Travel tips - Travel Vixta

The Bristol Wheel ferris wheel near We The Curious on Millennium Square Bristol

8 Hours in Bristol With a Teen & Preteen: What We Squeezed In & What It Cost

Published on July 28, 2026July 28, 2026 by VictoriaLeave a comment

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.

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How to Find Hidden Gems and Local Favourites When Travelling as a Family

How to Find Hidden Gems and Local Favourites When Travelling With Your Family

Published on July 28, 2026 by VictoriaLeave a comment

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.

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Do I Need a DVLA Code for Car Hire in Europe?

Published on July 27, 2026July 28, 2026 by VictoriaLeave a comment

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.

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Our Family Tips for Car Hire in Europe

Published on July 27, 2026July 27, 2026 by VictoriaLeave a comment

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.

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We The Curious Bristol entrance with colourful murals on the outside wall

We The Curious Bristol Review: Is Late Entry Worth It? Our 2026 Family Visit With a Teen and Preteen

Published on July 20, 2026 by VictoriaLeave a comment

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.

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How Long Do Brake Pads Last?

Published on July 2, 2026July 2, 2026 by VictoriaLeave a comment

Most drivers only think about brake pads once they hear a noise or feel the car pull to stop later than usual. By then, the pads are often already past their best. Brake pads are the fastest-wearing part of your braking system, and on average, they last somewhere between 30,000 and 70,000 km but the real number depends heavily on how, where, and what you drive.

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Giant projected female face with multicoloured cluster ceiling at Wake the Tiger Bristol

Our Wake the Tiger Bristol Return Visit 2026 – Was It Worth It With Teens?

Published on June 23, 2026July 20, 2026 by VictoriaLeave a comment

We first visited Wake the Tiger in Bristol a few years ago, just me and my son when he was eight. It made a big impression – visually at least – even if he spent the first ten minutes trying to drag me back out! So when my daughter said she wanted to go for her birthday this year, we decided to make a proper family day of it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew it had been a few years and wondered if it would feel the same, or whether the kids being older would change things. As it turned out, quite a lot had changed – and mostly for the better.

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Garden House to Airbnb: How to Create a Profitable Rental

Published on June 22, 2026June 22, 2026 by VictoriaLeave a comment

Homeowners across the UK and Europe are increasingly discovering that their garden holds untapped income potential. In Ireland alone, the short-term rental market is growing by more than 30% year on year, and that trend is reflected right across the British Isles and beyond. A well-designed garden house, converted and listed on Airbnb, can generate meaningful rental income from space you already own – with guests paying an average of €180 per night for unique self-contained stays.

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