The tour we took lasts approximately 2.5 hours depending on how often and long you stop. You can do a longer tour which adds an hour onto the time and this one takes in the SMART City, TV Studios and the only beach in Valetta. The view of the Grand Harbour you get when doing this tour is outstanding. On our final morning in Malta, we visited Marsaxlokk. This fishing village is home to a market on a Sunday and with a scattering of coffee shops close by it is a great place to visit. Whilst the aptly named Pretty Bay does everything to live up to its name, there are gas works just offshore that you may find disappointing. That being said, the brightly painted fishing boats, sitting on the bay, really do make up for this. If history is your thing, then Malta certainly is a destination that I would recommend you visit. Please contact me to discuss what this island has to offer in further details. Don’t miss out on reading my separate blog on Gozo.

Family Adventure to Cadbury World

14 June 2016

I have been wanting to take my children to Cadbury World for a little while now. With May half term sneaking up on us, my husband and I decided now was the time to do it and we decided not to tell the children! On the Saturday morning we managed to pack an overnight bag and get the car organised without any of them registering. As we bundled the children in to the car, all we told them was that we were going on an adventure. After a long journey up the M40 we arrived at the Premier Inn Solihull in time for dinner. I had booked us into a family room which had a double bed, 2 singles and a travel cot for our 1 year old. There was still space around the beds to move about and my only concern was the fact we were all in 1 room for the night! I don't think that you can go wrong with a Premier Inn..! We ate dinner in the hotel's restaurant; the Premier Inn offer meal deals for both adult and children. My husband and I went for this however on hindsight we would have probably been better ordering a main meal each as the portions were generous and we certainly hadn't needed the starter! The children's meals were also a good size and we could have got away with our 3 and 1 year old sharing. After a comfortable night at the Premier Inn, we filled our boots on the all you can eat breakfast. Kids eat free for this one and they all made the most of what was on offer! The children still didn't know where we were going and were buzzing from having a night in a hotel. Back into the car we all got and travelled the 20 minute journey to Cadbury World. My 11 year olds eyes almost popped out of her head when she realised where we were. Only days earlier she had been looking at the website and telling us that she would like to go there....result! The attraction tickets were bookable through a preferred supplier and they had advised that we needed to book in for the tour and that it would take approximately 3.5 hours to see everything. We arrived for our tour (self-guided) at 10.30 and upon entering were handed 3 bars of chocolate each....15 in total!!!! The tour takes place in the original factory and takes you back to the discovery of the cocoa bean all the way through to John Cadbury selling cocoa and drinking chocolate and the building of the Cadbury empire. While you are doing the tour you walk past parts of the current factory where you can see in and see chocolate being wrapped, packed and boxed ready for shipping. You revisit old advertising, learn about how chocolate bars such as the crème egg are made, get to take a little ride on a Cadbury car ride and of course, get to taste some chocolate as you go. After we finished the tour (which took us nearly 2 hours) we then had entrance included for the 4D ride. Queuing took much longer than the ride last however the children enjoyed the 4D experience. We also had a look around the Bourneville Museum which told you about the history of how Bourneville village was developed. There is a decent sized playground for the children to burn of some energy and we were lucky enough to enjoy the sunshine whilst they did this. After a trip to the shop where there is more chocolate than you can dream of (!) we decided to leave. Overall we had spent about 5 hours there so a good day out. Cadbury World is within it's own grounds of which we didn't see purely as we wanted to hit the motorway before the traffic built up. If I were to go back I would book a hotel stay for the second night and take The Cadbury Trail around the grounds where you can see The Men's and Girl's Grounds, The Girl' Baths, the day Continuation School and much more. If you are thinking of a trip to Cadbury World, please get in touch as I would love to help you arrange this short break!

My customer stories

Sent by Connor Davis

Really easy service and booking process. Would definitely recommend.

Sent by Michelle Clements

Clare knows exactly our vision and searches untill she finds our dream, we’re given lots of choice too. Clare also helps with minor queries, like flight seating, passport checks, it’s a comfort to have her help. Holidays are expensive, a privilege, we like to get them just right! Thank you, Michelle & Jon Clements

Sent by Alexander Bennett

My first booking through Travel Counsellors with Clare and a good start. Already enquiring about further trips.

Sent by Carol Trimbee

Clare has been a top person on our world travel . Whether it was missing tickets for World Cup racing or getting us out of a hole when COVID broke . She is always there!

Sent by Alan Sargant

I would and have recommended Clare to family and friends. 10/10!

Sent by Amy Everson

We have used Clare several times now and she always goes above and beyond to put together exactly what we are after....even when we don't know what we are after!! I would 100% recommend Clare to everybody. She will have something to suit all budgets.

Sent by Mike Thomson

Clare was so patient, gave us lots of options and was really helpful. Thanks Clare!

Sent by Fiona Mackenzie

Clare always answers my queries speedily and spends time finding the right fit of travel plans for me. It is reassuring to know that in the event of changes or delays, I can always call on Clare to help sort it out!

Sent by Sally Denner

Clare has handled many bookings for me and everything is always perfect. She is very efficient and reliable and lovely to deal with. I highly recommend Clare!

Sent by Stacey Perrin

Clare was extremely helpful & made the whole process very easy. Taken the stress out of holiday planning!

Sent by David Benson

Clare had been recommended to us from friends. It was obvious from the start that we were in safe hands with Clare. She took the time to understand our needs and our budget. I had lots (and lots!) of questions and queries, and Clare answered them all patiently, enthusiastically and quickly! Clare’s final proposal ticked all our boxes and came within our budget too. From Clare’s experience, she had already pre-empted some of our needs before we had asked for them! We’re very pleased and are so looking forward to our Holiday. We would certainly recommend Clare and will be using her again.

Sent by Janet Gordon

Clare got me a great deal on a rather complex flight - and a fabulous hotel - my trip went incredibly smoothly and I even got a car booked to pick me up from the hotel to go to the airport - really impressed with how efficient (and friendly)Clare is - I am going to be using her all the time from now on! Thank you

Sent by Marie Ramira

I couldn’t recommend Clare from Travel Counsellors enough! It’s such a weight off my shoulders to know she is looking after my booking and has already done the hard work in making sure I know everything there is to know. Which is a lot at the moment thanks to differing Covid requirements! Thank you Clare x

Sent by David Firth

Clare listens to what her client wants and makes sensible and relevant suggestions. She offers thoughtful alternatives and options and deals with the endless questions patiently and quickly. Nothing is too much trouble and Clare goes out of her way to make planning the trip as easy as possible.

Sent by Adam Brazier

Clare was very helpful, very supportive and patient!

Sent by Steven Goss

I just wanted to say how great the service has been from Clare Davis at Travel Counsellors. Clare's professional approach and going the extra mile attitude has been terrific. I have no problems in recommending her services to anyone who is looking to book a holiday or anything connected to travel.

Sent by Belinda Cane

Clare responded extremely quickly with choices and lots of information. Very impressed with all the information with regards to Covid and testing and entry requirements etc. Very very impressed with the service we received and will use again.

Sent by Tim Franklin

It's incredibly helpful to have Clare, who is so helpful and enthusiastic, to not only make all the travel arrangements, but to be able to make recommendations, based upon personal knowledge and a bank of information from her wider organisation. What is even more helpful, reassuring and relaxing, is knowing that Clare is there when you need her, to make changes, or to deal with any issues that may arise. Thanks Clare.

Sent by Jacqui Jenner

Clare Davis has been calm professional and supportive.. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her and MyTC for the future.

Sent by Jon Godfrey

A no-brainer really!

Sent by Chloe Bailey

Clare was fantastic and I would very much recommend her to friends and family. She really understood what type of holiday we were after and found us a wonderful resort. She always replied to emails promptly and made everything so easy.

Sent by Neal Richardson

I’d like to give Clare 100 out of 10, actually! She is beyond brilliant. I recommend her to all my friends and business associates for both business and leisure travel :-)

Sent by Gary Bray

Clare is amazing! Really friendly and approachable. Never any pressure and always returns information quickly and clearly. Also, puts a suggestion we'd not considered in the mix and we don't even look online now. Highly recommend Clare, she makes it all so easy!

Sent by Jennifer Taylor

Fabulous service from a lovely lady!

Sent by Nikki South

Very friendly. Quick. Knowledgeable. Personable.

Sent by Emma Woodcock

Clare you are just AMAZING! We want you to know that we are very pleased with the quality of service you provide. We sincerely appreciate your responsiveness and the way you put so much time and effort into looking into the perfect holiday to suit my particular family. We have recommended your company to others because of our satisfaction with your service. We look forward to our next two holidays booked though you from a historical holiday for my husband and to a fun filled family summer holiday to Portugal. We love the little touches that you do, with sending the hotel a card for my husbands birthday and then arriving home to a welcome home package of tea, milk and bread etc. You have been amazing especially with everything that has been going on nationally with COVID. Thank you again. Emma and Tom

Sent by Belinda Taylforth

Thank you so much Clare for taking such great care of us during our recent holiday to New Zealand and for working so hard and long into the night to help us get back home in very trying circumstances. It was incredible to have you at the end of the phone throughout. We can’t imagine travelling anywhere without your help again and are certainly going to be recommending you to all our friends and family! Without doubt, a 5 star service going far more than the extra mile!

Sent by Martin Bulman

Clare has all through the process been helpful, cheerful and polite.

Sent by Kerrie Cox

Clare really listened to what we wanted and found us the perfect holiday, which wasn't easy as there are 3 adults and 2 children wanting different things. Clare also managed to include private transfers within our price range and something we hadn't thought of but brilliant. Thank you Clare!!

Sent by Carol Trimbee

We find Clare more than helpful and always ready to go the extra mile to sort things out for us .

Sent by Anita Ryciak

Clare is always happy to put herself out to help including booking flights at 10pm in an emergency!! I regularly recommend her services to my friends.

Sent by Neal Richardson

I'd like to make it 11 out of 10 really! Clare is quite simply the best Travel person we have ever had the pleasure of working with, for both personal trips and business. She has SUCH a lovely manner, she turns a process that can be quite endless and stressful into something that's fun and a pleasure - plus we benefit from her extensive knowledge and advice :-) The best of the best. Marvellous -THANK YOU CLARE!

Sent by Zara Bray

Clare is fantastic and has the patience of a Saint with our ever-changing requirements!

Sent by Roger Daw

You're never less than outstanding.

Sent by Sally Denner

Clare is very attentive and efficient, even dealing with a query when officially 'out of the office' over the Christmas period. Nothing is too much trouble and all the arrangements made by Clare for our holidays have been perfect with no hitches. I would highly recommend using the services of Clare at Travel Counsellors as she takes all the stress and worry out of making the arrangements.

Sent by Steve Muldoon

Excellent service and a pleasure to do business with.

Sent by Geoff Collier

Excellent friendly and efficient service. Fully recommended.

Sent by Frances Bashford

If anyone is planning a trip I’d totally recommend Clare as she has been amazing, caring and totally understanding of everything we wanted for our honeymoon! She planned the trip the way we wanted, within the budget we asked for and found the most amazing locations and with how rubbish I am with organising built an itinerary which was all loaded onto an App which is so helpful. I don’t think I’ll ever sort one myself again.

Sent by Mary King

Although this is the first time that Clare has been my Travel Counsellor, I am very familiar with the company and the way it operates. My late husband and I relied heavily on our previous Travel Counsellor - he has now left the company. Without hesitation Clare provided the expected high level of service and booked my trip as I requested. It is so easy to work with Travel Counsellors and I would highly recommend Clare/Travel Counsellors to any friend or family.

Sent by Matthew Herriott

Clare was a great help when Thomas Cook collapsed, as we had to re-book a new holiday. She listened to our needs and helped us find a new holiday, really quickly and with a real personable touch. I'd happily recommend her to anyone.

Sent by S Gossington

Amazing personal service. When the situation was desperate it was reassuring to have the experience of Clare. Many thanks for pulling it together with a very short window to work with.

Sent by Tom McLeod

Great trip organised to San Francisco and any problems were sorted and great help organising my next trip too, thank you!

Sent by Dawn Waller

Fantastic as usual! Will recommend to my friends as and when needed . Very happy to use next time, thanks Clare.

Sent by Helena Robinson

Thank you so much for the smooth and stress free holiday booking experience. You are always helpful, knowledgeable and patient. Looking forward to planning another adventure through you.

Sent by Steve Muldoon

I have found Clare very efficient and extremely helpful and intend using her service in the coming months because she always reply’s.

Sent by Anita Ryciak

I always recommend Clare for any travel needs. She is helpful, knowledgeable and will go the extra mile to ensure we have the best possible personal service and holiday experience. Nothing is too much trouble, she always finds the perfect places for us to visit.

Sent by Judy Holmes

Clare takes the time to listen to our needs and to accommodate them, despite several changes of mind my end. She is so patient and understanding, resulting in the perfect tailor made holiday.

Sent by V Oakley

Clare has offered us a very friendly, efficient and helpful service at all times.

Sent by Sue McAllister

Clare done an amazing job in picking the perfect holiday for my family, her options were so good and well chosen we ended up changing our mind on our holiday destination completely! She answered all query’s with no hesitation and was more then happy to help with everything. I would definitely recommended booking through Clare and I will be certainly be booking my next holiday with her again!

Sent by Chantelle Benton

Clare is very friendly, approachable, efficient and professional.

Sent by Dave Peachey

Clare was incredibly knowledgeable, informative, and keen to help us find the perfect holiday. She found us a selection of holiday options that met our brief and presented them to us in double quick time. Next time we look to go away we will certainly use Clare!

Sent by P Daden

Always available to answer any questions. Excellent Travel Counsellor.

Sent by Rachel Brown

Clare Davis has been outstanding in accommodating the many different requirements in choosing a cruise.

Sent by Zara Bray

Clare has been fantastic, responds so quickly and helps us make educated decisions when we are indecisive picking the finer details of our holidays! Thank you Clare!

Sent by Jane Branson

Clare was patient, diligent, kind and helpful. We felt totally confident about the knowledge and information she provided, which enabled us to choose what we are sure will be an excellent family holiday.

Sent by Roger Daw

Outstanding service - every little detail thought of.

Sent by Danielle McCue

Clare has been fab with my wedding and travel plans. Amazing communication and just generally makes things easy when I may not be the most easiest myself at times! Highly recommended.

Sent by Gary Bray

Clare is simply brilliant! She makes it all so easy! We've now booked a few holidays with Clare and will no doubt be booking more in the future.

Sent by Kevin Martin

The holiday was magical and everything we could have wished for and more, and thanks to your meticulous planning and organisation, everything went like clockwork. Every single transfer, trip, and venture, we did not have to chase anything, so thank you very much for helping create our dream holiday. When our bank balances have had a chance to recover, we will definitely be in touch to use your services again in the future.

Sent by Melanie Haslam-Green

Having worked previously in travel I always book my own holidays however our honeymoon was more complex therefore I shopped around a few agents. I chose to book with Clare both for the fact she was so dedicated to getting us exactly what we wanted, for the right price, and also for the personal service we received. From the care and attention put into planning our round the world flights, to the gift in our first hotel room, checking us into all our international flights and the big surprise ...a gift when we arrived home, the entire experience was organised, personable and always done with a smile!

Sent by Helena Robinson

You are always professional, helpful and knowledgeable. As well as being easy to talk to and patient! Thank you for helping us with the past 2 ‘big’ trips we have booked.

Sent by N S Pickering

Clare is my number 1, go to travel agent for excellent service and she takes care of everything that is needed for travel. Highly recommended.

Sent by Steve Craig

Very helpful, took the pain of continuous searching away from me, nice to get someone else to do that.

Sent by Chantelle Benton

Clare is friendly, professional and very efficient. She came back to me with two flights that were hundreds of pounds cheaper than what I could source online.

Sent by Ellie Petronzio

Thank you Clare for your amazing recommendations and service, as always.

Sent by Linda Mayers

Clare always gives an efficient service. Nothing is ever too much trouble and she is always willing to keep looking at different options with patience until you are happy you have made the right choice.

Sent by Neal Richardson

Clare really is fantastic. She's v knowledgeable, patient, kind and professional, but also makes the whole booking process easy and fun. Unequivocally recommended.

Sent by Jonga Standen

Clare helped me to arrange my stag do to Las Vegas for a group of 22 of us. Everything went smoothly when we were travelling. Clare helped to alleviate me of some of the pressure of coordinating such a large group booking. I will be passing Clare's number onto people as I have been impressed with how she handled everything, and this was also mentioned by others in the group. Since my return, I have been in touch with Clare to discuss my honeymoon for late 2018 and another group trip to Vegas for 2021! Once again thanks for all your help Clare and I look forward to booking with you again.

Sent by Mark Richardson

The service from Clare was absolutely fantastic, Clare took the stress out of arranging our honeymoon. I can definitely say we will go back to her again to arrange a future trip. The resort and location we booked with her were fantastic definitely one the the best holidays we have been on, we went to St Lucia and it was stunning thank you Clare. If you are thinking of speaking to Clare about a holiday don’t hesitate she is brilliant we even loved the little touch of leaving us teabags, milk & biscuits when we got home.

Sent by Gemma Saunderson-Barker

We are due to fly to Orlando in 2 weeks time and wanted to say how great we have found the 'Travel Counsellor' experience so far. In the past we have always either used a high street travel agent or booked each part of the holiday separately ourselves. My local Travel Counsellor is Clare Davis and I honestly couldn't have wished for a better person to book our holiday. From the very start she took into account all our requirements and has been there every step of the way. I have asked endless stupid questions at silly times of the day and she has always got back to me. Even if she didn't know the answer immediately, she would always acknowledge receipt of my email and give me a time scale when she would get back to me. Today she came to my house with not only our important travel documents but some sweets, pens and colouring in sheets for my 2 youngest children. The personal touch has been excellent and I feel confident that if there were any problems at all I could contact Clare. I have recommended her to a close friend who has booked a fantastic trip to Bali in May 2018 and I know for sure that I will only use Clare in the future. She definitely needs commending on her professional attitude and hard work. We are so excited now and feel that Clare has contributed towards this.

Sent by Oliver Newby

Without a doubt one of the most helpful and pleasurable shopping and booking experiences. Clare goes above and beyond what I could have ever asked for and can't thank her enough. Roll on June!!

Sent by Gary Bray

I have used Clare twice now and on both occasions she has been simply superb. At very short notice Clare sourced a wedding anniversary gift for me. She also helped arrange a superb family holiday, ticking all the required boxes and coming in on budget. Nothing was to much hassle even when we moved the goalposts and she took all the stresses away. Clare's extra special touches are really thoughtful and we can not recommend her highly. Thank you.

Sent by Shirley Greenwood

I have just returned from a weeks holiday to the beautiful Italian island of Capri. I couldn't have done it without the help of my Travel Counsellor Clare Davis. Our hotel was wonderful and our flights and transfers went without a hitch. It was very comforting to know that she was at the other end of the phone if needed.

Sent by Hansa Raja-Jones

I found Clare to be very professional, friendly and patient. Clare listened to what we wanted and took the time to find us the perfect holiday within our budget. Clare arranged everything for us from flights - tickets - transfers - checking in. All we had to do was pack and get to the airport! Perfect! We had problems at the hotel and Clare was available immediately. She was very understanding, supported us and helped us to sort out the problems. She stayed in constant touch with us to ensure everything was okay. I would highly recommend Clare and the services provided by Travel Counsellors and would not hesitate booking through them again. Thank you for everything Clare and your continued support.

Sent by kate Brown

just arrived back from a lovely holiday in fuengirola it was all arranged by Clare who was very efficient . She kept us up to date every step of the way before during & after we arrived & a note to welcome us & wish us a good stay & her personal number in case we incurred any problems ,We were two parties & wanted our accommodation to be near each other we were next door which was great !! Clare arranged our airport transfer home as no taxis could take our party together, so with one call to Clare on our last night she had a minibus organised for the next morning pick up which was brilliant . Worry free smooth holiday thanks to Clare, oh not forgetting the package on the doorstep when we arrived home of fresh bread milk teabags & most importantly biscuits !! Touches like that make it all the more personal & felt looked after . Big thank you Clare

Sent by Neal Richardson

We booked a week's holiday using Clare's FANTASTIC service. We had v specific requirements re dates, budget, amenities etc, and she matched them perfectly. Nothing was too much trouble, with Clare even printing boarding passes, phoning the hotel to check things etc. She is so pleasant to deal with - very thorough, extremely efficient, knowledgeable, professional, patient, and working at times to suit us. This kind of tailored service is the future! It turned a lengthy process into a joy, saving us HOURS of listless internet searching. First class, five star, exemplary service, HUGELY recommended. :-)

Sent by Anna Kwiatkowska

Wow, where to start?! Clare truly went above and beyond to organise a trip to London for my partner Tim and I. My dream was go and see Les Miserables in the West End - Tim took me to watch it at the cinema for our first date and 3 years on, I was finally able to see it on stage- what a magical moment! And all thanks to Clare!! I was baffled by the online booking system and the tickets all seemed so expensive; but after contacting her at the weekend, Clare found us fantastic tickets for the show at a great price for the following week. I was so impressed and really grateful! She even sent us a text message on the day to wish us a lovely evening - such a wonderful, personal touch! We will certainly be looking to use her services in the future and would recommend her to anyone looking to take the stress and strain out of organising a trip or holiday. Thank you Clare!!