Social travel and the deregulation of the travel industry has resulted in overtourism in some of our favourite cities in the world, and it’s been on my mind a lot since our recent trip to Barcelona, where we witnessed local protests against overtourism, illegal holiday rentals and anti-social behaviour. Recent events in Barcelona have had … Read more
We’ve got lots of living like locals resources on slowing down and settling in to places when you travel, from scores of reviews of apartments and holiday rentals that we’ve stayed in to tips on everything from renting riads in Morocco to how to save money when self-catering. Our long term aim is to provide … Read more
I don’t remember the name of a single hotel concierge from any of the hotels we’ve ever stayed at over our many years working as professional travel writers, and we’ve checked into thousands of hotels around the world. Yet I can name the couple of dozen or so concierges and managers of the holiday rentals … Read more
During our first few months in Vietnam, we rented an apartment in Hanoi that didn’t go so well. It was simultaneously the best and worst of locations and you can read about that in a story I did for The Independent. By contrast, an experience living like locals in Milan, Italy, couldn’t have been better. It was bellissimo! … Read more
Spending a holiday in a villa rental with family or friends can be very special. But things can also go horribly wrong. Thankfully, after many years of experience staying in holiday rentals we know how to avert disasters. Here are our tips to renting a holiday villa with family or friends. We shared many delicious … Read more