One, just one, of the massive bucket list highlights of our tour of Tibet was visiting the Sera Monastery. This Monastery just outside Lhasa city is the place to come if you want to see Tibetan Buddhist monks debate. This is something I never dreamed I'd see for myself. But I did, along with our small group of travellers, my husband and kids. It was a highlight of a lifetime. Debating is a … [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 Sri Lanka holiday. Costs of travelling in Sri Lanka. Ideas on where to go in Sri Lanka, beaches and cultural. What are the big, must-see attractions and how … read the blog...
Featured: Vietnam Travel
Vietnam Travel Blog and Guide
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 for the first time 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 2 x 3 month visas to really get to know … [Read Blog...]
Travel Gear Recommendations for Family Travellers
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 … More travel gear..
SunGod Sunglasses Review. PaceBreakers, Renegades & Sierras Tested
SunGod Sunglasses offer high performance, high quality, customisable sunglasses that you can order online and have in your hands through mail order delivery. Their glasses are extremely good looking, outstandingly so, they are perfect for adventure use and they come with a lifetime guarantee. What other sunglasses company offers … More travel gear..
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Trekking Watches. Best Choices for Your Trek
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 with the usual features for rugged outdoors use. Some of the minimum features to include in a trekking watch are compass, barometer, altimeter, temperature and of course world time and date. The watches listed below include these details and most have many more extras. The limit really is down to your wallet and needs. Phone messages can even be …
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 …
Anti Theft Travel Bags & Devices. Some of the Best
When choosing a bag ( a handbag, purse, daypack or backpack) for travel or city use 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 but all of these anti theft bags work just as well for daily use, anywhere in the world. If you don't have time to read this full post, our top picks are below. One is an anti theft bag for travel, work or city, the other is an anti theft bacpack ideal for city life or travel days. Find full descriptions and …
How to Travel the World?
You want to know how to travel the world, right? We've done it, so can you. It could be a 2 week vacation to an exotic, far-away place that just puts you a little outside your comfort zone, or you could be wanting to travel for a year, maybe more, as a family, as a single or as a couple. Whatever it is you'd like to do, however you'd like to live your dreams, our new section, how to travel the world, will answer your questions and show you how to plan and execute your own travel adventure. So, if you want to travel the world solo, with a baby, with a child, as a family, on a low budget or in luxury and style, the basics are the same, we can help you. You can click links on this page …
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 …
How to Save Money on Flights with Skyscanner – But Should You?
Of all the tools we used for finding bargains in the travel world, Skyscanner was number 1. Recently 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 but that comes with a warning, read on to discover how we were scammed by one of their 3rd party sellers. Still read the tips, use these skills to find the best routs, days and deals, but proceed with caution and find out …
Christmas Gifts for Kids and Families who Travel
If you are keen world travellers or you know a travelling family, you'll like our ideas for Christmas 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 …
Best Head Torches and Do You Need One?
Head torches are a must for many types of travel, hiking, camping, trekking, fishing and daily life. Situations will pop up that require the need for not just a phone torch but a good head torch. Sure, most phones these days have built in flashlights, but they won't do the job in a lot of situations plus you may not want to wave your $500 iPhone around all the time, especially not in dark alleys. If you're camping and using outside toilets dropping your phone into the WC is a definite possibility and really - you're going to want your hands free in these situations. Reading in bed, on a bus or train is also easily taken care of with a head torch. And should you have to hike or …
Things to do in Cairns and Surrounding Areas
Cairns has numerous great attractions within easy reach of the CBD but there are also loads of things to do in the surrounding area. In this post we'll cover things to do in Cairns first, then add nearby day trips from Cairns. We include reef trips, visiting the town of Kuranda, Northern Beaches, The Tablelands and things to do and see right up to Port Douglas and Daintree. I just need to apologise for the promotional video, my son made it and I thought it was so funny we just had to use it. Things To Do In Cairns So let's get into the list! There are so many things to do in Cairns, it's a real tourist hub, we're aiming to get as many as we possibly can on this page, from the …
School Days Are the Happiest Days of Your Life – Is a Lie
My dad used to say that to me when I was a kid. " School days are the happiest days of your life". I can see from the internet that it's still a thing, people are searching for posts that tell them how to write an essay, speech or debate on that topic, so I guess schools are still trying to perpetuate that myth to keep kids compliant. This myth we tell children goes hand in hand with the other classic lines every parent uses at some point. "School is so much fun !" "You'll make loads of lovely new friends!" These are probably believed and deeply ingrained and we pass them on to persuade our too-young children that being assimilated into the system away from their comfort and …
Cairns to Port Douglas. Drive, Transfers or Bus
The only way to get from Cairns to Port Douglas is by road ( unless you want to take a helicopter or charter a boat ). Travellers staying in Port Douglas, the picture perfect town, will arrive into Cairns by air, road or rail before making their way 65 kms north along the Captain Cook Highway. The Captain Cook Highway is a single lane winding road with two overtaking lanes between Palm Cove and Port Douglas. Drivers should take care, especially in the wet season when it can be quite dangerous. Port Douglas has neither a railway station nor an airport but don’t worry it isn’t far and below I’ll cover the quickest, cheapest, most luxurious, budget and comfortable ways to get between …
Car Hire in Port Douglas, Is it Necessary and Which Company to Use?
Hiring a car in Port Douglas can be quick and easy but during the high season the availability of cars will be limited so book ahead if you want a particular type of car. Cars available range from budget small hatch backs to convertible, 4wds and people carriers. There are far more car hire companies in Port Douglas than you would expect from such a small town. We live in Port Douglas and don't own a car, so we hire them regularly. We can pass on some reviews tips and tricks for the various car hire companies here. Also, do you really need a car ? Port Douglas Car Hire - Facts and Reviews Do You Need a Hire Car in Port Douglas? No, not really, but bear in mind that public transport …
Places to Visit in Nepal 2019
Are you planning your trip to Nepal? Where should you go? What are the top, do not miss places, towns, cities, villages, national parks and things to do in Nepal? If you're a culture lover, a wildlife enthusiast or a high altitude trekker, we have a round-up of the tourist places in Nepal that you need to visit. For you to save to Pinterest Kathmandu itself has some of the most fascinating places to visit in the entire world. If time is short and you're heading off for a trek, be sure to check out our post on places to visit in and around Kathmandu, below. If you have more time and you're heading to the Annapurnas or Poon Hill, you can squeeze in a few days relaxing in beautiful …
Manta Ray Bali Tour- A Snorkel, Swimming or Dive Trip
The day we went swimming with manta rays off Bali Indonesia, was one of my favorite days of our six years of full-time travel. The famous Manta Bay is actually off Nusa Penida and we were staying in Ubud Bali. Were we even close enough to take this epic snorkeling trip? It turned out that we were. We booked a tour from Bali to Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan in one day. Our tour included a private car pickup from our hotel in Ubud, a return ferry from Sanur to Nusa Penida , an island tour and a full day of snorkeling off Nusa Lembongan. The included lunch was delicious and the price was very affordable. Read about our day snorkeling with the manta rays in Indonesia below, or get a price …