I’m sure you’ve read the title of this post and you’re thinking I’m crazy. How can pregnancy be anything like travelling? But stick with me and I might be able to convince you otherwise. Over the past 7 years my mind has been consumed by nothing but travel. Now over the past 7 months my …
Latest Posts
If you’re a regular reader of The Travel Hack you will have noticed that I love baby-wearing. Anything that keeps George happy and quiet (and preferably sleeping!) is a winner in my book. Baby carriers are especially awesome for travelling because you don’t need to bother with a bulky pram and you’re not restricted to …
8 reasons why staying in a villa while you travel with a baby is awesome I love hotels, but staying in a hotel with a baby or young kids can be difficult. You’re restricted to a small room and unless you have a suite you’re all stuck in there together. What do you do when …
Having a baby is a lot like a round-the-world backpacking trip. The last few weeks with my new baba, Nova, have had me chuckling to myself as the similarities keep appearing. Don’t believe me? Here are seven reasons… More Friends As much as you don’t believe it before you start your trip, staying in a hostel …
It sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? Getting your baby’s first passport should be a breeze, but actually it’s a bit more than a tick box exercise. However, with this guide you’ll easily get it sorted. Promise. I guess before I give my advice I should point out that I’m referring to a UK passport. I …
While I was pregnant with George I read a lot about travelling with babies. I read tips and advice and a million and one explanations of how travelling helps babies develop into well-rounded children who are open to other cultures and comfortable in new environments. To be totally honest, I don’t know how true this …
Making the transition from a ‘young, carefree and boozy ski holiday’ to a ‘family ski holiday’ can seem a little bit daunting. You don’t want to miss out on your annual ski holiday but bringing young children along seems like more hassle than it’s worth, right? You have a couple of options here. Don’t go …
Cheap family travel. Now there are three words you don’t find together very often. I remember the days when I could have a weekend away for under £100. I’d book a last minute flight and stay in a grimy hostel, get all my meals from a street food vendor and drink nothing but cheap beer …
I’ve just returned from an amazing weekend in Barcelona. I went with my partner, Sam, and our baby boy, Joseph, who was 12 weeks old when we travelled. Since getting home I’ve had a few readers ask me what it was like to travel to Barcelona with a baby and if I thought it was …
I came home from Scotland last weekend to find a chunky wooden box waiting for me on the doormat. It was small but solid and had the branding of this blog perfectly etched into the lid. The box itself was so lovely that I almost didn’t want to open it (I have a thing for …
**This competition is now closed. Congratulations to Rebecca Sharp who is the winner!** Did you see my post earlier today about our new feature here on The Travel Hack? I’m introducing a monthly feature called ‘The £200 Weekender’ and, as the name suggests, it’s all about having a weekend away within the budget of £200. …
I’m very excited today to announce the hostel voted as the best hostel in the UK by LateRoom’s Simply the Guest Awards. Simply the Guest is the annual awards from LateRooms.com. They use the 1.5 million guest reviews and ratings published on the site to recognise the highest standards in the hotel industry. Reviews can …
This post is for all the Instagram addicts scrolling through envious holiday pictures, fabulous travels and lives lived in paradise! The travel dream is real and can be achieved by anyone who puts their mind to it. It could be you enjoying the sun on the perfect beach in paradise… but it might not …
“What would you like to see more of on The Travel Hack?” This is a question I pose to readers all the time and the overwhelming response is always, ‘cheap weekend breaks!’ Yes, everyone wants more cheap weekenders. And why wouldn’t we? Weekend breaks give us something fabulous to look forward to and they mean …
The first thing I noticed about my hotel room was that there was no bed. Curious, I looked in cupboards and searched for hidden panels in the wall where perhaps a Murphy bed could be hiding. Nothing. Then it dawned on me. My room search had revealed that another fairly important feature was missing from …
Cynics amongst you may believe that it simply isn’t possible to travel for free in the UK using travel hacking methods (airline and hotel rewards). Usually this would be a fair assumption. After all, the British government absolutely stuffs us on our airline taxes (whilst our American brethren usually get away with a poxy $5.60 …
During the first weekend of September it was time to indulge in the weird and wonderful sights and sounds of Festival Number 6, a unique festival which descended on the picturesque village of Portmeirion in North Wales. Being pregnant and almost ready to pop, I very sadly decided to give the festival a miss this …
Most of us would like to travel more and the thing usually stopping us is the cost. Why does travel have to be so flipping expensive!? Well, actually, it doesn’t… I’ve been scouring Skyscanner is search of flights and deals (please tell me I’m not the only one who does this for fun!) and I …
The city of York brings to mind all things British. Proper cups of warming tea, cakes at world-famous Betty’s Tea Rooms and quaint Tudor architecture are just a few of the quintessentially English things associated with this town. So would it surprise you to know that York’s origins are totally international? It was founded by …
Birmingham is arguably one of the most underrated cities in the UK. I visited for the first time this summer to stay at the brand new AC Hotel Birmingham with Marriott Rewards (more about that further down!). My first reaction to the city was, ‘Why haven’t I been here before!?’ Birmingham is really cool and not …
This was our fifth and final foodie challenge with Huawei and took us to the shores of Wales on a sustainable lobster safari. Huawei had set us the challenge to seek out unusual food trends throughout the UK and to document it with the Huawei P9. Of course, we happily accepted such a delicious challenge! …
It’s so easy for us Brits to hop over to Europe for our holidays, but next time you book your winter break consider a skiing holiday in North America. Seriously. Skiing in Canada and the US is SO amazing and infinitely better than skiing in Europe if you ask me. And those of you who …
The Supa Dupa by Cosatto is a double pushchair I’ve been using for the past few months with my two boys. We have George who is currently 21 months and Joseph who is 3 months. I really struggled to find ‘the perfect double pushchair’ because they’re either too big, too bulky, too expensive or too …
How is 2017 treating you so far? I feel like we’re far enough into January to ask that now – last week was far too soon and I was definitely still in a post-Christmas fog. Actually, I think I’m still in the post-Christmas fog. I’ve mostly spent this week with my head buried in my …
Searching for your next weekend getaway? Well, look no further! The Cotswolds has your name all over it. Besides the dreamy landscapes, the best thing about the Cotswolds is that there are so many lovely hotels that won’t break the bank. This area of natural beauty spans an impressive 800 square mile area through five …
Following on from part 1 of my Les Castels travel journal from my trip to France… Day #5: Exploring Dinan To say Dinan is ‘charming’ is the biggest understatement of the century. Dinan is another ‘Harry Potter-esque’ kind of place and it felt a lot like Hogsmeade (I say that like I regularly go …
With just one day in Tokyo, an enormous city bursting with sights and flavours and jaw-dropping contrasts, how much can you really see? This was the unenviable task that Sam, my guide, was given when he met me at Asakusa View Hotel on a sunny Sunday morning. I’ve been to Tokyo before, briefly and many …
Happy Sunday everyone! It’s a long Weekend Reads this week. I missed it last week as I was in beautiful Barcelona. It was my first trip to Barcelona and I booked it as a surprise holiday for Sam’s birthday. I somehow managed to keep it a surprise right up until we got to the security …
I used to do it all the time. I’d scroll through my newsfeed and have to bite down a rising sense of envy as I saw that another one of my old school friends had taken off on some kind of once-in-a-lifetime travel adventure – or even just an incredible, sun-soaked two-week getaway. I’d reason …
We’d been in the Maldives for just a few hours. We’d had a walk around the island, swam in the ocean, had a cold beer and then – boom – the long flight finally caught up with me and I sank into our enormous bed with a sigh of relief. The air-con was on max …