The second half of my month-long trip to Australia with my 16-year old son Max was wonderful. Having spent a week in Sydney and then a week in Queensland exploring the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest (you can read about the first half of our trip in this post), we headed into the heart of […]
2-week itinerary: Sydney & Great Barrier Reef with a teenager
I used to live in Sydney in the 1990s and absolutely loved my time there. My children have grown up hearing stories of big skies, wonderful scenery, sea and sunshine. It was hardly a surprise when my 16 year-old son Max declared his burning desire to go to Australia when we were deciding on a […]
7-day itinerary for Porto, Lisbon & Silver Coast, Portugal
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 […]
How to take part in a beach clean up
Have you ever taken part in a beach clean? It’s a really easy way to make a positive impact on the world. Every single piece of litter which you collect from the beach makes a difference – because it’s one less harmful thing to be eaten by sea creatures and to pollute the environment. You […]
How to go seal watching in Winterton, Norfolk
On a January trip to Norfolk to visit a friend I was amazed to see some seal pups on the sandy beach at Winterton. My friend is a volunteer seal warden at the beach, and she explained that these pups will have been born in December. Their mothers will have stayed with them on the […]
Thailand with teenagers: a two-week summer itinerary
If you’re planning a summer family holiday with a teenager, have you thought about Thailand? This south-east Asian country is a friendly and welcoming place to explore, the food’s amazing, it has more than 5,000 miles of coastline and it offers great value. AD – Some of our accommodation on this trip was provided for […]
A four-day trip to the Algarve, Portugal
My first ever trip to the Algarve has left me determined to return there. The Algarve is Portugal’s southernmost region and enjoys more sun each year than California (according to the Met Office). This beautiful coastal area is easy to reach from the UK, and I was there on a spring trip with my husband, […]
Ria Formosa Algarve bike tour
As we stand and watch the serene flamingoes, our guide João asks: ‘Do you know why these flamingoes are white, rather than pink?’ We don’t know, so he explains that flamingoes become pink because they eat shrimps. These particular flamingoes eat shellfish, so their feathers are white. There are fish leaping and splashing in the […]
Vidamar Resort Hotel review
So, two very unexpected and exciting things happened in March. First, my husband discovered that he had a few days of holiday to use up before the end of the month. Then our 19 year-old kindly volunteered to look after her brother and our dog so that my husband and I could go on a […]
Top things to do near La Manga Club Spain
If you’re staying at Spain’s luxury La Manga Club, as I did with my family this summer, you could spend all of your time at the resort and never venture beyond its 1,400 acres. The resort has its own beach, pools, spa, restaurants, shops and sports facilities and there’s even a free bus service to […]
