What’s the best age to travel with kids or take your kids on a family gap year? How old should children be to travel the world? Should you take babies and toddlers travelling? Is it possible to take a gap year with your teenagers? I’ve travelled with my kids from babies to now, teens and … Read more
Lumbini Nepal is the birth place of Lord Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. Today you can still see ruins and the exact place of his birth marked and enclosed by a temple. The tank next to the Maya Devi temple is said to be where his mother bathed before delivering the miraculous baby, born walking and talking. … Read more
Almost 7 years ago Chef and I sat on the patio and hatched the plan that became an indefinite round the world trip that would change our lives. We were to set off for a family gap year that became a never-ending travel lifestyle. We became nomadic long-term travellers. Last week saw us returning home. … Read more
We’ve had 5 Christmases on the road in the last almost 6 years of full-time family travel. Another one is coming up fast and this one will be “at home” for the first time. Did you know we’re almost home? I’m going to count this one as a Christmas while travelling too because returning to an … Read more
So here’s the thing, Tibet is way, way high. Crazy high. Everyone knows that to trek in the Himalayas you’ll have altitude issues and probably need to take diamox and have acclimatisation days and such like, but before we set off to Tibet last week I hadn’t actually thought much about the altitude of the … Read more
I honestly don’t know where to start with Tibet. We’ve just spent 8 incredible days travelling through Tibet from Kathmandu and those 8 days were some of the most mesmerising of our last 6 years of full-time travel. I now need to create a Tibet travel blog to record our memories before they fade and … Read more
Chitwan Nepal can be reached by bus (public or tourist class) from Kathmandu or other departure points in Nepal. A short domestic flight can take you to Bharatpur Airport in Chitwan district, 22 Km, 14 miles from Chitwan National Park. The easiest way to visit Chitwan is to book a multi day tour from Kathmandu or … Read more
Bhaktapur means place of devotees and is about 13 Km from Kathmandu itself, lying in the eastern part of the Kathmandu valley. Originally named Khwopa, Bhaktapur Nepal was always known as the best preserved of the region’s 3 Royal cites and UNESCO sites until the 2015 earthquake. Tragically, there was much damage in Bhaktapur with … Read more
It’s so good to be back in Kathmandu! This is our third visit to Nepal and it will be our longest. We are in possession of 3 month tourist visas and have plans to make the most of them. Empty time stretches ahead of us, no more rush, stress or anxious preparations. Let’s just do … Read more
This post is about the best beaches in Egypt. Hurghada is our family favourite. For the rest, I asked a friend, Emma, to contribute as she’s spent a lot of time living in Egypt and visiting beaches, resorts, hotels, and more. Over to Emma and her take on Egyptian Beaches to help you plan your … Read more
Yes, it happened, the day we never anticipated. After 5 and a half years of full time travel we met our first major booking related problem. We turned up to board our flight to be told that no, actually, we weren’t getting on their plane today. Our tickets didn’t exist, our flights had been cancelled … Read more
K’gari island is a must-visit for adventure seekers, wildlife enthusiasts and beachgoers in South East Queensland, K’gari, formerly Fraser Island, is a sand island (the largest in the world, in fact!) located in southern Queensland only 25Km from Brisbane. (For how to get to K’gari, see our post.)A popular spot for many people both backpacking … Read more
We visited Go Ape at Chessington UK with Where the Jones. Lots of fun! A review of Go Ape will come but for now, a video of our Go Ape tribe swinging through the trees near London. If you’re visiting England with kids (older kids) these GoApe centres are a lot of fun! Our treetop … Read more
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, but do you really? … Read more
Everyone blogs differently. I’ve been able to support my family in a full time travel lifestyle, without house sitting or couch surfing, for several years now because of this blog. Should you blog the way I do? Well probably not because I am me and you are you. My way works, but so might your … Read more
We’ve been on the road well over 5 years now and finally we decided to get our rabies vaccinations. When we first set out for South East Asia with a 6 year old and 8 year old, we decided that rabies jabs for travel weren’t necessary, so why, after 50 or so countries including India, … Read more
I’m a biologist, my degree is in Physiology, I worked in hospital medical science for 20 years, I know a bit about science. I also have kids, kids that have been to Everest Base Camp. Together, we wrote this simple explanation of altitude sickness and acclimatisation, with links to videos and further resources. We hope … Read more
We posted already about our experiences of travelling around Southeast Asia with kids (for 5 years!) now let’s have a look at where you should go in Southeast Asia. What are the standout, must-see places, attractions, and destinations You’re probably in the process of planning your Southeast Asia trip, or thinking about taking your children … Read more
It may surprise you to know that you don’t need to be Ironman fit (as I am) to trek in the Himalayas. Most people will require minimal preparation for a Himalayan trek, be that in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, India, even Pakistan. You won’t want to be a couch potato for these high altitude treks, but … Read more
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 … Read more
First of all, don’t panic. You can visit Asia with kids. In fact, travel to Asia with kids is 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 … Read more
To the north of Cairns and Port Douglas, you will find the oldest rainforest in the world, the Daintree Rainforest. Daintree Village, Daintree River, Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation are areas you will most certainly want to see during your time in Port Douglas and Far North Queensland. A look at everything the Daintree has … Read more
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 watches should have GPS … Read more
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 … Read more
Freshly back from a Scotland road trip, what were our highlights, and what did we do up there? Which Scottish places and attractions do we recommend and which weren’t best? Everything we saw and did on our early summer trip to Scotland with kids (a teen and a tween) is going on this Scotland travel … Read more
One of the best things I did during our 6 months in Hoi An Vietnam, was find a morning for myself to take a Hoi An photo tour with Pieter. Pieter runs Hoi An Photo Walks – Now renamed Photo Voyager – and we already knew him socially through our running in Hoi An, he is … Read more
Guys, I’m reading so much nonsense right now about dishonest blogging and people being paid to say nice things that I thought I should spell it out to you. How World Travel Family works, how we go about things, why we go about things, what you, our readers and our website, means to us and … Read more
We just got back from a 10 day UK road trip, mostly in Scotland, but we flew into the UK in London and so started from and returned to Luton airport. We hired a car at around 11 UK Pounds per day (we have separate annual excess insurance) and had a really lovely time exploring … Read more
Ethical elephant attractions in Thailand are a bit of a hot potato so over the years we’ve decided to just not get involved. We haven’t done anything involving elephants since back in the days when we were all OK to ride them. Then suddenly it wasn’t OK and a huge publicity campaign made elephants something … Read more
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. All countries are guilty but in some places it’s visible everywhere, on roadsides, on beaches and in rivers. We, as travellers, are … Read more
Before approaching the sheep station we had to take precautions, the Romanian sheepdogs (AKA Romanian Shepherds) would be loose so we had to call the shepherd (human) to meet us and make sure the dogs didn’t see us as a threat to their family or flock. These dogs can take down bears and wolves, and … Read more
Abu Simbel is one of the greatest, most spectacular monuments or temples in Egypt and you are most likely to visit Abu Simbel from Aswan. Unfortunately, Abu Simbel is difficult to get to, but you can visit Abu Simbel by air or road from Aswan. We’ll tell you how! We’ve been to Abu Simbel twice, … Read more
Every May, the Tânjaua or Tanjaua (the spring ploughing festival), is held in the village of Hoteni in Maramures Romania. The villagers, in traditional summer costumes, process and leap through the village of Hoteni to glorify the first ploughing of the fields. It’s something not to miss in Maramures and a great excuse to visit this … Read more
Can you tell us a few things to do in Belgrade? No? We couldn’t either until a week ago. We had a vague idea about Tesla and knew Belgrade, the capital of Serbia was to be found in the Balkans ( turns out we were half wrong) but other than that, nope, we knew nothing … Read more
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 holidaymakers 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 … Read more
Patan Durbar Square is in the city of Lalitpur, Nepal. It is one of three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley and all are UNESCO listed. The other Durbar Squares can be found in Bhaktapur and in central Kathmandu at the Hanuman Dhoka Palace Complex. Durbar Square simply means Royal Square and describes the plazas … Read more
Hoi An is a magical little town on the coast in central Vietnam and is a lovely destination with kids filled with interesting things to do for your children and for you as a family. We enjoyed 6 months in Hoi An with our kids and we return regularly. This post is about things to … Read more
Head torches are a must for many types of travel, hiking, camping, running, 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 … Read more
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 … Read more
Maeklong railway market is really no distance at all from Bangkok, is easy to get to and well worth the trip. The Maeklong market itself is a fascinating warren of stalls many selling local seafood, but it’s the trains passing through that most want to see. We’ve tried getting to Maeklong by local bus ( … Read more
The kumquats and flowers of Tet were just one of the highlights and interesting happenings during our 6 months living in Hoi An. Tet in Vietnam is a huge festival, Lunar New Year, and it was a privilege to be in Vietnam at this special time. In this post we share Kumquat festival photos and … Read more
Mi Quang- Mì Quảng is a noodle dish that originated in the Quang Nam province of Central Vietnam. It translates as Quang (province) style noodles. Travelling around central Vietnam you will see an abundance of street stalls all offering mi quang for around $1 US. After 4 months in Hoi An I haven’t seen any … Read more