Grant Wills
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Wadebridge
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Thailand Specialist
Thailand is not just somewhere I send my clients. It is my second home.
I have been continuously connected with Thailand for over 37 years. In the 1990s I lived on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan for seven years, where I owned a travel agency and, for a time, had the only telephone for 5 kilometres in any direction.
Those early days gave me an intimate insight into the islands long before they became the destinations they are today.
For more than 25 years I have been married to a Thai national, which means my relationship with Thailand is deeply rooted in family, community and culture.
I have spent countless hours in local homes, markets, temples and villages, far beyond the usual tourist trail. My understanding of Thailand goes way beyond hotel brochures and guidebooks.
Within the Travel Counsellors community, I am recognised as a Thailand Expert, and I regularly support fellow Travel Counsellors with their more complex or challenging Thailand enquiries.
If other professionals trust me with their Thailand questions, you can feel confident placing your own trip in my hands.
Thailand, Tailored Around You
Because of this long and genuine connection, I can help you experience Thailand in a way that feels personal and authentic:
• Island escapes in places I have actually lived and worked, such as Koh Samui and Koh Phangan
• Thoughtfully paced itineraries that blend well known highlights with quieter, lesser known corners
• Immersive cultural experiences that respect local communities and traditions
• Family friendly holidays shaped by real understanding of travelling with children
• Romantic getaways and special celebrations in truly memorable settings
• Multi centre trips combining city, jungle and beach with seamless logistics
I listen carefully to what matters most to you, then design a journey that reflects your style and interests, rather than a one size fits all package.
Why Trust Me With Your Thailand Plans?
My Thailand expertise is not theoretical, it is lived:
• 37+ years of continuous personal connection with Thailand
• 7 years living and running a travel agency on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan
• 25+ years of marriage into a Thai family and deep immersion in Thai life
• Regular ongoing visits to keep up to date with changes, new openings and hidden gems
• A reputation within Travel Counsellors as a go to Thailand specialist
You benefit from my contacts, my cultural understanding and my ability to anticipate what will really work for you once you are on the ground.
Ready To Plan Your Thailand Journey?
Whether it is your first visit to Thailand or your tenth, I can create a journey that feels special, effortless and truly personal.
If you are even half thinking about Thailand, I would love to chat through your ideas and share some tailored suggestions.
Get in touch today to start planning your Thailand adventure with a true specialist.
Message, call or email me with your preferred dates, who is travelling and the kind of experiences you are dreaming of, and I will design a Thailand itinerary just for you.
Beyond Thailand
Although Thailand is a true speciality, my expertise spans the globe, including visits in 2025 to the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
I tailor make single and multi destination itineraries and can bring together multiple components into one seamless experience, including:
• Economy, Premium, Business and First Class flights for leisure or business travel
• Private jet charters from airports convenient to you
• Ocean, river and expedition cruises
• Luxury rail journeys
• Safaris and wildlife focused itineraries that respect animal welfare
• Lapland and Northern Lights adventures
• Group travel and corporate incentive rewards
• British & Irish Lions rugby tours
• And many more curated, one of a kind experiences
Travel guides
Explore my guides and blogs
Uga Riva Hotel - Negombo - Sri Lanka
A Peaceful Arrival in Sri Lanka – Uga Riva Hotel After an overnight flight with SriLankan Airlines from London Heathrow to Colombo, I finally touched down on the island that had been on my travel list for so long. Once I’d collected my luggage, exchanged some currency, and picked up a local SIM card, it was just a short 30-minute drive to my first stop — Uga Riva, our home for the night. Nestled
26 Oct 2025 5 min read
Cebu & Bohol, The Phillipines
The Philippines has 7641 islands so it can be a little bit overwhelming looking at the map and wondering where to start. Clearly, it would be very difficult to experience them all and even 5 would probably take a couple of weeks. The islands are spread out and some are easier to get to than others. Because I was on a bit of a working holiday and wanted to base myself somewhere with decent W-Fi
20 Aug 2025 5 min read
Oasis Resort - Alona Beach - Panglao - Bohol - Philippines
I took the Ocean Jet Ferry from Cebu Pier 1 to Tagbilaran City Port in Bohol and this ferry departs regularly, possibly hourly and takes approximately 2 hours. There is Business Class, which is a separate cabin on a higher deck, but Standard seats are fine. I was heading for Oasis Resort at Alona Beach in Panglao and on arrival at Tagbilaran I booked a taxi using the ‘Grab’ App which arrived in
19 Jul 2025 5 min read
Manila - The Philippines
As the Capital City, Manila is often the Gateway into The Philippines, though to be honest, a lot of people avoid it and fly into somewhere else, for example Cebu. Manila is an enormous city with ultra-modern areas, including plenty of Skyscrapers and with big brand hotel chains represented. I think if you are new to The Philippines, it is good to stay a few days there, because there are plenty
17 Jul 2025 5 min read
Bangkok Transport Options & Wat Arun - The Temple of Dawn
My first visit to Thailand was over 35 years ago and when I was younger, I would stay in Thailand for 6 months and Cornwall for 6 months every year. I did that for 14 years so effectively had, 7 years in Thailand from the late 80s and throughout the 90s and this also coincided with me having al little Travel Agency & Telephone Service on the, then, ‘Traveller Island’ Koh Pha-Ngan. Back in those
10 Jul 2025 5 min read
Ayutthaya, Thailand
I have always been interested in temple sites and have visited some of the big ones, such as Angkor in Cambodia and Borobudur and Prambanan in Java. When I was in Bangkok recently, I took the opportunity to go and see Ayutthaya. The city of Ayutthaya is the ancient Thai capital, dating back to 1350 and is situated in the province of Ayutthaya. In Thailand most provinces include a city of the sam
07 Jul 2025 5 min read
Eleven Hotel Sukhumvit Soi 11, Bangkok, Thailand
The Eleven Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit Soi 11 is a hotel I send clients to regularly, and in particular, families. This is because the hotel has an excellent room category which is the Bunk Bed Family Room. This is a Superior Double Room which includes another small bunk bed room accessed by a sliding door. The bunk beds are a good size and are in a ‘L’ shape configuration, so NOT baby bunks and N
03 Jul 2025 5 min read
Samui Elephant Haven, Koh Samui, Thailand
With so many places offering Elephant Experiences, it is important to know which 'Sanctuaries' are Ethical and which are not. In previous years and decades, it was quite common for tourists to take elephant rides, or visit shows where elephants are playing football and painting pictures. Sometimes elephants could be seen trudging along roads or through busy tourist areas where an elephant would
31 Jan 2025 5 min read
SALA Samui Choengmon Beach Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand
After wonderful stays at SALA Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort and SALA Samui Chaweng Beach Resort, it was, with great anticipation and confidence that I arrived at SALA Samui Choengmon Beach Resort. After transferring from the busy Chaweng area to the much quieter Choengmon Beach, there was definitely a feel of peace and tranquility arriving there. Located on secluded Choengmon beach on the northea
31 Jan 2025 5 min read
SALA Samui Chaweng Beach Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand
I have taken a few different vessels between Suratthani and Koh Samui & Koh Phangan over the years, including the Night Boat, Songserm Express Boat, a Hydrofoil and the Car Ferry. This time it was Lomprayah High Speed Catamaran, which takes 45 minutes, and that was a nice experience. The Catamaran goes from a separate pier to the car ferry at the Donsak pier. After being met at Nathon pier by
16 Jan 2025 5 min read
The Aava Resort - Khanom, Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Thailand
The Aava Resort is situated in Khanom District within the province of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, but very close to the province of Suratthani. Khanom can be reached by Land Transfer from areas such as Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak and Khao Sok National Park (including Elephant Hills), but it is also close to Nakhon Sri Thammarat and Suratthani Airports, and only about 15 minutes from the pier at Donsak, whe
07 Jan 2025 5 min read
The Nai Harn - Phuket, Thailand
We travelled down from the north of Phuket and passed through the Old Town, with its colourful 19th century Townhouses and Sino-Portuguese buildings, many of which have now been converted into shops, hotels, restaurants and museums. Taking this route meant we could avoid the concrete jungle of Patong, Karon and Kata beaches. As we neared the south of the island, we turned a corner and were bles
03 Jan 2025 5 min read
SALA Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort, Phuket, Thailand
We arrived at Phuket Airport fairly late in the evening after connecting in Bangkok following a flight from London and before that, a drive from Cornwall, so by the time I got to Phuket I was quite travel fatigued. Thankfully, I was staying at SALA Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort which is only a short transfer from the airport. You drive through Mai Khao Plaza where there are a variety of bars, res
30 Dec 2024 5 min read
EVA Airways Direct London Heathrow to Bangkok in Premium Economy
I have flown with EVA Airways from Heathrow, Direct to Bangkok many times over the last 30 years and in October, I was very happy to be flying with them again and enjoying EVA Airways' Premium Economy service. EVA Airways were one of the very first airlines to introduce a Dedicated Premium Economy Cabin, which is a service between Economy and Business Class. EVA Airways online check-in opens 48
28 Dec 2024 5 min read
Asimina Suites - Paphos - Cyprus
This was my first time with Jet 2 and I was pleasantly surprized. The seat pitch was really good, allowing plenty of leg room from the seat in front, but the plane also seemed to be clean, bright and spacious with some nice mood lighting. Around Bristol airport and whilst sat on the plane, it was evident that Jet 2 owned the majority of their ground-handling operations as opposed to other airlin
15 Aug 2023 5 min read
Monk Ordination Ceremony & Funeral - Thailand
Monk Ordination Ceremonies - Uncle & Nephew Many Travel Agents sell a destination they have not travelled to, or for Thailand for instance, they may have had a holiday for a few weeks and travelled around a bit. I had a travel agency on Koh Phangan in the early 90s and lived there for 7 years at that time. I have been selling Thailand for 30 years and have also been married to a Thai for 22 yea
02 Aug 2023 5 min read
Krabi, Phi Phi Island & Maya Bay - Thailand
I have been to Krabi a few times in the past, as we have friends and family there and this time, we took a direct flight with Air Asia from Chiang Mai. I love Krabi as it is stunningly beautiful with the towering limestone rocks jutting out of the Andaman Sea, whilst inland it also offers a lot, with attractions including the Emerald Lagoon. The tourist centre of Krabi is Ao Nang Beach and it ce
02 Aug 2023 5 min read
Chiang Rai and The Golden Triangle - Thailand
After our travels around the province of Chiang Mai, we took the little Toyota Yaris further north, to tackle more mountains around Chiang Rai province, including the Golden Triangle. Chiang Rai, like Chiang Mai and many other places in Thailand, has a city within a province of the same name. Chiang Rai has always been popular with the Backpacker community as that journey, further north, away f
02 Aug 2023 5 min read
Chiang Mai - Thailand
I have been to Chiang Mai a few times in the past, but on this visit, we were planning to base ourselves a couple of hours outside of the city, near a town called Fang, where some friends were from. We flew up from Bangkok with Air Asia and spent the arrival night in the city. I had been to the original Night Market before, but it now seems there are numerous night markets dotted around, giving
02 Aug 2023 5 min read
Nan - Thailand
I have spent many years in Thailand since the 1980's with most of my time in South, Central and Eastern regions with a few visits to the North including Ching Mai twice and Nong Khai. During that time I have attended many Family, Community and Cultural events including my own Wedding. In 2019 we headed to the very North of Thailand to attend a family wedding and spend some time in Nan province.
22 Mar 2021 5 min read
Thailand and Me
When I travelled to Australia in 1988, I didn't stop off anywhere en-route. Other travellers kept saying I should have gone to Thailand, but I had never heard of Thailand. I had only heard of Siam through the musical and film 'The King and I'! On the way home, I booked a stop-over in Singapore and took a train up through the length of Malaysia and entered Thailand through its southern border ne
12 Jan 2019 5 min read
Laos
After a month travelling overland in Cambodia and then Vietnam I wanted to move on to Laos, so headed for the border crossing in Quang Tri Province called Lao Bao. Back in February 1999 there wasn't an awful lot at this border crossing. There were half a dozen children carrying satchel type bags, hanging about, and they asked me if I wanted to change some money. I thought I'd risk it as I wasn'
19 Oct 2018 5 min read
Elephant Hills - Khao Sok
I have spent many years living and working in Thailand. My wife is Thai, and our two daughters have also visited many times. A lot of our time is spent in Chanthaburi away from the tourist spots and in rural locations with family close by. I have been selling Elephant Hills for quite a while now, so felt it was important to have my own personal experience and I hoped also that my family would r
02 Oct 2018 5 min read
The Seychelles
Whilst working for a travel company in London, I was offered the chance to visit The Seychelles on a familiarisation trip. I had been offered trips before but had declined them for one reason or another but as soon as The Seychelles was mentioned I said "Yes please". I met up with my travel companions at Heathrow and we flew direct with Air Seychelles landing at the airport on Mahe' on a beaut
20 Jun 2018 5 min read
Koh Samui, Thailand
When I first made my way to Thailand after travelling over land from Singapore via Malaysia, I sat on a ferry for 2 hours and marvelled at the beautiful, unspoilt islands we passed before arriving at Koh Samui. In the late 80's the big hotel chains hadn't arrived and the airport wasn't yet operational. Many of the local Thais owned large areas of land and were often unaware as to its value. A
18 Dec 2017 5 min read
Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia
I have always been interested in culture and visited some amazing temple sites around Asia and the Far East. I managed to fulfil a particular ambition when in 1998 a couple of top men from the Khmer Rouge were taken into custody and all of a sudden Cambodia was a lot safer to travel to. I travelled overland from Bangkok in the back seat of a pick-up truck and spent 8 hours covering the 140 kms
18 Dec 2017 5 min read
Yogyakarta & Bali, Indonesia
I went to Indonesia as a traveller rather than a tourist so I wasn't looking to stay in a fancy hotel. There are plenty of those, but as well as visiting the cultural sights I was hoping to find some nice Batik art to bring back to the UK. After flying in to Yogyakarta I headed for Jalan Prawirotaman and found a little place called Sumaryo Guest House. This was fairly basic but adequate for me
18 Dec 2017 5 min read
Chanthaburi / Koh Chang, Thailand
Chanthaburi is a province by the Gulf of Thailand that borders Trat and is close to the Cambodian border. It is very fertile and famous for its fruit, particularly Durian – the ‘king of fruits’, Mangosteen – the ‘queen of fruits’ and Rambutan and is known as the 'Orchard of Thailand'. The importance of fruit to Chanthaburi is recognised in the decorative street signs that can be seen in and arou
11 Sept 2017 5 min read
Hua Hin & Floating Market, Thailand
We travelled to Hua Hin from Chanthaburi as an extended family of about 15 people and rented a house close to the beach. There is a long dual carriage-way called Phetkasem Road that runs parallel to the beach and spreads out from the centre. At regular intervals Sois (side streets), branch off from this road and there is an abundance of top hotels and smaller properties depending on budget and
11 Sept 2017 5 min read
Marbella & Puerto Banus, Spain
We rented a villa in Marbella as there were 9 of us including 5 youngsters of various ages, but I have previously stayed in a hotel in central Marbella. There is a really long promenade in Marbella running parallel with Playa Casablanca which is great for a nice walk and along here there are quite a few restaurants and bars of various sizes and styles. On the beach, there are plenty of loung
06 Sept 2017 5 min read
Krakow & Auschwitz, Poland
Krakow in the center of Europe is an easily accessible destination from regional airports with a short flight duration of approximately 2 hours. I went on a Stag Trip and admittedly it is a very popular destination for both Stag and Hen parties, but Krakow offers so much more than that. I went for 3 nights but you could easily spend a week or two there. In terms of central Krakow, Rynek Glowny
06 Sept 2017 5 min read
Mauritius by the Emirates A380
I flew out to Mauritius with Emirates Airline on the Airbus A380 with a transit in Dubai in both directions. I was very fortunate to fly Business Class all the way to Mauritius whilst for the return it was Economy to Dubai and then Business Class from Dubai back to London. It was a real treat and the bar at the rear of Business Class and the Lie Flat beds were wonderful. I was also impres
17 Oct 2016 5 min read
Alesund, Norway
We flew direct from Gatwick to Alesund with Norwegian Air and with only a 2 hour flight and 1 hour time difference it was not at all tiring, plus the departure/arrival times in both directions were very civilised. Luckily we have family who have a large house overlooking the Fjord, so we stayed with them, but there are several hotel possibilities in the centre of Alesund and others further a fi
14 Oct 2016 5 min read
Vietnam
I left Phnom Penh in Cambodia and took a taxi to the border with Vietnam. Here I entered Vietnam and took another taxi to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City as it is officially known as now. It struck me how busy it was and how many people there were whizzing around on little motorbikes compared to the Phnom Penh where it was more laid back and less affluent. I decided that Saigon was quite an exciting pl
18 Mar 2013 5 min read
Disneyland Paris
We drove up to Ashford in Kent and stayed at the Premier Inn Ashford North on the night before our departure. Like all hotels in Ashford, the Premier Inn offers one week free car parking for guests travelling to Disneyland Paris so we booked a taxi in the morning and took advantage of Premier Inn breakfast offer where children eat for free. I thought this would set us all up for the long day ahea
04 Jan 2013 5 min read
Barbados
Having won a prize trip to Barbados in sales competition, my team at Travel Counsellors set off from Gatwick with Virgin Atlantic Airways and headed for the Caribbean. After 7 months playing "whoa! I'm going to Barbados" on YouTube, I was now on my way. After being met by our ground handlers, St. James, they whisked us off to Paynes Bay and The Tamarind where a cool cocktail awaited us. No soo
06 Oct 2011 5 min read
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Long Service Lunch - 20 Years
This was a video shown at the Long Service Awards and Lunch in Manchester in November. I celebrated my 20 Year Anniversary on 25th January 2025.
06 Nov 2025
My Travel Counsellors Journey
This video highlights my Travel Counsellors journey over the last 19 to 20 years, detailing how many clients I have helped and detailing my top destinations
28 Dec 2024
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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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