The White Sands of Playa Blanca

The weather has turned pretty gloomy the last few days and as they say north of the wall “Winter is coming!”. This summer we haven’t travelled and have spent many sunshine filled days enjoying the rolling hills of Yorkshire with our beautiful dog, Poppy. I’m actually surprised that I’m not itching to get away again, our backpacking adventure definitely cured my travelling bug! However, with the season finally turning to Autumn, and my recent return to full time employment, the phrase “I need a holiday” is edging closer to my lips. 

Beach Beautiful Gili Meno

Just a ten minute boat ride from Gili T is gorgeous Gili Meno, of the three Gilis its the smallest and least developed island. Much loved for its extremely laid-back vibe and chosen by many including us as the perfect place to get away from it all for few days to relax. Gili Meno is just 2km by 1km and ringed entirely by silky white sand so you are literally spoilt for choice when it comes to finding your own spot of beach. Its so dainty you can do a lap of the entire island in 90 minutes!

The Two Sides Of Paradise On Gili Trawangan

Our next stop after Bali was Gili Trawangan the largest island of the three Gilis, a stunning archipelago of the North West coast of Lombok in Indonesia acclaimed by many as island paradise. We’d also heard that it's a popular swimming and breeding ground for turtles and as we love turtles we were very excited for our visit and boarded the early morning two hour fast boat.

Island Living On Beautiful Koh Lipe

When we caught our first glimpse of Koh Lipe from our crowded speedboat it was love at first sight and we were very excited to be back in Thailand. The bright turquoise sea, ribbon adorned longboats and white sand soon made us forget the uncomfortable 75 minute journey we'd just endured. We'd been crammed into the back of a small speedboat along with 28 other passengers (plus luggage) and grimaced to a relentless rhythm of "1, 2, 3, BANG! 1, 2, 3, BANG!" all the way from Langkawi to Koh Lipe.

"Land Ahoy!"

A Guide To Pantai Cenang Langkawi

Following our lazy and luxurious Christmas at the Berjaya resort we returned to our backpacker status (and budget) in Langkawi's major beach resort Pantai Cenang. The beach here is beautiful, 2km of silky white sand and clear turquoise sea, its lined with low rise bungalow resorts, water-sports companies, laid-back bars and palm trees. Its an ideal location to relax for a few days, reading and working on a tan - everything you need is within walking distance plus, the breeze you get from the sea keeps you sane in the intense humidity.

A Destination Christmas On Langkawi

For the first time ever we spent Christmas at the beach and stayed on Langkawi one of Malaysia's most beautiful islands. To get there we took the ferry from Penang on Christmas Eve, relieved to actually have a ticket - in true backpacker style we booked it the day before. It was a pretty smooth transit and took almost four hours.

"Le beach, so chic!"

Life's A Beach In Palolem

We couldn't resist the opportunity to chill for a few days on one of Goa's gorgeous beaches - Palolem. Vicky visited a few years ago with Diver and was looking forward to sharing this traveller favourite with Steve.