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After a smooth flight with Virgin, a full season of Georgie and Mandy (highly recommend) and maybe a wine or two. We touched down in the Sunshine State for our Florida Adventure to start. The drive from Tampa to Orlando went quickly (thanks to our speedy driver Sam) and we arrived at the Drury Inn in no time, ready for a good nights rest before our jam- packed week. The Drury Inn was our hotel for the first 2 nights, it was lovely to have a big comfy king to myself, the staff were friendly and the free popcorn in the lobby was dangerous. It was the perfect little gem tucked away in bustling Orlando, in a great location to the theme parks and surrounding attractions, offering free hot breakfast and a 5:30 kickback service in the evenings, which is offered across of all the Drury hotels: light-dinner/ snacks and 3 drinks.

I have wanted to go on safari for more years than I can remember, so when I saw the price for a week at The Rhino Lodge in January 2023 we booked without hesitation. We then had over 2.5 years to wait till we went. 4 September 2025 was flight day. A week before we realised they only had a Jaguar at the reserve so to see the Big 5 we had to do the additional tours and just figured this was why it was so reasonable. It was an absolute trip of a lifetime, and I would recommend it to anyone! I can’t lie, when you live in Yorkshire, flying from Heathrow is a bit annoying, and being 26 hours door to door is not for everyone. But it was worth every second! When we arrived at Heathrow, (about 4 hours before our flight) we were able to check our bags in straight away. The guy at the desk asked if there were 22 of us in our party, but this was the whole Newmarket booking so we knew there was a group of 22 on the flight going to Sebatana. We arrived at Johannesburg airport and have to say we struggled to find our transport guy as he didn’t have a Newmarket sign, he was just wearing a Sebatana cap. We are fairly well travelled so are used to refusing help from locals as they always expect to be paid but having wandered round a few times we were scooped up by a guy that knew where we needed to be. Everyone in the party had struggled to find him so we were relieved it wasn’t just us! It was about a 3-hour minibus ride from the airport but on the way to the reserve we stopped for a comfort break and a sandwich lunch at a lovely roadside eatery, so it took about 4 hours. On the drive you’d pass the odd wildebeest, monkey and so on which started to get everyone on the minibuses excited.

When I heard I was going to Mauritius, I was absolutely overjoyed! The beautiful island in the Indian Ocean had always been on my list!

Hiya, I’ve just had the most incredible overnight experience aboard the Ultramarine, Quark Expeditions' luxury expedition ship and I can’t wait to tell you all about it. But first of all who are Quark Expeditions? In short, they have been ‘Polar Obsessed since 1991’ this pioneering company were the first to take commercial passengers to the North Pole and since then have been offering immersive expeditions to the Artic and Antarctic. And if travelling to some of the most remote corner of the world is on your bucket list then this company is for you. Whether it’s cruising past icebergs, spotting wildlife such as polar bears, and penguins or experience cultures up close then Quark can take you on this trip. When you book with Quark Expeditions, you're not just getting a cruise—you're getting a unique experience. Their team of experts, from naturalists to expedition leaders, are passionate about teaching you all about the regions you’re exploring. There’s something magical about having the chance to learn from people who have dedicated their lives to exploring the world’s most remote places. And if you want to explore the wildest parts of the world in a luxury, comfort and Style then Quark Expeditions have that covered.

For the longest time, South Africa has been on my bucket list. After hearing stories from my mum about her visit there when she was 18, I knew that one day I needed to go and explore it for myself. Fast forward to a few months ago when Helen received a phone call from Premier Holidays offering me a place on their South Africa Fam trip... safe to say there were tears of joy from myself and Helen. September quickly rolled around and there I was heading down to London Heathrow to meet Nicky (Premier Holidays) and the rest of the group and what an incredible group we had.

I flew out from Leeds Bradford on Thursday 5th October to Porto and stayed at the HF Tuela Porto, which was near the pick up points for the conference. The hotel was only 15 minutes walk away from the outskirts of the bustling centre, the sun was shining so I set off to explore for a few hours. After I’d spent some time wandering around and enjoying a chilled glass of Vinho Verde, the local wine, I sat by the river side and had a bite to eat. Watching the trams pass me by with the sun setting over the Douro river, I reminded myself of how lucky I am to be able to experience beautiful places.

This year my Husband Nick turned 60, and as part of his birthday celebrations we went to one of our favourite places, Kassiopi in Corfu. We have visited Kassiopi a few times now and we couldn’t wait to get back, visit some amazing places and of course see one of my best friends Lucy and her family, she has lived there for 17 years! Over our 3 week stay, more than 40 of our closet friends and families joined us – and they all had the same opinion- they loved this place – Kassiopi and Corfu.

We like to make life as easy as possible on travel day so often we book a hotel the night before. We stayed at Ryland Farmhouse, about 5 miles from Manchester Airport which was perfectly adequate for the night and had the full English breakfast it was one of the best I’ve ever had!

Last November, after years of wishing, hoping, and planning…

In June we set off on our lovely family adventure (4 year old Peony & 8 month Carter) to Mallorca.

Sitting at the airport with a pizza and coffee waiting to come home is always a bittersweet moment for me, this time it seems particularly difficult…

It’s so hard to know where to start, so I am making a BOLD Statement…

Ahoy,

My first ever holiday abroad was a friends and family trip to Menorca for two weeks in 2016.

I have just returned from my summer holiday in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca. It was our first summer holiday since Covid so we decided to have a chilled holiday than an action packed one.

We are so thankful that we have finally managed to get away…

So, the first challenge of a UK staycation must be, how much you can fit in the car (along with a dog and 3 adults) The answer is (and I’m sure my lovely friend Kirsty will agree) a lot – especially if food, wine and games are part of the luggage. The one rule we have is that Nick doesn’t pack the car (sorry darling) but he just doesn’t have the patience – no one wants to arrive with squashed crisps, dripping dips and exploded shampoo bottles!

The ‘C’ Word

“Now I’m not the most enthusiastic passenger but one flight I’m always happy to book is the Jet2 LBA to Salzburg route. By no means the cheapest but it’s rapid, leaves at a reasonable time and, coupled with the ease of car rental at the comfortably sized, mountain fringed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart airport, gives immediate access to any number of ski resorts in the Austrian Tyrol and Salzburgerland

You would think that because we have the travel agency and because I’ve worked in travel since forever, that finding our family summer holiday would be easy…

Sometimes all you need is amazing memories to make us smile…

We have been very lucky to have travelled all over the world, but one city that is a clear favorite with us is Budapest.

I was so pleased to to be able to go on to this amazing fam trip with Cyplon Holidays and it was a perfect way to learn all about this specialist tour operator and the Island of Cyprus.

“Welcome to the world of boutique cruising”

Did you know at Arundel Travel, Malta is one of our customers favourite destinations?

Azores Agent Fam Trip with Sunvil Holidays – (28th September-5th October 2019)

Starting my journey the right way at Manchester’s airports 1903 lounge, with a class of bubbles and a bacon sandwich I was relaxed and ready for my busy 24 hours in Disneyland.

Earlier on this year Bea was lucky enough to take part in a Palladium Hotel Group Mega Fam which took her across to the beautiful island of Ibiza…

You would think that because we have the travel agency and because I’ve worked in travel since forever, that finding our family summer holiday would be easy…

Nick, Holly and I are on our way back from a wonderful holiday in Croatia. We stayed in my favourite resort of Cavtat in the Adriatic Luxury Hotels- Hotel Croatia and it was amazing.

It doesn’t matter when you visit Madeira there always seems to be something to celebrate, and the locals just love you to join in …

Welcome to our Guest Blog written by our happy customer, Michael Clark.

A friend & customer of mine, Zoe, recently travelled to Croatia for a relaxing holiday with her boyfriend. Here’s her story….