Scroll through a holiday rental listing, pick your dates, and the total jumps by a chunk you didn’t see coming. That gap is usually the platform’s service fee, and it’s why more travellers now ask whether it pays to book direct holiday rental style, through the host’s own site rather than a marketplace app.
Continue reading “Is It Cheaper to Book Direct With a Holiday Rental Host?”
Newquay is one of Cornwall’s most vibrant coastal towns, and there’s no better way to celebrate than with a stunning fireworks display. Whether you’re looking for a free, family-friendly event or a bigger, paid experience with all the extras, there’s something for everyone.
From fireworks on the beach, to over the harbour and at popular holiday parks in Newquay, below are some of the best fireworks in Newquay, happening throughout the year.
Continue reading “2026 Fireworks in Newquay: Best Displays (Free & Paid)”
A football weekend in England can be one of the most memorable ways to experience the country. The match itself may last less than two hours, but the atmosphere begins much earlier, with supporters travelling into the city, gathering around pubs, walking towards the stadium and turning entire neighbourhoods into part of the occasion. For international visitors, however, a successful trip depends on more than simply choosing a club and arriving on matchday. We need to understand ticketing, transport, stadium access and the practical details that can make the difference between a smooth experience and a stressful one.
Continue reading “Planning a Football Weekend in England: What to Know Before You Travel”
Earlier this year our daughter was seriously ill and spent time in hospital. During her recovery, unable to eat properly, she started looking back through old photos of a pizza restaurant we’d all loved in Bristol, called Pepenero’s, with its brilliant vegan pizza. She’d been dreaming about it. We promised her that when she was better, we’d take her back for that pizza.
A few months later she was back to her normal self and her birthday was coming up. She didn’t want a party or anything with friends this year, instead she just wanted a family day out in Bristol. Wake the Tiger, We The Curious, and that longed for pizza. Simple as that.
The only complication was the budget. We’re self-employed and this year our income took a significant hit, so a day out in Bristol (three hours from home in Cornwall) isn’t something we could just do on a whim at the moment.
Continue reading “8 Hours in Bristol With a Teen & Preteen: What We Squeezed In & What It Cost”
Travel is one of the biggest bonding opportunities for families, yet modern tourism presents many realities that can dilute the magic. It’s not out of the ordinary for family vacations to become exhausting, thanks to waiting in extremely long lines for overhyped landmarks, eating meals at tourist trap restaurants that are mediocre at best and navigating through stifling crowds.
Unfortunately, when your itinerary is lifted directly out of a search engine’s top results, vacations can become carbon-copied.
Today, an increasing number of families want something that’s much more meaningful. Something that includes genuine hospitality, real exploration and cultural immersion that’s authentic.
Continue reading “How to Find Hidden Gems and Local Favourites When Travelling With Your Family”
We’d hired cars in Europe at least 15 times before we’d even heard of the DVLA code.
It came up when I was going through the booking notes for a hire in Cyprus, reading the list of documents to take with us. There it was, listed as required, and I had no idea what it meant.
My first thought was that we’d been missing something for years. My second was that it might be specific to Cyprus, or just to that particular car hire company. So I went and looked into it properly.
Continue reading “Do I Need a DVLA Code for Car Hire in Europe?”
We’ve hired cars no less than 15 times across Europe in places such as Germany, Portugal, Spain, Rhodes and Cyprus, and each time the trip has hinged on getting that one bit right.
A family road trip in our own vehicle is a completely different creature. We can throw in whatever we like, stop when we like, and fill the boot with food to keep costs down.
Fly somewhere and pick up a hire car instead, and you’re working with tighter margins on space, time and patience, usually after an early start and a flight with two kids who are done with sitting still.
The good news is that car hire abroad sounds far more daunting than it is, and the driving itself is rarely the hard part. The planning around it is where trips get won or lost, and after enough airport desks, tiny village streets and wrong turns, we’ve settled into a way of doing it that works.
Continue reading “Our Family Tips for Car Hire in Europe”
We visited We The Curious in Bristol as the second half of a big family day out, having spent the morning at Wake the Tiger. It was our daughter’s birthday and she had chosen both attractions – which turned out to be a great decision, even if the two kids ended up with completely opposite opinions about each one by the end of the day.
Continue reading “We The Curious Bristol Review: Is Late Entry Worth It? Our 2026 Family Visit With a Teen and Preteen”