Into the Wild: Uncruise Alaska My personal account of the intriguing Uncruise Alaska.  I stop in my tracks and hold still, watching him watching me. I can hear my own breathing, fast and focused, and the sound of droplets falling into the deep Chuck River. The rest of the group, all five of them, are […]

My work with the airline Royal Brunei highlighted an unusual travel destination to explore: the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the U.A.E. This Ritz Carlton Al Hamra review forms part of a project produced in partnership with Royal Brunei, RAKTDA and Ritz Carlton. As ever, as always, I kept the right to write what […]

What is it like to go dune bashing? Through one window, the horizon tilts back and forth in shades of golden rose. Through the other, red dust blocks all that can be seen. And through the windscreen there is almost nothing at all. My work with the airline Royal Brunei highlighted an unusual travel destination […]

There are some London addresses that tell stories before we reach them. The Dorchester Hotel London has an address with a thousand tales. This review of the Dorchester Hotel London comes as part of a series on Special Places to Stay in London that you can find over here.  The Dorchester Hotel London In Review: What […]

I’m far from the first to string those four words together. Legendary journalist Kate Adie looped them in a line to describe her autobiography;

My work with the airline Royal Brunei highlighted an unusual travel destination to explore: the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the U.A.E. This article forms part of a project produced in partnership with Royal Brunei, RAKTDA and Ritz Carlton. As ever, as always, I kept the right to write what I like. Now let’s […]

Deep beneath the scorched sun of the Peloponnese, the Eumelia luxury eco-farm comes from a couple jaded by politics who, quite literally, decided they wanted to get back down to earth. The earth in question is red and dry and crunches underfoot. Rippling boardwalks surf across the dust to connect the five cabins to the […]

Where’s the best area to stay in New York? New York, New York, the city so good they named it twice. But if you’re only going there once, it’s good to have a plan. I’ve received a lot of questions lately asking about where to stay in NYC. Where’s best for sightseeing, where’s best for […]

Visiting Aerospace Bristol: Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines It’s a familiar scene from a nostalgic age: vintage suitcases stacked one atop the other, one at a nonchalant angle to symbolise our dreams of travelling the world. What makes these suitcases different are the seats just above: separated by the thinnest of metal layers […]

THE BEST TRAVEL APPS 2018 Travel apps can simplify your life but they can also be gimmicky, clunky and clog up your phone. Here’s a tried and thoroughly tested list of the best travel apps out there. The World Before Travel Apps It’s hard to believe that when I started travelling, not only did we […]

I know before I unzip the tent that I will find ice outside. I know, because there was ice there last night. Ice on the path, ice hanging like

If words like authentic and off the beaten track delight you, then you’ll love the rustic luxury of Villa Vager in the Peloponnese, Greece. This Villa Vager Review forms part of a series on The Big Greek Road Hop: Driving the Peloponnese. Find more about exploring this beautiful part of Greece over here.  Villa Vager […]

Pedro Martina’s sun-worn face lights up as he grabs my shoulder and points into the distance. “Three of them are under the water now,”

Where is hot in February? Please, show me some heat!Don’t despair. Read on to find the best places to go in February for a spot of winter sun.Yes, I agree. It’s been one long, cold and rather dreary January. Perhaps it feels this way because January is always like this. Or perhaps it’s because my […]

One of the most interesting parts of this job involves heading behind the scenes and talking to people about what they do. Formula One Race Engineers, Underwater Photographers. Even, poignantly, a survivor from the Nagasaki Atom Bomb drop. But today I’m talking to the experts at Adobe about travel technology and where it’s taking us. […]

Avery Island Louisiana Avery Island Louisiana gets people guessing from the start. First, it’s not an island, at least not in the conventional sense. It’s a 2.5 mile wide peak of salt that rises, island-like, from the surrounding swamps and bayous of the Deep American South, awash with marshmallow plants, alligators and azaleas. Second, the […]

When it comes to putting together a list of the best travel movies, which should make the cut? Should it include movies like Eat, Pray, Love or Into the Wild where the protagonist is largely, well, travelling as a traveller? Or should it include movies that focus on a sense of place first and foremost, […]

The Big Greek Road Hop: A Peloponnese Map and A 10 Day Itinerary for a Driving Holiday in Greece Forget island-hopping through Greece: if it’s culture, natural beauty, beaches and a sense of discovery you’re after, it’s time to hire a car and hit the road through the Peloponnese. If it was good enough for […]

  It’s a popular icebreaker I’m often asked about my favourite country in the world. It is, of course, a question without an answer. At least not a real one. Countries and cultures are complicated things and that’s without getting into what I was doing, who I was with and how I was feeling when […]

Where are the best places to go with a baby? Not interested in finding out the best places to go with a baby or indeed anything to do with babies right now? Hop on over to the Best Destinations page for some non-baby travel inspiration. Where are the best places to go with a baby? […]

Before the Kitzhof, I never saw the value of a mountain spa retreat, if I’d even known that was a thing. After the Kitzhof, I’m a card-carrying member of the Alpine soothing cub. The Alpine Village of Kitzbuehel Kitzbuehel, of course, excels at snow and ski. And the Kitzhof Moutain Design Resort has access to […]

Christopher Colombus. One nation’s hero, one continent’s despair. Endless generations of schoolyard amusement when English speakers realised that his real name was Colon. But I want to move past him for now, and focus instead on the art scene in Ecuador, the one that flourished at around 2850 metres before the Spaniards arrived. Because as […]

Inside the Travel Lab named as one of the world’s best travel blogs: the start of a new partnership with the world’s biggest travel guide publisher Back when I was young(er), Lonely Planet was the name in travel. That white circle on the ocean-deep blue travelled with me as I made my way around the […]

If cities were fairy tales, then Athens, for me, is the Ugly Duckling. For all its legendary ancient world charm, the first time I visited, she left me cold. But over the years, I have fallen in love with her newer side, as well as her philosophical stars. But it wasn’t until I stayed at […]

Seville has always been sexy. But these days, it’s even more so. Spain’s hottest city has shot to superstardom by earning THE number one spot on Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel city list for 2018. It’s surprisingly touching to see my former home and stomping ground get so much new attention. So indulge me in […]

Friends, Readers, Countrymen… It’s time to talk about travel tips for the hopelessly disorganised. Who am I to talk about this? Well, I’ve travelled professionally for the best part of a decade and unprofessionally for a decade or so before that. We’re talking all around the globe, on my own, as a couple, in a group […]

The Dolomites in Italy form one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world. That’s not a secret.  But they also mark the birthplace of the soft adventure sport via ferrata, a victory of human ingenuity over a violent past. Here’s a piece I wrote about my first via ferrata in the Dolomites (pre-baby, […]

Flying over Botswana and the Okavango Delta When it comes to deltas, the Okavango is the best. And if that’s too cryptic an introduction then let’s catch up with some more delta facts. At 15 000 square kilometres, the Okavango Delta is one of the largest deltas in the world, protected by both the government […]

  Tylney Hall and Gardens in Jane Austen’s Hampshire carries a sense of vintage grandeur and unhurried luxury Many an English drama sees a vintage vehicle swerving through tree-lined gravel to pull up outside a stately home with a flourish. Staying at Tylney Hall & Gardens allows you to make cinematic fantasy real. You can […]

When it comes to appearances in life, there are two clear schools of thought. One, the more obvious one, is that looks matter. Appearances matter. Clothes, hair, shoes, make up, presentation matters. This idea concentrates itself within very visual careers: fashion models and actresses, obviously. But also in the smudgy areas of work like weather […]