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The end of our travels: 7-days in UAE (Dubai & Abu Dhabi)

After… Our travelling adventure has come to an end. Time flies when you’re having fun. For one last time, here’s my travel diary for what was an epic last week in the metropolis that is Dubai. I must admit, we didn’t think about the cost of ending in Singapore and UAE when planning this trip!…

Chiang Mai & Chai Lai Orchid Elephant Jungle Expedition

Famous for ancient temples and elephant rescue sanctuaries, the mountainous city of Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand was next on our South East Asia itinerary. Chiang Mai (meaning ‘New City’ in Thai) is steeped in history with 75 temples within the city walls. This popular backpacking destination was only founded in 1296 when…

7 days in Laos: Vientiane and Luang Prabang

Laos wasn’t originally on our travelling itinerary but it made sense to visit because the country shares a border with Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, (as well as Myanmar and China). It was only an hour flight from Hanoi to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. Unfortunately, we only had one week to spare which meant we had…

10 days in Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi

Travelling through Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Hanoi is a well-trodden backpacking route, and it was one we were both thoroughly looking forward to embarking on. I’d only heard good things. Once under Chinese domination for over 1,000 years, Vietnam is renown for its coffee, floating markets, motorbikes (two-thirds of households across…

Exploring temples and historical sites in Bangkok, Siem Reap & Phnom Penh

I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity of doing all of the incredible things we’ve seen and done so far, but I ‘crashed’ after One Life Adventure’s 14-day tour of Japan. Being on the go 24/7 had eventually taken its toll. My body was achy and telling me to rest after exploring Bali, Malaysia,…

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur & Langkawi

Kuala Lumpur was our next destination after spending three weeks in Indonesia. Back to the city life. The capital of Malaysia has always been somewhere that I wanted to visit predominantly to see the iconic PETRONAS Twin Towers which dominant the city’s modern skyline. We landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport essentially ‘winging it’. Normally,…

East Coast Australia Road Trip – The Great Ocean Road & Melbourne (Part VIII)

Our time in Australia has sadly come to an end. Over the last eight weeks we’ve clocked up nearly 3,000 miles travelling by motorhome from Cairns to Sydney and then via car to Melbourne with my Mum on what has been a truly unforgettable East Coast Australian Road Trip. Some of my favourite highlights include…

East Coast Australia Road Trip – Cape Hillsborough, Fraser/K’Gari Island 4WD Jeep Tour & Noosa Everglades (Part III)

From Cairns, Cape Tribulation and Daintree National Park in Far North Queensland, to Magnetic Island, the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands, the last couple of weeks exploring has been a nonstop adventure. To ensure that we didn’t completely burn out, we decided to spend the next couple of days in Airlie Beach before moving…

East Coast Australia Road Trip – Exploring Cairns, Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park, Kuranda, Mossman Gorge & Port Douglas (Part I)

From the Great Barrier Reef, to Uluru/Ayers Rock, to pristine sandy beaches and vibrant cities such as Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne just to name a few, Australia has always been somewhere that has really intrigued me. I think it’s the different way of life and being on the other side of the world. Over the…

New Zealand Road Trip – Wānaka, Queenstown & Milford Sounds (Part V)

So far we’ve been spoilt by New Zealand’s natural beauty and it honestly just keeps getting better and better as you’re about to find out in this penultimate blog post. Last time, we enjoyed a boat cruise in Abel Tasman National Park, went on some amazing hikes in Punakaiki, Paparoa National Park and Hokitika before…

Island Hopping in Fiji’s Mamanuca and Yasawa Islands

Spending eight nights island hopping on Fiji’s golden sandy beaches with crystal clear blue waters in the Mamanuca and Yasawa archipelago was a perfect break after travelling for nearly three months in the United States. We booked the Yasawa Wanderer package with Awesome Adventures Fiji. However, not all of the resorts were available because we…

American Road Trip – National & State Parks Edition

In this blog post, we travel to four National Parks across three States over two weeks including Death Valley, Zion, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon as well as visiting other State Parks, clocking up over 1,400 miles along the way. Day 1 – Death Valley National Park The second part of our American Road…

What happens in Vegas, stays in Las Vegas… well mostly

From the bright lights of the Strip, to some of the best casinos and entertainment shows in the world, Las Vegas was everything that I imagined it to be. It is a gamblers paradise. And for someone who likes to have a bet, I definitely enjoyed my time here. However, there is a lot to…

Four Days in Los Angeles & Beverly Hills (inc Universal Studios Hollywood)

We arrived in Los Angeles after stopping off in Monterey, San Luis Obispa and Santa Barbara overnight along the way. The drive along the coastal route of ‘Big Sur’ was the best highlight of our journey to LA after our time in Yosemite National Park. The aforementioned towns were used to recharge our batteries. To…

How to maximise two days in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Natural Wonder of the World. Renown for its waterfalls, giant sequoia trees and Tunnel View – the iconic vista of towering Bridalveil Fall, granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome, make visiting very, very worthwhile! Things you should know before visiting Yosemite National Park: Timed…

How to spend 72 hours in San Francisco

After finishing Contiki’s tour of Canada & the Rockies, we had two chilled out days in Vancouver. To read about our time on the tour, click here. In order for us to be able to travel back to the United States, we required a negative COVID-test. It cost us $65 p/p to get a rapid…

Contiki Canada & The Rockies Tour – Banff & Vancouver (Days 6-11)

Before getting into this blog post, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who joined Em and I on this epic adventure of Canada & the Rockies. I’ve made friendships and memories that will last for a lifetime. To read about our first five days on Contiki’s Canada & The Rockies tour click here.…

Contiki Canada & The Rockies Tour – Whistler & Jasper (Days 1-5)

This is the first tour of our 10 months away. Previously, we have been on tours with G Adventures and One Life Adventures, but this was our first experience with Contiki. Day One We made our way to the meeting point and it didn’t take long for everyone to start mingling. The Canada & the…

The perfect way to spend 3 days at Niagara Falls & Toronto

We arrived in Toronto on 3 May having caught a very short 1hr 40min flight over from Chicago. In honesty, we flew to Toronto predominantly to visit the famous Niagara Falls, which is only a couple of hours drive away. There weren’t too many sights in Toronto other than the CN Tower that we wanted…

Chicago – The Windy City

Chicago – renown for its chilling winds, amazing pizza and for depicting Gotham City in the Batman franchise. 13°C and 16°C were the temperatures for the three days we were here, which would be considered warm and probably shorts weather back home in the U.K. but here, it was freezing – layers were needed! Scenes…

The perfect proposal in Central Park

Ever since we started planning our travelling again, I knew I was going to propose to my girlfriend, Emily. We have been together now for eight and a half years, so it was probably about time! I’d spent hours looking for the perfect engagement ring and days stressing about where and when I would do…