08 September 2025

The Ultimate bucket list trip, Disneyworld is made for kids but guaranteed to bring everybody’s inner child out. It’s the perfect destination for a multi-generational family holiday. Let’s start off with the elephant in the room; it’s expensive! Post Covid the economy in the States has sky- rocketed combined with a poor exchange rate doesn’t make it as cheap as it once was. That said, the m

24 June 2025

When my girlfriends asked for a three-night escape with sunshine, sea, shopping, and culture all within a four-hour flight I knew just the place. One friend was learning Italian and obsessed with cooking, another couldn’t wait to shop, and the third (like me) just wanted nature and the ocean. I’d always wanted to go to Sicily, Italy’s biggest island and home to Europe’s highest volcano, Mount E

19 June 2025

Greece has always held a special place in my heart — and after seven visits, I finally made it to a long-standing dream destination: Chania and the wild beauty of Western Crete. It didn’t disappoint. The excuse? A family wedding (as if we needed one!). The result? A sun-soaked, adventure-filled week that blended relaxation, exploration, and a taste of the real Crete. Where We Stayed: Domes Zeen

15 November 2024

The Swiss Alps, for those who haven’t been, is an incredibly beautiful place. It makes it hard to believe there is anything bad happening in the world when you are here! My parents holidayed here in the 1960’s and always talked about how stunning it was so when a chance came for me to go, courtesy of Inghams Walking Holidays, I snatched it with both hands. Switzerland is a year-round destinatio

13 November 2024

We chose Copenhagen for our Whit-week break this year. It's well known for being the epitome of cool and oozes 'Scandi' vibe. We stayed in the 4 Star Scandic Spectrum hotel which is located a short walk from the main train station (easily accessible from the airport on train in just half an hour). We had a family room which has a capacity of four people and had trendy design features, although

06 December 2023

I've been on a number of ship visits with various companies, whilst their ships docked in Southampton, to sample what they offer but have never actually cruised as a guest before, so when the opportunity presented itself from Fred Olsen, I thought it high time I tried it out. Fred Olsen have a small fleet of ships and I was aboard Borealis. She has a capacity of 1353 guests but doesn't always s

28 September 2023

I love a city break and the fact it offers a beautiful mix of culture, sightseeing, art, architecture, a different cuisine, and chance for a bit of retail therapy! Our primary reason to head out west was to relax on a beach in Mexico and wanted a little something more out of our holiday as like many people, I can get bored on a beach. I need to make a holiday more interesting and multi-faceted. Ex

17 March 2023

For as long as I can remember I’ve had a travel bucket-list, Lapland was placed firmly on there the moment we became parents! Knowing at what age you should take your children is important as the weather can be extreme in December, we experienced temperatures of -17 but the average is around -5. For UK dwellers, bearing in mind you spend a lot of your time outside in Lapland I wouldn’t recomme

12 October 2022

We were dubious about taking a twelve hour flight with our six-year-old, the overnight portion wasn't too bad as we slept the majority, but the return journey was a day flight, so we needed a lot of distractions in the form of activity books, downloads and an endless supply of snacks! The nature of long-haul travel can't be altered until time machines are invented but what we rediscover each tim

17 June 2022

Another postponed holiday due to Covid meant we were taking our ten year Wedding Anniversary trip a year late. We got married in Italy and wanted to go back and explore more! The Cinque Terre had been on my travel wish list for years, located a short train ride away from Pisa, these 5 towns are all linked together by rail and boat (or foot if you’re intrepid and have sturdy walking shoes) and ea

18 May 2022

It was a girl’s weekend away to Ibiza, originally planned for 2020, but due to Pandemic had been cancelled twice, first world problems I know! The silver lining was that 2 of my friends also had their landmark birthday’s whilst we waited so it turned into a triple celebration! Ibiza, or Eivissa as it’s known in Catalan, had been on my travel radar for some 20+ years, being so close to the UK it

17 September 2021

When international travel opened up on 17th May we took advantage and booked a holiday for Whit week. It had been 18 months since we were last abroad and for someone that lives and breathes travel it seemed a lifetime ago. With the introduction of the traffic light system, Portugal was the most easily accessible country to visit, plus they were accepting UK travellers. The perfect place for a

09 September 2021

Located 28 miles off the Cornish coast lie the Isles of Scilly. The archipelago is made up of 140 islands, only 5 of which are inhabited. The largest of them St Mary’s is your main landing point if arriving by sea or air. We chose the Scillonian ferry, taking 2.45 hours from Penzance quite comfortably. It is known to get choppy so if you have a tendency for sea-sickness then my advice is to fly.

28 December 2020

Working in the travel industry for over 18 years I have seen my fair share of travel disruptions; the SARS epidemic, Volcanic ash clouds grounding flights and airline strikes amongst others. However, this year has been an incredibly challenging one, unprecedented has been the word to describe 2020. Never before has the industry ground to a halt like this. We’ve all seen the images of stationary a

08 January 2020

The winter was upon us and sunny skies called. This time the call came from Dubai, a place I have visited a few times over the years, albeit only on a stopover en route to other destinations whilst flying with Emirates. For a short stop-over I knew it was a winner; shopping galore, world class dining, beaches and guaranteed sunshine but I wondered if it could hold my attention for longer? We were

01 November 2019

California conjures up images of constant sunshine, surfing, an easy laid-back lifestyle, happiness and living the American dream. Of course, it has all of this in bucket-loads but also hides a lot of secrets not apparent to the first-time visitor. A question I constantly get asked is: ‘Where is the best place to go?’ My answer, without hesitation is the USA; California specifically, it has everyt

26 June 2019

Having a family wedding to attend gave good reason to travel back to Budapest; a city I’ve been visiting regularly since I was a small child in the 70’s. With the removal of the Iron Curtain in 1989 certain things have obviously changed (thankfully you don’t need to go and register with the local police on arrival any longer). What I can say, is that it’s become more cosmopolitan, but the elegance

17 December 2018

I’d been meaning to visit Bruges for many years but being so close to home meant I’d put it off until now. After only a 3-hour train ride from St Pancras we found ourselves in the Venice of the North -Birmingham take a back seat. This medieval paradise has an enchanting atmosphere; canals, cobbled streets, gothic architecture and Christmas markets, if you time it right. Bruges is a UNESCO prot

22 November 2018

They promised magic and they delivered in a way only Walt Disney can; they do it so well. Even if you don’t ‘do’ cheesy, you can’t help but be amazed. It was only November 13th, but Christmas was in full swing; with Christmas themed parades, songs, fake snow, elves, Santa himself pulled on a giant sleigh and a 60ft Christmas tree with no less than 1800 decorations – I can only imagine the disap

08 October 2018

What better excuse is there for a girl's weekend away than visiting a friend who had recently relocated to Stockholm? To be honest my knowledge of Sweden was limited to Vikings, Ikea, home of Abba and Meatballs (courtesy of Ikea!) I thought it was about time that changed. After a short 2.5hr flight we landed in the land of lakes (Sweden has 95,700 of them). Stockholm Central is connected to

15 June 2018

The very thought of taking an eight-hour flight with a 2-year-old in tow would make many people wonder if the holiday is worth it in the first place! With some careful planning, I must say the flight wasn’t as bad as I’d first imagined; we took some new toys, sticker and colouring books, a favourite blanket and soft toys and the rest of the space in the ‘Trunkie’ was packed full with snacks. Oh, a

15 June 2018

Our first overseas holiday with our baby and we choose Barbados as it ticked a lot of boxes; a direct flight, some tropical October heat, a family friendly hotel, and being outside of school holidays. In October 2016 we travelled to the Colony Club, a hotel on the popular Platinum West Coast of Barbados, a beautiful stretch of sand with shallow waters that attract both Leatherback and Hawksbill tu