07 July 2017

Along with 9 other TC colleagues we very excitedly met up with Emma at Heathrow (a representative from Constance Hotels) to find out Air Mauritius had upgraded us all to Business Class for our outbound flight - YIPEEE What a way to begin our trip - how lucky we are! On being met by Connections (a local company who supply transfers/tours) at the airport we had a lovely journey up to our destination Belle Mare Plage Hotel. At the reception area we were greeted with a view of white sand and turquoise sea with blue skies and a welcome cocktail. Our rooms were amazing with some very contemporary furnishings which I loved. This hotel is very well planned stretching along the 2kms sheltered bay with 7 restaurants and 6 bars it gives a refreshing choice of locations to dine, drink, swim and relax. We were hosted by Gert (GM) and dined in the Blue Penny Cellar, an exclusive a la carte restaurant with an incredible selection of puddings which we only just managed after our delightful meal. Whilst at the hotel we enjoyed a spa morning, a golf lesson, a cooking class and cocktail lessons (so brilliantly hosted - the local lady chef loved her job so much, her enthusiasm was charming). Connections took the group to the Botanical Gardens and into Port Louis as well as a day trip to the outer reef to snorkel with lunch provided on an island out at sea (great food and some beers and local rum). We ended our visit with 2 nights at the Constance Prince Maurice Hotel - being one the 'leading hotels of the world' I can fully understand why this luxury hotel comes top in reviews. The location is quite unique as a lagoon has been made in this sheltered bay giving lush mangrove and tropical vegetation with a natural fish reserve and un-spoilt natural surroundings. Here I tried paddle boarding and was very pleased to make it out in the lagoon and back - only marred by a dunking from a passing motor boat (trying to be considerate but my inexperience ended in me going for a swim). The hotel is furnished in a quality and timeless tradition befitting of its 'luxury' title with thoughtful touches delivered to each room - the fruit cake (brought home to Mum) is one of the best cakes I've tasted. We dined in the floating restaurant on our last evening and saw the resident shark cruising by in the eerie green water lights - very special. Christophe (GM) and all the staff here made our visit so enjoyable. I look forward to sending many clients to these brilliant hotels.

06 July 2017

In March 2014 my husband and I visited India for the Golden Triangle Tour. We were met on arrival with a garland of marigolds and taken to The Maidens Hotel Delhi for a two night stay. Our first tour was of Old Delhi with a walk through the streets (with our guide explaining the local customs) and then a cycle rickshaw tour of the narrow alleys (inches away from fascinating stalls of produce). In the afternoon we saw some of the grand government buildings. As we are very adventurous we tried out the underground (by ourselves) and hopped into one carriage were all the ladies were embarrassed and giggling. When one of the ladies explained my husband had got into the 'ladies carriage' we quickly progressed through to the general one. We spent the evening strolling around central Delhi with the locals and were more careful of our choice of carriage for the return journey! Next day a train to Agra made an interesting journey and our visit to the Taj Mahal was truly memorable. Onto Rajasthan (our favourite area) with an unforgettable ride up to the Amber Fort on an elephant (in a line of 40 taking guests to visit the top of the hill fort). The experience and views here were amazing. The Samode Haveli Hotel in Jaipur was superb with a lovely pool and gardens to enjoy. Strolling through the streets and riding in a tuk tuk here was an overload of our senses each evening (sights/sounds/smells)! The road trip back to Delhi for our outbound flight was very enlightening with cows/goats/chickens and local people overloaded vehicles to keep us entertained upon the journey. We left India with a desire to return and experience more of this diverse and fascinating country and its people.

06 July 2017

Bali – Lombok – Gili Island (Gili Air) April 2017 Roger and I met our 2 adult sons Josh and Louis who are living in Australia at the moment at the airport in Bali - a great place to meet up and begin our family holiday We began our visit in the Legian area as I wanted to see the nightlife and shops of the Kuta area but to stay outside of the main nightlife noise – we stayed 3 nights Ossotel Legian. There are gorgeous white sand beaches (good surf) and many hotels/restaurants who set up low tables and seating to see the great sunsets from here. Kuta has some noisy bars and clubs but early evening it is great to stroll and shop. We found heading through Legian to Seminyak the shops and restaurants became more upmarket. We collected a car and drove to visit Ulawatu and Tanah Lot (both fantastic visits) on our way to the North West corner of Bali – staying at Mimpi Resort for 4 nights. Here we explored the coral reefs around the national marine park and Menjangan Islands (Josh is a marine biologist so helps us to identify what we see). Very early on our 8th morning we drove all along the North coast of the island to take a ferry from the East coast onto Lombok Island. Here we stayed for 4 nights exploring the volcanoes and scenery of this very different island - we hired scooters and had some great journeys along the coasts. With some local help we arranged our own boat (about 20 mins) to travel over to the Gili Islands (Gili Air) and this we great and much cheaper than the public busy ferry. The Gili Islands are very chilled without any motorized vehicles and fantastic sunset bars Cycles are readily hired and this was the best way to get around. For the final 3 nights of our holiday we sailed back to Bali (collecting our vehicle waiting at the port) and drove to the interior town of Ubud. Here the dress is very traditional and local crafts music and dancing can be enjoyed. There are some amazing views of rice paddies here and we enjoyed an early morning and early evening walk into the village areas to see locals delivering their offerings to the temples. This made us feel like we'd had a taste Balinese culture and made the most of our holiday. The only part of the whole holiday we did not enjoy was waving goodbye to our sons as we flew back to the UK and them to Brisbane (but we have plans afoot you can be sure).

15 February 2013

I was lucky enough to spend a week in Grenada this October, courtesy of the Grenadian Tourist Board. We were a small group of six travel professionals with our very own travel writer Emily Payne (writing for Travel Weekly). We stayed at three hotels and we visited many more of the island’s hotels for lunch or dinner, often hosted by the hotel owners (who were mostly Grenadian). Grenada has acres of white sand, rum punch and palm trees, and seems to have more charm than many of its sister islands, and the waterfalls, lakes and endless greenery make it a little more diverse too. Caribbean lovers often opt for all-inclusive, but here I would advise clients to stay B&B or half-board then you can try the local eateries and travel round the island. Quoted from Travel Journalist Emily Payne ‘Differentiating Grenada from the other Caribbean islands is remarkably easy. While it has the universal appeal of being somewhere to get away from it all in a hammock on the beach, it feels less packaged. The marine life is abundant, dive sites are close to the major hotels, and the people are so very friendly.’ Grenada has year round appeal the wettest month tends to be July but you still get temperatures of 26C and about seven hours’ sunshine. Also the dreaded hurricane season is not really an issue here as it is so far south from the main belt of occurrence. The island is about the size of the Isle of White and it is very easy and safe to travel around. One day we were taken out on a snorkelling trip by an island dweller, originally from the UK, who had fallen in love with Grenada (a common theme here). While chatting on our way back to shore it transpired that he used to live in Kirkham and his sister works in Lytham, such a small world really. We spent the week in a fantastic range of hotels from 3* charming to 5* luxury, tried river tubing down sparkling lush waterways, visited rum distilleries, nutmeg factories and chocolate plantations and snorkelled over coral reefs and experienced the beauty of Grenada’s tropical countryside. I can now genuinely say I’m a Grenada expert!

10 April 2012

Flying with Malaysian Airlines I arrived with my husband, 2 adult sons and my sister into Kota Kinabalu (Sabah, Borneo) and stayed 4 nights, we took a boat trip out to the islands which are visible from the town (booked on the harbour). Definitely worth taking our snorkels as we encountered many species of coral and marine life, and two black tipped reef sharks made it even more exciting (if a little worrying). We hired a car and drove up to Mount Kinabalu national park, the scenery on the journey was spectacular and a four hour trek around the base was as much exercise as I could manage (I was glad I hadn’t booked the climb to the top). We then took a short flight to Mulu national park which is just into Sarawak quite close to the Brunei boarder. Here we stayed at the National Park Headquarters in lodge type accommodation. There are many caves to visit (some of the largest in the world) and after trekking to these we got to sit outside at dusk and watch millions of bats leave on their daily hunting expeditions making amazing shapes in the evening sky. This region lived up to the ‘rainforest’ name and most days we had long downpours at some parts of the day and night. As the area was full of board-walked trails and hanging bridges the trekking was not too strenuous but certainly hot, damp and humid. We saw strange and exotic species of insects with a few birds, lizards and a lovely green snake for variety. As this area is only reached by river or by plane we really felt like we had experienced something special. On the flight to KL it was fascinating to see the rainforest and tropical islands from the air. We had visited KL a few years previous but still were blown away by the Petronas twin towers. Here we had booked the Renaissance Hotel as I though a bit of 5* at the end of our adventure may be very welcome. It certainly was, and the outdoor pool on the 3rd floor was superb in the heat and humidity of the city. Traffic in KL can get grid-locked at rush hours or in the downpours so using the monorail really is the best policy. The night-markets are crazy but great fun and we came home loaded down with shoes, handbags and sunglasses (well my sister and I did). Malaysia is a real mix of cultures and we found the people very welcoming and friendly. You can try such a variety of eating experiences with Chinese and Indian the most common. The people are very trustworthy as we found out when leaving our expensive camera at one café and returning 2 hours later to be re-united with it and the same with a backpack (we are a bit forgetful on holiday). If you like tropical islands, wildlife and snorkelling as well as diverse Eastern cultures then you must try Malaysia.

03 November 2011

I was lucky enough to be awarded my first 6* cruise with Crystal Cruises. We embarked on the ship Crystal Serenity in Rome and she looked truly impressive on approach to the port of Civitivavecchia. Luckily there were another 6 Travel Counsellors and their partners as well as our hosts so we made a lovely group and all got to know each other during the cruise (cruising is great for groups of family or friends as you can meet up or not as you wish). Our stateroom was very luxurious with a balcony and every thoughtful detail was to hand. Our cabin lady also introduced herself and said we could order 'anything' at anytime from her. Our first stop the next morning was Sorrento and anchoring in the harbour made a picturesque scene to wake up to. We landed by tender (small boats to ferry you to shore) and Crystal laid on fresh coffee or tea at the harbour-side which made us feel very spoilt). With a personal Crystal minibus to take us up the very steep hill into town. After a browse through the shops we watched a local wedding couple arriving into the town square for their marriage ceremony which was a very special sight to see. The next day we were at sea sailing towards Turkey and luckily the weather enabled us to spend a day by the pool. At Kusadasi port we watched the captain guide us in expertly and many disembarked to see the ancient site of Ephesus. Our next stop was Mykonos (small greek island) and with the deep blue sky the little port with it's white washed buildings was a sight to behold. The shops and restaurants here were super and the people most welcoming. On the last evening we met for a farewell dinner and all the group really enjoyed their stay on Crystal Serenity. With its award winning speciality restaurant Nobu and the Italian Prego we really were spoilt for choice for dining options. We enjoyed the shows in the evening and had a flutter at the casino with a little dancing and sing along in the bars. It really was a great cruise. I had booked an extra two nights in Athens, so although leaving our TC friends on the way to the airport we headed into the city. I did spend some time in Athens over 30 years ago so I was keen to see how things have changed. The Acropolis was still magnificent and the people welcoming. We climbed Lycabettus Hill on our last day and drank in the sight of the whole of Athens, a mad bustling city interspersed with monuments from ancient times- and I still loved it.

08 February 2011

Our family love marine life, wildlife and a little nightlife and Costa Rica fits the bill. Latin American countries are becoming very popular with UK visitors. There are some direct charter flights which make it more accessible and these fly in the winter months. We stayed in the Guanacaste region (North West Coast on the Pacific ocean) on Papagayo Beach. Costa Rica is two thirds the size of Scotland with a 4.5 million population, it is politically stable and their armed forces were abolished in 1948, to save on the defense budget and put this money towards its people (inspired idea). It is ideal for a fly drive as there are so many protected national parks which offer 3 climatic zones and dramatic scenery with over 800 species of birds (more than the whole of North America) and a huge diversity of wildlife in such a small area. We hired a car to do some exploring (with a very useful GPS ), visiting the active Arenal volcano and some of the protected wildlife areas. We encountered howler monkeys overhead in the rainforest as well as white faced capuchins and spider monkeys as we followed jungle trails. We searched out tarantulas and tree frogs as well as ant-eaters and sloths, all seemingly harmless but very fascinating. All our trekking was very manageable (but sweaty and hot mostly) and would be easily achievable by the moderately fit. The driving, although on the right, was safe and enabled us to get a real feel for the countryside and its people. Cost Rica is a haven for ‘twitchers’ with hummingbirds (250 species in all) and toucans being easily spotted, sighting scarlet macaws flying over head was one of the many highlights of the trip. We were surprised at the cost of eating out (we had a McDonalds which was more expensive than here) but found that the local fare restaurants worked out quite a lot cheaper. If anyone is thinking of a real adventure of a holiday, Costa Rica deserves consideration, I can highly recommend it!