🎥 The Big Unveil! 🤩
My advance copy just arrived in the post and I’m so stoked to show you Ultimate Beaches Australia in real life!
Pre-sale on now - see link in bio 👆🏼
Makepeace Island is a place that I’ve known about for years, and is only 35 minutes from my home, but until today, I had never truly understood what it was like.
What a joy to get to spend the afternoon here with some @astw_inc friends, enjoying lunch (with the most incredible dessert!) and a cooking class with the hatted yet humble @zebmgilbert .
This private island is available for exclusive use and is a hit with affluent multi-gen families, sleeping up to 22 guests across its impeccable villas. Full-time staff keep the kids entertained with fishing, crafts, cooking classes and outdoor movies, while every meal - catered exclusively to guests’ preferences and tastes - is served in a different location on the island.
The entire retreat was built in Bali, dissembled and shipped here to be constructed again. And while it’s been open to guests for about 15 years (when Richard Branson and Brett Godfrey and the other owners aren’t using it, of course), a recent renovation has it looking the best it’s ever been.
Brett says it’s his favourite place in the world and, “when people get here they just don’t leave”.
Now to work out how I can convince all my friends we need to save up and stay… 🤩
#astw_inc @makepeaceisland
What’s it like to fly Business on @malaysiaairlines ’ A330neo?
The private car transfer, signature satay service, and smiling staff on this swish new aircraft has me searching flights for our next family holiday.
You’ll find the full review in this weekend’s @travelandluxury in @the.australian - link in bio ✈️
slow evenings, soft rituals 🌙
I’ve learned the hard way that you can’t expect your body to just switch off the second your head hits the pillow.
It needs a signal… a gentle winding down, not an abrupt stop.
Not every night looks like this, but when I have the chance, this is how I ease myself into rest.
A slower pace, softer light, a few quiet moments that tell my body the day is done.
Ending the night with a warm cup of SLEEP, PLEASE ✨
A simple ritual that says: you can let go now.
#lifeunhurried #bedtimeroutine #eveningritual #slowliving #restwell
While everybody is flocking to Bali, this is a reminder that under-the-radar places like this exist: @tanjongjararesort in Terengganu, on Malaysia’s east coast.
The beach, the food, the spa, the magic of fireflies on a night river cruise, but most of all, the people, are what make a stay here unforgettable.
While I digest the past few days, here’s a little snapshot of what you can expect. Malaysia stories coming soon to @travelandluxury ✨
Thank you for having me @ytlhotels@gtiaustralia 🙏🏼
I have so many things to tell you about Paxos - an unassuming little Greek island where I’ve just spent a week with the family, but first, a moment for this perfect final day spent on a boat trip around the island.
Cliffs that rear up from iridescent turquoise water, caves so large you could get lost in them, hidden coves, magical beaches, and a swim spot normally overrun by tourists all but to ourselves. This is a little taster of Paxos ☀️ More to share soon!
The Calanques! ☀️
We took the train from Marseille, equipped with @eurail passes - which meant we could make a last-minute decision to go and which trains suited us best.
After only 22 minutes, we arrived and though we managed to miss the connecting bus, a £10 taxi ride quickly put us in this pretty little harbour town in time for lunch on the water.
But the very best part of a trip to Cassis, is taking one of the regular boat trips out to explore the fjord-like inlets of Calanques de Cassis. With two young kids in tow we opted for the shortest trip with 3 Calanques visited but you can also do 5 or 8.
Unfortunately we were too late in the season to snag a trip with a swimming stop but we saw plenty of people taking the hiking trails that lace their way along the coastline and swimming in the beautiful bays. Sea kayaking is another great option for exploring.
Back with breathtaking vistas in the memory bank it was time for a dip in the Med and ice creams all round before the bus wound us back up the hill for our train home ☀️
I travelled with support from @eurail #pr. Full story to come in @escape_snaps soon!
A ‘herd of elephants’ rooted in place, the turquoise water lapping against their ‘legs’, made all the more vibrant by the moodiness of the sky. The path leads me down concrete stairs and through a small gap in the towering boulders. I take my shoes off to wade through the knee-deep water and emerge onto a small crescent-shaped bay.
It’s not hard to feel humbled by the herd rising up
in front of you.
Elephant Rocks, William Bay National Park, Menang Country is one of the many stunning Australian spots mentioned in @ultimatebeachesaustralia link in bio to purchase.
Impossible to capture Marseille in just 20 moments… but this is my take.
Gritty? A little. Unsafe? Not at all. Good for kids? IMO, absolutely!
Story for @escape.com.au coming soon. In the meantime, some of the highlights:
✨Our Airbnb in the 1st arrondissement (even with four floors of stairs) with the perfect boulangerie a few steps from our front door. Having the kids cook dinner and eating on our terrace.
✨The gorgeous and kid-friendly Longchamp Park, replete with this old-school chair carousel and a trampoline with a French hip hop soundtrack. Also a very random ‘Funny Animals’ zoo of plastic colourful elephants and tigers 🤣
✨Day tripping to Cassis with our @eurail passes to explore the incredible Calanques (separate post to come).
✨Sipping coffee and aperitifs as trams trundled by and trying the local pizza speciality ‘moite moite’ - half cheese, half anchovies (even though tired legs meant we went for the closest option over the supposed ‘best in Marseille’)
✨Reading vintage Martine books to the kids using Google Lens each night 🤓
What a year it’s been! From tasting ingredient samples, to agonising over packaging colours, to filming content in between everything else — it’s been full on, but honestly one of the most enjoyable things we’ve ever worked on.
We’ve laughed a lot, learned even more, and poured so much of ourselves into getting this just right.
And now we can’t wait to finally share it with you very soon. 💛
Still in Europe; the sun is still shining ☀️
After my brother’s wedding(s) in London and Latvia, Zac had to sadly fly home to finish the last five weeks of his uni degree so I did what any Europe-starved travel writer would do and convinced my mum to stay with me and the kids until he gets back! (Scoring our flights on FF points definitely helped in the rationalisation of my plan.)
So while we relax into our final afternoon in glorious Cadaques on the Costa Brava in Spain, I thought it time to start recapping, starting with our four nights in Nice - my first introduction to the Côte d’Azur.
We stayed in the Old Town which was ideal for short strolls to the beach, playground and Parc de la Colline du Château. The highlights?
* Swimming in the clear Mediterranean Sea
* Eating socca (crisp chickpea pancakes) and drinking beer on a hot day
* Speaking only in (my lousy) French and navigating daily grocery shops and pharmacy stops to battle a bout of gastro
* Taking the train to beautiful Menton and then popping across the border into Italy to have gelato, just because we could
Have you been Nice? What did you love most while you were there?
