I’ve blogged about blogging and finding the balance between work and family life a lot here on The Travel Hack. But I still have lots of blogging related questions so after a quick Q&A session on Instagram I’ve pulled them all together into my travel blogger Q&A! If you have any more questions, please do …
Monica
Rebecca Sharp from Almost Ginger shares the best restaurants in Malta and the traditional food and drink you have to try while you’re there! Malta’s cuisine has to be tasted locally to be appreciated as the traditional Maltese dishes have travelled as far as their Italian neighbours to the north. Despite the warm climate …
I was lucky enough to spend 48 hours in Cologne last summer. It was a glorious weekend away and now I’m raving about visiting Cologne for a short break. It was part of a surprise trip with WowTrip (you can read my review of WowTrip from my first trip with them). WowTrip organise surprise trips and …
I’ve been setting myself mini challenges for each month of 2019. They’re a bit like New Year’s Resolutions but just for one month. In January, I challenged myself to not watch any TV for a whole month. That one was an epic fail but I learned a lot so it wasn’t a complete waste of …
Yes, you read that right! A pregnancy update! If you missed it on Instagram, I recently announced we’re having our third baby! I’m pregnant with Baby #3! I should really get out of the habit of calling it Number 3 because I have a feeling that name will stick…a little like The Umbrella Academy …
Last week I had the pleasure of staying at Abbey Hotel Bath and spending some time in this beautiful city. I’d been invited by the hotel to celebrate World Sleep Day and stay in one of their newly renovated boutique bedrooms. What better place to get a good night’s sleep than between crisp, luxury …
Is 10kg of luggage enough for a week away? What about for two weeks away!? I’m here today to show you how… Two weeks away with just hand luggage sounds like a challenge but it’s more than possible if you follow these easy travel hacks! I always try to travel with just hand luggage as …
I’m very excited to announce that I’m part of the Post Office Save More Squad! I feel like I’m on a really geeky superhero team! The Post Office is encouraging people to be more conscious with their spending so we’re able to save money with less effort. Sounds like my kind of saving! If you’re …
Today’s blog is by Jaz from The Life of a Social Butterfly as she shares her Porto city break guide for a perfect weekend break in Portugal’s second city. Quaint cobbled streets walled with azulejo tiles and traditional architecture, Porto exudes the very essence of authentic Portuguese city life. Porto is the perfect weekend away …
Today’s post is by Zach from Money Nomad and follows nicely last week’s post about how I work part time and still earn a decent income. Zach’s journey to creating a successful online career has been very different to my own and I find it so interesting to see how other people earn a living …
This post has been created in collaboration with Experian. I’m currently sat in the airport waiting for my flight to Hamburg. I arrived a bit early to get some work done so, unlike the other passengers around me who are having a quick pint or a glass of wine before we fly, I’m sat …
Here’s my travel blog from my 3-day trip to Marrakech and all of my favourite things to do in Marrakech. The secret to perfect trip to Marrakech is all about the accommodation you choose. You want to find a beautiful riad within the medina which will become your mini oasis with the chaos within the …
Rebecca Sharp from Almost Ginger shares her packing tips for winter weekend in Malta. Malta is a great place to escape from the winter weather but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s going to be boiling hot. Earlier this year, I enjoyed a weekend break in Malta to escape the bitter January cold. Although Malta …
If you’re looking for tips for being organised and getting your life in order so you can focus on all the fun stuff in life then keep reading for my 26 tips for being organised! Organisation has never been my strong point. I come from a chaotic and disorganised home (sorry mum and dad …
Hi, I’m Monica and welcome to my blog! The Travel Hack is a travel blog, mostly documenting my weekend trips and budget breaks. But it’s also a blog about motherhood and microadventures, making the most out of every weekend and getting out and about with your little ones! I’m a British travel blogger based in …
Staying in an ice hotel has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. The dream became even stronger when I visited the SnowVillage as a day visitor last year in Finland. To be honest, I thought I’d be frozen like one of the intricately carved ice statues, but when I realised …
Of all my travel experiences, camping in the Sahara Desert was one of the best things I’ve ever done. It was unique, memorable, exciting and adventurous but it was also affordable and actually an easy tour to take from Marrakech. There are lots of Sahara Desert camping tours you can choose from and most of …
Just before Christmas I visited Saudi Arabia, a country I didn’t ever expect to visit! Since returning, the main thing I’m being asked is, ‘What’s it really like?’ I’ve said over on Instagram that I had a surprisingly nice time and I still think a lot of people are unsure if I’m stretching the truth …
Today’s post is all about Istria, a little-known peninsula in Croatia where visitors can go to escape the crowds and enjoy an authentic Croatian experience. Tea, the blogger behind Culture Tourist, is here to share why you should spend a weekend in Istria! Croatia is quickly becoming one of the most popular holiday destinations …
Today’s post is all about how you can have a zero-waste flight and it’s by Rebecca Burgess who is all about low-effort ways to live a low-waste lifestyle, at home and on holiday. Rebecca founded The Lather Box – a subscription box of all-natural, zero-waste toiletries – with a mission to make plastic-free showering a …
Did you see my post about my 12 monthly challenges? I’m not doing traditional New Year’s resolutions this year, I’m choosing 12 mini challenges. Each month I’ll do something like go running everyday for a month, do yoga everyday for a month, keep a journal everyday etc etc. You can read the full list here: …
Are you packing for a trip to Morocco and wondering what you should wear in Marrakech? I’ve just returned from my third trip to Marrakech and I finally feel like I figured out exactly what to pack for Morocco! If you’d like some Morocco outfit inspiration and ideas, skip to the end of this blog …
I’m currently waiting to board my flight home after a magical 4-day holiday to Transylvania and Bucharest and it was an incredible, unique, once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip. Today I’m sharing my Transylvania holiday journal…. enjoy! I booked this Transylvania holiday as a tour with Untravelled Paths after finding a bargain deal on TravelZoo. It was …
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 …
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. …
Rebecca Sharp from Almost Ginger shares her top things to do in Valletta, the capital city of Malta. This beautiful walled city is a World Heritage City and a European Art City and is well known for all its incredible churches museums and palaces. Valletta is one of the smallest capital cities in Europe, not …
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 …
I’m a firm believer that everyone should keep a travel blog. I’m not talking about blogging to make money or blogging to ‘travel the world for free’ or any other hype you see online. I’m talking about travel blogging for the love of travelling. For the love of seeing the world and sharing your stories …
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 …
In 2019 I’ve decided to try something new and set myself a monthly challenge for every month of the year. I’m one of those people who wants to do everything and this is my way of doing ALL THE THINGS but focusing on one thing at a time rather than jumping in all guns blazing …
When I first saw today’s Podmas prompt I thought it wasn’t the most exciting but then I realised I’d never actually told you much about where I live and why. I live on the border of Chester and North Wales and the simple reason I live here is because this is where I was raised. …
This is a tough one. As someone who shares most of their life online I’ve shared a lot about myself over the years, so I’ve been having a think about 4 things you might not know. But more importantly, 4 things you might actually care about. I could tell you that I’m pretty sure I’m …
It’s another day of Vlogmas and I’m going a bit out of order but today’s prompt is: I’m scared to tell you these three things. And just like I do with anything I’m scared about, I’ll jump straight in… (I literally do this. I was once scuba diving at night in Australia and I had …
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 …
Today’s prompt for Vlogmas is ‘Why I Podcast’, but as I don’t podcast I’m changing it to ‘Why I blog’. Unlike the past few days, I haven’t had any problems thinking of my answer for this prompt. There are lots of reasons why I blog. Where do I even begin!? I’m going to tackle each …
It’s day 5 of Podmas and the prompt for today is: ‘I am ….. because …..’ I listened to Lucy’s answer to this in her podcast and she chose to go for, ‘I am vegan because….’ I found this quite a hard prompt because I don’t feel like I put labels on myself …
It’s just a short blog today because I want to keep up with Podmas but I’m on a press trip in Saudi Arabia and I haven’t had much downtime. I’m looking forward to sharing more from my trip to Saudi Arabia. I’m not being paid to be here and I’m under no obligation to post …
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 …
It’s day 2 of Podmas and if you missed what this is all about then I suggest you check out yesterday’s post, The best advice I’ve ever been given. But as a quick recap I’ll tell you super quickly. Podmas is really for podcasters and it was started by Lucy Lucraft who runs the podcast …