Author: Andrew Brittain

We had walked around Alicante town, visiting the 'Mercat Central' market, and wandering around the streets of the 'El Barrio' old town before deciding we should head up to see the dominant feature of Alicante - the Santa Barbara castle at the top of a huge hill overlooking the town and sea. Views from the top of Santa Barbara Castle…

21Apr 2023 by Andrew Brittain

Dormio Resorts Costa Blanca Review

We were looking for a very last-minute Easter school holiday trip, anywhere warm to escape the terrible April weather. The last available flight we could find to anywhere warm was to Alicante in Spain - and the Dormio apartments resort was about a 25-minute drive or so from Alicante airport. We found the place on Airbnb. It looked decent from…

01Sep 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Calo des Moro

As well as its popular, beautiful mainstream tourist beaches, Mallorca's coast is full of small, natural 'cove' beaches - known as calas - many of which are more remote and difficult to access, but provide a more natural and 'wild' beach experience for those willing to put the effort into hiking / climbing / boating to them. Perhaps the most…

31Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Cala Murta Beach, Near Formentor

We had seen pictures of Cala Murta before our trip to Mallorca - and we knew it was a remote, natural beach hidden away and only accessible by walking a forested mountain-side trail. It sounded like just the type of place we love to visit - and a welcome change from the busier, more mainstream tourist beaches on the island.…

29Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Cala Deia

Cala Deia was the third of Mallorca's best, hidden natural cove beaches on our list to visit, after Cala Murta and Calo des Moro and is one of Mallorca's most famous beaches - apparently a popular hangout of the rich and famous who come to enjoy its stunning cliff-side restaurant that overlooks the clear blue waters of the cove. The…

28Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Mondrago Natural Park

Mondrago Natural Park is a beautiful area of beaches, forested coastal and cliff-side walks very close to the popular resorts of Santanyi and Cala D'Or in the south-east of Mallorca. We were looking for somewhere to visit a bit different to the main tourist beaches - and Mondrago Natural Park's description of having natural beaches accessed through woodland walks sounded…

26Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Finca Son Blat Villa in Porto Cristo, Mallorca – Review

We booked a week in August 2022 at the 'Es Sestador' villa at Finca Son Blat, near the town of Porto Cristo on the east coast of Mallorca. We were dubious before we arrived, having spent the first week of our holiday in Mallorca at a James Villa that hadn't really met our expectations. That villa was roughly the same…

06Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

P&O Cruises Iona Norwegian Fjords Cruise – Our General Impressions

This was the first time we’d ever been on a cruise ship for a family holiday so had no real idea what to expect and no other cruise experience to compare it to. Although the rest of the family have always been keen to do a cruise, personally I’d always been very reluctant. It’s just never seemed like my…

06Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

P&O Cruises Iona Norwegian Fjords Cruise – Our Onboard Experiences

There is a huge range of entertainment on board Iona. It’s one of the most impressive things I found about the cruise - how they manage to create such a variety of experiences to cater to the tastes and interests of such a huge range of people, every day and night. I don’t think it’s possible to experience everything Iona…

03Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Hellesylt, Geiranger & Mount Dalsnibba With P&O Iona Norwegian Fjords Cruise

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…

02Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Briksdal Glacier Independent Excursion On Our P&O Cruises Iona Norwegian Fjords Cruise

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…

01Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Stavanger Rib Excursion to Pulpit Rock: P&O Iona Norwegian Fjords Cruise

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…

01Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Haugesund on P&O Iona Norwegian Fjords Cruise

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…

01Aug 2022 by Andrew Brittain

P&O Cruises Iona – Cabin Review

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…

01Mar 2022 by Andrew Brittain

Valencia Zoo (Bioparc Valencia)

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…

01Mar 2022 by Andrew Brittain

February Half-Term Trip to Valencia