It's no secret that France excels when it comes to food and drink. In fact, for many people (myself included) it's one of the reasons I visit the land of fromage et pain. I knew I'd eat well throughout my recent journey to Southern France...I just didn't know I'd discover new French favourites that I'll …
Applications to join The Travel Hack team are now closed. Thank you so much to everyone who applied. I will be contacting everyone before July 8th. If you applied via the Google form below then I will have definitely received your application. After last week’s announcement that I’m expecting my second baby I’m sure it’ll …
The city of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada deserves a bit of a spotlight. If you haven’t been you’re seriously missing out and if you have been, well I’m sure you won’t need me to tell you that you need to visit Edmonton again! I’ve just returned from a family break out there and am already …
The Landmark Trust is probably something you’ve vaguely heard of but don’t know a lot about. It wasn’t until I was invited to stay at a Landmark Trust property that I started looking into it and realised I’ve been seriously missing out. Why haven’t I stayed in a Landmark Trust property before!? Before I go …
This week's Travel Hack of the Week comes from Wanderluce and she's sharing her top beauty hacks when you're travelling with hand luggage only... Travelling with carry on only is THE best way to travel in my book. You whizz through the airport feeling smug, never get the dreaded ‘backpack backache’, and channel those minimalist …
Halloween approaches, my friends. But you don't need scary theme parks or plastic pumpkins to chill your spine - the UK is awash with grisly ghouls and spirited spectres to spook you to the blood-curdling core. Take a look at these creepy places to spend the Halloween weekend, and be afraid - be very afraid. The Castle Bone Chiller …
A bare bottom, a wink and a wolf whistle - that sums up Bristol for me! Call me sensationalist, but I think the Bristol of today is the city equivalent of sticking two fingers up at the world, flashing a bare bottom, and wolf whistling at a local builder. It’s not a description I would’ve …
Claire gives us the highlights and a perfect itinerary for a wintry weekend in Painswick, PAINSWICK, Gloucestershire – Her charms are often eclipsed by her more glamorous Cotswolds sisters, but thankfully Painswick (affectionately known as the Queen of the Cotswolds) is steadily coming into her own as a perfectly pretty weekend destination for a younger …
Welcome to a new weekly series here on The Travel Hack as we share our top travel hacks and tips to make travelling as simple and affordable as possible. Between The Travel Hack Team we have some great tips to save you big bucks on your travels. This week we’re starting with booking hotels and …
Before I travelled to Cebu I had no idea what to expect. I should have learned by now that it's the places I have no preconceptions of that blow me away the most, and Cebu was no exception to this rule. Of course, the Philippines isn't the sort of place you go to for a …
Royal Brunei seems to be an airline that most people have heard of, but not many people have experienced for themselves. Which is weird because, after flying to Ras Al Khaimah on board one of the airline’s Dreamliners, I was raving about it to anyone who would listen. Of course, it helped that I flew …
I've just returned from an epic trip to Montana. I feel like I've said 'epic' a lot to describe this trip but that's the only word that sums it up so perfectly. I was out there for one week with the Expedia Viewfinder team and we road tripped around the state, beginning in Missoula and …
Hi, I'm Elle, I'm 31 and I've never been to a festival. *waits for horrified gasps to die down* Yeah, I know. The thing is though, in Australia, where I grew up, festivals aren't the rite of passage that they are here in the UK. But probably more importantly, I'm scared of camping. We broke up, …
If I were to ask you to describe your perfect holiday, I bet for many of you it would go a little bit like this… A small island paradise that feels a million miles from home but is actually just a short (and inexpensive!) flight away. A place with beaches so beautiful you’re going to …
As if getting to travel to the spectacular Philippines wasn't exciting enough, I was in for a big surprise. When I received my invite to experience the inaugural Emirates flight from Dubai to Cebu, I didn't even try to play it cool before responding with an eager "Yes please!" It was almost as an afterthought, …
This is a new feature we’re testing out to bring together all of our favourite things each month. We’re talking new hotel openings, gorgeous new travel accessories, new travel beauty products to try, travel competitions, special deals and offers and everything in between. Enjoy! €100 off Azul Fit Retreats A few years ago I …
“Party in April. Sleep in May”. That’s the tagline accompanying Whistler’s annual Ski and Snowboard Festival. To be honest, it tells you a lot of what you need to know about the event... having just attended, I can confirm; sleep is most definitely needed. With late spring and summer being full of ski holiday deals, …
I’ve always wanted to visit Thailand, but somehow I’ve always ended up booking holidays to other destinations, with Thailand sort of glaring at me from the top of my bucket list. The Philippines, however, was never on my radar. I wanted pristine white beaches, unspoiled islands where electricity is hard to come by, epic marine …
Last week I took one of the best ‘challenges’ I think I’ve ever been set as a travel blogger. I was challenged to take a 2-day trip to London to make the most of the city as part of GTR’s Hello Spring activity to get more people travelling on trains. They’re offering 2FOR1 on over …
“Keep Portland Weird!” Oregon’s biggest city begs from every spray-paint splattered wall and worn-out bumper sticker. “Weird” is kinda Portland’s thing. It’s less about achingly cool hipsters and artisan coffee joints (although you’ll find plenty of both here), and more about supporting local business, embracing independent ventures and encouraging uniqueness. Perhaps as testament, this city …
Ahh, summer holidays - a highlight of each year for as long as you can remember, right? There's the excitement of planning and booking your summer holiday, the anticipation as the date draws closer, maybe a bit of excited frustration as the weeks drag by. Then you have the thrill of buying new summer clothes …
Since I returned from Dominica I haven’t stopped telling people how gorgeous the island is. I’ve been cornering people and forcing them to scroll through the photos on my phone because I want them to see it for themselves. ‘Look at how clear the sea is,’ I’ve been swooning. ‘And look at this waterfall. Oh, …
For the past 6 months I’ve been working with Lumix as a 4k photo ambassador. I’ve been using Lumix’s 4k camera range but the camera I’ve had for the longest is the G7. Lots of you have been asking how I’ve been getting on so I thought it was about time I wrote a Lumix …
For the past 5 years I’d been doing my best to convince myself I enjoyed snowboarding. Everyone likes snowboarding and I felt almost guilty about not joining in with the snowboarding excitement. I tried so hard to like it but having a board strapped to me feet just wasn’t for me. Most of my friends …
Oxford is one of those places that you just have to visit at least once. It’s full of incredible architecture, restaurants and cafes serving food from all over the world and of course, opportunities to go punting. It’s an ideal spot for a weekend break and the best thing is you could easily come back …
In today's travel hacking post, Anne compares two of our biggest british airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. We all know that travel hacking is most effective when you're loyal to a particular airline so which should you choose, BA or Virgin? Let's begin the battle of the British airlines... A comparison of British Airways …
Why not skip the flights and the stress and stay in the UK for your weekends away in 2016? We've put together a list of great weekend getaways you might not have on your 2016 mini-break short list – yet! North Wales It's not the most chic destination, but hear us out. With some …
The travel blogging community is obsessed with the term ‘digital nomad’. It pops up on every travel blog with top tips on how to be a digital nomad, why it’s so awesome being a digital nomad, a typical day in the life of a digital nomad and why everyone should quit their jobs to be …
If you read my itinerary to spending 3 days in the Florida Keys you will have seen that my favourite day was the day we took a seaplane to the Dry Tortugas National Park. Key West is said to mark the very tip of Florida...but if you keep travelling west for some 70 miles, over …
If you think that Venice is the kind of destination you can only visit on a romantic break or your honeymoon, you’ve got it all wrong. Sure, it’s the sort of place where you can stroll hand-in-hand, float along in a gondola or share a bowl of pasta, Lady and the Tramp style. But Venice …
Some cities are memorable for their food. Others, their architecture. And then there are some rare cities that you just can't get out of your head. Sure, the cuisine is good and the buildings are pretty, but there's more to it than that. The cities I'm talking about are breathtaking - everywhere you look there's …
I'm a suitcase kind of girl when it comes to travelling. Wheels were invented for a very good reason so we might as well use them. It's the 21st century, why would you carry a heavy bag when you can wheel it along with minimal effort? But when it comes to my daybag, daypack, hand bag, …
Hands up if you've ever tried to write a journal but given up 3 days in? You begin with a beautiful new notebook and possibly even a fancy new pen. You wait for the beginning of the month to start writing (because who starts a diary in the middle of the month!?) and for a …
Is anyone else completely and utterly fed up of winter and ready for spring to hurry up and start warming us up? I always feel like this towards the end of February. It's been winter for years (10 years, surely!?) and I barely even remember what it's like to have the sun on my skin …
Yes, you read that correctly, Holiday Inn Expresses are getting cool. Last week I was in London and had the pleasure of staying at the Holiday Inn Express on Ealing Broadway, London. I’ve stayed in more than my fair share of budget London hotels and they very rarely make it onto the pages of this …
Does anyone else find packing your hand luggage can be just as tough as packing your main case? I begin with just a couple of things, maybe a magazine and my phone, and before I know it my bag is overflowing with stuff. Cosmetics and gadgets and entertainment and food are spilling out of my bag …
Today I’d like to introduce you to EarnAway, a hotel booking website that allows you to earn cashback on the hotels you book. I used the website for my recent trip to Budapest and here's my EarnAway review... You may already be familiar with cashback websites. Basically, when you buy something online, the website you …
Is it just me, or does skiing seem to be one of those things that everyone else can just do? It was never that way for me. For some reason or another, I've never been on a skiing holiday, school trip or weekend at the slopes. Strap me into some skis and put me on …
You might already know that I’m currently a Lumix 4k photo ambassador. I’ve been trying out Lumix’s range of 4k cameras and I’ve been sharing some of the photos across my social media channels and blog. I’ve been having so much fun with these cameras and I’ve been surprised to find that taking photos with …
This week’s weekender of the week is a little different as we take to the waves for a more active and adventurous trip. We usually talk about city breaks for a weekend away but what about heading to the beach and brushing up on your surfing skills? A weekend of sun, sea, sand, surf, …