Sarah Freeman
My expertise
I'm based in
Didsbury
Your Dream Holiday, Expertly Designed and Personally Managed
You're One Step Closer To Your Perfect Trip!
I live, breathe and sleep travel and as an independent Travel Counsellor I’d love to be able to share my passion and expertise with you. Whether you want a family, solo or group trip and are travelling for pleasure or business, I'm available daytime, evenings or weekends to offer advice and I'm just a phone call away.
I pride myself on providing outstanding customer service, will be with you every step and can offer access to a 24/7 Duty Office, ensuring you’ll enjoy a truly memorable holiday or business trip - and all at no extra cost.
I’ve been running my own travel business for 8 years and have been fortunate to work, live or holiday in over 93 countries, my wanderlust even took me to New York for 12 years!
I’ve travelled extensively throughout the US, Caribbean and Latin America, most European countries including Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia and Turkey, plus The Baltics and Russia. I’ve explored Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Togo, Benin, Tanzania, Zanzibar and South Africa and fell in love with Bhutan, Japan, The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, India, China, Bali, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore and of course Australia and New Zealand.
Whether you’re looking for a relaxing beach stay or cruise, an adventurous multi country trip, a cultural or sporting city break, a UK staycation, or a more specialist ski, safari or diving holiday, I can help. I also specialise in tailor-made holidays for special occasions – so if you're looking to celebrate an important birthday or anniversary, want an amazing honeymoon or that once in a lifetime round the world trip, I'd love to help create the perfect trip for you.
As a personal Travel Counsellor, I take the stress out of travel planning – with all the options available today, it can get confusing, not to mention time consuming – who has time these days to spend hours comparing websites or sitting in a high-street store? That’s where I come in.
The buying power of Travel Counsellors allows almost unlimited possibilities and great value for money. I can offer everything on the high street or online but also have access to many other options and work with local on the ground partners in many destinations – and as I’m impartial I can provide the perfect holiday to suit your needs and budget.
With ATOL and the Travel Counsellor’s Trust, you also have complete financial security with every pound you spend being 100% financially protected. My complimentary MyTC App also gives you instant access to all your travel documentation.
Ready to explore your next holiday destination or organise your next business trip? Simply call or send me an email and I’ll get right back to you!
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller” – Ibn Battuta
Travel guides
Explore my guides and blogs
Kalkan Revealed
Why I Fell In Love With This Corner Of The Turquoise Coast
02 Aug 2026 9 min read
Benin: The Land Of Voodoo
After enjoying the cultural richness of Togo, we crossed the border and headed into Benin: a country infamous for its voodoo heritage and layered history, yet still very much under the radar for most travellers. I arrived with a head full of curiosity and very few expectations. I left absolutely hooked. Benin is a place of shrines and scarification, underground villages and stilt towns, contempor
09 May 2026 16 min read
Totally Weird and Wonderful Togo
Time to head off on another adventure: Togo, country number 91 I love those journeys where you feel a little fizz of excitement, because you know you’re heading somewhere that most people could not even place on a map. For my 91st and 92nd countries I set off to explore Togo and Benin, two lesser visited West African nations that promised the weird, the wonderful and the quietly beautiful in equa
09 May 2026 10 min read
Sensational Sights in Southwestern USA
Salt Lake City & Antelope Island Salt Lake City is a breath of fresh mountain air — wide boulevards, spotless streets, and a perfect blend of historic charm and modern life. With only around 200,000 residents, the city feels open and welcoming. It’s home to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), and the impressive Temple Square complex dominates downtown with it
12 Nov 2025 6 min read
Totems, Whales & Bears
One of my own bucket list trips was to visit Alaska and the best way to do this is by taking a cruise. The cruising season is May to September with peak season being June- August as outside these time the weather conditions and icy seas are not suitable for non expedition ships. I was staying on the beautiful Seabourn Quest, Seabourn are one of the top end cruise lines and I'd hand selected thi
27 Jul 2025 6 min read
Turkish Delight
Turkey has so much more offer than golden beaches (although they are gorgeous!). I just got back from an 8 day tour around some of the historic sights that this culturally rich country can offer. First stop was Istanbul, and we enjoyed two nights at the very centrally located Port Bosphorus Hotel which is located directly across from the Galataport. Taking to the water is a great way to see both
18 Jul 2025 6 min read
Vancouver City Cool
If you're looking for a city that offers pretty much everything you can think of in a bite size portion that's very clean and safe, then Vancouver needs to be on your list. I recently stayed in the city for 3 nights prior to an Alaskan cruise and always include Vancouver as part of a clients multi centre tour of Canada if they're heading to the west, as its such an easy city to get around, its v
28 Jun 2025 5 min read
Universal Excitement!
After visiting Disney World in Orlando last year I was so excited to now visit Universal Orlando and see how the theme parks, attractions and hotel offerings differed. We stayed at Cabana Bay Resort - such a fun retro vibe at this bright, funky and very family friendly hotel. With two huge pools (one with a slide plus mini beach and one with a lazy river) this hotel has 4 buildings totalling 2,0
25 May 2025 6 min read
Tulips in Amsterdam
I recently got back from a great holiday in the Netherlands. My mum had always wanted to see the infamous tulips fields so we booked a river cruise departing and returning to Amsterdam which had a fantastic mix of ports of call including that all important trip to the tuilps! We sailed with Scenic, this was our second time and they once again were brilliant, from our huge veranda stateroom compl
22 May 2025 6 min read
Arabian Nights
I've recently returned from a fabulous 9 day tour of Saudi Arabia. Starting in the capital Riyadh, key attractions here include the imposing Kingdom Centre Tower which incorporates a Four Seasons Hotel, shopping mall, cinema and the Sky Bridge at the top, 99 floors up and 65m long, this is a fabulous way to view the city. The National Museum of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh offers a wonderful collection of
21 Nov 2024 6 min read
Frolicking in France
If you've never tried cruising, but may be put off by giant ocean liners - how about a river cruise? More personal, they usually have around 150 passengers and because they are much smaller, they can dock right in the heart of the cities. They offer high levels of service, lots of interesting excursions and the food offering is amazing! Here's a short overview on the recent French river cruise
14 Sept 2024 6 min read
Cruising Disney Style
So the cherry on the top of my visit to Disney World was the chance to enjoy a private tour around the Disney Wish who was docked at Port Canaveral, ready to pick up passengers and set sail to the Caribbean. Disney operates cruises from the US for 3, 5 and 7 days, and closer to home you can set sail from Southampton this summer on 3, 4 and 5 night itineraries on the magical Disney Dream, or in 202
25 Aug 2024 3 min read
Thrills at Disney Parks
Disney’s Magic Kingdom with the infamous Cinderella’s castle I’d always thought was just for kids, but it really does offer something for everyone. "Tomorrowland" has thrilling rides like “Tron” where you board a lightcycle and shoot off at 60mph and “Space Mountain” a high speed rollercoaster in almost total darkness, plus “Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin” where you fire lasers in a shooting g
25 Aug 2024 6 min read
Orlando & Disney World Hotels
This was the first time flying Aer Lingus internationally, so I was keen to be able to compare with some of other well known carriers. Well I have to say I was really impressed, I lucked out securing an emergency exit seat on the way out and the leg room was HUGE! Lunch was ample and offered a good choice and the wi-fi worked really well for me to clear up some last minute work emails. On the retu
25 Aug 2024 6 min read
New Zealand - The Land of the Long White Cloud
New Zealand is 11,500 miles from the UK, so like myself most of clients head to this beautiful part of the world on an extended bucket list trip. I'd always recommend given the long journey to enjoy a stop over for 3 nights enroute which will also help to ease your jetlag as New Zealand is between 11 and 13 hours ahead of the UK depending on the time of the year you go. New Zealand has four distin
23 Jun 2024 5 min read
Urban Buzz in a Sustainable City
If you're looking for a fascinating stopover for an Asian or Australasian multi centre this should be on your list! Singapore—known as both “Lion City” based on the story of Sang Nila Utama's sighting of a lion on their shores and “Garden City,” due to its many parks and tree-lined streets is a wonderful melting pot of cultures brought to it by immigrants from all parts of Asia Singapore has a p
16 Jun 2024 3 min read
Reindeers, Huskies & Northern Light Thrills
After sending multiple clients off on their bucket list trips to Lapland, I thought it was time to go an experience this winter wonderland for myself. Lapland is not a country but a region that covers vast areas of northern Scandinavia and part of Russia. For my trip I selected Finnish Lapland and took a direct flight to Rovaniemi. The airport while small was very efficient and had a lovely winter
02 Jun 2024 4 min read
The Land of Smiles
Historically known as Siam, Thailand is centrally located in South East Asia and is bordered by Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia After being given a place on the Travel Counsellors Gold Trip which is awarded to the top performing travel agents, I was keen to extend my stay to see as much as possible of this diverse country My 12 day itinerary allowed me to visit 5 key destinations, Bangkok, C
29 Sept 2023 4 min read
On Top Of The World!
With the world now fully open and ready to be explored, lots of clients have been asking me to create their bucket list trips for them, from safaris in Tanzania, Australia and New Zealand combo’s to touring around Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. One of my favourite trips from a few years ago was my 12 day tour of Peru and now that the political unrest from start the year had died down, its now
04 Aug 2023 3 min read
Cruising the Rhone
Just back from a marvellous cruise on the Rhone River in the South of France where for 7 days we enjoyed fabulous sights in Burgundy and Provence. We flew into Nice and then had a two hour transfer to Avignon where we boarded the MS Shakespeare. Multiple operators offer the Rhone but I wanted to try Riviera given its staterooms offered full sized sliding windows and all the excursions were include
08 Jul 2023 2 min read
Konnichiwa!
Japan has finally removed its Covid travel restrictions and bookings for this country that had its borders closed for so long are now booming! I was lucky enough to explore this fascinating country as part of a two week small group tour, given I was travelling solo for this trip I thought it would be more fun to join a group of like-minded adventurers to discover a new country. Our itinerary
15 May 2023 4 min read
Mallorca...so much more than beautiful beaches
I just got back from a fabulous 4 days in Palma. Mallorca is a popular Mediterranean island for beach holidays, but if you’re looking for a city break that is rich in culture, has an amazing food scene and is compact enough to explore in a long weekend...the island’s capital is perfect! We stayed in the old historic centre at the 5* Nivia Boutique Hotel just off the Passeig Des Born which is s
01 Apr 2023 3 min read
Mauritius Island Adventure
If you're looking to jet away for some winter sunshine and enjoy active day trips as well as relaxing on beautiful beaches...then look no further than Mauritius! Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of east Africa and is just 61km long and 45km wide. You can fly direct from London or from Manchester connect in Paris or Dubai. I was lucky enough to spend 8 days here in Decem
13 Dec 2022 3 min read
Luscious Lincoln
If you’re looking for a weekend break but don’t want to travel too far, I can highly recommend the beautiful city of Lincoln, just over a 2 hour drive from Manchester. Probably one of the most under rated city breaks, Lincoln is a small city that packs a big punch for tourists. The most popular draws are Lincoln Castle and Lincoln Cathedral. While smaller in scale to places like Windsor, the cas
19 Nov 2022 2 min read
La Dolce Vita!
I’ve just been fortunate to spend an amazing 4 days in Verona. A short flight from Manchester, this beautiful Italian city and UNESCO World Heritage Centre is definitely well worth a visit. In terms of attractions, this city can offer something for everyone. For foodies, enjoy crispy pizzas and al dente pasta with every topping under the sun, 100 flavours of gelato and this is Prosecco and Apero
19 Nov 2022 2 min read
Taking A Bite from the Big Apple
New York, New York…so good they named it twice! I was fortunate enough to live here for 12 years and I’m actually writing this article from my hotel room as I’m visiting to see how the city is post Covid. New York is such a fantastic place to visit and there’s something for all the family. For this trip I was staying in Chelsea, it’s a great neighbourhood being very centrally located without be
24 Apr 2022 2 min read
Sunshine in Seville
I just got back from a fabulous 5 days in Seville. If you're looking for a city break that has one of the best sunshine records in Europe, wonderful architecture, amazing food, great shopping and easy access to explore Andalucia...this is the place for you! The city has such a lovely warmth and charm, from the old Jewish district Santa Cruz to the lively and authentic Triana district home to fl
24 Apr 2022 2 min read
Sri Lanka Multi Centre Tour - Part 2
The next day we headed south to Kandy which is at an altitude of 500m and is the cultural centre of Sri Lanka. En-route we stopped at Dambulla Royal Cave Temple and Golden Temple. A sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries, this cave monastery consisting of 5 giant caves is the best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka. It’s a bit of a hike to get to the top, there are paths but they are very
07 Mar 2022 4 min read
Sri Lanka Multi Centre Tour
Sri Lanka lies in the Indian Ocean just off the tip of India. With a fascinating albeit turbulent history, it’s a great destination whether you’re a beach lover, culture vulture or thrill seeker. I recently returned from a 12 day tour visiting some of the top tourist attractions. We flew from Manchester with Qatar Airways who we couldn’t fault and had to transfer at Doha, the airport is huge a
07 Mar 2022 5 min read
River Cruising Down The Rhine
There are so many rivers in Europe to choose from, from the Danube and Volga to the Loire and the Elbe. Selecting which river to cruise on really depends on what type of destinations you’re looking to visit. We selected the Rhine, home of medieval towns, castles and wineries. This river is also critical to the European economy, moving over 500MM tonnes of coal, cars and other goods along its 766 m
29 Sept 2019 6 min read
Is a River Cruise for Me?
Cruising is now the fastest growing holiday sector in the UK and there’s a plethora of cruise ships and destinations to choose from, so I knew I wasn’t going to be spoilt for choice, it was more a case of how do I pick the right one for me. Given river cruising is the new comer and I’ve always been fascinated with castles and medieval cities, I plumped for a cruise down the infamous Rhine. There a
29 Sept 2019 6 min read
The Maldives.....Perfect for Families Too
Once you arrive in Male, the seaplane check in desks are right outside arrivals and the actual terminal is only a 10-minute drive away. You simply check in, drop your cases off and the next time you see them they’re in the room at your hotel. I’ve always wanted to experience a seaplane journey but wasn’t sure what to expect. Relaxing in the hotel's private lounge, I enjoyed some lovely refreshment
23 Jun 2019 4 min read
The Maldives.....Paradise Personified!
The Maldives located in the Indian Ocean is an archipelago of over 1,000 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls, less than 2 metres above sea level. Historically known as a luxurious retreat for the rich and famous, given expansion of the airline network and resort offering, this beautiful part of the world is now available to discover for a whole range of visitors. Flying from the UK is easy with
23 Jun 2019 5 min read
Spices and Slavery - Exploring Zanzibar
Zanzibar or "Spice Island” is a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania and located 25kms off the mainland in the Indian Ocean. The area is made up of the main island “Unguja” or Zanzibar, Pemba Island and lots of smaller islands. I was staying at the Zanzibar Serena Hotel, located in Stone Town about 15 minutes from the airport. The hotel has been lovingly transformed from an old colonial building
05 Nov 2018 6 min read
Up Close & Personal on a Serengeti Safari
There aren’t any direct flights from Manchester, so I flew with Emirates to Dubai and then onto Kilimanjaro. I’d pre-arranged transport and after a 70-minute drive reached Arusha – my home for one night. I stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton in the centre of town near the Clock Tower, which marks the spot halfway between Cairo and Cape Town. A good-sized town, Arusha’s Central Market is a hec
05 Nov 2018 6 min read
Beer, Waffles & Fries Oh My!
If you want a short break away in a picture postcard city, then Bruges has to come top of the list. The capital and largest city in West Flanders, Bruges is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and a 90-minute train ride away from Brussels Airport. The city centre is so picturesque, think cute winding streets, cobbles galore and a network of canals that criss-cross the city and g
05 Nov 2018 6 min read
Chasing Ed Sheeran to Newcastle
My favourite artist Ed Sheeran was playing in my home town, but I just wasn't quick enough to secure tickets, hence why I'm now at Stockport Station and in less than three hours I’ll be in the land of the Toons. Newcastle. One of the most iconic cities in the UK with its industrial heritage, scenic bridges and lively nightlife. I'd booked a three-day weekend – plenty of time to explore the sig
15 Jul 2018 6 min read
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Tailor-made for you
Your holiday isn’t just a trip away. It’s a longed-for escape, time to reconnect with loved ones, or a dream adventure you never thought possible. That’s why I take the time to truly get to know you and understand your hopes and expectations, then use my experience, connections and passion for the destination to create a trip that makes those dreams a reality.
Personalised service. Always
When you plan a holiday with me, you’ll be given my personal mobile number from the very first call. I’ll listen to your thoughts and ideas like I would a friend and arrange accommodation, activities, and flights that are all personalised to you. And I’ll share my personal tips and recommendations, so you can experience the true beauty of each destination.
Stress-free travel, and more time for what matters most
I believe your time away should be stress-free, easy, and seamless from start to finish. So, I take care of all the details for you - from ATOL protection, insurance, and flexible payments to access to the myTC app, which keeps everything in one place.
Support when it matters most
If the unexpected happens, you can rest easy, knowing that I’ll handle any last-minute changes, flight cancellations, or disruptions before you even pick up the phone. So you always feel happy, carefree, and ready to make the most of every moment.
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