I’ve been asked to create this itinerary by Discover Car Hire, who are sponsoring this post. My first experience of Portugal was a marvellous two-week family road trip exploring Porto, Lisbon and the Silver Coast. Our kids were 18 and 13 years old at the time, and the holiday was a balance of cultural visits, foodie […]
The one where I claim flight compensation
When my flight from London to New York was cancelled, I was rebooked on a flight the following day, from a different airport. On my return, I claimed compensation for the cancellation. I’m sharing how I did this here, in case it’s helpful for you. This is what happened. The closer it got to our […]
8 reasons why families need to sit together on flights
Apparently one in five airline passengers are separated from their travel companions if they don’t pay to choose their seat. On some airlines (I’m looking at you, Ryanair) more like one in three people are split up from their mates or family. Unless you prefer not to sit with your friends and relations, this is […]
How to go Interrailing when you’re a teenager
This post is by my daughter, Izzy, who went Interrailing two years ago. It was the first time that she’d travelled abroad without an adult and I was a bit fretty about it, but it was a great experience for her. I wrote a post about how I felt when she left: What to do when your teen goes travelling for the first time. […]
The best London Gatwick Airport hotels
The top airport hotels offer a combination of comfort and convenience, and they can best provide that if they’re actually AT the airport. For me, the most important feature of an airport hotel is the ease with which you can walk from it to the departure gate when you’re half asleep. I’m not interested in […]
What’s it like to drive a Volvo V90 estate? Family car review
We bought our first Volvo for one reason only – safety. I’d not bothered about cars much, as long as they worked, until I had a horrible car crash on the school run. My car rolled onto its side and was written off. I remember it happening as if in slow motion, and I remember […]
London Gatwick Airport travel tips
I’ve spent most of my life in places which are within striking distance of London Gatwick Airport. As a child I used to wave to the planes and imagine where they were going as they flew over our house, and one of my favourite school trips was to Gatwick’s air traffic control tower. As a […]
10% airport parking discount
Do you drive to the airport when you travel? If so, how do you book your parking? When I flew from London Gatwick to Copenhagen for a weekend trip with my husband recently, I booked our parking through SkyParkSecure. We had an early morning flight and so I was looking for a meet and greet […]
What to do if your flight’s cancelled and you’re in the departure lounge
‘I’m calling a taxi and I’m going home’, said my son, 14. ‘You can’t’, I said. ‘Why not?’ said my son. ‘Because we’re in the departure lounge and there’s no way that you can get out’, I explained. We were at London Gatwick airport, and we’d just found out that our flight to Italy had […]
Easy airport parking: Purple Parking meet and greet review
The only way to get to an airport from our house is by car (unless we go for a tortuous car/bus/train combo which would add aeons to our journey). So, we either 1) get a lift from a kindly friend or relation, or 2) fork out for a taxi (if we remember to book a week […]
