05 December 2024

Ten TCs were to be hosted by Wide Eyed Tours, our destination management partner for south-east Asia. Upon arrival in Phnom Penh, we checked into our hotel and relaxed after the long flight. My room being on the 9th floor came with amazing views of the city which I enjoyed with a cold beer before heading out for dinner. After a taste of the local specialties, aka noodles and rice, we found a swank

20 June 2022

We sat at a table at the Split airport outdoor café. We had just handed over the keys to the rental car, and we were killing a bit of time before checking in for our flight home. As I enjoyed the last of the Adriatic sunshine, I was genuinely gutted to be going home. I can’t remember feeling like this about returning to Blighty for a long time. We had been exploring Croatia for two weeks. This

21 March 2022

I’ve been above the Arctic Circle before, but only just: it skirts Rovaniemi in Finland on the north of the town. Before that, the closest I got was Iceland. Tromso is 200 miles above 66 degrees latitude, and so far north it’s the same distance to the North Pole as it is to my home in Kent. My sister and I arrived late on a Sunday in mid-March. We caught a bus from the airport to Tromso centre, a

11 June 2019

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Oman with my 12-year-old daughter Marnie for just three nights. I was surprised how much I liked the country and knew straightaway I needed to make a second, longer visit. We had one night in the amazing Kempinski hotel in Muscat before we headed out to explore in our hired 4x4. It's a beautiful country which needs to be on your list of places to visit. Here

04 September 2018

It was time to leave Canada to head back into the USA and the State of Maine. First impressions coming from the border was a little underwhelming. From the beauty of Canada and the well-maintained houses, inland Maine was frequented with run-down trailer houses and people with excessive hoarding issues. But arriving at the Atlantic coast and the lobstering town of Bar Harbor and the Acadia Nation

04 September 2018

The morning of day one with Trek America commenced at the Hilton Newark Airport. The lobby resembled a busy beehive as the trek travellers of various groups sort to connect with their respective leaders. Approximately six groups were about to embark on their chosen itinerary on what was one of Trek America’s busiest days of the year. We hooked up with our tour leader - the Memphis born, long h

26 September 2017

The combination of being an adventure travel lover and a parent of two kids of primary school brings challenges in finding the right summer holiday to suit the whole family. And being a Travel Counsellor carries additional pressures because if I got this one wrong, while I seem to get all my clients holidays right, my wife would not be happy! The task set before had this short-list: the six-yea

19 April 2017

North Africa has been a part of the world that frequently appears in our news. I feel that many holiday makers choose to avoid Morocco in favour of the 'safer' option of the Med or the Canaries. But to dismiss the Kingdom as a holiday destination would be a shame. Upon landing in Marrakech with a group of fellow Travel Counsellors, we made it through the newly constructed airport, and out onto the

15 November 2016

After landing in Reykjavik and dumping my bag in the hotel, I headed straight out to explore the city. I walked along the promenade which meets the Atlantic Ocean. Apparently, the best spot in Reykjavik to see the Northern Lights as the sky darkens over the ocean where light pollution is minimal. I came to the Harpa Concert Hall, completed in 2011 for the cost of €164 million, when Iceland had

03 September 2016

Ireland is not the most obvious of August family tourist destinations, but it was a recent Top Gear episode shot from the majestic and rugged western Ireland coastline that lured me in. My wife, two kids, and I ferried across from Pembroke and were immediately taken by the unspoilt countryside and well-kept homes dotted along the roadside. Our first stop was two nights in the Park Hotel, Dungarv

29 March 2016

In December 2015 I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro - the highest point in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. The experience was both fun and exhausting, especially summit day, which was physically the hardest 24 hours of my life. The air at that altitude contains half the oxygen compared to sea-level, so your heart has to work overtime - even when resting. Anything more than a plod