The Travel Hack is all about affordable luxury so that means saving on one aspect of travel in order to splurge on another. I would love to travel in first-class luxury and dine in nothing but famous Michelin-Stared restaurants but, unfortunately, my budget doesn’t quite stretch to doing this ALL the time so I combine …
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One thing a travel lover can never answer is the question that pops up all the time. ‘Where’s the best place you’ve ever been?’ I’m asked this all the time and usually refuse to answer because there are just too many options. It depends on your mood, who you’re with, your budget, the season and …
It’s hard to give tips about anything to do with pregnancy because every woman is so different and everyone has a different experience. So today I’m going to share what travelling while pregnant has been like for me and some tips that made it easier. This post may not apply to every pregnant woman. I’m …
Has it really been nearly 2 months since I posted a Weekend Reads? It’s been such a busy few months I’ve barely had time to write, never mind read! What I’ve been Writing A Blood and Earth Cookery Course in Dublin with Domestic Godless A sneaky peak at Lavazza’s gorgeous 2015 calendar with Steve McCurry …
‘What would you do if you had £500 to spend on a UK adventure?’ This is the question put to all of us by UNIQLO for their latest #ULDadventure competition. (More about the competition at the end of this post) I’m a big fan of a good old staycation and I really believe we have …
Thank you so much for all of your lovely comments and congratulations from Tuesday’s post. In case you missed it, yes, I’m pregnant! Despite a growing bump and five long months to get my head around this, I’m still totally in shock. I actually cannot believe I’m going to be a mum. Each kick and …
There’s no denying Ryanair has a bad reputation in the airline industry. The staff are rude, the additional fees are outrageous, they’re always late and an annoying horn sounds every time you land. You know how it goes: “Dooo do dooloooo, that’s another on time flight!” Me: “Yes it might be on time but you …
I’ve been keeping a little secret from you guys for the past few months. Actually, it’s not a little secret, it’s probably the biggest secret I’ve ever had. I don’t even know where to begin so I’m just going to blurt it right out… I’M PREGNANT!!! Yes, I’m having a baby. A baby! It still …
Choosing a hand luggage bag for travel is way more difficult than you’d ever imagine. You think you just need a bag that complies with airline size limits and is big enough to hold all your stuff, right? If only it were that simple! I usually check my main luggage in so here’s what I …
Update: Unfortunately I was unable to take part in the Ironman as I’m having a baby. ******* You know when you agree to do something and then a few months later you think, ‘What the hell was I thinking? I can’t do that!’ Yea, that’s what happened with the Ironman. I was invited to take …
When staying in a city for more than a few days I like to have my own space. I like to set up a temporary home where I can laze around and not worry about making a mess. I also like to make myself snacks and stock up my fridge with booze and local produce. …
This week has been busy but incredible as I travelled to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. I’m going to be writing all about it next week but I will say now that I LOVED it. Ljubljana is such a beautiful hidden gem and the small city makes a perfect weekend escape. I was there all week …
After a few years of travelling I’ve finally realised that you can pack light AND pack stylishly. The first thing I have to remind myself is that no one looks stylish when they’re hot, sweaty and stressed from heaving heavy luggage. It’s all about breezing through the airport, not being weighed down and having a …
We’ve all seen the photos of trains in India where the carriages are so packed that people are squished into tiny seats, spill out from the doors and take refuge on the roof. Just the thought of a train journey like this is enough to induce a claustrophobic panic attack and have many travellers wondering …
Here’s a random assortment of the questions I’m frequently asked. If you still have a burning question after reading through these then please get in touch. Where have you been? Hong Kong Thailand Cambodia Vietnam Laos Malaysia Indonesia Australia Tunisia Jamaica France Spain Belgium Sweden Morocco USA Canada Portugal Italy Copenhagen Russia Andorra South Africa The …
While I was travelling in Australia I spent six months working on a scuba diving island called Mackerel Island. Before this, I’d never intended to learn to scuba dive because: a) I’m a total wuss b) I’m not very good at swimming c) I’m scared of fish d) It’s expensive e) I hadn’t realised how …
On Sunday I flew out of Heathrow at 8am for my big trip to New York and the night before I opted to stay at YOTEL at Heathrow Airport, a cabin hotel at Heathrow Airport. This meant I was able to skip the 3am journey to the airport and get a good night’s sleep before …
“You can be whoever you want to be for the price of a hotel room.” I heard these words spoken by Annie Fitzsimmons, an Urban Insider Columnist for National Geographic. As soon as she said them it made me smile because I couldn’t agree more. The anonymity that comes with hotel stays means you can …
This is what holidays are meant to be like. Laying on the deck of the Cool Runnings Catamaran, sipping rum punch and soaking up the Bejan sun. I couldn’t help but smile happily to myself like a smug cat snoozing in the sunshine. Except this cat was in Barbados and about to swim with turtles! …
Sinking into the hot, milky blue water and I swear I could physically feel my muscles relax and give a little sigh of relief. Now, this is the perfect way to start a holiday and spend your birthday. We arrived at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland by 10am after an early morning flight into Keflavik …
There is a level of tranquillity in a hotel that you can never achieve in your own home. At home there is always washing to be done, projects to work on, food to be cooked, a dog to be walked and rooms to be cleaned. But in a hotel you have none of that. Hotels …
What is Secret Cinema? This was the first question I was aksed whenever I excitedly recounted my night at one of London’s best kept secrets. And with so many social savvy Londoners, it really is hard to keep a secret in this city. “Well…” I begin awkwardly, wondering where the hell to start. “It’s…well…it’s a …
At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to visit an animal rehabilitation centre in South Africa. It was promoted on the fact that you get to pet a cheetah and after visiting Tiger Temple in Bangkok, where you get to pet tigers until your heart is content, I’m really not sure how I feel …
When going on safari, the thing that everyone is itching to see is the big 5. These are: Lions Leopards Elephants Buffalos Rhinos They’re named ‘the big five’ because early hunters regarded them as the most dangerous animals to hunt. While I was in South Africa I spent three days staying at Thornhill Safari Lodge …
Borneo and Sumatra are the only places in the world that still have Orang-utans, a name which means Man of the Forest in Malay, so getting to see them in the wild was an unforgettable experience. We visited the Sepilok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre in Borneo. The centre is a great example of active conservation as they re-introduce …
We left the Cliff and River Jungle Resort and headed to Arts River Lodge in Khao Sok National Park for another amazingly unique but completely different experience. Arts River Lodge is further into the lush national park and we were staying in a tree house in the midst of the dense forest. I used to beg …
Living in a campervan in Australia is either your idea of heaven or your idea of hell. If you’re on the heaven side of the camp you’ll be thinking about the freedom to go wherever you want, whenever you want. You’ll be imagining camping on beaches and gathering around a campfire while drinking beers under …
Bilbao in Northern Spain is a perfect city for a relaxing weekend escape. It’s big enough to keep you entertained with the restaurants and cafes, the beautiful buildings and gorgeous scenery. The nightlife is great and of course there’s the incredible Guggenheim Museum which you won’t want to miss. There is plenty to do but …
Almost everyone who visits Bangkok ends up going to Tiger Temple and most people aren’t entirely sure how they feel about it.
Before anyone gets all excited and starts skimming this post for baby news, I’m not pregnant! That isn’t my big news! Any observant readers out there will realise that I’ve been pretty lazy about blogging recently. If any of you were wondering what’s going on then I can assure you that I’ve been anything but …