Since 2015, Elle and I have travelled and roamed in 19 countries together. Some good, some bad, some unforgettable and some we’d rather forget about. The world is full of diverse destinations that are waiting to be explored. But with so many options, it can be hard to narrow down your bucket list. From the countries we have visited, we have put together a list of our top 5 destinations so far.
5. Poland
In May 2017, we went to Krakow, Poland for Elle’s 22nd birthday celebrations. This trip was by far our favourite city break. If you believe the legends, Kraków was founded on the defeat of a dragon, and it’s true a mythical atmosphere permeates its attractive streets and squares. It is home to Europe’s largest market square, and I must say that it really was magnificent. There was so much to see and do within the immediate vicinity of the square, and much more if you took a small ride on a bus or a tram. The restaurants were faultless; delicious food, a great ambiance and the decor was… Imaginative. And what more? Living costs for a tourist were minimal. Food, drinks, souvenirs, activities, there were all affordable even if your budget is on a shoe string. During our stay in Krakow, we went on a few adventures, from Krakow Zoo to visiting Auschwitz to meeting new people in a shisha bar. (If you want to find out more about these experiences click here and here).
Our Recommendations
Where to eat? We found this beautiful little restaurant down a side street just round the corner from the main market square called Trattoria prima. It is a three-level building, on the top floor is the dining area of the restaurant, on the ground floor is the kitchen, another dining area and a way out into the beer gardens, and on basement level there is a Day of the Dead themed bar. The decor was fantastic, shrunken skulls hanging from nooses, coffins, cobwebs and the Adams’ Family playing in the background. The food was moutherwatering, and what better? Cheap as chips! For two starters, two main courses and two cocktails it was less £20!!
Where to stay? We stayed at Best Western Efekt Express hotel, which is 10-minute bus ride away from the main market square. It was in a great location, restaurants, supermarkets and shops within walking distance. We had free access to the swimming pool in the sister hotel, free wifi and free buffet breakfasts’ every morning. For a 4-night stay it was only £160 for both of us. This was one of the cheapest hotels within a close vicinity to the market square.
What to do? Whilst there is a lot to do and we did do a lot in Krakow, there are two excursions that really stand out to us, and we want to share them with you.
- Krakow Zoo. Home to a couple of Black Panthers. This was the first time either of us had seen one in real life. They are truly spectacular animals. What we liked about this zoo was that all the enclosures were spacious for the animals (apart from the black panthers but we later found out that their enclosure was in the process of being enlarged.), the animals were active and going about their daily business rather than pacing up and down like you usually see in zoos, and there were so many staff tending to the animals’ needs. There were so many animals that we hadn’t seen before. The entry fee was less than £4 per person.
- Auschwitz Tour. Although truly saddening, it is something we believe that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. The cruelty that surrounds the Holocaust is never fully portrayed until you enter the museum walls of Auschwitz. It was a complete eye opener to the conditions that millions of people suffered and endured. Yes, we’ve all heard the stories of the conditions, seen the movies, but to physically see it with your own eyes… It still sends a chill down my spine. It was a full day tour booked through a company called Krakville Tours and cost around £60 each. This was the cheapest deal we found in the market square.
4. Slovenia
During our Interrail trip around Europe in 2015, we stumbled across a fairytale land, Lake Bled. Immediately we fell in love with the natural beauty of this country. With its tranquil waters, picturesque church on an islet, a medieval castle clinging to a rocky cliff and some of the highest peaks of the Julian Alps as a backdrop. Not forgetting the raging thunderstorms we encountered that lit up the entire sky vivid pink. Without a doubt, Bled is the most popular destination in Slovenia. Charming travellers from all walks of life, from honeymooners to backpackers to family holidays.
Our Recommendations
Where to eat? Pizzeria Rustika, a small restaurant close to the lake that serves the best stonebaked pizzas we’ve ever tasted. It is a good price, and you can eat in or take out. We tried both, eating in gives you a beautiful view of the valley below. Our hostel was only a 5 minute walk from the restaurant, and our dorm decided to have a pizza night. For 8 large pizzas and multiple sides and drinks, it was less than 80 euros for all of us.
Where to stay? Our accommodation was in the perfect spot, up in the mountains. Only 5 minutes from the lake, and close proximity to supermarkets, shops and restaurants. We stayed in a hostel called Penzion Bledec, and slept in a mixed dormitory. For 5 nights, we only paid 90 euros for the both of us.
What to do? There was so much to see and do in Lake Bled, but we’re going to whittle it down to 3 of our favourite activities whilst we were there.
- Vintgar Gorge. A 1600m wooden walkway through the gorge, built in 1893 and continually rebuilt since. It crosses the swirling Radovna River four times over rapids, waterfalls and pools before reaching 16m-high Šum Waterfall. On a typical day, Vintgar Gorge is home to turquoise, tranquil waters, and mesmerizing greenery. But, we just so happened to go on the day of a tremendous thunderstorm. Let me tell you, it was definitely an experience. Torrential rain, raging rapids and pink flashes of lightening filling the sky. Not what we were expecting, but nonetheless, still beautiful. Only 5 euros per person for admission.
- Rent a boat. We rented a little row boat in a shack at the side of Lake Bled, only 10 euros for an hour. We paddled, with great difficulty, over to the Bled Island. A beautiful little islet, home to the Church of Assumption and a small museum.
- Ojstrica Viewpoint. A short hike to the viewpoint following the trail and signs. Be warned although this isn’t a climb which is too tough, you will need to wear suitable footwear – the viewpoint is worth every step without a doubt!
3. Grenada
From December 2016 to January 2017, we spent 4 and a half weeks in paradise. Grenada is the home country for my Dad’s side of the family. This trip was partly taken to reunite with my Dad after not seeing him for 10 years since he moved back to Grenada some years ago. Grenada is a hidden gem in the Caribbean, but tourism is swiftly flowing in, with two new major resorts opening on the island later this year. Travelling by bus from the bottom of the island to the top, only takes 2 hours, but you have incredible views on your journey.
Where to eat? In the island’s capital, St George’s, we found the perfect place to eat. It was a little shack called Deyna’s Tasty Food. You pay for your food per box size, and let me tell you, they generously fill it. From jerk chicken to curry goat to tender beef, you can literally taste the authenticity.
Where to stay? During our lengthy stay in Grenada, we stayed at two hotels. Whilst the Siesta Hotel was homely, we had a luxurious stay in the Radisson Beach Resort. With our room directly aligned with the beach, we woke up every morning with glorious views. On-site there are 4 restaurants, a 300ft free form pool, a fitness gym and so much more. We stayed at this hotel for 2 and a half weeks, and paid just over £1000 for both of us. We got a complimentary upgrade to a beach view suite.
What to do? Although there isn’t a vast range of activities to partake in, there is a a wide variety of sights to see. From waterfalls to vacant white beaches to ancient ruins. Here is list of sights we urge you to see if you find yourself in the Spice Isle;
- Underwater Sculpture Park
- Fort George
- Grand Etang National Park
- Movie Palace in Grand Anse (2 for 1 tickets on Wednesdays)
- BBC beach
- Annadale Waterfalls
2. Sri Lanka
In October 2017, we had a self-indulgent holiday in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The hotel alone is the most luxurious one we’ve stayed in so far. But, that didn’t stop us splurging out on excursions. This country is another hidden gem, that has only just begun to sparkle in the eyes of travellers. With the tourism sector set to soar, you can only imagine what the future holds for this idyllic country.
Where to eat? During one of our excursions, we stopped off at this beautiful restaurant that is adjacent to the Mahaweli River. Beautiful scenery, and a relaxing ambiance, listening the river rush by and hearing the birds tweeting from the trees, all the while eating delicious food. The restaurant was surprisingly cheap, considering the location, only £4/5 for a meal and a drink per person. The restaurant was called Honeypot, and is located in Kandy.
Where to stay? We stayed in a glamorous hotel situated on Negombo beach, and stayed in a Junior Suite with sea view. Our room had two balconies, a queen sized bed and a bathroom bigger than my bedroom. Definitely one to tick off the bucket list, living the dream in the hotels most expensive room! A treat for us no doubt, but a brilliant opportunity if the deal is right! One criticism of this hotel is the location, although excursion pick-ups deter this issue, the hotel is pretty recluse if you do not drive. Tuc Tuc’s are readily available to take you wherever you need so the solution is there.
What to do? We were inundated with excursions offering the elephant orphanage, although we would highly recommend shopping around as tour guides will negotiate these prices, we found a private day excursion which allowed us to see more. We struggled a little to find water-sports or similar activities, however Sri Lanka is all about culture so sight-seeing is your new best friend, you can explore temples to your hearts content, with the added bonus of them being so beautifully presented. We were also pleasantly surprised by a neat little boat tour around Negombo Lagoon which flaunts a variety of wildlife. Some recommended highlights are as follows:
- Sigiriya Rock
- Dambulla Cave
- Mayan Water Park/Guruge Park
- Royal Botanical Gardens
1. Saint Lucia
In December of 2016, we explored the island of St Lucia, encountering breathtaking scenery, bustling wildlife and cultural riches. The locals are among the friendliest we have met. Even though they don’t have as much as people in economically developed countries, they are undoubtedly happier with their lifestyles. It just goes to show, the saying is true “Money doesn’t buy you happiness“. They say home is where the heart is, and St Lucia, you captured our hearts.
Where to eat? Due to being on an all inclusive board, we only ate at the restaurant on-site. However, the food was delightful to the taste buds, and being a buffet style restaurant, you could try new foods til your hearts’ content. The fruit was like nothing you’ve tried before, natural and fresh. No preservatives, just fresh, juicy fruit bursting with flavours.
Where to stay? We stayed at hotel in the north of the island called St Lucian by Rex Resorts, in a standard room with sea view. The hotel offers two restaurants on-site, a swimming pool and is joint to the sister hotel, Papillion by Rex Resorts. The staff enhanced the experience at the hotel, catering for your every need and just genuinely companionable.
What to do? There is a vast range of activities, and sights to see in St Lucia, something catered for everyone’s enjoyment and capabilities. No wonder this is a gem that is loved by travellers’ worldwide. Our favourite highlights of this trip include;
- Rainforest Adventures. A 5-hour excursion, for only 60$ per person. Aerial tram through the jungle canopy, ziplining through the jungle and stumbling upon a giant wild tarantula before taking hike on the jungle floor.
- Horseback riding on the beach. Booked through our hotel, we went on a mindblowing excursion. Not only did we ride the horses on the beach, but we went in the water with them, an incredible experience to say the least.
- Soufriere by land and sea. A full day tour, from one end of the island to the other and back again. Fresh fruit tasting at a banana plantation, a relaxing walk around the royal botanical gardens, a stop off at the worlds first drive in volcano and a cleansing dip in the sulphur springs. We stopped off at a couple of waterfalls, before heading to the boat. With clear view of the Pitons, we set sail but it wasn’t long before we stopped off for a bit of snorkelling, where we saw a sea snake for the first time! With time moving a head, we set off back home, drinks in hand, singing and dancing and the sun setting over the ocean. A blissful way, to end the day.
Let’s get the bad bits out of the way first, okay? First things first, Peasholm Park. What a let down. This was undoubtedly the thing that Elle and I were most looking forward to, and upon arrival all we were greeted by was an empty park with a lake that had been drained with water due to refurbishments. The most frustrating thing is that there were no notices online to announce this, only a tiny poster left where you would usually rent pedal boats.
still enjoyable. They have the only seal hospital in England, a penguin island which was unfortunately closed and a little family of otters. The sanctuary is located right on the coastline, which beautiful views of the ocean.
at the ready and we’re off, eager to get win a boatload of cheap toys!!
Our third and final day, coincidently fell on Valentine’s Day. We started off the day with a walk up to the Scarborough Castle which is a former medieval royal fortress that overlooks the sea. It is a lot bigger than it looks from the ground, the ruins span over the majority of the cliff side adjacent to the sea. The views were great, standing at the top overlooking the harbour, beach and all the shops.
After, we took a walk along the harbour and towards the lighthouse. You can see as far as the eye can see across the sea. Elle always enjoys walking by the harbouring, seeing all the boats coming and going.
We went to an establishment called “The Riding Place”, for 10,000 rupees, you get to ride the elephant through the jungle, bath him and get showered by him. We didn’t want the shower as riding back wet through wasn’t on our list! But we were more than content with riding and bathing the elephant. He was called Raja, after the most famous elephant in Sri Lanka. The late Raja was a Sri Lankan tusker elephant and belonged to the Sri Dalada Maligawa, in Kandy. He participated at the annual Esala procession in Kandy for around 50 years and was the sacred casket bearer of the final Randoli perehera for 37 years, funnily enough we only learnt this after our ride when we visited the Temple of 
the tooth relic! Okay so one thing you have to be warned about is that if considering elephant riding, you must be prepared to hold on tight! After taking our first few steps aboard Raja we quickly learnt that it was going to be a bumpy ride!
Anyway, reaching the bathing river, Raja knew exactly what was coming! Dropping down into the water we jumped off and he laid so that we could literally give his belly and back a scratch! With our bucket list ticking off like there was no tomorrow, our guide thought we could calm down with some relaxing Sri Lankan tea.
variant tastes. Abi and I were surprised to learn that a large portion of their tea was shipped to places local to where we live. Ending our tour in the tea café, we enjoyed a fresh tea but with a Sri Lankan twist, taking a small bite of your sugar cube then having a sip of tea; it’s safe to say that it was delicious!
present flowers before praying. We learnt the story of the Tooth Relic and how it became a Sri Lankan gem, the holder of which has governance of the country with rituals being held 3 times a day. This is also where we learnt the story of Raja, he who carried the Tooth Relic, still remembered with his skeleton being held on show in the National Museum of Colombo.
we were approached by monkeys, literally walking with us along the path! Telling Abi to keep a tight hold of the camera we found ourselves exploring with monkeys! After saying our goodbyes we began heading back towards the entrance/exit gates.
Our first stop is the pineapple plantation, I’m slightly embarrassed to admit how excited Elle and I were to see how pineapples grow. They grow out of the ground, and the actual pineapple is on top of the plant, like a flower head. We sampled the freshly picked and cut pineapple, but with a twist. In Sri Lanka they enjoy pineapple with chilli powder and salt, and I must say, it tastes a lot better than it sounds. In this plantation they also grow coconuts, papaya and bananas, and all the produce is sold locally.
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage!! Pinnawala is home and sanctuary to 93 elephants, all of which are here due to being orphaned, injured or elderly. The elephants have over 24 acres of land to roam and play. They have a structured and organised schedule that they follow everyday. Just through the entrance we came to a herd of elephants chomping away on branches. Thankfully it wasn’t as busy as we were expecting, so we were at the front and had a great view of the elephants. You can tell who the boss of the group is, as they stay a distance away from the rest of the herd, looking over them and they are considerably bigger than the rest.
Time to head over to pōṣaṇa sthānayayi, which translates quite literally to “the feeding place”. You know I previously stated that it wasn’t that busy? Well, I was mistaken. Tourists were becoming vultures to try and be at the front of the queue, luckily for us, we were directly at the front. With only 2 or 3 people before us, it was soon our turn. Up the 
steps and onto a small platform, litre bottle of milk at the ready, trunks up and it’s bottoms up. With only a few droplets left, you feel a big, wet and bristly trunk grab your arm and pull closer as if to say “MORE MILK!!!!”. Greedy bugger, he had about another 50 litres to come! We can now check that off the bucketlist.
Heading out of the orphanage, across the street you come to a large market place selling all types of clothing and souvenirs, mostly to do with elephants. Straight down the middle is where a small herd of about 8-9 elephants are led for their daily bath time. Quite a spectacular view to see the elephants playing around in this big picturesque river, spraying water over themselves. Each small group baths for around 20-30 minutes, twice a day.
ever seen was coming down on his own (but with a keeper). He was taken to a secluded area of the river to bath by himself. We learnt that he was quite a naughty and aggressive elephant, and wasn’t allowed to bath with the others due to his behaviour. Nonetheless, he seemed to enjoy his time in the water.
Having a flight of 10 hours was made easier with it being overnight, so spending most of our flight flicking between movies and sleeping enabled time to fly by. On the flight Abi got a free bottle of wine worth £20 because the air host had a keen eye for her!! Arriving midday in Sri Lanka we were greeted by all staff at the Club Hotel Dolphin where we are staying for the duration of our trip. With freshly blended pineapple juice to quench the thirst caused by humid air we were shown to our Junior suite and we were not disappointed.
Upon walking in we could immediately see that the room was gigantic, although paying for the best room available we were still curious prior to seeing it as to what we had in store. With a living area, dining area, 2 balconies, a queen sized bed, 2 TVs, a rain shower and double bath with 2 wash basins, we really were flabbergasted! – Abi will be happy that I’ve included that word in 
this post! After taking in all the beauty in which we were surrounded by we headed down to the pool and began our adventure. Doing a tour of the hotel we quickly realised that it was humongous! We’d seen on satellite maps that it was big but we weren’t quite ready for how big! We cosied ourselves by the quiet pool and enjoyed a few drinks before taking a dip, only to 
find out that the pool we were in is the biggest in the country, just to emphasise how big the hotel is! Before long we were settled in and unpacked hitting the restaurant for some well needed food and damn is the food good! Despite being a little spicy (we were pre-warned!) everything we have tried and tasted so far as been delicious! I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so 
many curries in such little time, also eating a chicken roti for breakfast on the plane that morning was a little odd but eat it we did! We have definitely heightened our taste buds these past few days!
After an hours drive we were soon throwing life jackets over our heads and motor boating along the marsh! Our tour guide was amazing and identified what we were likely to see and what we could possibly see but the one thing she didn’t mention was that we were in for a treat. A dragon treat. We’ve been to zoos all over the world now and have come across many Komodo Dragons in 
captivity and also one which was kept as a pet, but damn did we ever think we’d see some in the wild? Naaaah. But hell, today we did! Hidden away between the bushes we’d have missed it if it weren’t pointed out to us! Obviously knowing how dangerous and notorious the reptile can be, we were shocked that they roam so closely to the tour centre we were attending! 
Our guide quickly pointed out that they often come a lot closer and cause quite some problems for locals. Just drifting down the marsh we saw 5 including one which was mid dive in the water! Heading closer to the lagoon we were blessed to see some wonderful birds including herons, kingfishers and we even caught a family of 4 pelicans up in a tree.
We arrived back at the hotel in time for lunch and spent the rest of our day exploring the surrounding area and trekking the beach, also having a little dip in the pool mid evening. Oh and just to add to the beauty of the hotel, the sunset lands on the beach so we were mesmerised by the stunning shades of red and orange which that brought! Preparing for dinner we both 
put on some gorgeous dresses and ate traditional Sri Lankan food. Hitting the bar we finished our night with a strawberry daiquiri and a dolphin sunset cocktail. Exciting posts to come, including a day tour to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.
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