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
After a couple of months staying in boutique hotels in Siem Reap and Bangkok, we’ve reaffirmed something we’ve increasingly felt over the years and that’s that when it comes to choosing hotel accommodation when we travel, boutique hotels suit us better. We much prefer small local boutique hotels to big bland multinationals. We’ll take more … 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
“Boat ride, one hour!” “Motorbike!” “Taxi!” “You buy lantern!” “You buy something from me!” “You take picture of me!” “Happy hour!” While these were the phrases shouted at me daily as I wandered the streets for the first few weeks of our time here in charming, laid-back Hoi An in Vietnam, they have recently started … Read more