All posts filed under: explore

Lagos, Portugal: The Best Activities

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Coming to the best spot in the Algarve and wondering how you’re going to spend your time? I’ve got you covered with the absolute best activities you can do in Lagos! Go Wild on the West Coast with TJ It’s the Algarve but not as you know it. Join TJ on his West Coast Adventure tour and you’ll explore the real Algarve – wilder and more rugged than the picture perfect beaches you’re used to! You need to be reasonably fit for this walk/hike/climb but it’s an amazing experience. TJ is such a knowledgable guide and the tour includes a sunset picnic (with wine, obvs) of delicious local produce. An absolute must do. Walk to Luz for Lunch There’s so many lovely walks you can do along by the coastline here but my favourite is walking from Porto De Mos beach to the pretty whitewashed village of Luz. Though slightly steep in places, this walk is suitable for pretty much all fitness levels- just make sure you bring plenty of water. The whole walk there …

Lagos, Portugal: The Best Beaches

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Lagos is known for having some of the most beautiful beaches in the Algarve but with so many to choose from, you don’t want to waste any precious holiday days at the wrong one. Here are my top picks to make the very most of your beach days, whatever you’re looking for. Most Photogenic: Praia Dona Ana Really, all Lagos beaches are photogenic but Praia Dona Ana is a firm favourite with locals and tourists alike due to its unique rock formations. Although recently extended by adding dredged sands, which has covered some of the rock formations, it’s still a beautiful and popular beach. Best Small Beach: Praia do Camilo Famous for its 200 wooden steps leading down to a sheltered sandy cove,though Camilo is beautiful, it can become overcrowded during the high season. If you’re visiting off peak months, it’s a lovely beach, quite close to town and very picturesque. But if you’re visiting in season, it’s more of a ‘stop and admire its beauty’ than spend the whole day there kinda of beach. …

Berlin for Cool Seekers

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Before visiting Berlin, I was expecting it to be hipster central; Dalston with a post Socialist edge. And more street art. But I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, there’s hipsters aplenty but what Berlin’s buzziest area Mitte does well is easy going cool with a complete lack of pretentiousness (take note, East London). Affordable rents and a low cost of living mean young families mingle with the tech entrepreneurs and floating ‘creatives’, which all mixes together to produce a welcoming, relaxed area of co-working spaces, gin bars and local Italian restaurants.   Mitte is the most central Berlin district and is the historical heart of the city. Mitte was once the centre of East Berlin but in the reunified city, the boroughs were redrawn and it’s now a larger, sprawling neighbourhood. Most Berliners use Mitte only in reference to the original smaller locality and not the wider borough. If you’re looking for the must see tourist sights, visit Tripadvisor. But if you want to know where to go for the best flat white or hummus or …

My 5 Favourite things about Cambodia

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Cambodia is often overlooked in favour of its heavy hitting neighbours Thailand and Vietnam, but the Khmer Kingdom is an amazing holiday destination. I spent almost a month exploring the country and I can’t think of one thing I didn’t enjoy! With gorgeous beaches, delicious cuisine, a burgeoning economy and genuinely friendly people eager to welcome tourists, Cambodia should be your next Asian holiday destination! Awe Inspiring Temples The iconic, sprawling complex of Angkor temples was voted the world’s No. 1 site by Lonely Planet and it’s not hard to see why. Exploring the world’s largest religious site is an otherworldly experience but be prepared to battle the crowds; last year over 2 million tourists visited the 1,000 year old temples!  Don’t miss Ta Prohm, aka the Tomb Raider temple, or Bayum (below). Chilled out Siem Reap The nearest town to the Angkor Temples, Siem Reap is a laid back traveller’s hub. Skip tacky pub street and spend your time scouring the markets for souvenirs, exploring the meandering streets and sampling Cambodian cuisine. For an …

Bored of the usual European City Breaks? Try these 5 instead!

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So you’ve done London, Paris and Rome; Barcelona, Amsterdam and Dublin too. You’re looking for a cool European city break and wondering where to go next? Here are my top picks for some less obvious European city breaks, including some of my favourite cities in Europe and one city I can’t wait to get to! Marseille, France One for. . .seafood lovers, maritime buffs and urban cool seekers. Marseille has an urban, gritty cool that will appeal to lovers of port cities. I’m a big fan of its multicultural vibe and maritime history. Try down by the Marina for some classic south of France cool and amazing seafood, then venture further into the city for some culture, history and atmosphere. Marseilles had a long held reputation for being more than a little unseemly but being European City of Culture in 2013 inspired a big clean up and a huge architectural makeover; there’s no need to be more cautious here than you would in any other European city. There’s some great museums to visit, innovative new architecture …

My Favourite Things About Rwanda

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Perfect for tech buffs, digital nomads, wildlife lovers, caffeine fiends and outdoors-y types!   For me, Rwanda is perfect for every visitor to Africa, whether first-timers or seasoned travelers. My 2012 trip to the Central African country rates extremely high on my ‘Top Holidays’ list and from what I hear, things have only gotten better since! Here’s why you should visit this beautiful, innovative country! It’s Safe Rwanda is one of the safest and most economically prosperous countries in East and Central Africa. Forget about its history, the streets of Kigali are much, much safer than Nairobi or Kampala. I don’t want to get into the political reasons why (lets just say President Kagame runs a tight ship) or the implications of this, but for visitors, there’s no doubting Rwanda is ridiculously safe. Kigali is an efficient, well serviced city with a good road network. Even the motos (motorbike taxis) are incredibly regulated, registered with the proper authorities and always carrying helmets for passengers. It has a Vibrant Capital The capital Kigali is a beautiful …

Flashpacker Weekend Edition: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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KLis one of my all time favourite cities. I love absolutely everything about the place- the vibe, the food, the people, the architecture, the markets! The city is big enough to feel buzzy but compact enough to get around easily. Public transport is excellent too and taxis are cheap- if you know how to haggle. It’s a popular stop off route for Europe/Middle East-Asia flights or vice versa so why not book a long layover? Just 36 hours is enough to experience the very best of KL! I had a quick trip en route to Bali but I managed to fit in a lot! Here’s my top tips: Travelling Solo? Stay Here Back Home is everything a hostel should be these days. Cool, welcoming, functional and stylish. It’s a bit hipster with industrial chic styling but it’s got a great location, helpful staff and an excellent cafe, Lokl Coffee Co. attached. The free breakfast is a bit miserable but I loved having the pancakes from Lokl in the beautiful courtyard!   Must See? Thean Hou …

High Tea @ Giraffe Manor, Nairobi Kenya

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One of my favourite ever travel memories is having high tea at Giraffe Manor in Nairobi with one of my best friends Catherine. And it happened by complete fluke. I’m usually an excellent travel planner. But when I went to Nairobi in July 2014, I was visiting my university friend Roisin who lives there. I skipped my usual meticulous travel planning, knowing that as a Nai resident, Roisin would tell me what to skip and what not to miss. And she did. On a day out in Karen, a legendary expat enclave suburb, to visit a giraffe sanctuary and the Out of Africa musuem, Roisin spotted the beautiful Giraffe Manor. ‘Ye should really try to do high tea there,’ she confided. ‘Everyone raves about it,’ We strolled over to the house (well, the front gate actually) but high tea must be booked in advance so we returned a few days later. So what’s the deal? $50 gets you afternoon tea at the Manor which entails a selection of sandwiches, cakes and pastries, tea or coffee and …

Moving to Muscat? Top 10 things you need to know

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You’ve accepted a job in Muscat, the capital of Oman. You’ve looked it up on the map after realising you only had the vaguest notion of where it actually is. You can now confidently describe its geographical positioning  and are getting a little sick of people quoting Chandler from Friends at you ‘You’re going to Yemen?!’ Here’s some tips and hints about life in Muscat, a mix of the practical and ‘you really should know this if you live here’. #1 It’s not Dubai You know this of course- you looked it up, remember?- but I mean in more than just the literal sense. You won’t find skyscrapers and malls with ski slopes in Muscat; Oman is more traditional than its Emirati neighbours and has made a concentrated effort to preserve its own culture while modernising. Although sometimes you may curse the poor selection of restaurants and bars when compared to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, I always found that on balance, I much preferred living somewhere that has still retained its own culture. Muscat has …

14 weeks, 5 countries, 2 continents: My Flashpacking adventure

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Flash-What? Flashpacking! It’s backpacking but fancier. A new travel term coined for millenials who mix high and low end experiences to create a more authentic way of travelling. The Numbers 14 weeks, 5 countries, 2 continents, 13 flights, 11 buses, 8 ferries, 7 cities, 3 beach towns, 2 islands, 1 yoga retreat The Route Dublin- Abu Dhabi – Hanoi – Halong Bay – Sapa – Hoi An – An Bang – Ho Chi Minh –  Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville – Siem Reap –  Bangkok – Krabi – Railey – Koh Lanta – Ao Nang – Phi Phi – Bangkok – Brisbane – Shannon The Highlights Brisbane, Australia I went to Australia solely to see my brother Rory, his beautiful girlfriend Rachael and meet their almost 2 year old son, my nephew Lachie. It’s not that I didn’t want to explore the country but budget/time wise, it wasn’t realistic so this was a ten day, Christmas/family visit to finish off my trip. After almost 13 straight weeks of solo travelling and all the planning, organising and …