At the end of last summer I took my favourite family holiday of the year. It was a one-week glamping adventure in France staying at three different Les Castels campsites around the country. Before this trip I’d never heard of Les Castels, but I was soon to discover that Les Castels is a family holiday …
Monica
Devon is one of the UK’s most popular holiday locations, and for a very good reason too. It’s a beautiful English county known for its picturesque towns, charming villages, atmospheric harbours, and those gorgeous beaches. While Devon’s coastlines (uniquely the county has two) serve as one of the main attractions for visitors, there are also …
Happy New Year! And welcome back to Weekend Reads. Remember I used to do this series all the time where I shared some of my favourite articles from around the blogosphere, competitions, stuff I’ve found and loved and a little life update? I don’t remember why it dwindled away but I’m determined to bring it …
I remember when I was learning to drive (a terrifying 12 years ago) and during one driving lesson my instructor made me spend the entire hour getting on and off the same roundabout. It was the dreaded ‘B&Q Roundabout’ and I hated it. Every time I approached it my palms would be sweating and my …
Paris is the perfect city for a weekend break, especially for us Brits who can get there in a hop, skip and a jump. The French capital is one of the most famous and popular tourist destinations in the world. It’s one of the top five most-visited cities with around 15 million visitors a year! …
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! …
Located in southwest Canada, the wild and sparsely populated Yukon territory is paradise for every adventure seeker and landscape lover. It's a place to escape from everyday life and enjoy a natural, unedited version of the world. Glassy blue lakes fringed with impossibly straight trees and rugged mountains with snowy peaks lingering in the distance. …
2016, what a year! But I’ve got to admit, before writing this list I genuinely thought I hadn’t done much this year. In some ways the year has flown by in the blink of an eye but in other ways it’s felt like the longest year of all. The things I did in January feel …
Today's blog is from Lucy over at The Unlikely Bookworm. She's currently living in Sydney and, as you can tell from this post, has fallen head over heals in love with the city. Here's her insider's guide to Sydney with some great things to see and do and gorgeous places to eat and drink. Often …
Are you looking for ideas about how to give a holiday as a gift!? Well you are in the right place! I have so many fun, thoughtful, exciting and easy ways to present a holiday as a gift. I've written lots of travel themed gift guides over the years but, realistically, the best gift you …
It’s been 7 weeks now and I still haven’t got round to properly introducing you to my baby boy. Introducing someone to your baby for the first time is a weird thing because you really want to jump up and down and clap your hands like a seal and squeal, ‘Oh my goodness, come and …
You may be thinking it's impossible to find an affordable but stylish and luxurious hotel in Paris. Admittedly, it's a difficult task but it's something I cracked during my last visit. With a perfect location near to Le Marais district, Place de la Republique, Canal Saint-Martin and Gare du Nord, Renaissance Paris Republique Hotel ticks …
It's time for our final Christmas competition. Today's prize is the gorgeous North Face Thermoball Jacket from Blacks. Check out the ladies jacket here and the mens here. I've been wearing this jacket for a couple of weeks now and I love it. With the fitted, nipped-in waist it looks stylish but is still really …
I tried so hard to get into the festive sprit this year but I just wasn’t feeling it. This really isn’t like me because I usually start feeling excited just after my birthday in October! This year is particularly exciting because George knows what’s going on a bit more. I don’t think he understands Santa …
Do you want to know the best places in London for a selfie? Or gorgeous locations to get the best photos of the city? London is such a beautiful city but it can be difficult to photograph, especially when you’re at street level. All those tall and historical buildings actually make it really difficult to …
“Are you employed?” “Yes, I’m self employed. I’m a…blogger….” I say with uncertainty, knowing my answer would be met with a familiarly blank expression. “I’m a travel blogger,” I add with a bit more conviction. “A….blogger….? That’s your job…?” I know the drill now. Her expression will either turn from confusion to intrigue as she …
Today's post is all about our quest to find the best Lebanese restaurant in Manchester! If you’ve been following The Travel Hack’s epic UK foodie adventure so far, you’ll have learned all about Korean food in New Malden, Caribbean food in Bristol and Nepalese cuisine in York. The next stop on our quest to find …
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 is the kind of competition prize you’ll only get truly excited about if you’ve ever had the message below. You’ve just taken your phone out to snap the perfect picture. It’s either the perfect lighting or the perfect moment and you just know it’s going to make the best photo ever. And then your …
Today’s Christmas competition prize is something you’re all going to love and is a £100 voucher to spend with Doris & Dicky. If you’ve never heard of Doris & Dicky before, let me introduce you… Doris & Dicky offer the best in affordable luxury hotels with budget boutiques around the world. Usually, if you add …
Today's prize in our Christmas competition is a pair of Fremont winter boots from KEEN. These are cosy, warm and stylish so they're perfect for winter and great if you're travelling to any cold destinations. They come in a choice of three colours, whiskey, black or cookie dough and they're worth £139.99. I have a pair …
Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year but it can also be the most stressful - especially when you have a lot of gifts to buy for as lot of people who already have EVERYTHING! Add to this a busy schedule, a tight budget, and every high street being so manically busy …
This is the cutest prize for anyone with young kids. It’s from two brands I absolutely adore, Great and Small Clothing and Elf for Christmas. Great and Small Clothing make gorgeous PJs for the whole family. I don’t know if matching family PJs have always been a ‘thing’ or it’s just something I noticed since …
The first prize in our Christmas competition is to win a Camsafe® Z16 anti-theft camera & 13" laptop backpack in slate green worth £179.90. As someone who regularly travels with a laptop and a DSLR camera I’m always on the lookout for that ‘perfect bag’ and this one comes pretty close. I’ve also been using …
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 …
Next Wednesday I’ll be joining gocompare to co-host a Twitter chat all about Christmas travel. We’ll be talking about the places we’d like to go, tips for travelling during the festive season and exciting plans for New Year’s Eve. It’s going to be the perfect chat to get you into the festive spirit - …
When was the last time you received a postcard? Go on, wrack your brains and think about it. I was about nine years old and it came from my neighbours who were on holiday in Spain. They sent the postcard because I was looking after their cat while they were away and I have a …
Bristol is famous for a few things: street art, a stunning harbour, cider, hot air balloons, and...Caribbean food? It may not be the first thing you think of, but Bristol is home to an up-and-coming Caribbean food scene that’s been simmering under the surface while other food trends have come and gone. When Jamie Oliver …
In my never ending quest to pack light I’m always looking for great quality travel clothing that looks good but is also practical. Not only that but it needs to last and not look crumples or dishevelled after a couple of washes. I want to be able to pack a capsule wardrobe and continue to …
If you’re travelling to a cold destination this winter then you’re definitely going to need a pair of stylish but practical winter boots. I get a lot of emails from ladies travelling to Iceland who want to stay warm, cosy and dry but don’t want to spend their holiday in walking boots. I feel you, …
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 …
You guys all know how much I love glamping. I love being in the great outdoors whilst still having a few little luxuries that make it cosy and comfy. It’s great to stay in quirky and unique glamping pods, treehouses, yurts or safari tents but sometimes a good old fashioned tent has to do. If …
If you follow my weekly newsletter you would have seen a request I sent out a few months ago asking for recommendations or suggestions for up-and-coming foodie trends around the UK. The reason for this was because I’d been set a very special challenge. A challenge that saw Elle and I travelling around the UK …
I’m one of those people who is completely obsessed with hotels. I love everything about them from researching them and booking them at home, to reading reviews, stalking their Insta feeds and then that first moment when you walk through the lobby doors and get a big whiff of fresh flowers and furniture polish. I …
You know you’ve been busy when you’re almost a week late announcing it was your birthday on your blog! I have been busy but in the very best ways possible. Last Saturday was a very special day for me for two reasons. Firstly, I watched one of my very best friends get married and it …
When people ask me what my favourite destination is (and as a travel blogger I’m asked this a lot!) my automatic response is always Thailand. I spent two months travelling around Thailand while I was backpacking and even after all that time I still didn’t want to leave. It’s an old cliché but Thailand really …
Today I'd like to welcome Harriet Johnston to the blog as she debunks the myth that you can't have a cheap skiing holiday. Harriet is deputy editor of Ski+board magazine and loves travel with a healthy dash of adventure on the side. She has worked with sites like The Debrief, DRESSR and VICE and also …
Bonfire Night is a strange but nostalgic British tradition, as well as one of the most colourful and vibrant nights of the year. We Brits all share the same happy childhood memories of writing our names with sparklers, attending the local fireworks displays and keeping warm around a giant bonfire. There is something charming and fun about Bonfire …
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It’s been a while since I’ve done a monthly update here on The Travel Hack. I love reading other blogger’s monthly recaps so I’m not sure what happened to my own. I guess things get busy and priorities change and I forgot how important it is to share something more personal and unstructured on the …