A reader asked me to write a Thailand itinerary for her 3 week vacation, I think it's best to start with 2 weeks, because that's how long most holiday makers have, and add on some optional extras as trip time allows. A Thailand itinerary is something unique to each person, one man's dream tour is another's trip from hell and Thailand caters to … [Read Blog...]
Featured : Sri Lanka Guide
Sri Lanka Travel Blog & Guide
Sri Lanka travel blog, for single, couple and family travellers. All our Sri Lanka blog posts, tips, advice, essentials and recommendations in one blog page. This page ties information together, easier for you to find for your … read the blog...
Featured: Vietnam Travel
Vietnam Travel Blog and Guide 2018
Vietnam is one of our favourite countries, packed with history, stunning landscapes, cultural highlights and amazing food. It's one of the most exciting destinations in South East Asia. We visited back in 1999 on our first RTW and in 2017 and 2018 we headed back there to create this Vietnam Travel Blog section for you. We had the luxury of time and … [Read Blog...]
Travel Gear Recommendations for Family Travellers
Trekking Watches. Some of the Best 2018
Trekking watches have made huge advances in the last 5 years. With the invention and continued improvement of GPS based watches they are now more accessible to more people. You can still get great trekking watches without GPS capabilities and I've listed a few favourites below but for me the best trekking watchs should have GPS capabilities along … More travel gear..
How to Use Less Plastic When You Travel
One of the things that really bugs me about travelling, which has been particularly noticeable in South East Asia and Egypt, is the vast amount of plastic trash that we, the population generate. We, as travellers, are in danger of making the plastic problem even worse. That is not OK. I think by modelling better behaviours maybe we can get others … More travel gear..
Long Term Family Travel Realities
10 Reasons to Love Being Back in London!
This post is really about not taking things for granted. It's about gratitude. It always feels good to be back in London. We've bounced around the world for half a decade now but London is our home turf. I know I say Romania is home, Hoi An is home, … [Read Blog...]
The Truth About Blogging
I blog. Blogging is how I support my family. But what is blogging and what is blogging not? On a day when I'm struggling to come up with an idea for a new blog post I thought I'd go deeper into blogging. You probably all know me, my family, my style, … [Read Blog...]
Travel Blog Latest…
Favourite and Recommended Hotels, Hostels and Guest Houses in Southeast Asia
It's time for us to write a post on our favourite and recommended hotels, hostels and guest houses in Southeast Asia. We've been travelling the world for 5 years now and a lot of that time has been spent in Southeast Asia, some of these places we've used multiple times, others we've used once and really loved them. All are at the lower cost end of the price spectrum but not necessarily ultra budget. They do however, we think, offer good value. We're about to visit Thailand for the 24 th time and will probably pick one of the 2 properties listed below. We return to the same hotels or hostels time and time again. They are 2nd homes to us with good wifi, good food and comfortable accommodation …
One Year Around The World 2017
Another full year of travel completed. Where did we go? What were our milestones, highlights and low points? How did we do it and how did we keep it affordable? What goes into our planning process and how do we cope as a family with full time travel around the world? A recap of 2017, with links to key posts and sections. We hope we can inspire, encourage and help you to travel further, deeper and longer by sharing our adventures with you. It may look like a millionaire lifestyle, but our brand of travel and this one year around the world ( our 4th) really costs very little and gives us, and could give you, so much. 2017, One Year of Travel, How Many Countries? There was only 1 new country …
Anti Theft Travel Bags & Devices 2018. Some of the Best
When choosing a bag ( a handbag, purse, daypack or backpack) for travel most people will give some thought to security. It makes sense to buy a bag that makes a bag snatcher's or pickpocket's life as hard as possible. We've taken a look at the best anti theft travel bags for travellers, the ones designed to keep your passport, cash and other small valuables attached to you. In my personal experience as a global traveller of many years, a small cross-body handbag or purse is extremely useful, you don't always want to carry your day-pack, backpack or suitcase. I have a couple of cross-body fabric bags that I pack for this purpose, both have internal pockets and I can easily add extra …
Best Family Hotels in Bangkok. Reviews and Recommendations
It's hard to know where to stay in Bangkok and finding family accommodation in Thailand's vibrant capital is harder still. We're hunting for the best family hotels in Bangkok at every price point, budget guest house, hostel, mid range hotel and luxury resort because we travel all ways. Many hotels cater for singles and couples, but we've searched for the best hotels with family rooms or suites, tried many and can share our reviews and recommendations here with you. We've found the hotels with the family facilities and the family-friendly establishments from budget to luxury. We list family-friendly hostels that have private family rooms here too, they are often a good choice and there are a …
How to Travel With Carry On Only
If you've been following us right from the start, you'll know that I always said I'd never travel with carry on only. I even wrote a post about why we'd never travel light, we just had too much stuff as long-term travellers and the children were too small for their own, decent sized, packs. Well that was then, this is now and lately we've turned to carry on only travel and become quite proficient as our circumstances have changed. These days we're more like you, we're taking shorter trips and we have our home base in beautiful Romania to stash the toys and school books along with the all-weather travel gear. Travel is more of a holiday or vacation for us now, rather than our lifestyle so the …
How to Save Money on Flights with Skyscanner 2018
Of all the tools we use for finding bargains in the travel world, Skyscanner is number 1. This week we saved ourselves £100 per person, £300 total, on our flight to Sri Lanka, just through using the Skyscanner tips we share here. Let's take a look at how to use Skyscanner to scan flights and find the best bargains. We still prefer Skyscanner to new flight comparison tools, including Kiwi, it also often gives us cheaper prices than going direct to the airlines themselves. Skyscanner Tips, Tricks and Hacks to Save Money On Flights We all want to save money on flights, right? Let me walk you through a few Skyscanner tips. Of course, you need to be flexible, if you need a direct …
Travel Gifts for Kids and Families 2018
If you are keen world travellers or you know a travelling family, you'll like our ideas for travel gifts for kids and families. In this post we include travel related gifts, often educational, as well as small gifts to pack in a suitcase or backpack for children and families on the road. We have practical, fun and useful gifts for kids who travel or love to travel. Buying travel gifts for kids on the move is tricky, will they take their gift with them, or leave it at home through lack of space? We know what gifts have worked for our kids and which we've gladly received as a family, from expensive main presents to stocking fillers, from toddlers to tweens and teens. We've been given some …
What is Altitude Sickness – For First Time High Altitude Trekkers
My kids researched altitude sickness and tried to answer that question " What is Altitude Sickness?" by creating a blog post. We're off to Everest Base Camp again soon and this was a little "school" project for them. I studied physiology in university, so I've got a reasonable handle on this but I thought the kids, and maybe a few readers, might appreciate some simple information on acclimatisation, adaptation to altitude, how to acclimatise, pulmonary or cerebral oedema ( edema if you're American), and so on. We hope you find it useful. We've included a few links, videos and useful resources so you can do some more research of your own. This is not medical advice and don't take it as …
Southeast Asia With Kids. Must Visit Destinations to Plan Your Itinerary
We posted already about our experiences of travelling around Southeast Asia with kids ( for 5 years!) now lets have a look at where you should go in Southeast Asia. What are the stand out, must see places, attractions and destinations. You're probably in the process of planning your Southeast Asia trip, so I suggest you get a notebook and start listing the places you and your kids, absolutely HAVE to see or visit. Later we can talk about the practicalities of joining your destinations together into an itinerary and organising your travel plans. Could you do me a favour? Tell me in the comments how long you are planning on being in South East Asia for? How much time do you have? If I know …
How Fit Do You Need to Be to Trek the Himalayas?
It may surprise you to know that you don't need to be Ironman fit (as I am) to trek in the Himalayas. You won't want to be a couch potato either, but the average person should do fine up there with no training needed. My wife has been up twice, at 50 and in her mid 30s. My kids have been up there at 9 and 11. Fitness really isn't a major issue and do you need to train for this sort of trekking? Probably not. The toughest part of trekking in the Himalayas is the altitude, which isn't something you can prepare for and strikes everyone in different ways. The only person in our family to have ever had altitude problems was me, the fittest of the bunch. How Fit is Fit Enough to Trek the …
6 Steps to Starting Your Own Blog and Making Money
In this post you will learn the basics of how to start and set up a blog and how to begin making money. It is aimed at complete beginners and at those wanting to improve their blogging game and grow their income. I am a travel blogger and a homeschool blogger, my online income supports my family as we travel the world. I'm not selling any blogging courses here, all of this information is available here, for free and in our facebook support group, Living Differently, subscribe and you will be invited. I hope you find it useful. We also have some free tips and blogging guides elsewhere on this site. How to Start Your Own Blog and Make Money I wish I'd had somebody to hold my hand through …
Experiences of Backpacking South East Asia With Kids
First of all, don't panic. You can do this thing, we did. In fact, it's pretty easy. I normally tell people how to backpack around or through South East Asia with kids, in that I help them with planning, itineraries and travel arrangements. Today I'm going to tell you what it's actually been like. We've been backpacking with our kids for over 5 years now and the bulk of that time has been spent in South Asia and Southeast Asia because those are our favourite parts of the world. It's been fun, but there have been a few challenges. When we first touched down in Kuala Lumpur they were 6 and 8 years old, but they'd already been to Thailand and Bali as 3 and 5 year olds. Today they are 14 …
Daintree Tours From Port Douglas & Exploring the Daintree Rainforest
To the north of Port Douglas you will find the oldest rainforest in the world. Daintree Village, Daintree River, Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation are areas you will most certainly want to see during your time in Far North Queensland. A look at everything the Daintree has to offer and how to get there from Port Douglas ( or Cairns) by private car or by tour. There are multiple ways of seeing and staying in the Daintree and the rainforest conceals tourist attractions and natural wonders. Welcome to our Daintree travel blog and guide, freshly made for 2018. Port Douglas to Daintree Rainforest [cmtoc_table_of_contents] Port Douglas to Daintree Distance Distance from Port Douglas …
Great Barrier Reef Tours From Port Douglas
If you're looking for Great Barrier Reef Tours from Port Douglas, congratulations, you picked a great place from which to explore the reef. Port Douglas Australia is a stunning holiday town in Far North Queensland, home to beautiful 4 Mile Beach, close to Mossman Gorge and the Daintree Rainforest as well as the cooler Atherton Tablelands, but the reef is a huge draw for tourists and most will be visiting the reef during their time in Port. There are plenty of choices in tours, boats and pontoons as well as various ways to see the reef. You can snorkel, scuba dive or see the GBR from a glass bottomed boat or semi submersible, along with a few more unusual options. Let's take a look at Great …
