Before our cruise in August 2022, Iona would dock at Geiranger - a famous port which is one of the highlights of the cruise. However, I believe that because Iona is right at the upper limit of size of ship the Geiranger port can accommodate, this port of call had to be switched for nearby Hellesylt, which is easier to…
Having been up since 4am to watch the sunrise as we sailed into the Olden fjord, we were ready to get off the ship as soon as we’d docked, in order to hopefully find our own way to Briksdal Glacier. Iona docking in Olden, before our trip to the Briksdal glacier P&O operate an excursion here, which leaves by coach…
We arrived for our first day in Norway at the port of Stavanger with no excursions pre-booked, hoping to be able to find something suitable to do ourselves - ideally a boat ride to the famous Pulpit Rock. Pretty much as you step off the ship you’ll see a tourist information centre in the harbour, so we headed there for…
After experiencing the incredible natural beauty of Stavanger, Olden, Hellesylt and Geiranger on Iona’s previous ports of call, it’s a surprise to wake up on the final day in Norway, to open the curtains and find yourself in Haugesund, with a view of a large shipyard, commercial docks, cranes and boatsheds as your view! Haugesund is not billed as a…
We had a four-berth cabin on deck 9 (cabin no. 9.403 to be exact) to house our family of two adults and two teenage children for the week. I mentioned in another post how I had been reluctant to go on what was my first ever cruise - and the idea of being crammed, all four of us, into a…
We visited Valencia Zoo (also known as Bioparc Valencia) in February half-term. We're not normally huge fans of zoos really, but Valencia Zoo was absolutely brilliant - definitely the best thing we did on our week's holiday here and definitely the best zoo and one of the best visitor attractions we've visited anywhere. It was a lovely sunny, warm day…
With Covid travel restrictions being lifted and travelling becoming easier, we decided to use the February half-term as a chance to escape the depressing winter weather in the UK and head to Spain on a last-minute five-day city break to Valencia. A welcome escape from the UK winter Storms were battering England as we left, so we were pleased to…
Lake Montriond is stunningly beautiful. Drive past on the road from Morzine to Les Lindarets (the 'goat village') on a sunny day and the glimpses of the still turquoise water against the dramatic mountain backdrop are enough to virtually stop you in your tracks. It's impossible to pass by and not want to stop to take a closer look, a…
In the summer of Covid-19, having been shut at home for months on end with some trips earlier in the year cancelled, we were desperate for a change of scenery - somewhere that avoided flying but which would give us a break from the monotony of lockdown life in the UK. The Alps is our favourite place to visit and,…
Las Vegas has always been somewhere we've wanted to visit but with four children it's not been possible - both in terms of costs for flying all six of us over there and also thinking it wasn't a great child-friendly destination. The Las Vegas Strip Actually having now been there, we do think the children would've loved it too, but…
We had planned to do a Las Vegas to Grand Canyon helicopter tour long before our trip to Las Vegas so had spent a lot of time researching options for Grand Canyon helicopter trips from Las Vegas prior to booking with Serenity Helicopters. If you're thinking of a Las Vegas to Grand Canyon helicopter trip or are looking for Serenity…
After a week staying in Banyuls Sur Mer and hanging around the sea and nearby beaches we decided we wanted a change of scenery and to see what we could find to do towards the mountains of the Pyrenees. We found Exterieur Nature - an outdoor activity centre about an hour's drive from Banyuls Sur Mer, which operates a variety…
Whenever we go on holiday we love to take our diving masks and snorkels with us to use on the beaches, so even before we visited Banyuls Sur Mer we were keen to visit the 'snorkelling trail' we'd heard about at nearby Cerbère marine reserve on Peyrefite Beach, just up the road from Banyuls Sur Mer. Testing out the new…
We spent three nights at the Hotel Alexane (Suites de Alexane) in Samoens in the Alps. If you're considering booking to stay here then we can highly recommend this amazing, luxurious hotel and suites in Samoens. Here's our full Hotel Alexane review... We booked our three-night stay at Hotel Alexane through Booking.com purely because we were looking for somewhere to…
We recently bought a GoPro 'Super Suit' dive cover for our GoPro Hero 7 but were having trouble removing the lens cover from the camera to fit it in to the dive cover. Reading instructions and watching videos online, it seems removing the GoPro lens cover is just a matter of simply pulling and twisting it off with the fingertips.…
Taking the Planpraz gondola lift from close to the centre of Chamonix takes you up to the Brevent cable car, which brings you to one of Chamonix's most stunning areas with absolutely jaw-dropping views over Mont Blanc across the other side of the valley - and a brilliant walk down to the lake 'Lac du Brevent'. We had a glorious…
We've climbed Snowdon many times - with children at all different ages from baby to teenager. And we've met many other families happily and safely climbing Snowdon with their kids too, so it's definitely achievable and something we've always enjoyed. But if you're planning on climbing Snowdon with children there are a few things to be aware of to make…
We spent five amazing days in Iceland. Here's our full Iceland holiday itinerary with our advice and reviews on what we got up to on our family trip to Reykjavik... The May half-term arrived and, despite looking for several weeks for some last-minute getaways, we'd found nothing suitable and thought we'd have to shelve our plans of going away, especially…
The Golden Circle is Iceland's most-popular attraction with loads of organised tours taking visitors to all the major sights. However if you hire a car, you can drive the Golden Circle yourself. This is what we did and found it a much better alternative to the organised tours. Here's what we got up to driving the Golden Circle... The beauty…
Our favourite day on our trip to Iceland was a whale watching tour from Reykjavik Harbour. Here's our full Iceland whale watching review from our day on board the 'Sea Trips Amelia Rose' whale watching boat... Whale watching is a popular activity in Reykjavík with lots of boat operators dotted around the harbour - and active whale feeding grounds in…
