Crete a different region altogather
Though, Crete is part of Greece and is Greece’s largest island; the people, food and feel is very different than the rest of the country. The Cretans are warriors with very high self esteem and pride a bit bruised with the bloody past and war with the Ottoman Turks. After our fiasco in Paris, we were quite looking forward to a relaxed beach holiday with our friends from UK. We reached Athens a couple of days before they arrived with their 3 year old as we wanted to see
Authentic Vietnam
I am an absolute sucker for authentic experiences. From accommodation, modes of transport, eating out places and touring sights. Hence I always tend to pick boutique hotels owned and managed by locals over branded chains, trust me if you choose a 4* option or above you won’t have any complaints with boutique hotels. They have a more homely feel to it and are characteristic of the local culture, plus we are contributing to the local economy which matters a lot especially in Asia. When I was planning a tour
Experiential Travel with kids
The Indian travellers are quite evolved and thanks to the Internet are also very aware. Their expectations now match global needs in terms of service, deals and most importantly, experiences. They now want to experience the place rather than just visit them or tick them off their checklist. Their bucket list comprises of activities like canyoneering a la James Franco in the Grand Canyon, go wine tasting or truffle hunting in Italy or France. Stay at a local apartments or do a homestay rather than booking a hotel,
Sojourn to Greece with kids
Adventure awaits you in Greece and its idyllic islands! An action packed holiday which will bring you closer to the historical heritage and fascinating local traditions of the country. Greece is not just about ancient ruins and piles of stones which translate B-O-R-I-N-G for most people, especially kids. A holiday to Greece can be very enriching and exciting for adults and children alike with a host of active life experiences – something you will remember forever. The best time to plan for a vacation in Greece is to generally make
Where to go for a vacation? The big question…. – Part I
We all have our bucket list of places to visit, which just keeps on growing each time we see a travel documentary, a movie or read about a new place. On the other hand, most of us have also been blessed with some wonderful memories of vacations we’ve had with our loved ones and families and wish we could re-visit those places to relive the memories. Here comes the big question, should we go to the place we know we love and enjoy or start ticking off our
Where To Go For A Vacation? The Big Question…. – Part II
I had gone for party this weekend and she wanted to know what I meant by ‘Experiential Trips‘, so I started narrating my standard examples like treasure hunt in the Coliseum, making your own Venetian Mask, Art class post visiting the Louvre in Paris, etc. She started cringing and my ego just shattered, I have always had eyes sparkle when I narrate these tours. She said I had moving around so much on my holiday! I just want to do nothing and that is a holiday for me,
How to choose the perfect sightseeing tour when on a holiday?
In my long career of planning customised holidays, I have seldom come across people being picky about the tours they want to include in the itinerary. Of course, that is because not many travel agents offer a bouquet of tours or an option of doing a particular tour in different ways. My clients now are often foxed when I ask them what they would like to do at a particular place, for example Paris. They would often come back saying see the popular places like Eiffel Tower, Louvre,
Top Sights for Kids in Macau
When we went to Hong Kong with our daughter in 2012, my husband was very keen to go to Macau. Though he & I had both visited Macau individually before, we thought we would come back feeling dejected as we would not be able to enjoy the nightlife and also because we didn’t think there would be anything for our daughter. Now that I am dedicating so much time researching on Family Vacations, I just could not accept that Macau was just a gambling paradise with glitzy hotels. I
Germany with kids – Not as cold and unfriendly as you might think
Stained with its WWII history and Hitler, Germany might easily be perceived as a very cold and unfriendly place to visit with kids. This is precisely why I think you should take your kids to Germany especially if they are aware of the history of the place and people. Present day Germany is a far cry from its brutal past and the locals are open to welcome people from different cultural backgrounds. Think of Germany and you cannot ‘not’ think about super cars! You have the fancy factories of
Book Review: Leap & Hop Series, great travel book for kids
I first came across this book series by Isabelle Demenge & Emilie Sarnel sometime last year whilst researching the family vacations trips I promote. I was instantly impressed by the look and design of the book. When I saw a few pages displayed on their website (www.leapandhop.com), the copious amount of time, effort, thought process and passion gone into the making of the book was evident. The books are intended to take along when you travel with kids to Rajasthan, Sri Lanka, Bali, Cambodia, Paris or Hong Kong. Myanmar