28 March 2018

In half term in October 2017 we sailed from Southampton to Holland on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas! Through Royal Caribbean we arranged a trip to the magical theme park "Efteling" where we spent a fabulous day seeing the attractions and going on the rides. The park itself is based on fantasy and storytelling from traditional fairy tales such as Pinocchio, Red Riding Hood, Tom Thumb and Hansel and Gretel. There is an enchanted fairy tale forest which would be a perfect area for young children to run around and explore. As my children are older they really enjoyed all the roller-coasters and especially the water rapids, which we all went on numerous amounts of times! At the end of an amazing day the park puts on a show fantastic over the lake, with huge fountains of water all lit up and timed to dramatic music, which the children really enjoyed before making our way back to the ship This park is definitely worth a visit and a great alternative to Disney!

07 April 2017

After arriving a Marrakesh Airport I was pleasantly surprised by how modern the Airport was, the staff were very helpful and welcomed us to Morocco. The Journey to the City was quick and easy and only took 20 minutes! We stayed at the 5 star modern Movenpick Mansour Eddhabi, which was stunning with a very relaxed atmosphere, luxurious bedrooms and a beautiful pool area. The Medina and the Square was a short taxi ride away but there is still plenty of modern shops, restaurants and bars at the nearby Menara Mall, which is only 10 to 15 minute walk away from the hotel. On our Visit to the Medina we had a guide to show us around the different Souks, (which I would highly recommend for your first visit), the roads are very narrow and I would only describe the area as a maze! With a lot of activity and motorbikes driving around, you can easily get lost! Local guides can easily be pre arranged with your holiday reservation or with the hotel you are staying at and well worth the money! After a day exploring the Souks the highlight for me was having a drink on the terrace at the Salama Lounge & Bar, which also serves food. The terrace has amazing views over the square and a great place to relax and people watch taking all the sights and smells of the City! Our next destination was a trip up to the famous Atlas Mountains to visit a very special luxury resort that had magnificent views of the snow capped Atlas Mountains, called the L'Amandier Hotel. This hotel I can only describe as a perfect balance of a luxury contemporary design hotel, also offering private villas with their own splash pools amongst the tranquillity and back to nature location. This gives you the best of both worlds! The facilities of a 5 star luxury hotel with the opportunity of a get away from it all holiday, even the lights are kept to a minimum, giving guests the opportunity to enjoy the night time sky and amazing views of the stars! Our trip continued towards the Atlantic coast and the drive to the famous surfing resort of Essaouira, which is approximately 3 hours away from Marrakesh, but well worth the trip! We cut the journey time by stopping en route to visit a Argan Oil Co-operative which was a fantastic opportunity for anyone that uses this famous oil and stock up! The workers were really friendly and helpful showing us how the oil was produced and how they use every part of the kernels in their production including the shells to use for feeding animals. I really enjoyed trying all their products and of course making the most of this shopping opportunity! When we arrived at the seaside resort of Essaouira the huge beach was absolutely stunning, there were a lot of surfers including kite surfers, which seemed to be very popular. The Beach stretched along the whole of the resort toward the Medina, where you were able to visit and explore in a much laid-back atmosphere, very different to the Souks in Marrakesh, and felt like a typical seaside town back home, but with much better weather! It was without a doubt well worth the transfer and would love to return for a longer stay! My overall experience of Morocco completely exceeded all expectations, it was a fantastic opportunity to experience old and new, where you have camels, horse and carts, happily going about their business in amongst the modern and luxurious cars and SUVs, all the hotels I visited were fabulous and top class which certainly had something for everyone, and would suit every taste and budget. The people were extremely friendly, welcoming and accommodating. Such a fantastic holiday for any type of traveller and I can't believe that such a beautiful and fascinating country as this is only a 3 hour flight away from us. I would love to return again in the future!

22 September 2016

Our once in a lifetime trip to Lapland started with a very early flight from our local airport, even at the airport when we checked in everyone was in great Xmas spirits with plenty of Xmas decorations and lots of people dressed up! On board our flight we had a nice hot breakfast and everyone was really looking forward to our Santa adventure! When we arrived the scenery was breath-taking! Everywhere was covered in beautiful snow just like the pictures, all the trees and the rooftops were completely covered in snow. We were escorted through the airport and out to our transfer buses which took us to Santa's Village. On our journey the views were amazing and as Lapland has limited hours of sunshine a day, we fully made the most of taking in everything we saw. As soon as we arrived there was plenty of hot food waiting for us at the village, before being taken to get changed into our thermal suits and snow boots, which they provided for us all. Santa's Villa was totally magical, there was everything there we could wish for. Log cabins, fire pits where you could get warm, snow covered statues and huge chairs (which the kids loved sitting on!) It was all lit up with fairy lights. As the sun was starting to set around 1pm this made the village come to life and even more magical! At the snow filled village we had fun making snow angels with the children, which turned into snowball fights. We also made snowmen and had a ride on the reindeer sleigh. We used the sledges up and down the hills and really enjoyed our time together as a family. Then the best part - the hunt to find Santa's House! We were taken by snowmobile into the forest where Santa's log cabin is hidden, as soon as we arrived Santa's elf greeted us and were taken inside and introduced to Santa himself! Inside Santa's house was really magical with a log fire burning, lots of presents and letters which made it feel really cosy. He talked to us all about our journey and where we came from and the most important part, what would the children like for Xmas! He also gave them a special gift to thank them for visiting him at his house. The children were totally overwhelmed and it was a very emotional moment, which I will always cherish. As we made our way back to the village we stopped at the edge of a frozen lake which was where you were able to have a drive of the snowmobiles (as long as you held a driving licence). You were able to drive out to the other side of the lake in a group which was a great experience. This is certainly something I have never driven before and I did get the hang of it in the end, after many funny moments starting and stopping! On our way back we stopped at the Husky track, where the trainer explained to us all about the dogs and how they train them. I was really surprised to find out that the Huskies you normally think about, the big white fluffy dogs are actually Canadian Huskies and the European ones are much smaller, however it certainly didn't make them any slower! We were offered to ride on the bench sleigh they were pulling and it was so fast! This was one of the highlights of the trip. We thoroughly enjoyed zooming around on the frozen lake with the dogs which was a totally amazing experience. Back at Santa's Village we stopped at the Frozen Bar for one of their famous hot chocolates, which warmed us up and after having some snack we were ready for another play in the snow! When it was time to go home the guides took us back to the airport for our flight home and we enjoyed a hot dinner before landing late in the evening after a truly wonderful day. I really do recommend that you have this experience with your family at least once, no matter how old you and your family are, there is certainly something for every age group and it is not all about Santa. We had grown up children with us and they had just as much fun as the young ones, and getting to meet Santa was a truly magical for them! If I can help you plan your family’s trip let me know!

04 August 2016

My experience of the "Big Apple" over Christmas was amazing! After staying overnight at Gatwick we took the early flight out and landed with plenty of time to arrive at our fantastic hotel on Time Square! In our opinion well worth the extra cost to have a room overlooking all the hustle and bustle of Time Square all complete with neon flashing lights to add that bit more excitement! The first thing on our agenda was to drop off our things and head out straight away to start our experience, we walked around our surrounding areas and took in all the sights of Times Square and the Theatre District including Radio City Music hall and the huge array of shops including the huge Toys R Us store in Times Square, where they had numerous amounts of different characters walking about meeting children before Christmas day all adding to the magic! After a good meal and a good night sleep we headed out early the next day to travel by subway to Battery Park to catch the ferry to Liberty Island to visit the statue of Liberty, despite the heavy rain and low cloud we were still able to see the skyline of New York in the distance from the Ferry and had the opportunity to visit this iconic statue which in my opinion is a must! From battery park, we were able to walk to the 9/11 memorial, which was not far at all and we saw the memorial fountains and visited the exhibition centre. The surprise for me on Christmas eve in Times Square was just like New Year's eve they do a countdown to Christmas day which was great to be involved in and added to the atmosphere! On Christmas day we decided to head up to Central Park for a wonderful horse and carriage ride around the park which was totally magical. We walked from Central Park down 5th avenue to the Rockefeller Centre, where the iconic ice skating rink is under the huge Christmas tree, which was absolutely amazing and plenty of couples were taking advantage of this very romantic opportunity to do proposals which was also lovely to watch! As all the shops were closed Christmas day on Boxing day we headed back to 5th avenue to go into Tiffany's and the famous Schwarz Toy store where the Big Piano is featured on the Film "BIG", we also visited Macys and saw the beautiful Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building. This trip was an amazing experience and totally unforgettable especially in such a magical time of year highly recommended!

24 November 2015

On the 27th May 2015, I fulfilled my life’s dream to take my 3 children to Disney World Florida! We travelled with Virgin Atlantic, which was a brilliant service, plenty of inflight entertainment and treats for the kids!. As my Son and my partner are both very tall I was able to pre book extra leg room seats whilst me and the girls sat together next to them in the middle row, which worked out really well! On arrival at Orlando International Airport, it was clear how good it was going to be that we paid extra to stay in one of the Disney World Hotels. After collecting our luggage there was the Disney Magical Express Check in area, which was so exciting for the children, we checked in with the staff who showed us to our Disney Themed transfer buses. On the way to the Disney All Stars, the driver was really excited and welcomed us all on board and there was Disney videos shown on the television screens on the coach, they also joined in with the Disney quiz, which was a great way of getting the children ready for their amazing Disney experience! When we arrived at the Disney All Stars Music resort, it was very bright and well decorated, the check in area was fun with welcoming staff with balloons and they also had a cinema area, playing Disney Channel programmes for the children whilst we checked in. Our Personalised Disney Magic Bands, were waiting for us, which we pre ordered before leaving home, this was a fantastic way of keeping your room key, room account, Disney World passes and fast passes all in one device! Our room was brilliant! We had plenty of space for a family of 5, 2 bathrooms, a master bedroom and a large lounge with 3 sofa beds (1 double sofa and 2 single sofas), plenty of wardrobe space and a few large chests of drawers, a kitchen area with a kettle, coffee machine and a fridge. Although we had the Disney Dining package, we did treat ourselves and the children to a couple of character lunches, at Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom, which was well worth the money as the food was fantastic and all buffet style, so you can make the most of all the different food on offer. The hotel offer free transportation to all the Disney Resorts, from outside the hotel there was clearly marked bus stop signs to each park which included, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood studios, Blizzard Beach, Downtown Disney and Typhoon Lagoon. My personal favourite was Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the boys loved Disney’s Hollywood studio’s as they are both Star Wars fans! My girls fell in love with Magic Kingdom, they had a brilliant time meeting different characters and taking their autograph books around getting their signatures! Using our fast passes we booked to meet the Disney Characters including, Tinkerbell, Tangled, Mickey Mouse and the highlight for my Evie, Anna & Elsa! The Fireworks at Magic Kingdom are amazing and is a definite must see, especially watching Tinkerbell flying across the sky, one tip is using your fast pass pre book a viewing spot as it is very busy and can be hard to find somewhere to stand and watch at busy times of the year. We chose an over cast and rainy day to go to Blizzard Beach, which was a fantastic water park, we especially loved the lazy river and the huge beach with the wave machine. At the end of the holiday we arranged a day to Universal Studio’s as we were all keen to visit Harry Potter World, as the transfers are not available on the Disney Package the staff at the hotel were very helpful, who booked and arranged a minibus transfer which was very easy and convenient. This was definitely a must see especially for Harry Potter Fans as the whole experience was truly Magical! The children purchased interactive wands from Olivanders and loved using them to cast spells around the park, it was so clever the way they could make things move using their wands and the children were so amazed! I would recommend this once in a life time experience to any family with children over the age of 7, as my Evie struggled a bit with all the walking by the end of the week and the temperature is very high in the summer months and you especially want the children to remember their Disney Experience for the rest of their lives!!