Family Travel

Travel: The 7 Best things for Kids at Beaches Resorts Negril

Best things for kids at Beaches Resorts Negril - the beach!

  It’s easy to think that Beaches Resorts is all about you. Whoever you are. As a parent, it was ALL about me: the cocktails brought directly to me at the poolside, the restaurants, the comfy sun-loungers, the stunning beach, and the kids clubs that actually felt welcoming enough for my kids to want to go there, and safe enough for me to let them. Yep, it was all done for my benefit. But actually, I’m pretty sure the kids thought the whole resort had been put together with their particular desires in mind. Here’s what they loved: 7 Best …

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A virtual tour of Beaches Resorts Negril

Review: A virtual tour of Beaches Resorts Negril

  Honestly, I could go on (and on) about our trip to Negril with Beaches Resorts all day long. But I don’t want to cause mass jealousy (well, alright, maybe a tiny bit), and also, every time I write about it, I wonder why I came home. So for this post I’m just going to show you the resort in video. Because, let’s face it, what you really want to see is how good they are at towel art, right?     Useful information about Beaches Resorts Negril Rooms Rooms at Beaches Negril come in 3 levels: Luxury (from $292 …

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Travel: Why food might your first priority at Beaches Resorts

Stewfish, at Beaches Resorts Negril, is the most stunning location for a meal

What do you go on holiday for? Relaxation? A change of scenery, time off from the usual mundane chores of life? Time with family and friends, a suntan, a chance to do something different? Chances are it’s all of those things, but shall I tell you what figures high on my list of reasons to leave home for a week or so? Food. As a mum, just not having to plan it, shop for it, cook it, and clear it all away three times a day is a holiday. Food is an essential part of travel for me. Which is …

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Travel: Getting to Beaches Jamaica and why we love Virgin

Travelling to Jamaica with Virgin Airlines made the kids very happy! Find out why...

If you’ve followed our social media accounts over the last few weeks it will not have escaped your notice that we’ve been on holiday. Somewhere rather lovely. Sorry. Being at Beaches Resorts in Negril, Jamaica is the most wonderfully relaxing experience (they call it coming home). We visited at half term, so we only had one week (and an extra day off school, actually, given my failure to register that leaving the Caribbean on a Sunday didn’t mean we’d get back on a Sunday – oops). Normally we’d book any holiday that required a nine hour flight to get to for …

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Beaches Resorts Negril: coming home

Beaches Resort Negril really does feel like one big happy family

Coming home from Jamaica last week was hard. Not because of the sudden shift in temperature (Jamaica rests at around thirty degrees celsius most of the year – a glorious climate!); not due to the nine hour overnight flight with two children either – that was a breeze with Virgin; nor was it down to mine and my daughter’s complete diabetes failure, as both of us exited the plane without her ‘sugar bag,’ which contains the sugar and insulin she needs round the clock (oops). No, for the first time ever, I left my holiday haven feeling actually homesick. The Beaches Resorts …

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APH Meet and Greet take the stress out of family air travel

It is twenty-four hours since we arrived home from the most relaxing, and luxurious holiday we’ve ever had, and I’m feeling pretty good. It’s a nine hour flight from Jamaica’s Montego Bay airport to London Gatwick. Jamaican time is five hours behind the UK, putting me right now at cocktail-o-clock, when actually I’m working at my desk, and contemplating the afternoon school run. And I can honestly say, I’m not jet-lagged. That might have something to do with the bright light therapy clock I took with me, and recently reviewed for Space In Your Case, but I think a lot …

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A globe to inspire a love of travel and the stars

The Earth and Constellations globe is a must for any child who loves finding out about the stars

The Bug is a fan of the stars. He has glow stars stuck to his ceiling, a room totally devoted to Star Wars, and he’s constantly on the lookout for a falling star, now that the nights are getting longer. Whenever we’re out at night, especially on a camping trip, he spends hours browsing the Skywalk app, trying to figure out what he’s looking at in the night sky. It’s a lovely thing to love, I think. But when you marry that interest with a love of travelling, and understanding the world, you’ve really got a recipe for inspiring a …

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Travel: Top 10 activities at Duinrell holiday park

A lovely traditional carousel provides the centrepiece for the pancake house at Duinrell

Our summer holiday this year took us on a family week to Duinrell holiday park, in the Netherlands. We’ve done a lot of campsite holidays, and several with Canvas, but this was probably the most successful of all of them. And it wasn’t due to the weather! Duinrell is a bit different in that – once you’ve paid for your accommodation – you have a range of rather unusual on-site activities included in the price, including access to a full-scale theme park! We honestly could have spent the whole week on site. Here are our top 10 things to do …

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Travel: What we loved about the Tikibad water park in Duinrell!

The terrifying (and wedgie-giving) Pelican slide at the Tikibad in Duinrell Holiday Park is not to be missed!

Without a doubt, the main reason you will stay at Duinrell is the Tikibad. Aside from the fact that it is a genius addition to a park where the weather isn’t always of the beach variety, it is quite simply the most fun you will ever have in a soggy swimsuit. I’m not the biggest fan of water parks since passing the hedonistic age of 21, preferring to stay dry and warm, and to keep all my belongings where I can see them. But I was the first to beg for another day at the Tikibad, once I’d sampled the …

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Travel: The day a seagull stole my lunch.

Seagulls. What big fat bullies they are! I knew they were cheeky, having frequently been in a near-miss swoop confrontation; I even knew that they were clever enough to flock to tourist traps for easy pickings, having once lost a chip at the beach in St Ives. Put down your doughnut at Felixstowe beach and someone else is sure to help themselves. But hats off to the Dutch gulls – they have it all figured out. It was on a day trip to the beach, not far from Duinrell holiday park, in the Netherlands, that we first crossed paths with what can …

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Travel: A Very Clever Beach Towel – Hammamas Towel Review

Colourful but clever Hammamas towels are the solution to space-saving on your holiday packing

I’d never heard of a Hammam beach towel until Hammamas got in touch to ask me to review theirs. If you’re also in the dark, read on to find out the benefits of a cotton Hammam towel that’s lightweight and small enough to save luggage space, but absorbent enough to do the job! Ad: Hammamas gave us four of their adult-sized towels for this review. All opinion and images are our own. Why Hammam beach towels are perfect for a holiday Every now and then, when you’re reviewing products on a blog, you find one that you love so much, …

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Travel: an Incredible Day aboard the Thames Clippers

Seeing London from a boat's-eye-view gives you a whole new perspective on the capital

  Yesterday we spent the day on the river Thames. I say we spent the day; in actual fact we spent just two 30 minute trips on the Thames, and filled the rest of our time on its banks, enjoying some of the things that – despite living a 20 minute train ride away from the Capital – we’ve never bothered to do before. It was such a fun day, that we will definitely be going back. We were invited as guests of MBNA Thames Clippers, to experience their fleet of boats that transport both tourists and commuters across London. …

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Travel: A Sleepover at the Zoo

Sleepover at the zoo

What do Frubes, Minions, and chimps have in common? Not much at first glance, but when you bring them together they’re a huge amount of fun. This week the people from Frubes took us on the experience of a lifetime – a sleepover at the zoo! To celebrate their partnership with the new Minions movie, Frubes have launched a limited edition banana flavour, and they were keen to let us sample the new packs during an overnight stay in the lodges at Whipsnade Zoo. Jane, from Northern Mum sips wine on deck. The Lookout Lodges are set across the road …

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Travel: Sandbanks – Possibly the best beach in Britain

Is this the best beach in Britain? Yesterday we were in Poole, awaiting a ferry to visit family in the Channel Islands. With the ferry scheduled to leave first thing in the morning, we decided to skip the early start and head down to Poole for the night, to enjoy the harbour and the wonderful beach there. We spent a happy couple of hours wandering round the gift shops and staring open-mouthed at the enormous boats in the Sunseeker boatyard, before heading over to Sandbanks to relax at the Sandbanks hotel. Sandbanks is a 1 kilometre stretch of sand which …

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Travel: Canadian Road Trip for Dinosaur Enthusiasts

Road trips are something the whole family can enjoy - especially the dinosaur fans! Travel Alberta invites you to experience #AlbertaDinosaurs

Once upon a time a boy met a girl. The girl loved travel, and the boy loved adventure. They fell for each other and set about a series of road trips in their holiday time. Cool open-top cars drew them along gorgeous coastlines, and through stunning landscapes. They stopped in cities for cocktails, on beaches to see whales, and in rocky mountains to watch bears and breathe the freshest air. Then they got married and had children. The end. Except it wasn’t. Sure, they travelled short-haul for a few years, while they worked up the nerve to fly further afield …

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Travel: A Well-Travelled Bear

A little bear left to what fate? Soar Mill Cove

What happened at Soar Mill Cove…   We found him, miles from anywhere, at the bottom of a narrow lane, in a sandy cove. The car was brushed by soft ferns on either side, as we made our way down the hill; we prayed we wouldn’t meet strangers coming up the other way, and we were lucky – a roadside standoff wasn’t needed. We ran, released from our journey, through fields and over stiles, tumbling happy towards the sea. Pink splashes of foxglove and heather punctuated our route as we breathed in the salty air and the wind whipped at our …

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Around Barbados on an inflatable sofa

Around Barbados on an inflatable sofa!

“Hold. On. Tight!” I managed to gasp as all the air was pushed out of my lungs, and my cheeks did an impression of the worst face-lift in history. Torn between keeping my suddenly very small-looking child safe, and preventing my own ungainly demise into the ocean, I alternated between white-knuckling the grips, and resting an ineffectual elbow across his belly. My husband was screaming at the other end of the sofa; I could just make out the words “lunch” and “shrimp,” as I realised he was fearful for the contents of his stomach. “Mine’s halfway up my oesophagus!” shouted my …

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Travel: Food Inspired by our Travels

Crayfish starter #TasteofTravel

  Restaurant in Honfleur, France What’s the best part of a holiday for you? Lounging by the pool with a cocktail? Swimming in a perfect sea, on champagne sand? The spectacular view at the top of a canyon, or the rush of adrenalin as you ski down snow-capped peaks? I’ve been lucky enough to experience all of these, and more, and still have a bucket list I could never hope to complete. But you know what all of those pleasures have in common? Food. Whether it’s a thickly-buttered warm baguette, oozing strawberry jam, after a long hard day on the …

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Merry Christmas from London

London Gingerbread House

It’s lovely having a birthday at Christmas. I’ve always considered myself lucky that the whole world is set to party, twinkly lights and tinsel everywhere I look, all ready for me to throw myself into another year older. And so I work hard to get Christmas totally sorted in time for my day, so that I can relax and enjoy my family and friends. So today I headed off into London with the kids, to meet Actually Daddy for lunch. Steak and chips and red wine at Sophies in Covent Garden – such a treat and it wasn’t even the …

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Whittlebury Hall Hotel and Spa Review

Spa at Whittlebury Hall hotel and spa review

Christmas coffee, gingerbread muffins, and champagne! I am well and truly ready for Christmas. Last week I had finally stopped ignoring the fact that my cupboards were empty of potential giftware, with two expectant children and their eager faces goading me into entering the festive fray. I threw myself headlong into the frenzy of preparation, and bought all (well, most) of my presents for family and friends online. I thought I was doing well, until the to-do list began to resemble my old school homework diary in the run-up to GCSE’s. I was frazzled. But this week I returned from …

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