All posts filed under: Totally Travel

Your Guide to Agonda, Goa

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Agonda was the perfect place for me to end my trip to Goa, India. It’s definitely a restful place, so if you want parties and action then nearby Palolem might be more your bag. I really wanted to RELAX on my holiday – something that I don’t usually do while I’m away. So Agonda was ideal because there’s no temptation – the pace of life is so slow and there’s a huge yoga community, so it’s hard not to get caught up in the healthy lifestyle while you’re here.   I f*cking glowed after a few days here. Seriously, my skin was radiant, I was well-rested, I developed triceps after the most intense vinyasa classes I’ve ever tried. And the beach is wonderful; quiet and full of adorable cows that I took to feeding each evening. In fact, I had quite the menagerie of animals: two dogs that slept under my sun lounger each day, a drunken white horse (for real), kittens and, of course, a herd of cows of various shapes and sizes. Anyway, …

Cinque Terre Travel Guide

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Planning a Trip to Cinque Terre? Italy has too many beauty spots to choose from, but if you like quaint villages and stunning sea views then the Cinque Terre is a must visit place. Read on for tips on visiting Italy’s Cinque Terre. Which village should I stay in? I can only speak from my experience, but having spoken to other people while I was there, I’m pretty confident I made the right decision when I chose to use Monterosso as my base. Monterosso is probably the most happening of the five villages and has the biggest beach – which is stunning! It’s also super easy to get around, it’s so small you can get everywhere on foot. How do I get there? I flew to Pisa for a wedding in Tuscany, then got the train from Pisa. My flights cost £65 form London and then the trains were only about £30 return for a first class ticket. I urge you to get the trains in Italy – if you’re British the cleanliness, punctuality and …

How I Saved Enough Money to Travel

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Let me start by saying I started at zero, well, less than zero. I had literally no savings at all – I’d never had any. I also had a few outstanding debts, nothing major, and a period of unemployment after quitting my job. So all the methods I used to save money were legit and off my own back. I am just not a natural saver at all, I’m pretty bad with money so it was really hard, I admit, but I did it. Temp Work This is something a lot of people do throughout their studies or as graduates, I had never done any temporary work but I signed up to a few agencies after starting and quitting a permanent job with people that I literally hated, and soon found temporary admin and reception work. I must say working in dull, lifeless offices was quite a shock after my years working in fashion in London. One office I worked in was so like ‘The Office’ from the comedy show I thought I was being …

Your Guide to 2 Weeks in Panama: Part. 3 Bocas Del Toro

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Bocas Del Toro is definitely a party town, I loved the vibe, it felt very Caribbean and just fun. It’s really close to Costa Rico and is so lush, green and tropical. Bocas is comprised of four main islands: Isla Colon, Isla Carenero, Isla Bastimentos, and Isla Solarte, and you get about by getting water taxis everywhere (so fun). How to get there We flew from Panama city ($100). It was such a good flight, very minimal security, it took about 5 mins to get in the airport and the flight is around 40mins. Where to stay Bambuda Lodge is amazing. It’s a completely off-the-grid ecolodge. All the water is filtered rainwater, the electricity is solar-powered and there’s no plastic straws (haha). It really is stunning, set in lush greenery with gasp-worthy views and a giant waterside. We paid approx $50 per night for a private room but they also have dorms. There’s a great and free jungle trail right next to the lodge which takes about an hour and ends in this cool lagoon …

Your Guide to 2 Weeks in Panama: Part. 2 San Blas Islands

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Let me first say… this was the best travel experience of my entire life. Despite being a copywriter, very wordy and verbose, it’s really hard to put into words just how wonderful the San Blas Islands are. There are many ways to visit these islands between Panama and Columbia but we chose to push the boat out (there’s a pun in there) and charter a private boat. This was really expensive BUT ultimately so worth it and it made our 5 days very, very special. A brief history of San Blas (Guna Yala): They are 350+ small islands off the coast of Panama and Columbia. There are indigenous people called Guna who inhabit about 49 of the islands, who originally came from Columbia 100s of years ago, the Guna worship a god named Erragon and their currency used to be coconuts so you’re not allowed to touch any coconuts in San Blas. It’s an area of outstanding natural beauty with pristine waters. We arranged everything via a company called I Travel by Boat who were …

Your Guide to 2 Weeks in Panama: Part. 1 Panama City

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Full disclosure, I did minimal research before traveling to Panama… in fact i wanted to go to Peru or Columbia but the flights to Panama were cheaper. I’m so glad I ended up in this latin paradise, and I’m baffled as to why it’s not a more popular travel destination. Truly one of the most stunning places I’ve ever been, here is my guide to 2 weeks in Panama… Panama City I flew from London to Panama City via Madrid which took about 13 hours all in all. The flights cost roughly £530 return with Air Iberia. Getting a taxi outside the airport is easy and it’s about $30 to the city centre. Panama City looks WILD. I had no idea there were so many skyscrapers – it looks so modern! It really is an impressive skyline and as it’s right on the ocean, it just looks so cool. I stayed in a place called Selina which I found on booking.com, I thought it was a design hotel but it was actually a really nice …

Why You Should Visit Palolem, Goa

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Palolem is a must-visit part of Goa as it has a huge and wonderful beach with super-colourful beach huts that are perfect for The ‘Gram. There’s a nice mix of beach activities, clubs and bars to keep you entertained too. I had a great time here… read on to find out what to do, eat and see in Palolem. WHERE TO STAY I stayed in a really crappy hostel called The Roadhouse – don’t stay there. But do stay in a hostel if you’re travelling alone as they really are the best places to make friends. If I were you I’d walk along Palolem beach and get a sea-view beach hut. There are literally hundreds. I did stay one night in one for 1000IR. GET A BOAT For the small sum of 1800IR between 3 people you can hire a boat (with driver) to take you around some islands and to spot the dolphins that play around them. We saw a pod of about 10 dolphins, all jumping and doing dolphin-y things and after speaking …

Your Guide to 2 Weeks in Goa

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This January I knew that I did not want to be stuck in cold, grim, rainy London Town – so I took a trip back to India. A place I absolutely love. This time I went south, to the beaches of Goa. Here’s my 2 week Goa itinerary if you fancy a holiday there yourself. FLIGHTS I booked my flights with Jet Airways, they’re owned by Etihad, and while they aren’t the best they’re fine. A return from London Heathrow cost me £375. The flight to Mumbai takes 10 hours and then another hour flight from there to Goa airport. ROUTE I could never stay in one place for a whole 2 weeks – I get bored of things sooooo quickly, so I spent 4 days in Anjuna, 4 days in Palolem and the remainder of my time in Agonda. It’s easy to travel around Goa. I just took taxis everywhere as I wanted this to be a truly relaxing holiday. But you can easily take buses or trains. ANJUNA I STAYED… At the Funky …

Portland Travel Guide

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My trip to Portland was for work – I work for British shoe brand Dr. Martens – and we had our SS18 Global Conference there. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to have some spare town and explore the city of Portland while I was there. This was actually my first time in North America – it’s never appealed to me that much, as coming from England I assumed the cultures would be pretty similar and I like to be thrown into the unknown. But, doubts aside, I had a blast. Portland is small but perfectly formed and there’s definitely some cool little places to shop, eat and drink as well as fun activities. Here’s what I got up to… EAT Harlow A cool vegan eatery in hip Hawthorne for when you want something healthy and nutritious. Halsteins Classic American burgers and out-of-this-world service. Ruby Jewel An amazing selection of ice creams – plus, they do a dairy-free version too. Grassa Pasta and salads in a cool and trendy canteen-style building. Sizzle Pie Pizza Some truly …

Climbing Mount Batur in Ubud, Bali

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Climbing Mt. Batur in Ubud was such a great experience; at the time I couldn’t be bothered (you have to set off around 2am) but once I got to the top it was so worth it. Myself, my housemate Sinead, my friend and fellow blogger Lulu and her boyfriend Will all climbed together. We paid around £20 each after a little bit of haggling, but I met someone who paid less (and many who paid more). Mount Batur is a proper tourist trap, there are people bussed in in their hundreds. So you’ll be part of a big group ascending in the dark. We were assigned a guide, there’s one guide for about six people, and given torches. My torch didn’t actually work, and they didn’t replace it, so I was climbing in the dark… fun! The climb up isn’t hard but it’s difficult because it’s pitch black and also the volcanic rock is quite loose – I definitely slipped a few times. Having a little group of us meant we kept morale up and we …