When we left our hotel just north of Paris to make our way to the ferry port at the end of our trans Europe road trip we didn’t know that our evening’s accommodation was in one of the most fascinating and historic parts of France. Not far from Amiens and our hotel, I spotted a sign … Read more
A reader asked me to post about our European road trip costs, so we collected the data, saved every receipt and collected all the information you need on driving around Europe for almost 2 weeks into this post. We have petrol ( diesel) costs for all of the European countries we visited, road toll charges, … Read more
Before you buy a carry on bag or backpack, read this. Yesterday I was ready to buy the immensely popular Farpoint 40 L Backpack for my son. It’s a great bag, good quality and has everything you could ask for but, just as I reached for my credit card, the shop assistant mentioned that although … Read more
Around Christmas time, at home in Romania, we borrowed a friend’s hacksaw to try to cut my engagement ring off. Drastic measures to resolve a simple problem. I’d put on so much weight that my rings were wedged on causing me pain. The hacksaw plan didn’t work so I decided to lose the weight instead, … Read more
Parc Asterix is an Asterix-themed theme park just north of Paris France. It is very much worth visiting, and we share details of the rides, our experiences of the park with kids and as adults, below. If you’re planning to visit Parc Asterix, The Somme, or even venture into central Paris, this affordable hotel may … Read more
3 days in Slovenia was enough time to fall head over heels in love. Why didn’t I know how beautiful Slovenia is? Why haven’t we visited a million times? Why haven’t we taken the kids to Bled and the other stunning lakes to enjoy every kind of outdoor adventure? I’m forever saying that Romania is … Read more
Hungarian horsemen, dressed in blue, have incredible skills. Find them at the UNESCO-listed Hortobágy National Park, the Puszta, in Hungary. Also see the rare and heritage breed livestock of this unique region. This post is about visiting Hortobagy, is it worth it? We also share photos from Hortobagy National Park, the horsemen, and heritage livestock, … Read more
It happens, I can’t deny that. People get robbed when they travel. People also get robbed at home so is the occurrence more likely on the road? I don’t think so. I’ve visited 50+ countries over too many years and have suffered two thefts and one attempted theft, that’s not so bad. This blog is … Read more
This is the question that comes up constantly. How do we afford it? How do all the other travel families afford it? There are thousands of families out travelling with their kids, for a 1-year family gap year, for an extended period of a few months, or like us, long-term. We’ve been travelling over 6 … Read more
I’ve been asked to write this post on the basics of SEO for bloggers by a member of our private travel blog group and, well, I’ve been meaning to do it for a long time and I’m in the mood so let’s do it! SEO is my jam, I find it fascinating and you’ll generally … Read more
Just a little south of Cairo is a tourist attraction that most tourists don’t see. That’s a great shame because this ancient necropolis on the west bank of the Nile turned out to be one of my favourites of our whole month in Egypt. Maybe it was partly because we hadn’t been here before (if … Read more
Best places to visit in Egypt include ancient sites, cities, museums, beaches, souks, fortresses, and oases. Egypt is full of wonders and is an affordable destination with great food, diving, and of course, sights to see. Take a look at some incredible places to visit in Egypt, on this page, and start planning the itinerary … Read more
I have so many people in our Facebook group, Living Differently, who are about to start, or have recently started a blog or website that I thought a one off, comprehensive list or guide, a check list, would be a great idea to help them on their way. It will also help me stop repeating … Read more
It’s almost summer holiday time again and some parents will be getting stressed out. Maybe it’s your first time taking a summer holiday with your young family, maybe it’s your first time travelling abroad, maybe you took a holiday as a family last year and it didn’t go as planned? We’re here to help! We … Read more
If I were to ask you what you thought were the hardest parts of being a digital nomad family, what would you answer? Would you think it was lack of stability and financial security? Maybe you’d crave routine and regularity? Would you think living out of a suitcase with few possessions would be an issue? … Read more
Last week I posted on the Facebook page that we’d just been involved in a very dangerous situation while travelling in Egypt. We were still in Egypt then. It was scary, too close for comfort, and we had a very lucky escape. I thought we’d all handled it pretty well as we carried on enjoying … Read more
Homeschooling, doesn’t officially exist in Romania. As far as I know it’s not actually illegal, it just doesn’t exist, all children must go to school. My research is hampered by the language barrier, so please correct me if I’m wrong, I’d love to hear about families homeschooling in Romania and I know that some do … Read more
Welcome to our Egypt Travel Blog page. It’s hard to find up-to-date information or travel guides for Egypt because the travellers and holiday-makers all but stopped coming quite a few years ago. I haven’t been able to find any other travel blogs that cover Egypt in any depth, so I decided to make ours as … Read more
Chef and I met in Egypt on a 5 day felucca trip on the Nile. It was a lovely, peaceful few days and it was almost 20 years ago now. This year we wanted to do it all over again and share the magic of traditional sail boats on the longest river on Earth with … Read more
We’ve taken our kids to the best and most famous museums in the world, London, New York, Washington DC and a hundred smaller storehouses of knowledge, but nothing could ever beat Cairo’s spectacular Old Egyptian Museum. This is my favourite museum in the world, a dusty slice of yesteryear and for us, The Egyptian Museum … Read more
There is a train from Cairo to Luxor or you can go by road, air, or water. Tourists normally take the night train from Cairo to Luxor, the night train is much more expensive than the day train. We wanted to take the train during the day. You can, of course, fly, go by road, … Read more
We’re in Egypt. We’re certainly not in Kansas anymore and Cairo hits you around the head like a sock full of sand. It’s big, it’s busy, it’s crazy, it’s dirty and it’s amazing! We arrived late at night, around 1 am at Cairo airport and were very glad we had a pick up arranged with … Read more
In the far north of Romania, nestled in a valley below a long-extinct volcano, lies the little village of Breb, in Maramures County. We first came to Romania, Maramures and Breb in May 2015 and fell in love. Today, we are still unable to fully call it home due to visas and officialdom, but to … Read more
We put off climbing Sigiriya, lion rock, with kids until they were 11 and 9. Why? Because we’d climbed Sigiriya rock fortress in Sri Lanka twice before, without kids, and knew exactly what to expect up there. We knew that the steps weren’t the most child friendly in the world and that there were a … Read more
We just got back from a 2 day roadtrip in Northern Transylvania, Romania. It was a lovely couple of days and totally impromptu, that’s how we roll. I published a post about Dracula in Romania a day or so ago and we got inspired to go visit one of Romania’s Dracula themed hotels, around 3-4 … Read more
Irishman, Bram Stoker, published his classic Gothic horror novel “Dracula” back in 1897. The cursed count, based in Castle Dracula, Transylvania, was on a mission to reach British shores in search of fresh blood. Van Helsing and a group of upstanding citizens who knew all about vampires, garlic and stakes, did battle with the Count, … Read more
Have you heard of smart luggage? I hadn’t until very recently, but it’s a “thing” a mind-blowingly amazing thing. The future is here and people are buying it. Smart luggage is the latest buzzword for the tech-aware traveller thirsting for the latest innovations. If you need your luggage to have built-in tracking, Wi-Fi hot spots, … Read more
Living in Breb, Maramures County Romania, we visited the monthly animal and horse market at Sighetu Marmatiei more than once. It was quite a thing to see but not without drawbacks. This isn’t a post for vegans. Animals and livestock are vital for human survival in this part of the world and market day can … Read more
Sighisoara is a stunning, and surprisingly tiny, medieval citadel in Transylvania, central Romania. Its story-book looks alone will blow you away with picture postcards buildings, both grand and humble. Add history and cultural appeal to the visual and you’ve got a must-visit global destination. Unsurprisingly, Sighisoara is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the best preserved … Read more
Creating content for blogs or websites is more of a science than an art. Each blog post needs to have a series of elements, correctly executed to maximise your chances of ranking high on Google. If you don’t rank high on Google, you just won’t get search traffic and your blogging efforts won’t make you … Read more
Hiring a car in Thailand is pretty straightforward and a great way of seeing the country. While renting or hiring a car in Bangkok maybe isn’t such a great idea, other parts of Thailand are perfectly set up to explore by road. We tried our hand at driving in Thailand with a self drive vehicle in … Read more
Malaysia is a fantastic destination for families boasting beaches, culture, wildlife, great food, and plenty of child-friendly attractions. It’s not the cheapest place in the world, but being in South East Asia, prices for family travel and vacations are moderate. In this post, we tell you where to go in Malaysia with kids, where to … Read more
Hi there, so you’re as crazy as us! Great to meet you. You’re thinking of selling everything you own and setting off to travel the world or just moving abroad for fun. We did just that. We were that family that sells most of our posessions to travel. We didn’t sell everything, but we sold … Read more
Subscribers are pretty important to any blogger, not just travel bloggers. If Pinterest shut down, if Google de-indexed you, if Zucherberg pulled the plug, you’d be left holding your list. Now, I’m guilty of saying that getting blog subscribers isn’t the be-all and end-all that others make it out to be and for me, to … Read more
What to blog about? What content should you create that will bring you lots of traffic? There are a few different options but I’ll tell you that the bread and butter of my website is giving people facts. They want hard information, first hand experiences and maybe a little reassurance that the thing they’re doing … Read more
With more and more travel essential gadgets requiring charging, it’s little wonder that people are turning to portable battery packs to help fill the power gap when travelling. Be aware that not all battery packs are created equal in build, quality or price. Below I’ve listed 5 of the most common and widely regarded best … Read more
Thailand for families, best places and parts of Thailand for families to visit. Thailand highlights for families to enjoy on a visit. trip, or vacation. Information on visiting Thailand as a family, for families. Thailand is a fantastic and relatively easy destination for families, for you and your kids. We’d certainly rate it the easiest … Read more
If you’re like most people, you probably have dreams of going on a cruise through the beautiful Bahamas or mystical Mediterranean coast. Then adult responsibility hits and you have so many bills that all those luxury travel dreams seem like a far-off fantasy. Sure, cruises can be expensive. But guess what, they can be cheap … Read more
4 years on the road and 50+ countries under our belts, we know how important it is to simplify your packing. If you have an easy packing system in place and know what you’re going to pack along with where and how you’re going to pack it, all of that packing anxiety just floats away … Read more
Sri Lanka is an amazing place to take a holiday, or to travel, as a family. This magical island combines low prices, friendly people, stunning coastline and a wealth of cultural and wildlife experiences that can all be very family-friendly. After months exploring Sri Lanka, these are our family’s recommendations on highlights of Sri Lanka … Read more
My husband is a genius. OK, sometimes he’s not, but today he is. A few months ago he had my precious Marmite confiscated by security as he boarded his Romania-bound flight in Luton, leaving me Marmite-less for another few months. That was an example of him not being a genius. Yesterday, he arrived triumphant with … Read more
I posted already about the various ways of getting to and from Lukla from Kathmandu, Nepal. Flying into Lukla isn’t the only way to start your Everest region or Everest Base Camp trek, there are various bus, jeep and walk options. We feel that flying is the best way to go based on our experience, … Read more
