Best Airbnb's in Italy

Italy, probably the best country in the world! Great food, wine, scenery, people, and some pretty awesome Airbnb's. Check out my top five that I have pined for my next trip, or if you prefer France check out my top five for the other best country in the world here 

The Tree House

Cheap Italy holiday £300pp (7 nights to Cinque Terre, Florence & Pisa ALL IN)

Inspired to visit Cinque Terre from my latest post here? Well how about everything including all in for £300pp. That includes flights, trains, hotels & Cinque Terre day train tickets.

What to do in Cinque Terre - a two day travel guide

If you have ever searched for photos of the Italian coast on Instagram you are guaranteed to find endless photos of the colourful coastal buildings of Cinque Terre. Back in 2014 we were doing a tour of Italy so we added it to our list and it is definitely worth the hype. If you're planning a trip to the area here's a quick travel guide to help you decide where to go, what to do, where to stay and where to eat in Cinque Terre.

Best AirBnB in Gran Canaria? - Review of a quirky home in Moya.

Sometimes I get lazy when it comes to writing blog posts. Plus I don't want you to get bored of my dulcet writing tones all the time. So occasionally I'm going to enlist my girlfriend Jess to write a little guest post for me. This is one of those occasions. Here's her review of the AirBnB in which we recently stayed in Moya, Gran Canaria. 

Qatar business class sale and Avios promotion

Highlight from the Qatar Airways sale and a nice little bonus over at Topcashback.com

A night of Whisky and Art

Recently whisky has become a top choice for me when I dive into the drinks cabinet but this wasn't always the case. I remember for years I would drink the stuff whilst putting on a brave face and pretending to enjoy it just because I'm Scottish - its in the rulebook that I'm supposed to love whisky right?! Thankfully though, like Olives the more I tried the more I loved it. Now I can't get enough.

Highlights from the British Airways Sale (7nt Caribbean AI + Business class £1499pp)

British Airways are currently running their Luxury Sale, the best deals are when you book two people flying together and include a hotel. The highlight of the sale is the Dominican Republic, Dubai and some city breaks to North America.

To find the deals head over to the BA Sale page here and try some of the locations and dates I have detailed below.

Remember to book through Top Cashback to get up to £30 back. Sign up via my link here to receive a bonus on your first cash back. You will also earn 2 Avios for ever pound you spend on BA holidays plus extra Avios for using a BA Amex and 7-20K Avios per person for the flight depending on your status level. Need more Avios advice, click here for my beginners guide.

Dominican Republic (£1499pp)

Flight: Club World return flights
Hotel: Occidental Punta Cana 4* All Inclusive
When: Various dates from May - Sep

Dubai or Abu Dabi (£1300pp)

Flight: Club World return flights
Hotel: Various 5* 
When: Various dates from April - May £1500pp, June £1300pp

Montreal or Toronto (from £1300pp)

Flight: Club World return flights
Hotel: Various 4* and 5*
When: December and over New Year


There are also some flight only deals, use the BA low fare tool here to find the best deals (remember and click Business/Club).


Thanks for reading

Cal Mc

Where is best to visit in October?

Where's best when? Its an important question and one that could have you chilling in the sunshine or drowning in the rain!

Most the time its quite easy, Winter is great for Australia, Brazil, South Africa and most places below the Equator. Mexico and the Caribbean are also at there best during winter through to autumn and then in Summer is our turn and Europe is at its prime, but what about October? 

Besides the obvious "what winter" destinations (I'm talking about you Florida & Canaries), where is still at its best but not high season?

As it happens there are some really cool places to visit during this time of year and booking now can guarantee a bargain, check out my top five!

Borneo

A bit of a trek i know, but split up with a twin centre stay in Kuala Lumpa or Singapore and its much more bearable. Why here you say? Well October is the end of the tourist high season but still within the best weather and you can go see Oragatangs in the wild!

Live Deal: Premier Travel
How much: From £799pp
How long: 10 nights

Mauritius

Its actually winter in Mauritius but it should really be called the other summer as the weather is still 20C+, why here you say? Well October is cheaper than high season and if you surf, kite board or wind sail the trade winds are at there best and you can have some awesome days out in the water. 

Live Deal: Travel Bag

How much: From £1039pp

How long: 7 nights

Seychelles

Fancy the Maldives but worry you would get bored after the 100th walk round the island, well check out the Seychelles! Not far from the Maldives it has great weather all year round and in October can be quite cost effective. Why here you say? Well its a bunch of islands full of activities, hiking the local hills, all kinds of water sports and huge empty tropical beaches (why would you not want to go).

Live Deal: Best At Travel

How much: From £1100pp

How long: 7 nights

Sicily 

Now you cant have a travel guide without at least having one European destination in it (it is the best continent after all). Sicily is starting to cool down at this time of year but that just means its more comfortable, 20degC+ allows for some great exploring weather and Sicily has some incredible places to explore! Why here you say? Well you can hike up an active volcano, relax in some natural hot springs or explore the island by car, all in a very comfortable 20deg C+.

Live Deal: Secret Escapes (Deal 1) (Deal 2)

Hotel: From £94pn 

Flights: From £70

How long: As many nights as you want

Cambodia & Vietnam 

It may be rainy season in Thailand but head a bit north to Cambodia or Vietnam and you can find some great sunshine without the crowds. Why here you say? Well there is still plenty of sunshine to be had and you can get some of the hotels at a lower price than high season. 

Live Deal: Travel Zoo

How much: From £990pp

How long: 9 nights

Do you agree with my suggestions? I'm going to be heading to Cambodia & Vietnam for a bit in October myself so if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Thanks for reading

Cal Mc

Hiking into Bandama Caldera volcano - Gran Canaria

For some reason I always thought of Gran Canaria of a dry & dusty island but I was so wrong!

Don't get me wrong the tourist resorts in the south are pretty dry and dusty but thats due to the endless sunshine and great weather down there. If you jump in your car and head one hour North the whole island take on an incredible transformation.

Up through the windy roads of the inner island you will find yourself mesmerised by the scenery, its 

quite the distraction from driving on already terifing roads (1000 foot drops on the other side).

Lucky though you don't have to venture to-far inland to find Bandama Caldera! A huge volcanic crater with some incredible views, hiking paths, a golf course and of-course most importantly a winery!

Its very easily accessible by car and if you follow the spiral road (sick bags on standby) you will eventually end up at a cool viewing platform (theres a mini car park) with incredible views.

     
Once your all viewed out drive back down to the local village and take on one of the hiking trails, you can park your car along the road to the golf course. There is a flat trail which spans round the ridge of the crater or a more adventurous hike into the volcanic crater itself.

We opted for the hike into the crater and found the path pretty good, theres a-lot of loose gravel afoot but a very well maintained path all the less.

One thing to remember,  there is a gate that closes at 5pm at the top of the trail so if your not out by then you may have to do some Bear Grills climbing to get out.

If you do make it out by 5pm (I would say its brisk 1 hour hike or slow 1.5 hour hike out from the bottom) there is a nice little wine bar that sells the local wine at a very reasonable price.

If your planing a visit to Gran Canaria I highly recommend you check this place out, you can get a very cheap hire car from AutoResin (see my review of them here) so there's no excuses!

Thanks for reading

Cal Mc