Andrew Brittain, Author at Footsteps Family Travel Blog

13Jul 2024 by Andrew Brittain

Grecotel Luxme White Palace Hotel Review

Our review of the Grecotel Luxme White Palace hotel in Crete - a luxury five-star all-inclusive hotel, where we stayed for a week… One type of holiday we haven’t done before is the relaxing, beach / pool all-inclusive hotel stay. Our usual holidays are normally full of activities and excursions, with the accommodation generally being just somewhere for us to…

13Jul 2024 by Andrew Brittain

How to Find Kourtaliotiko Gorge in Crete

Greece

We had heard that there was a mountain gorge in Crete with a river that leads to a hidden waterfall - called Kourtaliotiko Gorge, so after several days doing something we rarely do on holiday (just laying by the pool and beach at our hotel) we decided to take a trip out to find the gorge waterfall in the Crete…

26May 2024 by Andrew Brittain

Doha City Tour by Taxi

Qatar

Having visited a couple of parts of Doha close to our hotel on our first day in Qatar, we were aware there was a lot more to see a bit further afield, but weren’t sure of the best places in Doha to visit and in what order, given our limited time in the city. But then, whilst taking a taxi…

25May 2024 by Andrew Brittain

Day Trip to Banana Island, Qatar

Qatar

Banana Island is a luxury 5-star hotel and beach resort on a purpose-built island that sits about a 20-minute boat ride from the coast of Qatar. We were staying in a city-centre hotel in Qatar, so thought it’d be good to spend one day away from the city at a quieter, more relaxing beach venue - as we had tours…

22May 2024 by Andrew Brittain

4WD Desert Safari, Doha – With Qatar International Tours

Qatar

The highlight of our stop-over in Doha, Qatar was a 4-wheel drive desert sunset safari that we booked with Qatar International Tours. It was fun, interesting and a chance to see the nature of Qatar beyond the built-up city region. Our car for the 4wd desert safari with Qatar International Tours We were met at our hotel at about 2pm…

20Apr 2024 by Andrew Brittain

Bangkok ‘Your Thai Guide’ Tour Review

Thailand

Bangkok is a massive city full of attractions and sights to see - and getting around is definitely not straightforward. The public transport is difficult to navigate, the traffic is horrendous - and it’s boiling hot, hectic and generally a difficult place to find your way around if you’re not familiar with the city. We only had limited time in…

17Apr 2024 by Andrew Brittain

Ban Sainai Hotel Resort, Krabi – Review

Thailand

Our review of Ban Sainai Resort hotel in Krabi, Thailand, close to the town and beach area of Ao Nang. We stayed at Ban Sainai in Krabi for four nights on our travels around Thailand and thoroughly enjoyed absolutely everything about the resort - it’s a superb, beautiful hotel and one we would very highly recommend for a family stay…

16Apr 2024 by Andrew Brittain

Elephant Hills, Thailand: Review

Thailand

Elephant Hills is a jungle adventure camp in Khao Sok national park, Thailand. They call it a ‘soft’ adventure, which I think is a good description of the balance they’ve created of spending time in the beautiful natural environment of the Khao Sok jungle, but in a way that’s comfortable, suitable for families and people of all ages and abilities…

15Apr 2024 by Andrew Brittain

Phi Phi Islands Tour from Krabi, With Sea Eagle Tours

Thailand

Many of the most beautiful parts of coastal Thailand around the Phang Nag bay lie on islands which require boat trips to visit. There are many such boat trips available - a huge selection to choose from whether that’s on the travel websites like Tripadvisor and Viator, or directly with local operators and agents that have stalls around the main…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

P&O Arvia Caribbean Cruise Review: What to Expect on a Caribbean Cruise on P&O Arvia

Caribbean

We booked a two-week Caribbean cruise with P&O on its newest ship Arvia, having been amazed the previous year by its almost identical sister ship Iona in the Norwegian Fjords. What we hoped for was to get away from the dreadful British winter weather and to see a part of the world we’d not visited before, in a way that…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

P&O Arvia – Tortola to Virgin Gorda Independent Excursion

Caribbean

Our first port of call on our P&O Arvia Caribbean cruise was the British Virgin Island of Tortola. We hadn’t booked a P&O excursion in Tortola, as we’d read that it’s easy enough to visit the Virgin Gorda baths yourself independently, so we decided to make our own way over to Virgin Gorda from Tortola by ferry. The beautiful P&O…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

P&O Arvia Caribbean Cruise Excursion – Escape to Saona Island, Dominican Republic

Caribbean

For our second shore excursion on our P&O Arvia Caribbean cruise, we’d picked to do the P&O excursion to Saona Island in the Dominican Republic. It promised a full day with all the things we’d hoped for on a day trip in the Caribbean - boat rides, snorkelling, all food and drink catered and remote island beaches - and we…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

P&O’s Rocklands Estate Ultimate Thrill Zipline Excursion, St Martin

Caribbean

With most of our shore excursions on our P&O Arvia Caribbean cruise being beach-based, we wanted to pick something a bit different for our excursion in St Martin, so decided to do the zipline excursion at Rocklands Estate, booked direct through P&O. Rocklands Estate is a kind of adventure park set in the forests of St Martin. A view of…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

P&O Stingray Sensation Excursion to Stingray City in Antigua

Caribbean

For our stop in Antigua, we’d booked another excursion with P&O - this time the ‘Stingray Sensation’ excursion, which takes you to the so-called ‘Stingray City’, where you get to swim and interact with stingray on a sandbank just out off the coast of Antigua. The Stingray City excursion turned out to be one of the coolest, most fun things…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

Antigua Snorkelling Excursion with Bernie’s Snorkelling Antigua WI, Galleon Beach

Caribbean

We’d spent the morning in Antigua doing one of the most fun holiday excursions we’ve ever done at Stingray City and, with the afternoon free, wanted something else to fill the time before heading back to P&O Arvia for an evening departure. While we were at Stingray City, we noticed a leaflet advertising a snorkelling tour at Galleon Beach in…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

How to Get to Les Salines Beach – the Best Beach in Martinique

Caribbean

We’d heard that Les Salines beach is the most beautiful beach in Martinique, but it’s quite a long way from the cruise port and not that easy to get to. But the photos we’d seen and reviews we’d read, combined with there not being a huge amount of places to visit in the immediate Martinique cruise port area, meant we…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

St Lucia Land & Sea Excursion with ‘Caribbean Tours You Save They Benefit’ & Edmund Tours

Caribbean

For our stop at St Lucia on our Caribbean cruise on P&O Arvia, we wanted to visit the familiar sight of the Pitons - the twin mountain peaks that are St Lucia’s most-famous landmark, so we booked an independent excursion with the Caribbean tour company called ‘Caribbean Tours You Save They Benefit’. The excursion is called the ‘Land and Sea…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

Barbados Sunset Catamaran Excursion with Calypso Cruises

Caribbean

Our last day of our Caribbean cruise on P&O Arvia arrived as we docked back where we started in Barbados. We had a full day and night in port before leaving the next morning so decided to make the most of being able to be out later in the evening and booked a sunset catamaran tour - an independent excursion…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

P&O Arvia Cabin Review: Four-Berth LB Grade Seaview Family Cabin (No. 4445)

Caribbean

For our two week Caribbean cruise on P&O Arvia we stayed on deck four, in a four-berth family LB grade seaview cabin. Here’s our Arvia cabin review of cabin 4445… Cabin 4445 on Arvia is a good cabin in our experience and we had no issues and would stay in it again. We deliberately chose the location on deck four…

24Dec 2023 by Andrew Brittain

What’s the On-Board Wifi Internet Package Like on P&O Arvia?

Caribbean

Because I run my own business, and have various family matters that mean I have to stay in touch with home when away on holiday, we decided to pay the extra fee on our Caribbean cruise on Arvia for the wifi internet package, as there’s no mobile service at sea. It’s an expensive add-on (about £250 per person) so I…