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Monica

Hi, I'm Monica! This is my family lifestyle blog where I share posts about motherhood and microadventures.

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 …

Read More about Cotopaxi Libre Sweater: The boyfriend sweater you’ll want to buy for yourself

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, …

Read More about Travel Packing: Stylish winter boots for winter travels

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 …

Read More about 10 weekends breaks with flights under £50

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, domes treehouses, yurts or safari tents but sometimes a good old fashioned tent has to do. …

Read More about How to turn your camping trip into a glamping trip

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 …

Read More about London’s undiscovered foodie trend: Korean food in New Malden

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 …

Read More about How to make your home feel like a luxury hotel

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 …

Read More about Happy belated birthday to meeee! And 10 things I want to do before turning 30

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 …

Read More about 6 Tips: How to have a cheap skiing holiday (it is possible!)

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 …

Read More about 8 of the best places to celebrate Bonfire Night in the UK

When I was younger I watched hundreds of American movies and TV shows about kids going to summer camp. These idyllic summer woodland camps set next to a lake looked like the most amazing places to spend the summer and I was so upset we didn’t have them in the UK. The kids stayed in …

Read More about Staying on an all-American Dude Ranch in Montana

  Our team trip to Edmonton already feels like a distant dream. But one of those gorgeous dreams where you keep remembering fragments of it and having flashbacks for years to come. A smell, a taste, the way a person says your name can bring back memories that instantly transport you there. And in my …

Read More about Team Travel Hack’s first epic day in Edmonton, Canada

Over the August bank holiday weekend we joined the masses and headed to North Wales for a camping adventure in the forest. It was George’s first camping trip and the lucky little guy had the most perfect weekend you could wish for! I’ve been camping many times in North Wales but I’ve never been lucky …

Read More about Camping in the Forest in Beddgelert, North Wales

We’ve all seen kids scooting gleefully around the airport on their Trunkis. While we’re standing in queues feeling stressed or bored they’re having the time of their lives as they race each other along those smooth corridors shouting ‘giddy-up’ to their tigers and ladybirds and zebras. I’m not going to lie; on more than one …

Read More about Jurni Suitcase Review: The next step after Trunki

Once a year I like to give The Travel Hack a revamp and a shake-up. I like to refresh old posts and get planning and plotting for the future. September feels like the perfect time of year to do this. It’s something that’s been ingrained in my since school. The new school year begins in …

Read More about Travel Hack Survey: Tell me about your travel style

If you’re looking for a weekend break in the UK that’s not far from home but feels like a million miles away from your normal routine, then I can’t recommend Northern Ireland enough! Northern Ireland is one of those places that’s so close but so far. It’s just a hop, skip and a jump across …

Read More about The perfect itinerary for a weekend in Northern Ireland

Whether you’ve got kids in full time education, you’re a teacher limited by holiday periods or you simply want to travel when the weather is at its best, then travelling during the peak holiday season is mostly unavoidable. Travelling during the peak season, during the school holidays or on public holidays comes at a cost. You’ll …

Read More about 10 tips for travelling during peak holiday season

The USA is home to some of the world’s oldest and most beautiful national parks. Their epic landscapes with jaw-dropping scenery having been filling up my Pinterest boards for years. I visited my first couple of national parks in 2013 during my Trek America trip when I went to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. I was …

Read More about 5 US National Parks you need to get on your bucket list

  I have 50 pairs of cinema tickets to give away for the preview screenings of Captain Fantastic!   About Captain Fantastic Captain Fantastic looks like a film for anyone who has ever thought about giving up on society and going to live in the woods. This is a film about a family who actually …

Read More about Giveaway: 50 pairs of tickets for Captain Fantastic!

Hang on a minute. You hadn’t heard? Yep, slippers have suddenly become cool. Slippers are no longer the unwanted Christmas gift you get every year from your nan. They’re not just the things your granddad wears in front of the fire. And they’re not those ridiculous novelty things you loved when you were 12 with …

Read More about Mahabis Slippers: When did slippers become cool?

We all love to travel here at The Travel Hack (obviously) but something we love even more is winning epic and amazing holidays! That’s why we’re so excited to share Booking.com’s latest competition. It’s a good one so read on very carefully…. Booking.com now have one million properties on their site. They have everything from …

Read More about Share your ‘One in a Million’ to win a €25,000 holiday!

It’s been a couple of weeks now since Game of Thrones left our TV screens for another season and left a gaping hole in our Monday evenings. What did we do on Mondays before GoT? I aimlessly flick through hundreds of channels in search of something half as captivating and dramatic as Game of Thrones …

Read More about Game of Thrones Film Locations in Northern Ireland

If you’re anything like me you’ve already read approximately 8 billion blog posts about how to save money to travel. Most articles offer practical advice about cutting your spending. Yea, it’s all good advice but it’s all so boring. Cutting out coffees and doing overtime at work is fine at first but it’s difficult to …

Read More about Unusual ways to save money for travel

I’m very excited to be working with Jet2.com to judge their latest competition to win a city break to Barcelona for two people! It’s city break season and with Barcelona’s gorgeous beach summer is the best time to visit. So it’s time to dig out your best travel photos for your chance to win..   …

Read More about Win a city break to Barcelona with #Jet2View

I wrote this post after many requests from new mammas, soon-to-be mammas and people considering being mammas in the very distant future. “What’s it really like to travel with a baby?’ they’ve been asking. “Come on, tell us the truth!” So here goes, the good, the bad and the ugly when travelling with a baby …

Read More about What it’s really like to travel with a baby: The good, the bad and the ugly

This week’s Travel Hack of the Week comes from one of my favourite travel bloggers, Abigail King from Inside the Travel Lab. Abi mentioned this travel hack to me years ago and it’s something I’ve adopted myself so I’m really pleased she’s shared it with us this week. The last few years of careering around …

Read More about The Travel Drawer Travel Packing Hack

This week’s travel hack of the week comes from Angie Silver, the gorgeous blogger behind SilverSpoon London. Angie is an expert at finding the best places to eat and drink in London and around the world so who better to tell us their top tips for finding great restaurants while travelling? As a dedicated food-lover, finding …

Read More about 5 Travel Hacks For Choosing the Best Restaurants while Travelling

During my recent trip to Southern France I spent an amazing day in Avignon in Provence. I fell head over heels in love with Avignon and it’s now firmly on my list of ‘Places I need to go back to ASAP!’ (Yes, I actually have this list) Avignon is a historic city best known for …

Read More about Falling in love with Avignon and 10 unmissable things to do

Hands up if you’re a stationary geek. Go on, don’t be shy. You’re not alone here! I’m the biggest stationary geek ever. I genuinely get excited over fresh notepads, colourful pens and picking out my diary for the New Year. Everything I do for work and for this blog is digital and based on either …

Read More about Unique Life Planners by Pirongs: the customisable planner you need in your life

My favourite thing about a luxury hotel is that first moment when you enter through the enormous doors. The doorman wearing a top hat and tails is like someone from an old-fashioned film. He greets you warmly while you step over the threshold into this luxurious world that feels a million miles from the busy …

Read More about Review: Marriott Hotel Park Lane and Notch restaurant

  I recently visited Feather Down Farms, luxury glamping tents for a gorgeous getaway that’s close to nature…just not too close! Regular readers of The Travel Hack will already know how much I love a good glamping holiday. I love the side to camping where you’re close to nature, always outdoors and where you’re woken …

Read More about Glamping with Feather Down Farms

Ardèche in Southern France may not be an area of France you’re familiar with. Ardèche wasn’t on my radar until I visited last week and was absolutely blown away by how beautiful it was. A combination of dramatic scenery and quaint villages had me in love with the area as I drove through the winding roads. …

Read More about 5 things to do in Ardèche, Southern France

Balazuc, in Ardeche, Southern France, is the kind of village French dreams are made from. The medieval village has been named a ‘Village of Character’ and officially classified as one of the ‘Most Beautiful Villages in France’. If I asked you to picture a typical French village this would be it, but with about 50 …

Read More about I’d like to introduce you to Balazuc and the beautiful Chateau de Balazuc