As a blogger I’m always looking to improve and grow because I want The Travel Hack to be best it possibly can be. I have a million and one ideas about how I’d like to improve the blog in 2016. I’m one of those people who wants to do everything. I want to learn to …
Monica
What to pack for a baby in the Maldives…or anywhere beachy and exotic and gorgeous! I usually like to travel light – yes, even when I’m travelling with a baby! I’ll buy baby food, nappies and wipes once I reach my destination and usually stay somewhere with a washing machine so I don’t need to …
Finding the best foreign exchange rate might not be the sexiest blog topic, but it’s something we all have to do when we travel. I’m pretty sure I’ve been ripped off many times when I’ve been exchanging currency – but I never know what to do about it. I could visit every single foreign currency …
This is a guest post from James Greener who tells us all about Roomer, the hotel booking site that allows you to save money on hotel bookings thanks to other people’s cancellations. For years, I made good use of a sort of time sharing. My uncle owns some holiday homes around America, and he …
I’d love to fly first class every time I travel but, the sad reality is, I turn right almost every time I get on a plane. I tell myself I’d rather save my precious pennies and spend them a gorgeous hotel and amazing experiences once I reach my destination. This is true, but I …
Flying long-haul with a baby can be a bit daunting. Most people actually thought that we were crazy for flying with a baby but, while they can be difficult, they aren’t impossible! Today’s post is full of all of my tips for flying with a baby and will, hopefully, help to put your mind at …
I asked The Travel Hack team to share the #1 thing on their Christmas wish list to Santa. You can tell we’re a bunch of travelling geeks by looking at this list of travel experiences and blogging tech! Amy says: An Arctic Expedition When I dream, I dream big! Top of my Christmas wish-list this …
Welcome to the second post in our series of Christmas gift guides. Last year, I put together a Christmas gift guide for travel lovers so this year there are going to be lots of guides for different types of travellers and travel lovers. First up, we’ve got the Christmas gift guide for bloggers. My Passport …
I was getting really nervous about visiting the Maldives with a baby. When I told other people we were coming here with a six-month-old they all had one of two responses. It went like this… “Are you crazy!? It’s such a long flight and it isn’t very baby friendly.” Or “You’re brave. It’s such a …
Packing for winter travel is a little more difficult than summer travel. You need so much more stuff to stay warm and cozy and packing light is no easy feat. You could be faced with wind, rain, snow and hail. Or you could get lucky and have gorgeous sunshine and crisp, blue skies. You just …
Thailand is one of my favourite counties in the world. It’s a bold statement to make when there are so many incredible places but there aren’t many that could beat Thailand to the top of the list. I know it’s an old cliché but Thailand really does have everything. Bangkok is a chaotic but exciting …
I was reading a feature in Glamour magazine yesterday. It was the issue with Tanya Burr on the cover and it was all about the super-vlogger taking over the world – I thought it might cast some light on how to be a super-vlogger but it basically just tells you that Tanya is lovely and …
We all love a good sunset photo. They’re beautiful, vibrant and gorgeously exotic. These days, it’s really easy to snap a great sunset photo thanks to all the apps that make the colours really pop. Here are some of my favourite sunset shots. If you’re a fellow blogger and a fellow sunset enthusiast then …
Woohoo, you’re going on holiday to the Maldives! You’re going to have the best time ever. You may think that all you’ll need to pack for a holiday to the Maldives would be your swimsuit and your suntan lotion. These will definitely be high on your list but there are a few extras you’ll definitely …
You probably already know that I’m an ambassador for Lumix and their range of 4k cameras. Over on my announcement post I gave you a brief introduction to 4k photography but today I’d like to tell you a little more about it – and explain why it’s so flipping fantastic. The main advantage of …
I’m always on the lookout for nice but affordable places to stay in London. Now, there’s two words that don’t go together so well in the Big Smoke. Nice + affordable is difficult to find in London so today I’d like to introduce you to FG Properties. FG Properties offers short-term apartment rental in …
Before I hit the slopes I didn’t think there was much of a different between skiing and snowboarding. Obviously, I know the physical differences but they both seemed to be ways to get you down a snowy mountain, right? Oh no, so wrong. Skiing and snowboarding are both exhilarating winter sports but the attitudes …
Well hello there and happy Sunday. I hope you’re all having a fabulous weekend. I’ve been enjoying the last of the autumn sunshine this weekend – and a hell of a lot of autumn rain too! Autumn is my favourite season. I love the chilly mornings and the blue skies, the amazing colours and the …
No matter how old I get, I will always be a big fan of celebrating birthdays. Your birthday is the one day of the year when it’s all about you and celebrating your very existence. And if that’s not something to celebrate, I don’t know what is. I’ve been very lucky and I’ve celebrated …
I am so excited to say that we’re finally in our new home. After nine long months of very hard work, we’ve renovated our house and moved in. You can see my last posts to see what kind of a state it was really in: We’ve bought a house! The house renovation project 8 …
Have you ever been to Morocco? I absolutely fell in love with the country when I visited a couple of years ago. I arrived into Marrakesh and was blown away by the bustling chaos of the colourful city. I loved the sensory overload of the city with the smoky incense, the expressive haggling, the spices, …
When we arrived at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu we were told there was a turtle nest on the island and asked if we’d like a phone call if the baby turtles hatched. ‘Yes!!’ we nodded enthusiastically at the thought of seeing baby turtles hatching but were told it was unlikely to happen during our …
It’s time for another #TravelBookChat! This month we’re going to be chatting about Marching Powder, by Rusty Young. This is the true story of Thomas McFadden, an English drug smuggler who was arrested in Bolivia and thrown inside the notorious San Pedro prison. He found himself in a bizarre world, the prison reflecting all that is …
One of the most common emails to ping into my inbox is from girls who really want to travel but have no one to go with. Their friends either aren’t interested or can’t afford it and the thought of travelling solo is really scary. But it doesn’t need to be! Read on to find out …
I’ve just returned from an incredible holiday to Coco Palm Dhuni Kholu in the Maldives. It was one of those dream holidays with beaches that looked like they’d been ripped out of a holiday brochure. White sands, turquoise seas, swaying palms, fresh coconuts, idyllic beach villas and endless sunshine. It had every cliché you could …
If you haven’t heard about the Totseat yet, let me explain. The Totseat is a portable highchair that you can strap to most chairs. It’s a fabric harness that keeps your little one securely on a chair without you needing to hold them. It can be squished into a small bag and is machine …
Have you noticed all the recent hype around 4k photos? I hope so because I’m about to add to it with a very exciting announcement. I’m working with Panasonic Lumix and their 4k cameras as a 4k ambassador! You guys probably know that I love photography and travel and photography go hand in hand. …
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 …
Stepping out of the airport at Male was like stepping into a holiday brochure – you know the kind of brochure where you’re sure every photo must be highly edited because there’s no way the ocean could be that blue. Someone’s upped the saturation here, right? That turquoise ocean was directly in front of …
Today I’d like to introduce you to the most delicious cocktail I’ve ever managed to create. It’s sweet, tangy and refreshing and best enjoyed by the poolside while the sun is beating down on you. This cocktail became a firm favourite during my trip to Portugal a couple of weeks ago. Everyone was a little …
“Is this whole place ours? The whole thing? Nah, it can’t be.” We’d followed the directions James Villas had sent us perfectly. We’d even put the address into the satnav in our hire car to make doubly sure we didn’t get lost. Yet here we were, sat outside a Portuguese mansion and wondering where we …
Here at The Travel Hack we like to think we’re great at digging out unusual destinations to add to your travel wish list. We love cities like Paris, Barcelona and London but there’s nothing like visiting a quieter and less known destination for a more authentic and much more affordable option! Today we’d like to …
When you tell people you’re a travel blogger the first thing they inevitably ask is, ‘Where’s your favourite place?’ To which we’d promptly reply, ‘How can you choose!? There are too many!’ Favourite places can depend on so many things such as the weather, who you’re with, how you’re feeling, what’s going on at work …
Sign up here to receive updates about my 12-week blogger e-course In case you missed it, last week I posted the first half of my Blogstock talk about how to be a figure blogger. Here’s the second half of my talk with more about my really basic SEO guide, quick tips and how I make …
Before I begin, let’s just take a couple of minutes and look how gorgeous Jersey is. Even their cows and potatoes look gorgeous! Don’t even get me started on the beaches… I was blown away when I first saw these pictures. We Brits don’t know how lucky we are to have such …
Everyone has a couple of dirty little secrets so it’s time to air them out and let you in on a few of my travel secrets. My travel secrets might not be as juicy as you’re expecting. Actually, some of them are kind of gross. But being a little bit gross makes travelling so much …
Do you want to know what goes on behind the scenes in the life of a travel blogger? I’d love to tell you that it’s all sunset selfies, exotic holidays and brunches in beautiful places. Some of the time it is, but most of the time it isn’t! This is why I’ve decided to finally …
Have you ever been to a festival where the star of the show isn’t the headline act but the location? How about a festival where the food is so good you wish you could grow a second (or third) stomach so you could try everything? What about a festival where you constantly stumble upon surprise …
Earlier this summer, LateRooms.com launched a memorable moments competition whereby they asked us to share our memorable photographs. Entrants were asked to send them in via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using the #LateRoomsMoment hashtag. There were so many amazing moments entered with gorgeous photos that captured your summer perfectly. These are the photos you want …
Sign up here to receive updates about my 12-week blogger e-course Last weekend I had the honour of speaking at Blogstock, the world’s only blogging festival. It’s a mixture between a blogging conference, with talks and workshops to help improve your blogging skills, and an actual festival with tents and live music and great food …