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 …
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 …
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 – …
Isn’t it funny how by doing something that you don’t think you’ll like you usually end up learning a lot about yourself? And sometimes you even end up loving the thing you thought you’d hate? When No Becomes Yes Take for example, the venture into the rainforest that I did in Cairns, Australia. Pre-trip there …
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 go back to our first post on The Travel Hack, one of our travel hacks when travelling in Australia is volunteering. You get the best experiences with a twist, and we have to practice what we preach, right? So off we went to volunteer with gorgeous Australian animals at Cooberrie Park… About Cooberrie Park Cooberrie park is a …
Do you know what silence sounds like? It might seem like a stupid question, but until I travelled to the Yukon, I’d never experienced true, uninterrupted silence. It was one of the most startling things I noticed while I was there. Life in London is noisy at the best of times, so for me, silence is …
It probably doesn’t sound like an obvious choice for shopping, but the city of Edmonton in the Canadian Province of Alberta is, surprisingly, the perfect destination for a shopaholic. Dangerously good, but perfect. Whether you love huge malls with international brands and gleaming department stores or you’re more fond of independent boutiques and hunting for …
If you saw yesterday’s post about Scandi style bloggers you will have seen I’m slightly obsessed with the laidback Scandinavian fashion. I was more than a little excited about the prospect of a shopping spree in Gothenburg! The style is chic, it’s classy and it’s just so easy for travel. It’s not just the clothes …
Edmonton, a Canadian city relatively unknown to many outside of that great vast country, especially when compared to the mighty beasts of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Yet, Edmonton is one of those hidden gem kind of cities that us travel-folks love to discover! When I was invited on The Travel Hack trip to Edmonton I jumped …
When I arrived in the Yukon, I announced to my guide that I wanted to see two things: a moose, and the northern lights. I knew better than to expect the aurora borealis – also known as the northern lights – on demand. There was a time when I was obsessed with seeing them. 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
There is no way to gracefully fall from a dog sled. They make it look so easy as they stand on the back of the sled with their army of powerful dogs ploughing through the snow. But they don’t tell you is a dog sled is really difficult to stay on! Well, for someone who …
Deftly straddling the Gardon River, the Pont du Gard is an aqueduct that was built by Romans in the first century. The three-tiered, arched bridge dates back some 2,000 years and was created to carry water from the source in Uzès to the cosmopolitan town of Nîmes, where it was used for decorative fountains, home sanitation …
Wallaby Damned, it’s a Roo! ‘There should be a left somewhere around here,’ I declare as I pick up the basic paper map we have to navigate around this stunningly rural island. It was a guess, I had no idea how far we’d travelled along this road. This city girl was too used to having …
Have you ever experienced the real France? I’m not talking about the sidewalk cafes of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, or candy-coloured pastries stacked prettily in a window. What I’m referring to is the baguette-in-a-handbag-on-the-way-home-from-the-markets kind of France, usually found in tiny towns in the countryside. And one town in particular, tucked into the gorgeous scenery …
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 …
When you’re doing anything remotely outdoorsy in the UK there are two things you really need: A good quality coat that is warm and waterproof Good quality shoes that are comfortable and waterproof (There’s a waterproof theme going on here!) For everything else you can make do with anything you already have or by begging, …
On a gloriously warm evening in Edmonton we were treated to a super special dinner at the Prairie Gardens with Range Road Dinners, a local food and local chef initiative that gave us the opportunity to sample some incredible fresh gourmet food. We were here for a delicious meal but it was also to learn …
Did you know that the average Brit spends around £65 a month on alcohol? It’s amazing how quickly a few drinks here and a bottle of wine with the groceries there adds up. A whole year of drinking, on average, costs around £780 per person. That’s a return flight to Australia, or a couple of really …
Kluane National Park was one of the highlights of my trip to the Yukon. By the time I reached the park, I’d had a few days exploring this vast Canadian Territory, so I thought I had seen all of the breathtaking scenery there was to offer. How wrong I was! Kluane is an area of …
Edmonton’s one of those destinations that sort of sneaks up on you. As soon as we arrived, and crossed over the North Saskatchewan River, we were struck by our first glimpse of the city. It’s surrounded by parklands and greenery, so it’s got a lot of natural beauty to offer, but there’s so much more …
Today I’d like to introduce you to Steph and Leah, our two new contributors to The Travel Hack team. They have both left busy, career driven lives in London to live their dream together of travelling and seeing the world, and their first stop is Australia. They’re currently on what we like to call ‘A …
The version of Sydney that you see as a tourist is wonderful, it’s a vibrant city on water which comes to life when the blazing sun sets past the sky scrapers. The Sydney Opera House is as stunning as you would expect, the views from the Sydney Harbour Bridge are outstanding, and the beaches, …
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to London to test out a new app called PicCities, an app that works as a walking tour around London and also shows you the best places to get photos and selfies. Before I begin I’ve got to tell you (and many bloggers will agree) I’m invited …
Elle has just returned from an incredible trip to the Yukon in Canada where she joined the press team and followed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their Canada Royal Tour. If you’ve been following Elle’s trip on Instagram you will have seen how beautiful the Yukon looks! Today, Elle is sharing her experience …
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 …
Some people are naturally organised in every area of their lives. You know, the kind of people who never lose their passport 30 seconds before they board a plane. They always wear matching socks, they know exactly what they’re doing next week and their lives seem to run like clockwork. I am not one …
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 …
Please note: This competition has now ended It’s competition time here on The Travel Hack and this week I’m giving away a Lumix CM1 communication camera from the Lumix 4K photo range. The Lumix CM1 is one of the best smartphones on the market right now for mobile photographers. Lumix actually don’t call it a …
I’m so excited to announce that next week I’ll be flying to the Yukon for a week of exploring, and a little bit of Royal spotting. Yep, you read that right. Royals. The Royal Visit to Canada The Royal Family recently announced that The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be embarking on an incredible …
Do you want to travel more? Is the expense of travelling the main thing that stops you from travelling as much as you’d like to? Do you want to take part in a fun, monthly challenge to save more money to travel and win prizes? Hells yes! (I hope this is your response, anyway!) OK, …
Edmontonians are proud of their city’s food scene. Get talking to a local about their hometown (it’s easy, they love where they live) and food is bound to come up early in the conversation. And it’s easy to see why, when there are so many incredible cafes, restaurants and bars dotting the city. They even …
Aside from a delicious cup of tea (because we are British), there is nothing better than capping off a sun filled day with a crisp glass of wine. Todays choice is a Riesling from Clare Valley, South Australia. It’s refreshing with a hint of grapefruit, guava and pear taste noting a delightfully fresh orange …