19 July 2025

Bonjour! If you have never considered a River Cruise, you are missing a most beautiful experience. Let me introduce you to my own experience of Riviera Travel onboard their wonderful 5* MS Jane Austen, on the Seine, Paris & Normandy itinerary. To begin, the travel experience alone was superb. Upon arrival at Charles De Gaulle airport, our Riviera Travel representative greeted us in the arrivals

26 May 2025

Norwegian Aqua is the latest evolution in the innovative Prima Class Fleet with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). I was very lucky to be invited onboard her 3-day inaugural sailing in March 2025 to experience first hand the ship, dining, entertainment and all the onboard amenities she has to offer. With total excitement we embarked at Southampton port, which was effortless and speedy, having completed

07 May 2025

Bergen is Norway’s second-largest city, home to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bryggen and regarded as an historic coastal gem. We availed of the direct flight from Dublin to Bergen with Widerøe, a flight time just under 2 hours makes Bergen an excellent choice for an adventure holiday or a short city-break. A scenic landing over the fjords was only a taster of what Bergen and Beyond has to o

18 November 2024

Ayubowan! (Hello) Sri Lanka has left an ever-lasting impression in my heart, a stunning country, and people alike. Known as the “Teardrop” country in the Indian Ocean offering you a multitude of experiences from green hill country, ancient ruins, cultural heritage, wildlife, and beautiful beaches. On arrival we transferred to the Wallawwa hotel Kotugoda for a wonderful stay to re-charge in the b

17 October 2024

I was afforded the opportunity to visit central Portugal over a 4-day period by invitation from Visit Portugal, Centre of Portugal and TAP Air Portugal. We flew direct to Lisbon with TAP Air Portugal, an airline I would highly recommend. My first time to fly with TAP and it will not be my last. Within 1 hours drive north of Lisbon we arrived at the 12th century medieval town called Óbidos. This r

29 June 2024

Up to now I would have told you Lake Garda is my firm favourite destination in Europe which it still is, however, Croatia is sitting right beside it now. A genuinely beautiful destination to visit. We chose to stay in the quaint area of Mlini nestled between Dubrovnik and Cavtat. Both are accessible very easy by taxi, bus, and water taxi Mlini is set on a pebbly beach with fabulous views of the s

10 May 2024

The popularity of river cruising is booming. Having cruised on larger cruise ships myself, the opportunity to experience a river cruise ship first hand was a very welcome opportunity for me. I was invited to attend the CLIA River Cruise conference in Amsterdam in March 2024 to learn and expand my knowledge of what exactly is a river cruise and to experience the dynamics of these smaller, more int

10 May 2024

Part2, Washington DC, and Virginia. Next stop, Washington DC approx. 1 hr drive. Upon arrival we enjoyed lunch at the Stellina Pizzeria in the upcoming area of Union Market. We met with Jason from DC Mural Tours for a 2-hour Street Art and Bar Crawl excursion. Union Market was once a trading market, now adorning fresh new apartment living and trendy restaurants and bars. Our hotel in Washington

10 May 2024

Part 1 New York, Baltimore, and Annapolis. I travelled to the USA by invitation from The Brand USA and United Airlines as part of an Educational Trip. The amazing itinerary included New York, Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington, and Virginia. We flew with United Airlines in Economy Plus direct from Dublin to Newark. Economy Plus offers additional leg room seats at the front of the economy cabin. Se

15 May 2023

Santorini has been on my to do list for so long. A few years ago, we embarked on a day trip from Crete, since then I vowed, I would return to stay someday. Never thought it would take so long, but the wait was worth it. Flight time from Dublin with Aer Lingus took 4 hours and private transfer to our hotel in Perissa was 20 minutes. We received the warmest welcome at the Kouros Village in Periss

04 October 2022

Part 2, continued from my blog on Doha. On arrival at Mahe Island we quickly passed through the airport, into our transfer and on our way. Very efficient! We were warmly welcomed at the outstanding Mango House, LXR Hotels and Resort located in Baie Lazare on the Southwest of the Island. This secluded luxury hotel was once the former family home of Italian photographer Gian Paolo Barbieri. With f

04 October 2022

Part 1 – Doha (Seychelles continued in a separate blog) My trip to Doha began with a 7-hour direct flight from Dublin with Qatar Airways. Extremely comfortable flight with plenty of onboard entertainment to pass the time. Service was superb. We experienced the East Lounge at Dublin airport where we enjoyed refreshments and a relaxing ambience before the flight. On arrival at Doha, a meet and gree

08 June 2022

Let me start by telling you that Lake Garda is a stunningly beautiful location, I genuinely could not fault anything about this destination. From start to finish our holiday and experience was amazing. Lake Garda ticks all the boxes when it comes to the best of both worlds style of destination. There are so many options to go, see and do or simply relax by the pool if you so wish. Our chosen a

26 July 2019

Merhaba! One city I have been yearning to visit for a while now is Istanbul, so when I received an invitation to join a Travel Counsellors Educational with Turkish Airlines I was over the moon. Our direct flight with Turkish Airlines in business class was fantastic and I must commend them on their inflight service as I received one of the best inflight meals I ever had. The new Istanbul airport

14 May 2019

We decided to extend our Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Edge which I have a separate blog on with 2 nights before in Fort Lauderdale and 3 nights post-cruise in Miami, so we got to explore both destinations in one holiday. Following a very pleasant direct flight with Aer Lingus to Miami and prompt transfer to Fort Lauderdale we had arrived. Our hotel The B Ocean is a 3* mid-range hotel in a fanta

07 May 2019

The moment I completed a webinar introduction on the new Celebrity Edge cruise ship I instantly fell in love with the concept of the new Edge class by Celebrity Cruises and immediately booked our cruise 2 years in advance! We flew direct to Miami with Aer Lingus and enjoyed 2 pre-nights in Fort Lauderdale followed by 3 nights post cruise in Miami which I will discuss in separate blogs for you.

18 December 2018

We woke up on Monday 17th December with exactly 7 days before Christmas Eve to great excitement as we embarked on our 1-day Enchanting Lapland Trip. An amazing magical day was waiting for us which did not disappoint, and I feel so lucky to have the memory of this once in a life-time trip. The Christmas vibe began as soon as our flight took off. The children were encouraged to participate in

15 March 2018

Sa-wat-dii, khâ ( Hello ) Thailand is now sitting at the top of my favourite destinations in the world! On arrival in Bangkok it was evident that this is a city that never sleeps. It is bustling, busy and bursting with culture! Our first two nights were spent at the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao, which is just outside of the city. This hotel offers a fabulous roof top terrace with

17 October 2017

Vigo is a Spanish city located on the north-west coast in the area of Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. It is a thriving city that is starting to become increasingly popular with tourists but certainly not over-run. If you would like a very typical Spanish and dine with the locals experience, this is the spot for you. The flight from Dublin is just over 1 hour 30 minutes and transfer from the

09 September 2017

The beautiful Island of Madeira known as the garden of Europe, is an enchanting island with the most amazing flora and fauna just waiting to be explored. It was never a destination that I was drawn to in the past but delighted I got to visit there for my own holiday this year. After a very pleasant 3hr 30 min direct flight, 20-minute airport transfer we arrived at our beautiful Porto Santa Mari

13 December 2016

After flying with United Airlines via Newark to Miami we stayed overnight at the Turnberry Isle Hotel and received a tour of this fabulous property with an award winning golf course and the only hotel with a lazy river in Miami which is located approx. 10 mins drive from Downtown Miami. The following morning, we were treated to breakfast and hotel site visit of The 1 Hotel Miami located on S

27 September 2016

Positano is filled with pure beauty around every corner of the winding roads that lead from the top of this vertical town down to the Spaggia Grande beach. Vibrant colours of lemon, green, blue and pink surround you at every turn. Beautiful flowers and trees add to the decedent colours of this pretty hamlet on the Amalfi Coast. The town beach has a lovely promenade, it is pebbly and can be

20 April 2016

Ovation of the Seas was launched by Royal Caribbean International in April 2016. Regarding as a SMART ship as the use of technology from smart check-in with the use of RFID WOW bands to the Robotic bartenders in the Bionic Bar and Xbox Live capabilities so you can play against people all around the world is intended to make your experience on board both fun and functional. The moment I step

11 November 2015

On 18th October 2015, I was very lucky to go to Disney World, Orlando in Florida for 5 nights. Our group flew to Orlando via Philadelphia with American Airlines and I was very impressed with all aspects of our flights including comfort, punctuality, on board service and staff. On arrival at Orlando International our transition was very smooth as we had cleared US Immigration at Dublin airport

02 March 2015

If you were to ask me where my favourite destination is, my first answer is always The Maldives. What an amazing place to visit. You see pictures in brochures, on TV and on the internet and you honestly ask yourself it can’t really be like that. Well let me tell what you see is exactly what you get and more. I flew with Qatar Airways via London and Doha who were a fantastic airline t