Hi and thank you for stopping by The Travel Hack! My name is Monica, I’m 33 and I live in North Wales with my partner, Sam, and our three kids, George (5), Joseph (4) and Alba (1). I’ve been blogging for 12 years and I’ve been doing this full time for eight years! The thing …
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If you’re visiting Rotterdam for a short break then you’re in for a treat! Here’s my mini guide with all the best things to do in Rotterdam and all my favourite places to eat, drink and shop and a very cool city centre hotel in Rotterdam. I visited Rotterdam for 2 days with P&O Ferries …
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while then you’ll have seen me mention the #Take12Trips Challenge at the start of each year. As it’s a 12 month challenge, January feels like the perfect time of year to begin! #Take12Trips is a challenge to take a ‘trip’ once a month for an entire year. …
I’d seen photos of Mont Saint-Michel before but, if I’m honest, I didn’t know much about this incredible island in Normandy, France. I didn’t know a lot about it other than the fact that it looked like a magical town that would fit perfectly between the pages of Harry Potter novel. It appeared in my …
In January 2018 I did something new. I joined a running club. It wasn’t anything official, just myself and some mums I’d met at a local baby and toddler group and I surprised myself by absolutely loving it. It was a combination of the fresh air, the post-exercise endorphin rush and the social aspect of …
I wasn’t going to write this post because, like every year I’ve ever written a ‘highlights from my year’ kind of post, I’ve initially thought I didn’t have enough interesting stuff to put in it! It’s funny (and also very telling about where my priorities are right now!) but when I think about my year …
It’s day 3 of Podmas and today’s prompt was: I’ve learned xyz about myself this year You can read day 1 here: The best advice I’ve ever been given And day 2 here: Being honest online Today’s prompt was another difficult one and I really had to sit down and think about it. What have …
Travel bloggers are my favourite people to turn to for advice and recommendations when I’m researching a new destination. They offer a fresh perspective, and quite often answer the questions I’m searching for – especially when it’s for a city where the culture is so different, like Dubai. Before I travelled to Dubai, I did …
It’s no secret that I’m a massive fan of Amazon. The convenience of quickly ordering something on my phone and it arriving the next day is too much, so I order virtually everything I can via the app. Everything from nappies to books, spices to dog food, clothes for the kids and everything for our …
I’ve spent most of my weekend in wellies this week. Kicking up leaves, splashing in puddles, searching for conkers, making dens and squishing through mud. It’s been the best and I’m loving that my boys are at this age (2 and 3) where going for a simple walk can be so much fun. After such …
It’s just over four years ago that I found out I was pregnant with George. Four years! Most people say time flies when you have kids, but I find the opposite. I don’t mean it drags but taking that pregnancy test four years ago feels like a different lifetime! I can’t even imagine my life …
Today I’m sharing my Canvas holiday review, an honest review from our family holiday in France staying in a Canvas Holiday mobile home. Canvas Holidays offer camping holidays in Italy, Spain, France, Croatia, Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Portugal. Their campsites over camping pitches, erected tents, mobile homes, bungalows, cottages and lodges. If you’re looking for …
Should I buy a static caravan? It’s a question we were asking ourselves again and again before taking the plunge! Is it a static caravan? Or is it the cheapest and easiest way to own a luxury holiday home? I’ll go for the latter. But yes, it’s still a caravan. If you follow me on …
Earlier this year we took our second Mark Warner holiday and we loved our second just as much as the first. Our first was a winter holiday to Tignes and our second was a summer holiday to Turkey. There were a lot of similarities between the holidays, with the obvious exception of swapping snow for …
First of all, I feel the need to apologise to my friends and family; since returning from Phokaia Beach Resort in Turkey with Mark Warner Holidays, I have not stopped raving about it. My friends, my family, my neighbours, the lady who works in the corner shop, even my postman has heard all about it …
Today I’m sharing my top sunburn hacks with simple sunburn treatment to soothe your skin if you’ve been unfortunate enough to get sunburnt! There are so many things to love about summer – the list is so long that we spend most of the year dreaming about it, and desperately looking forward to this blissful …
I know, I know. This is a little different to the blog posts you normally find on The Travel Hack and I apologise in advance if this is of no interest to you. If menstrual cups and menstruation in general isn’t your thing then please do come back tomorrow when we’ll have another travel related …
As a travel blogger I’m really lucky to be sent gorgeous travel related beauty products to test out. It’s great – who wouldn’t want to try out fancy new products that I’d never be able to buy myself!? But, realistically, I rarely feature them on the blog because I’d never recommend to you guys to …
I took a family trip to the Orkney Islands with NorthLink Ferries and had the most amazingly peaceful week in such a stunning area of the UK. Here’s what I got up to and my guide to the Orkney Islands. Have you ever noticed the way you rarely realise how hectic and stressful life can …
Michele Frolla is back again and this time she’s sharing her favourite places to have brunch in Rome. When in Rome…you’ll eat like a Emperor! For a those days when you just want to sit back and enjoy a lazy brunch, I’ve got you covered. Here are my top 7 picks for the best places …
‘Why?’ It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot recently. It mostly comes from George, my three-year-old son, who constantly says, ‘Why Mummy? Why?’ (Yes, it’s just as annoying as you’re imagining!) Me: You need to brush your teeth now George George: Why? Me: So your teeth are nice and clean George: Why? Me: Because …
One of the best things about blogging is the way you attract a tribe of like-minded people. Of course, there’s always a few people who seem to read each post just to disagree with every thought I have (internet trolls, I’m talking to you!) but on the whole most people are really similar to me. …
During my recent trip to Glasgow I developed a serious soft spot for this gorgeous city. I’d already spent a couple of weekends in Glasgow but this time it felt different. I’m not sure if it’s because I finally felt like I knew my way around or because there’s more going on but there was …
Llangollen, in north-east Wales, is everything you’d want from a quaint Welsh town. It’s so idyllically pretty it’s like Llangollen has stepped right out of the pages of a child’s bedtime story. With steam trains chugging billows of smoke across the rushing river and horse-drawn canal boats gently plodding alongside the water’s edge, Llangollen is …
I’ve been blogging for a long time now and my favourite thing about this crazy online world is the way The Travel Hack is basically my online travel journal and a place to store all of my precious travel memories. I often sit down at my laptop to do some work but end up reading …
I’ve just returned from the most incredible 8 days in Dubai! It was a family holiday to Dubai with Emirates Holidays and we found this 8 day Dubai itinerary to be just perfect. It includes staying in two different hotels/resorts and has a really nice range of activities for the whole family. Here’s my Dubai …
Glasgow is one of my favourite cities in the UK for a long weekend break. There’s enough to do to keep you busy and have plenty of options for things to do and places to eat, but it’s not so big and busy you’re ever going to feel overwhelmed. Glasgow is also a very walkable …
Before I had kids I knew it was going to be tough. I remember telling my best friend I was pregnant as clear as it was yesterday. She has two kids so I was really excited to tell her but I was still in the very early stages. We were at a party – a …
Today’s post is an update on our house renovations and a look at our attic conversion. It was a lot of work but it was worth it! I started documenting the renovation of our home a few years ago and planned to do a new room update every time we ‘finished’ a new room. And …
We live in a world where everyone wants everything to be bigger, faster, stronger, brighter. We spend our lives consumed by wanting more and we’re programmed to spend way too much time and energy on achieving this unattainable ‘more’. We want bigger TVs, faster cars, bigger homes, better jobs, bigger bank balances, more clothes, more …