We flew into Denpassar, Bali’s international airport on a late flight from Sydney. Because it was a late flight we didn’t bother with public transport and jumped straight in a taxi to Sanur.  Denpassar airport is really well set up for taxis. There is an office with a fixed price to certain destinations and you …

The official name for the Monkey Forest is ‘The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary’. These monkeys have been living here for hundreds and hundreds of years and the three Holy Monkey Temples were built during the mid 14th century. There are the three grand old temples, two graveyards and intricate monkey statues everywhere; these all look …

My final few days in California were tinged with sadness. We’d done so much over the past few weeks and I felt like I’d been travelling for months and couldn’t imagine going back to ‘the real world’. I’d got back into the backpacking way of life and felt like I could carry on for years. …

The lovely Char Taylor from Taylor Hearts Travel has nominated me to take part in the Blog Hop. It’s a chance for bloggers to show what’s going on behind the scenes of their blogospheres. I don’t know about you but I’m super nosy when it comes to bloggers and I love finding out how and …

There’s no place on earth that can inspire your sense of adventure quite like the Grand Canyon. It makes you feel tiny and insignificant in comparison to the sheer vastness of the canyon. But it also makes you feel strong and in awe of our incredible world. After my trip to the US I found …

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 …

Introducing Girl Tweets World {Girl Tweets World} Eeek, this is very exciting. My friend and blogging buddy, Jayne Gorman, has revamped her blog, 40 Before 30, and given it a whole new look, feel and name. Jayne was on a mission to visit 40 countries before she was 30 but when she reached this number …

Now that I’ve moved out of London I see it in a whole new light. I’m still in London once or twice a week so it’s enough to not feel like a stranger but not enough to get bugged down with city life. It’s as though a magical pair of rose tinted glasses are stuck …

Do you ever want to escape from the world and feel like you’re a million miles from anywhere? At the risk of sounding middle aged, I do. I’m only 26, I should want to spend my time in stylish bars and clubs but sometimes I’m just searching for somewhere to chill out. Sometimes I want …

“A mythical kingdom ruled by elves and Arctic energy, Iceland is where the past meets the future in an elemental symphony of wind, stone, fire and ice.” –Lonely Planet. If that sentence from Lonely Planet doesn’t make you want to travel to Iceland I don’t know what will. I read it excitedly on my flight …

“What time is it?” I instinctively glanced down at my watch yet again while my boyfriend grinned from ear to ear. Got me again. Yes, we were staying in a hotel room with possibly the biggest clock in the world and I was still using my little wrist watch to tell the time. The hotel …

The best way to see Australia is to hit the great open road with the freedom of a campervan. Forget the Greyhound or organised bus tours, a real Aussie roadtrip is the only way to do it.

I’m currently in Fuerteventura, the second largest of the Canary Islands, for a luxurious yoga retreat. Each morning begins with yoga and the day ends with Pilates followed by meditation. During the middle of the day I’m free to relax or explore the island and I’ve found there is so much to do in Fuerteventura. …

From the shore, Alcatraz Island doesn’t look too far away. I squinted into the distance and could just about see the tiny island 1.5 miles from mainland San Francisco. A low cloud hung over ‘The Rock’ giving it an eerily ominous appearance. Despite the creepy air of mystery surrounding Alcatraz, I still thought I could …

I realise that The Travel Hack can get a tad girly from time to time so I thought it was about time I posted a review for the guys. I was recently sent the Track Jack Board Case from Crumpler but as soon as it arrived I knew it was one for my guy. He …

“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 …

If there’s one thing that stresses me out about travelling it’s getting to the airport on time. Anyone that knows me may find this hard to believe because I’m pretty much one of the most relaxed people in the world. But when I’m sat on the train at 5am, biting my nails nervously and imagining …

Loving the fact that it was warm enough to wear just my thermal top in Boí Taüll, Catalonia There is absolutely nothing worse than getting cold while you’re skiing. Well, maybe one thing and that’s getting hot. I often find that while I’m on the slopes I’ll be freezing one minute (usually on the lifts) and …

I am one of the few travel bloggers who will not claim to ‘love’ budget travel. I know it’s the sensible option if you want to travel long term but if I had the money I would be lapping up the 5* luxury everywhere I went. 

I wish I’d be alive in the days when flying was glamorous and exciting. When people dressed up for a flight and the air stewards breezed through the cabin in a stylish waft of expensive perfume. It was a fun and fascinating time that few people had the chance to experience and this only added …

If you want to be a ‘proper tourist’ in San Francisco you can’t miss a catamaran cruise at sunset. I wasn’t keen at first and thought it was just a slightly classier version of a booze cruise. OK, I’m not going to lie, it was a classier version of a booze cruise and I loved …

If you’ve ever seen the film Into the Wild then these photos may be familiar to you because Salvation Mountain is featured in the film. If you haven’t seen the film or read the book then I strongly recommend you add it to your list because both are brilliant, especially if you have a nomadic, adventurous …

Eating in the home of a perfect stranger is probably up there with the top ‘worst-nightmare’ situations for the majority of Brits. Dinner parties are awkward enough but dinner parties where everyone is a stranger takes it to a whole new level. I’m always telling myself that life is about trying new things so when …

If you had to describe your dream holiday, what would it involve? Go on, take a minute to sit back and think about it. I know it’s a cliché but my dream holiday has to involve golden beaches and seas as bright and blue as the sky. I want to be able to walk along …

I wake up at 5am thanks to that good kind of jetlag that gets you up early but makes you feel as refreshed as you would after a luxurious lie-in. I stretch out in the king sized bed and listen to the birds and tree frogs that are chirping  happily outside. I open the balcony …

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! …

“I’ve done South America, China and India. Where have you done?’ DONE. It’s just a tiny four-letter verb. It’s just a word. It’s inoffensive and means so little so why does it wind me up so much? ‘Done’ can’t offend anyone but when it’s used in this context it makes me cringe. How the hell …

[quote_simple]Earlier this month I travelled aboard Celebrity Silhouette cruise ship. I began in Venice followed by Koper, Ravenna and Split. I’ll be sharing my experiences from these incredible destinations over the next few weeks but first of all I wanted to tell you what it’s actually like to go on a cruise.[/quote_simple] As a travel …

“If you were a biscuit, what would you be?’ “I’d be a Hobnob. One with chocolate but only half the amount of chocolate so I’d be a bit naught but not too naughty.” There’s a pause as I silently ask myself why the hell I just asked Ben Fogle what kind of biscuit he’d be. …

Americans don’t do things by halves. The live by the motto, ‘Go big or go home’, and this supersize culture makes it an incredible place to visit. I’m not just talking about supersize meals here, I’m talking supersize everything and Christmas is no exception. Americans embrace the holiday season like no place I’ve ever been …