Unusual Things to Do in Cape Town, South Africa Updated 2018 In my little black book of travel, Cape Town always makes my top ten list of greatest cities in the world. It would probably succeed based on Table Mountain alone,  a majestic flat-topped mountain rising out of the earth at almost the most southernly […]

Finding Lisbon Restaurants Where Locals Eat Breathless, sweaty and most definitely ready for food, I pushed open the glass door and stumbled inside. “Are you still serving?” I asked, the words more direct than I’d have liked. A man walked towards me, in black against the bright white walls, clear-varnished wood and chic-hipster vibe I’d […]

Unusual Things To Do in Bristol Bristol, you sassy thing, you. You’ve always been hard to define. All pastel palette pretty in some quarters yet home to subversive Banksy in others. So close to London yet with an accent so far away it may as well be another language, me babbers. Bursting with art yet […]

Update: this article just won a Latin American Travel Association Award at the RSA House in London. I’m pretty chuffed about that and over on Facebook, some of you have been asking what the award was for: Well, here you go! Pre-Columbian Art in Ecuador and the Surprising Question It Asks Christopher Colombus. One nation’s […]

Tried and Tested: Some of the Best Spas in the World Updated 2018 A combination of good fortune, hard work and a devilishly tricky spine have led me to seek out spa treatments all around the world. But what is it that makes a good spa great? What makes it one of the best in the […]

  Bo Kaap Cape Town When it comes to colour in South Africa, perhaps there’s no better place to start than Bo Kaap. Along the cobbled slopes that tiptoe up towards Table Mountain, houses blaze in hues of lilac, canary yellow, cobalt blue and eye watering green as children play football around the nation’s oldest […]

  Finding a Great Place to Stay in Bath Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Bath has plenty of great places to stay, from hotels to guesthouses. But on my latest trip, I discovered another kind of gorgeous hideaway: a luxurious self-catered apartment that overlooked The Circus itself. I found the place through a partnership with Hideaways, a […]

Water. In the space called Frederick Sound, the water waits silently. There's a

These days, everyone is talking about things to do in Portugal and why you should go there now. From UNESCO World Heritage Sites, gastronomy, history, architecture, great beaches and whimsical creations and pastries, millennial Portugal most definitely is the new black. But before you skip on down to the list of things to do in […]

It all started with the police check last night.Torchlight zig-zagged across the car and we huddled in the backseat.“You are English,”

So here’s some interesting research: apparently, even our strongest holiday memories fade within two weeks. What’s worse? Digitally trying to record things may make those memories fade faster. Sceptical as I always am, I read this with my usual gallon of salt. Luxury holiday brand TUI have released the information in conjunction with talking about […]

  Visiting the Stunning Reed Flute Caves in Guilin China It’s amazing what you can do with a little rock, water and patience. Well, a little water, a lot of rock and all the patience in the world, I suppose. Plenty of places talk about the caves they have but few have managed to entice […]

UNUSUAL THINGS TO DO IN DUBLIN: UPDATED 2018 BUT FIRST… A word of warning here: don’t miss the classics in Dublin like the Book of Kells at Trinity College or the razzamatazz and history at the iconic Guinness Storehouse.  But once you’ve dipped into the Jameson Distillery and paid some kind of homage to local […]

  Why Reading Trends Are Changing – And Why It Matters Two surprising things happened the other day. The first took place at our book club, a thinly veiled excuse to eat tapas and drink wine once a month while discussing the perilous state of world affairs and explore other subjects that perhaps our other […]

Dawn in the Desert at the Al Wadi Across the sand, something is moving. Slowly. Stuttering. But real. An oryx, I think, white flanks caked in dust, horns piercing the air. It’s almost as though she’s following the sun, appearing with its quiet, dawn-like shift across the dunes. It’s early, but as a new mum, […]

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. […]