Let the adventures begin

A few years ago I was busy planning our first family trip to a long haul destination – Sri Lanka. I’d been commissioned to write a piece for TTG Luxury magazine, recording our month long road trip across the island.

Not only did our trip re-ignite my love of travelling to exotic, off-the-beaten-track places, it also reminded me that you can board a plane for 12 hours and experience a world and culture like no other. It’s definitely an experience that will stay with our family forever. Below are some images of the stunning Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle, where we were lucky enough to stay, courtesy of Grifco PR.

Say hello to Travel Youtopia

I’ve been a journalist, events director and content consultant for over 20 years and love to travel. I find travel inspiration absolutely everywhere, whether that’s discovering somewhere new close to my hometown of Brighton in the UK or further afield.

I’m a huge fan of road trips that have seen us travel thousands of miles from Brighton to Croatia, France to Spain and many other European destinations in between. We’ve discovered some incredible places along the way and seen things we’d never have seen on a plane. I’m always searching for a road less travelled and like to think creatively about where we go, how we get there and the impact our travel has on the environment and others around us.

I like uncovering places no-one’s ever heard of, encouraging people to go to places they haven’t visited before and inspiring people to book one of the places I’ve stayed in (which they often do after reading one of my blog posts or Instagram stories).

I love taking photos – the majority of the images you’ll see on this site are my original photography. Where they’re not, they’re credited.

I’ve experienced all types of travel: budget backpacking around South East Asia, writing travel guides for websites and magazines, living, working and travelling around Australia, reviewing luxury hotels worldwide, embarking on epic European road trips, island hopping around Croatia, sleeping in the Rajasthani desert with just a guide and camel for protection and living and working in Amsterdam for two years (writing about it while I was there).

Whether you want to blow the budget on luxury accommodation or prefer to keep it simple with a weekend camping, I hope Travel Youtopia will inspire you to get out there, think creatively about travel and share some unique experiences alone, with friends, with your children or as a couple. It can be done and you don’t have to spend ridiculous amounts of money doing it.

Let the adventures begin.