I've been thinking about doing a post like this on my blog for ages and have finally got round to it. I really do have a bit of a travel bug and I am always thinking about different places I need and want to go to around the world. I just think there is so much of the world out there I really need to get out and visit. I have been quite lucky that my parents took me to some pretty amazing places when I was younger. This post is going to give you the low down on the top 5 places I've visited so far and a bucket list of places I want to go to in the future.
THAILAND
This was one of those places I had wanted to visit for years and last year it finally became reality. Me and one of my close friends from uni headed there for about 3 weeks last august and it was probably the holiday of a lifetime. We decided to do a guided tour (read my full post here) as we were a little apprehensive to go totally on our own but I would totally recommend it. I wont go into too much detail as my full post has all of that but the tour was great, you get to meet new people, experience things you probably wouldn't have normally and the tour guides are great at recommending places.
My favourite things to were probably; partying on the Khao San road, floating bungalows in Khao Sok national park, playing with elephants, partying in Koh Phanang on the beach. However, it really was the trip of a lifetime and everything was amazing. Some of my tips if you are going or looking to go are; pack light (you can buy lots of there), don't plan everything (there was lots I wish I could have done but couldn't as our whole time had been planned out), book yourself on a trip if you can (this is the best was to meet people in my opinion).
NEW YORK
This is my dream destination and if I could I would go back every year. I have been 3 times so far and would love to go another time as I think there is still so much to do. NY is pretty much a shopaholics dream and the beauty products there are just to die for! The first two times I mainly did the sights, my favourites have to be the Top of the Rock at night, Staten Island ferry, open top bus tour.
New York is almost famous for its food and boy do you eat when your there, you have a lot of the famous chain restaurants such as; Bubba Gumps, Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood etc. but you can also find some amazing quieter spots for more authentic NY cuisine. I really struggle to remember the names of all my favourite places but I love the breakfast spots - you really can't beat american breakfasts.
AMSTERDAM
I feel like this is one of those places you need to visit in your lifetime. Living the UK its so close to visit and not actually that expensive to stay there. Me and my BF headed there in the spring of this year for a few days and it was so much fun! We stayed in a hotel a little out of the centre and got trams around, but that was so easy. We didn't initially plan any trips and instead headed to a tourist centre to book them while we were there. We did the boat trip, Heineken Museum, Red Light District Museum and sex museum. I would definitely recommend the Heineken Museum and sex museum (this is a tiny place near the central station), it was only about €5 each and such a funny place to go to. We also tried to go to Anne Frank House but the queues were crazy and we weren't massively bothered about it.
One thing I would say about Amsterdam, and probably every other big city, is that it can be expensive. We tried to stay within a budget as I was still a student at the time and didn't have crazy amounts to spend, but food and trips did end up adding up. However, the food was pretty amazing and there was so many cute bakery and desert places. The actual main meal food was pretty average for the city but the desert and pastry selection makes it great!
JAMAICA
This was probably the best family holiday i've ever been on and it was pretty much unplanned. In Jan 08' we were supposed to head to Kenya for the dream safari holiday but a civil war broke out at the time and we ultimately ended up having the holiday cancelled. Luckily my dad organised a last minute trip to Jamaica and it was the best decision ever. The main thing that I love about the country is how amazing and friendly the people are. When you're driving around and seeing the way some people live its crazy the huts/shacks they live in but every is still smiling and making the most of it. The hotel we stayed out we ended up returning to again and all the staff remember you like it was yesterday.
Beside the great people and sunshine there are some great things to do when in Jamaica. We stayed in a hotel just outside of Ocho Rios, which is on the north of the island and we flew into Montego Bay airport. Not far from there is the famous Dunns River falls, its these amazing waterfalls that you climb up and its so much fun to do so. Another great tour you can do is visiting Bob Marleys house up in the mountains and its especially fun on the reggae reggae bus. When your there you get a tour of his house and learn the history and its also legal to smoke weed there (you can even ask a police officer to light it for you)!
MEXICO
This was another fun family holiday I went on and I just loved all the culture of the country. We stayed in a pretty amazing hotel that was attached to an eco park that we always had access to. Around the hotel there was birds and monkeys and it just added a fun feel to the holiday and you could learn about the animals. I think this was an amazing holiday for the reason that it was the first place I swam with dolphins, which had been a massive dream of mine! This was such a magical experience and they are such amazing animal. I also got to swim with seals and manatees an animal i'd never even heard of before. Another amazing thing about the holiday was the food, our hotel had about 8 restaurant with food from all over the world but the Mexican food was obviously amazing!
BUCKET LIST
This was one of those places I had wanted to visit for years and last year it finally became reality. Me and one of my close friends from uni headed there for about 3 weeks last august and it was probably the holiday of a lifetime. We decided to do a guided tour (read my full post here) as we were a little apprehensive to go totally on our own but I would totally recommend it. I wont go into too much detail as my full post has all of that but the tour was great, you get to meet new people, experience things you probably wouldn't have normally and the tour guides are great at recommending places.
My favourite things to were probably; partying on the Khao San road, floating bungalows in Khao Sok national park, playing with elephants, partying in Koh Phanang on the beach. However, it really was the trip of a lifetime and everything was amazing. Some of my tips if you are going or looking to go are; pack light (you can buy lots of there), don't plan everything (there was lots I wish I could have done but couldn't as our whole time had been planned out), book yourself on a trip if you can (this is the best was to meet people in my opinion).
NEW YORK
This is my dream destination and if I could I would go back every year. I have been 3 times so far and would love to go another time as I think there is still so much to do. NY is pretty much a shopaholics dream and the beauty products there are just to die for! The first two times I mainly did the sights, my favourites have to be the Top of the Rock at night, Staten Island ferry, open top bus tour.
New York is almost famous for its food and boy do you eat when your there, you have a lot of the famous chain restaurants such as; Bubba Gumps, Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood etc. but you can also find some amazing quieter spots for more authentic NY cuisine. I really struggle to remember the names of all my favourite places but I love the breakfast spots - you really can't beat american breakfasts.
AMSTERDAM
I feel like this is one of those places you need to visit in your lifetime. Living the UK its so close to visit and not actually that expensive to stay there. Me and my BF headed there in the spring of this year for a few days and it was so much fun! We stayed in a hotel a little out of the centre and got trams around, but that was so easy. We didn't initially plan any trips and instead headed to a tourist centre to book them while we were there. We did the boat trip, Heineken Museum, Red Light District Museum and sex museum. I would definitely recommend the Heineken Museum and sex museum (this is a tiny place near the central station), it was only about €5 each and such a funny place to go to. We also tried to go to Anne Frank House but the queues were crazy and we weren't massively bothered about it.
One thing I would say about Amsterdam, and probably every other big city, is that it can be expensive. We tried to stay within a budget as I was still a student at the time and didn't have crazy amounts to spend, but food and trips did end up adding up. However, the food was pretty amazing and there was so many cute bakery and desert places. The actual main meal food was pretty average for the city but the desert and pastry selection makes it great!
JAMAICA
This was probably the best family holiday i've ever been on and it was pretty much unplanned. In Jan 08' we were supposed to head to Kenya for the dream safari holiday but a civil war broke out at the time and we ultimately ended up having the holiday cancelled. Luckily my dad organised a last minute trip to Jamaica and it was the best decision ever. The main thing that I love about the country is how amazing and friendly the people are. When you're driving around and seeing the way some people live its crazy the huts/shacks they live in but every is still smiling and making the most of it. The hotel we stayed out we ended up returning to again and all the staff remember you like it was yesterday.
Beside the great people and sunshine there are some great things to do when in Jamaica. We stayed in a hotel just outside of Ocho Rios, which is on the north of the island and we flew into Montego Bay airport. Not far from there is the famous Dunns River falls, its these amazing waterfalls that you climb up and its so much fun to do so. Another great tour you can do is visiting Bob Marleys house up in the mountains and its especially fun on the reggae reggae bus. When your there you get a tour of his house and learn the history and its also legal to smoke weed there (you can even ask a police officer to light it for you)!
MEXICO
This was another fun family holiday I went on and I just loved all the culture of the country. We stayed in a pretty amazing hotel that was attached to an eco park that we always had access to. Around the hotel there was birds and monkeys and it just added a fun feel to the holiday and you could learn about the animals. I think this was an amazing holiday for the reason that it was the first place I swam with dolphins, which had been a massive dream of mine! This was such a magical experience and they are such amazing animal. I also got to swim with seals and manatees an animal i'd never even heard of before. Another amazing thing about the holiday was the food, our hotel had about 8 restaurant with food from all over the world but the Mexican food was obviously amazing!
BUCKET LIST
Paris
Bali
Florida
Las Vegas
Australia
Dubai
Italy
Prague
Iceland
What have been your top places to go away and visit?!
xo
You have been to some really cool places! Am particularly jealous of you having visited New York three times, that is a DREAM. I've never been to New York but it is on top of my bucket list. My next destination i'm visiting is Japan and i'm soo excited for it. Grat post, always love reading little travel entries as it gives me major inspiration to go do more travelling.
ReplyDeleteHolly x | https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/chronicles-holly-13610625
Loved this kind of post! I love travelling too and I'm always looking at flights and where to go next. Am I right in saying your picture for this was taken on Phi Phi Island? I've got a similar one from when I went in June. I also went the previous year it's definitely a must visit place Thailand! I've just been to Brussels that was suprisingly a really quirky city and I'm off to Barcelona at the end of November. On my bucket list is also Dubai and Australlia! Maybe Cuba, somewhere like that xx
ReplyDeleteCally | xcallyloves.blogspot.co.uk
Oh Thailand sounds so great and Los Angeles has always been on my list of places to visit, just for the amazing beaches really x
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