Today confirmed my long-held suspicion that people are fundamentally exhausting. Almost everyone annoyed me. The child that can’t drink out of a glass without slurping loudly was bad enough - but when his parents didn’t even notice, never mind act to stop him. I swear I nearly got up and took matters in hand. I resisted - as being in Austria it may have been classed as an international incident. Stomping girl - walking like she was wearing concrete boots, not sure why she can

One of the wheels on our large Tripp suitcase finally gave up while I was dragging it around Japan. It was a long walk from the station to the hotel, trying to keep the suitcase balanced on it’s remaining three wheels. To help you imagine the situation - I’ve drawn a picture. I can’t be arsed defending my predicament to those that are thinking - why couldn’t you just drag it on two of the remaining three working wheels. Shame on you for not having faith. Anyway. When I got ho

Buenaventura Hotel and Great Moments It’s a bit of a weird name - Buenaventura Hotel and Great Moments. But leaving that aside, my observations from my recent stay - May 2026. A La Carte Restaurants The a la carte restaurants are a welcome change from the buffet food. It was pretty easy to find availability on the online booking system for evening dinner each night. We also had breakfast in the Sunset restaurant each day - why wouldn’t you want to enjoy the sun over a leisure

Meet Noddy Car - which I picked up from Budget last week at Belfast International Airport. I called it Noddy car - as it reminded me of this. It’s not exactly the sort of car that I’d want to own. If I got given it, I’d probably give it back, or sell it and buy something else. The colour could be better, the ‘va va voom’ is questionable, it has zero curb appeal. It’s basic - with its 4 doors, 4 wheels, 4 seats, a steering wheel and brakes. There’s no Sat Nav, reversing camera

Last time we visited Puerto Vallarta it was 1996 - back when nobody in the UK really knew about Puerto Vallarta. It was lovely - it felt fresh and young, not yet corrupted by tourism. Nuevo Vallarta had only started to be built. Since 1996, it has clearly been well fed on a western diet. It’s grown into a 30+ year old overweight party animal, wearing a shit shirt and trying too hard. It hasn’t become dangerous or unpleasant — just generic. Mexican culture is still there - but

Cheap all-inclusive beachfront hotel in Central Puerto Vallarta sounds brilliant until you remember you have to share it with everyone else who also found the deal. None of this came as a surprise. Cheap all-inclusive comes ALWAYS with terms and conditions, AKA people that you need to live with. Children There are loads of kids. Now we aren’t in the same category as Cruella De Vil, but we have done our time and now enjoy a kid free environment from time to time. Yes there is

I shouldn’t complain, but…. I will even though I pretty much brought this upon myself. I’m done with cheap all inclusive finds on booking.com. This is driven by a combination of what you get and by the people that holiday there. I know, I know - and I include myself in there - but we’ll cover that a little later and elsewhere. £1400 for 9 nights at a beachfront All Inclusive hotel in central Puerto Vallarta - cheap all-inclusive sounded brilliant… until living it. It requires

The Austrian capital Vienna is hosting the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. And we are going to be there next week for the final. The Grand Final will be held on Saturday 16 May at the Wiener Stadthalle. The logo remains terrible. My Eurovision Gamble I had already booked our flights and hotel before the host city was announced. Gambling that Vienna would be the host city, and the Eurovision final would be on Saturday the 16th May 2026. When Vienna was confirmed - I was a winner

Retirement gives loads of time to muse over things… much of this musing leads to being grumpy - but sometimes you see the sense. Let’s start with the musing. My wife and I checked in together for our recent flights with United to Puerto Vallarta. We’d booked separately after I managed to save £700 using an AMEX offer — a story for another day. My wife, we’ll call her Jane, as well that is her name, and wife sounds a little formal for us friends. So Jane would always be assig

What is it with airport lounges. For me, it’s a comfortable seat, a coffee, a snack, maybe a couple of beers, and an easy way to ease yourself into holiday mode. I certainly wouldn’t pay for it — we get access through a credit card or airline status. What it definitely isn’t is a stage for people to hold court… Boss Man Particularly if you’re loudly reminding your staff that you’re the important one on the Singapore trip.. Yes Andrew, No 1 lounge, terminal 2, Heathrow @ 09:30

How airlines quietly run your sleep cycle The more I travel, the more I notice how airlines quietly control us. You think you’re choosing when to sleep on a flight - but that isn’t the case - the airline knows best. That probably sounds more like paranoia or a conspiracy theory, but read on. Boarding and first nap We got on this flight and even though we had already been fed and watered in the airport - we were given a first meal. 2.5 hours later the lights were dimmed, the w

Let’s be clear - this isn’t a review of review of Americans - as both nationalities (US and UK) were more than represented within the United staff that we encountered. We had lots of mixed feelings; Ground Crew (Heathrow - London) Wasn’t impressed. Lots of people standing around and not doing a lot. Scott - I’d have a look at this. Pretty sure none of the staff would recognise you - as they didn’t seem to give a crap. I did self scan and screwed it up as I was firing the scan

Either this aircraft is 40% fuel and 60% catering storage, or United Airlines has cracked physics

Yes, in short - it’s shite. Somewhere over Scotland on the way to the US, on a 9-hour United flight, I made what should have been a simple decision: “I’ll buy the Wifi”. It should have been simple task. But it did’t work like it should. It should be as simple as making a cup of tea or turning on a tv - but it’s not. It also does that thing with the lead in prices. So what I thought was $7.99 for the flight, became $7.99 for just one hour, and the price for the duration of the

Yes I know I said the world of work was behind me, but sometimes an opportunity presents itself that you’re just drawn to. And even better when it is the perfect fit - no skills required

Before this trip, packing felt like a bit of a guessing game. Multiple climates, long flights, internal travel, and the vague hope you won’t regret what you’ve shoved into a 23kg suitcase. Now that we’ve done it, and home, sorted through the suitcase to what was worn and what wasn't - across places like Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Santiago and Lima - there are a few clear winners (and a few things I’d leave at home next time). This is the reality, not the internet version.

There’s a certain type of traveller who gets off the plane in a new country armed with nothing but a credit card and blind faith in contactless payments. And then there’s the rest of us, wondering how much cash is too much, too little, or completely unnecessary, and how the credit card traveller has the balls to take his approach. We found on our travels that the truth is, the cash vs card debate when travelling isn’t clear cut. It changes city by city, sometimes street by st

If you're like me, there is a very specific moment in any flight that I don't enjoy. You’ve landed. You’re tired. You’ve queued for immigration & customs. Your bag eventually appears. And now all you want is a simple, seamless airport transfer. You've had the warning about the taxi scams, and you enter the arrival hall to face the onslaught of drivers claiming to be uber, grab, official, best price, official etc etc... I'll take a train, metro, bus, or pre-book a transfer if

If you’re doing the classic South America loop, you’ll likely tick off some combination of Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro. On paper, they’re all “big Latin American cities”. In reality, they couldn’t feel more different. First Impressions When we landed at each of these cities - I went through a familiar set of emotions. Concern - moving through immigration, customs, finding transport to the hotel The journey from airport to hotel - together with the sights an

If you’re doing a South America trip and flirting with the idea of going “a bit further” for something special, but restrained by time or money, you’ll probably end up weighing up the Galápagos Islands versus Easter Island. They’re both remote. They’re both expensive. They both look incredible on Instagram. But beyond that, they’re completely different experiences—and picking the wrong one for your travel style may feel like a very costly mistake. Here’s the honest view - we

Planning a long-haul trip to South America can be complex, especially when trying to combine multiple countries efficiently. This 33-day South America itinerary covers five countries—Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil—plus two of the continent’s most unique destinations: the Galápagos Islands and Easter Island. This guide breaks down the route, flights, travel times, and costs , making it useful for anyone planning an extended South America trip. Overview of the Rou

Day 1 - Arrival in Rio de Janeiro We flew up to Rio de Janeiro with British Airways. By this point we’d grown used to LATAM Airlines, where announcements came in Spanish first, then English, and sometimes a third language if needed. Good old BA mostly stuck to English. When the crew had to deal one-on-one with “Johnny Foreigner”, they either hunted down the one Spanish-speaking colleague, reached for a translation app, or—failing both—resorted to pointing and raising their vo

People on planes are pigs

Day 1 The flight with LATAM from Santiago was uneventful, and we got lucky breezing through immigration and customs. Before long, we were in an Uber for the fairly long drive into the city — and just in time to catch the last hour of happy hour in the hotel lounge. The Hilton Buenos Aires is well located in Puerto Madero, a smart and pleasant part of the city. Most people know Buenos Aires for tango, football, and culture. I, however, know it as one of the first cities to be

Day 1 Arriving at the Santiago departures area, we were immediately met by the ever-present onslaught of taxi drivers and their various slightly dubious offers. It was a bit easier to find our way around the airport this time as it was actually now our third visit - we had used the domestic terminal to access Easter Island, so we were starting to relax a little more and not everything was shiny and new to us. We avoided the chaos and hunted down an Uber instead — it’s a known

Day 1 The flight from Lima, followed by an overnight stay in an airport hotel in Santiago, was fairly uneventful – mostly just a lot of waiting around. The only thing of note was that the Chilean wine was good, but the local dish called Pastel de choclo wasn’t really for me. It is made of sweetcorn ground into a paste with beef, chicken, raisins, black olives, onions and slices of hard-boiled egg - this all sounded fine, but why, in God’s name, was there sugar sprinkled on t

Leaving the airport for the hotel, we were hit immediately by the heat and humidity. Even at 11pm on a Saturday night, the traffic was chaotic — endless beeping in near standstill conditions, cars edging forward together but going nowhere. The driving style felt… optimistic. Vehicles squeezed into impossibly small gaps and travelled so close together that I was genuinely surprised not to see more accidents. Cars were a mix of shiny new cars and ageing veterans, and from what

January 31st. That was the day my OneWorld status reset. In previous years I’d earned Silver or Gold status with BA — which meant free seat selection, among other perks. It saved a fortune when travelling with the whole family. Extra luggage allowance meant I could take my bike touring as a second checked bag. There were lounges — some good, some bad — priority boarding (no hunting around for overhead locker space), and the occasional upgrade. Though, if I’m honest, I got ve

Hotel – Hotel Ninfa (Puerto Ayora) Hotel Ninfa was OK. Actually, probably better than OK. It’s a budget hotel, and for a budget option it did very well in terms of comfort, facilities, and price. One minor issue: beetles would occasionally come under the door. However, whatever they’d sprayed around the doorway meant those were the insects’ final few minutes of life. The bar was quiet and reasonably priced. The pool was small and deep — perfect for cooling off after a hot day

Like Madrid, Quito was simply an overnight airport stop. We booked the Holiday Inn Quito Airport on points, mainly because it offered a shuttle bus. Immigration was painfully slow — one of those queues that barely seems to move. By the time we finally emerged, we were exhausted. Thankfully, the shuttle was waiting right outside, which felt like a small but significant win. In hindsight, we probably should have chosen the Courtyard by Marriott Quito Airport , which was walkin