Cutting your cloth to suit your means in retirement needn't mean settling for second best on holiday You've worked hard all your life to make the most of the opportunities travel affords you when you were able to have a break. Then – retirement beckons. If you are like the vast majority of the population now approaching retirement, chances are...

So many people have told me they love Melbourne and the surrounding area it became a must-do destination for our latest trip to Oz. I can see why now. A fine city, spectacular coastlines, great beaches -and that was before we even got on The Great Ocean Road. What's not to like?  The house exchange we arranged was in Mt Eliza on Mornington Pen...

My son raved about Tasmania when he returned from Australia, urging his Mum and me to go there in the near future. It took about four years, but we managed it this February. We flew from Perth to Hobart overnight, via Sydney, arriving at 7.30am. Our accommodation for a week was in Devonport, at the opposite end of the island. Those w...

We 'uhmed and aahed' for ages about accepting an invite to a niece's wedding in Perth because of work commitments at home. When the work got canned we were still just about within the deadline to commit to go, so finally accepted and set about making Perth the second leg of a great holiday. ​    Busselton beach       &...

I thought a lot about showers in Kuala Lumpur – both the climatic and the cleaning kind. ​The former because the quickly changing tropical weather made it highly likely we'd get rain soaked at some point while walking round the city. The latter because if it isn't raining it's hot and humid, which meant we ended up sweat soaked in any case.&nb...

Our first experience of home swap holidays  My best friend's son lives in Beijing, so when last November an ad popped up on my screen proclaiming cheap Air France flights to the Chinese capital, it caught my eye. Closer examination revealed attractive fares to many other destinations, including San Francisco, a city I'd long wanted to visit. T...