08 July 2023

There are so many reasons to book on a group tour of Italy! Italy is renowned for its rich history, stunning landscapes, delicious cuisine, and vibrant culture, and what better way to see Italy than on an escorted tour so that you don’t miss a thing! A touring holiday is an ideal way to explore Italy’s wonders if you want to experience as much as possible in your 1-2 week holiday window from wor

01 November 2020

In October I was invited by Constantinou Bros hotels to visit Cyprus and spend some time getting to know their hotels better, which of course I jumped at the chance of - very happy to be able to enjoy a late escape and some hot weather and sunshine to end the summer holiday season. This trip was the 5th time I’ve flown from Manchester Airport this year and the 3rd time since March. All flights ar

01 September 2020

Villa holidays have been more in demand than ever this year because once there you quickly forget any worries you may have about being in contact with too many other people and really chill out and relax in peace and quiet away from all the troubles in the world. After weeks and weeks of helping my customers navigate their way through the complexities of travel at the moment, as soon as travel to

29 July 2020

I have a duty of care to my clients as their trusted advisor, to provide honest, accurate, and up to date guidance across all stages of the planning, booking and travel experience. This includes everything from the latest advice from governments around the world, changes in travel insurance requirements, new entry procedures, airport and in-flight protocols, information about accommodation health

15 May 2020

Lockdown may have you dreaming of distant sandy shores, but the UK has some spectacular beaches of its own. Here are my seven ideas for a sandy staycation in our own beautiful country... Mwnt, Wales Perfectly cut-out from the Ceredigion cliffs, the secluded cove of Mwnt is owned by the National Trust. The sheltered bay is a favourite for dolphins and seals, which are often spotted playing in th

03 May 2020

I hope this finds you well. The past two months have without question been a challenging time for all of us at home and at work, and I wanted to take this opportunity to get in touch to let you know what’s been going on in my office during this time. By the end of February the impact of Coronavirus was starting to affect travel on a global scale. As March progressed more and more countries close

19 June 2019

I was lucky to be invited to be part of one of G Adventures biggest ever educational trips, which involved over 100 travel professionals and G staff from all over the world, coming together to learn more about G Adventures, how they run their trips, and how they work within the areas visited to ensure that tourism is a huge force for good, ethical and sustainable for future generations of travelle

25 May 2019

Absolutely GONE are the days of a cruise being an ‘old’ person’s holiday. If you love a land-based resort holiday packed with loads of activities for the children, kids’ clubs and great entertainment, then you will love a family cruise. Everything is included in your cruise fare, often even your ice creams, very much like an all-inclusive land-based holiday, but way better value for money, as no

27 April 2019

There is most definitely a cruise out there for everyone. If you are an adventurous traveller who is interested in exploring the world, enjoy nature, embracing new cultures, love expanding your knowledge, and sharing your experiences with like-minded people, then expedition cruising could be for you. Where expedition cruises differ from classic cruises is that they are all about the destination a

07 March 2019

The brand new MSC cruise ship Bellissima has just set sail on her maiden voyage from the UK. To celebrate the launch, I was invited on board to explore the ship’s wide range of wonderful facilities. This ship is big, accommodating over 5.5 thousand passengers – the advantage of this being the amount of space on board creatively designed to keep every single passenger happy on their cruise. From

02 January 2019

In 2018 I’ve created some wonderful trips – including tailor-made adventures, cruises, safaris, road trips, luxury beach getaways, city breaks, honeymoons, school trips, business travel, and ending the year with lots of families enjoying the magic of Lapland. I’ve also been lucky to visit some exciting destinations - seven of these being places I’ve never been to before and one new continent – Sou

01 January 2019

Here’s a brief run-down of what I’ve been up to in 2017. I’ve had a brilliant year in my first year as a Travel Counsellor getting to know some lovely new customers and I’ve had amazing opportunities to myself too – visiting 10 new countries - the most in one year since my back-packing days! January I was excited to start my Travel Counsellors journey with intensive induction training and lo

26 November 2018

I’ve got lots of families booked and getting excited for their Lapland adventures this year – and early bookings in for 2024 too! A trip to Lapland is a magical experience and not a trip that families do over and over again, unlike holidays to sunshine destinations, so I’m asked a lot about what to pack. Here are my top tips to ensure that your trip goes smoothly… • It’s essential that you have

21 August 2018

I’ve just returned from a family cruise with Cruise & Maritime Voyages where we spent 12 nights sailing the ocean waves down to Gibraltar with plenty of food, drink, pool action, beach fun, jacuzzis, ice creams, family card games, entertainment and sightseeing to keep every member of the family happy. Getting to our ship was really easy as we just hopped on the train to Liverpool. Urmston, where

16 July 2018

In June this year I set off on an adventure of a lifetime with my favourite supplier of small group adventure travel, Intrepid, to explore Kenya, meet the people of Kenya, and get up close and personal with the abundant wildlife! It was a wonderful experience in so many ways. On arrival in Nairobi we started off by visiting a village where Intrepid’s charity foundation are funding projects to h

12 July 2018

Here are my top ten reasons to start your cruise from my local cruise port of Liverpool! 1. You don’t have to spend 5 hours+ on the train, or 7 hours+ on the coach down to Southampton. From anywhere in the North West you can leave home and be sunbathing by the pool (weather permitting of course!) and sipping on your first cocktail in under 2 hours. 2. If you don’t like flying or don’t want t

08 November 2017

With the cold weather starting to bite in the UK I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit Agadir, Morocco, at the end of October - where the weather is still sunny and warm and the beach resort of Agadir perfect for an alternative half term family getaway, some great value 5* luxury, or as a base for a more active holiday. I flew with Air Arabia who have just launched their twice weekly

21 September 2017

I had a great few hours yesterday at Travel Counsellors HQ getting up to date on the latest developments happening in the largest of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is home to one of the best airlines in the world, Etihad, the national airline of the UAE, who offer direct flights twice daily from Manchester and three times daily from Heathrow – with a brand-new space age airport

31 August 2017

In August I was invited to Liverpool to visit Holland America’s ship, Ms Zuiderdam, which is one of their Vista Class cruise ships, so called because of the amount of glass used around the ship which means the majority of the staterooms on board have ocean views or balconies. There are four ships in this class which are all named after points of the compass (in Dutch) – the others being Noordam

22 August 2017

I recently visited visit Fred Olsen’s ship Boudicca in Liverpool, where she sets off on many of her summer voyages from this handy port - perfect for North West based cruise lovers, or a great place from which to give ocean cruising a try without the hassle of a long flight or drive. Fred Olsen is a family owned cruise company with 4 ships that sail the world – Boudicca, Black Watch, Braemar an

21 July 2017

This week I’ve been lucky to have the opportunity to visit the Ms Magellan ship while she was docked in Liverpool prior to departure on an 11-night voyage to Spain, Portugal, France and Gibraltar. The Ms Magellan and sister ship the Marco Polo often sail from Liverpool to these and various other destinations including Canada, Ireland, Fjordland, Iceland, the Scottish Isles and the British Isles.

04 April 2017

It’s hard to organise a group of busy mums for a night away, so this trip has been a long time coming. Finally my friends and I managed to block out a weekend in our diaries for a girls-only night away in Chester. We picked the perfect weekend for it as the weather was lovely for March so we were able to stroll between shops, bars, along the walls, and along the river bank during our short time a