If I could combine a few things to make the perfect weekend, it would be travel, treatments, food and wine! So if this sounds like your idea of a great weekend, book yourself a few half days, and prepare to melt into blissful abandon on this spa and food combo in 48 hours in County …
This month I've challenged Anne to write a travel hacking guide for people who don't use credit cards. There's often the feeling that travel hacking without a credit card is impossible and you have to be spending huge amounts on a credit card to collect any points. Admittedly, this does make travel hacking a hell …
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 …
“Why have I not been here before!?” This was a genuine question I kept asking myself just a few hours after I’d landed in Valencia. This city is gorgeous. It’s warm and it’s beautiful and it’s interesting. It’s historical and filled with culture but also modern and filled with young creativity. It feels a …
Driving into the village of Downham is like driving through a portal and emerging into a world that existed 100 years ago. If I were to describe it as ‘quaint’ it wouldn’t quite do it justice, as it’s so much more than quaint. Downham is beautiful and charming and cosy. It has an old fashioned …
THE OLD STOCKS INN – Things are not quite as they seem in Stow-on-the-Wold. There’s a defector in town. A quiet rebellious type; happy to rub shoulders with the elegant tearooms, polished antiques shops and prim galleries, before necking a Gimlet and heading back to the bar with a swagger that’d put a Bond villain …
Our recent trip to Mexico City resulted in a rather unexpected experience. We were only there when an earthquake occurred! After the euphoria of surviving wore off, it became glaringly evident that we had absolutely no idea what we were supposed to do in the event of an earthquake. So here's my handy little earthquake survival …
Is anyone planning a holiday and feeling a bit overwhelmed? There are so many places to go, so many things to see, so many things to do. If you’re anything like me, your bucket list is just getting longer and longer and holiday planning can be tough when you just want to go everywhere! To …
Are you travelling to London in 2016? Here are the London apps you need to download to make your trip to the Big Smoke a breeze. Do you remember a time when we used to travel with heavy guidebooks and paper maps? When you had to go into internet cafes to check your emails …
Welcome to the first Weekend Reads of 2016! It’s been a big and busy week in the blogosphere. The first week of the year sees bloggers sticking to their New Year’s resolutions and posting more so there’s a lot for us to read! And please tell me I’m not the only one who has spent …
Anne recently spent 24 hours in Mexico City when she was visiting for Corona Capital 2015. Here's what she got up to in such a quick trip... If you only have 24 hours in Mexico City, and really want to get a taste of the city, then this combo is for you. It will give you …
I feel like New Years resolutions aren’t the cool thing to do this year. Everyone is talking about celebrating your achievements rather than setting yourself unrealistic challenges. Other people are talking about small ‘goals’ and other people have ditched them all together but they never stick to them anyway so what’s the point? But I …
Do you know what ‘Shiok’ means? No, I didn’t either until I watched this video by the Singapore Tourism Board. It’s a word mostly used in Singapore and is used to express pleasure or the highest quality. It means ‘amazing’ or ‘awesome’ but it’s shorter, snappier and all together cooler. Shiok is a good …
If you're looking for an affordable and unique weekend away then glamping in a yurt might be the perfect option.... I remember a time when camping holidays in the UK were something to be dreaded. Cold, wet nights were spent eating burnt BBQ food while huddling under a canopy to stay dry. I always ended …
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 …
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 …
Have you ever felt like New Year’s Eve was...well...a little bit of a let-down? There’s something about the anticipation - the expectation that I absolutely must have an epic time - that leaves me with a nagging sensation. A feeling that my New Year’s Eve experience isn’t going to be quite good enough. But that’s …
I was absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of people who responded to my reader survey. Thank you all so much! At first I was nervous about getting people’s honest and brutal opinions. The Travel Hack is my baby, I’ve worked so hard on this blog for the past 6 years so the thought of …
There is only one thing that really cures the itch to travel, and unsurprisingly, it’s to travel. It’s easy to make excuses and put blocks in the way, but if you put it off for too long, it's never going to happen. We all want to go right now, who wouldn’t? But usually it isn’t …
I’ve been very lucky to spend Christmas in some amazing and exotic destinations. I’ve spent Christmas Day on the beach in Sydney, one Christmas scuba diving with manta rays in Bali and even one year I was cruising around the Canaries. But, do you know what? My favourite place in the world to spend …
We’ve all heard of Booking.com, the booking fabulous website for hotels. They’re now known for their cheeky adverts that make you do a double take and say, ‘Did he just say what I think he said!? Before the watershed…?’ But do you know about Villas.com, the equally fabulous website for (would you believe it) booking …
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 …
EWEN, Cirencester – Even from the car park it’s not hard to see why The Wild Duck near Cirencester attracts the sort of names you’d expect at a Royal Wedding. For a start, the 16th century pub is barely visible underneath its ever-creeping overcoat of ivy and its surrounding cloak of trees and shrubs. If …
Is it possible to escape to Ibiza for the weekend and not end up on a packed beach at sunset dancing to David Guetta? Indeed it is. In fact, the Balearic island has many sides to its nature and can, if you know where to go, even be a little shy at times. As Travel …
In my previous post about the beautiful Swiss city of Lausanne, I talked about how accommodating I found this place. Rarely have I felt so welcome, or… looked after by a city. Turns out, it was just one of the surprising things about this hidden gem of a destination. If you don’t know too much …
I took this photo as I toasted my toes against a roaring log-burning fire.* I had a glass of red by my side and I was about to press play on a DVD. I’d just eaten an enormous Welsh oggie followed by homemade toffee cupcakes I’d picked up from the local bakery. We’d eaten on …
We all love travelling in the summer, especially in Europe when the weather is at its best and there’s an exciting vibe in the cities. Everyone is outdoors, soaking up the sun and making the most of the balmy evenings. American Express® has created Hello Europe, a hub dedicated to providing Card members with …
It seem's I spend all my time seeking beaches on the other side of the world and find myself neglecting the beauty we have here in England. Admittedly, it's really the weather I'm seeking on the other side of the world but when the sun shines in England... it's a very beautiful (and rare) thing. Just …
It’s hard to believe that one of the biggest cities in the world doesn’t have an extensive 24-hour transport service. You can feel a little like Cinderella if you’re out past midnight in London, except instead of your carriage turning into a pumpkin you’ll just have to pay an arm and a leg for …
Colourful gondolas bobbing up and down in the canal. Ancient, rust-coloured buildings which look as though they have a story to tell lining narrow, winding streets. Yep, Venice is pretty much a blogger or photographer’s dream. Recently, I went wandering the streets of Venice, armed with the new LGG4 phone to test its camera out …
Remember that scene in Hugh Grant’s failing travel bookshop, when Julia Roberts tells him that she’s ‘just a girl standing in front of a boy, telling him that she loves him’? It was this film, named after and set in Notting Hill, that brought a small area in West London into the world spotlight …
There are few things in life I’m genuinely scared of. Snakes, sharks and spiders top the list. Bungee jumping is up there. And so is camping. I know there are people who truly love camping. They find joy in being so close to nature, in having to rely on their skills rather than technology, in …
Did you know that I’m ‘Winglish’? OK, it’s not a real thing but it should be because there are lots of people who feel a little bit Welsh and a little bit English. Therefore we’re Winglish. I was born in England but I moved to Wales when I was five. I learned Welsh in school, …
“Oooh a country house. That sounds fancy.” My mum and I were searching through the trivago App looking for somewhere to stay for the following night. We were half way through our trivago App Family Challenge whereby trivago had challenged us to use their new app to find family-friendly hotels. We were in North …
I’ve been taking the concept of a ‘staycation’ to a whole new level recently as I’ve been taking holidays close to home. REALLY close to home. A few weeks ago I even went on holiday just half an hour from home when I visited Llangollen. Yes, I packed a suitcase, filled up the car and …
In today's post, Claire takes us on a trip around Oxford to visit the locations that inspired Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland. I lift my hand to my eyes, shielding them from the thick June glare, whilst the sun slowly and evenly toasts my neck. Before me, rise the honeyed buildings of Oxford’s most famous …
The problem with luxury hotels is that old-fashioned, stuffy air they often have. They can be formal and uncomfortable with outdated routines and overly complicated menus. The décor might be fancy but it looks a hundred years old and I feel like I can’t relax. Why can’t luxury hotels be young and stylish? Why …
I love glamping. You get to enjoy the great outdoors and feel closer to nature but without the nasty side of camping. You know, the bit with cold, leaky tents and deflated airbeds. I love bell tents and teepees, pods and treehouses and now I have a new type of glamping to add to …
I'm suffering from the post- Isles of Scilly holiday blues today. It's a real thing; I checked and other people are suffering too. I'm missing that fresh, salty smell of the sea and icy blue waters where bright boats bob about. I'm missing the flamboyant flowers that line the wonky roads and decorate the windows …
I'm delighted to welcome Rachel Kershaw to the blog today. Rachel is the blogger behind Life in Geordieland, an awesome blog about Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in the UK. She's bringing us an Insider's Guide to Newcastle, which is the UK's favourite city. Keep reading to find out why.... Photo credit: Mick_Gallagher_1959 1. Can you …