People love them, hate them or others are just afraid of them!
To tell you the truth, we were very sceptical, but in hindsight cruising is great – easy and convenient! It honestly takes a lot of the planning out of your holiday and leaves you with plenty of time to sit back, relax and enjoy!
We (or rather Jenna) were planning a jam packed 5-week itinerary for Jenna’s parents who were visiting us while living in London. Naturally, we wanted to tick off as many places as possible as we were heading into (May/June 2014) our first European summer! The Greek islands, specifically Santorini was an absolute must and something we all wanted to do – this is when we stumbled upon what would be our first ever cruising experience. The cruise was on the Norwegian Jade for 7 nights, departing from Venice we stopped in at 4 incredible Greek destinations!
Our top 3 reasons why we love cruising:
- You unpack ONCE and wake up in a different location each morning
- The entertainment onboard is endless and actually really good
- The food. Oh wow, the food is amazing and unlimited!
We have now been on two cruises and both were absolutely Ah-Mah-Zing!
- June 2014, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL Jade) – 7 night Greek Islands from Venice
- July 2015, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL Star) – 9 night Baltic Cruise from Copenhagen
I’d like to say we (well Jenna) is pretty organised and had everything under control, but there are still things that would have been good to know before our first cruise! We’ve come up with this list which will hopefully help future cruisers like yourselves!
Picking your destination
For us, this was the easy part! There were a few places in Europe we wanted to see, and doing it on a cruise just made perfect sense! You need to make sure the cruise you pick suits your personal needs and that you are interested in all of the stops. It is a lot of money to pay for a cruise you only want to do half of. Look around. There are plenty of cruise companies around offering different itineraries!
Picking your cruise company
Once you’ve picked your destination, you then need to pick the cruise line. Having done a bit of research, we decided to book NCL for our first cruise and subsequently our second as well. The thing we loved most about NCL is that it is Freestyle Cruising. If you’re not sure what that is, it is when you can eat at any time, with whoever you want. There is no set dining times per cabin. It is fantastic! You can even go and have two dinner sittings if you’re still hungry later on.
You really need to do your research. Each company is slightly different with their ports of call, inclusions and importantly when the ship was most recently refurbished. Read reviews on cruise critic if you’re unsure, just go with your gut!
Look at the different cabin options
When booking your cruise, it is so important to pick the most suitable cabin. Do you want to be at the front or the back of the ship, or the middle? Each has their advantages. For us, we wanted to be close to the stairs that took us to the pool area and gym. Others want to be close to the theatre. Once you’ve figured out what sort of cabin you want and which end of the ship, then comes the decision on the type of cabin. This is very important. We chose a mini suite with a balcony the first time around and weren’t disappointed.
It was so spacious and we had fresh air during the evenings as we could sleep with the sliding door open. The other benefit with a balcony is you can easily do a little bit of washing in your bathroom and put it outside in the sun to dry! We also picked a room on a higher deck so we were close to the action and didn’t need to use the lifts!
Our second cabin was a picture window room. This is a couple steps down from the mini suite, but you get a large picture window. It lets plenty of light in (especially when you’re in the Baltic and the sun barely goes down in summer!) and the room was fairly spacious, but not as spacious as the mini suite.
The cheapest rooms are generally the inside cabins, there is no window and therefore no natural light. If you’re travelling with a large group of friends and you’re not intending on spending any time in the room then to be fair, this probably wouldn’t be too bad, but when we looked in a couple of these the rooms were very dark and felt somewhat claustrophobic compared to ours. If you’re on a budget I would definitely recommend opting for at least a porthole to give you that much needed natural light – each to their own, but in my opinion, it would be absolutely worth it!
Getting to and from the port
This might be an obvious one, but you need to check what time you need to be at the port for departure. There is a cutoff, and they are strict about it. You want to get there shortly after checking in starts to avoid any unwanted stress. Do you need to order a taxi, arrange a transfer through the cruise company? Are you taking public transport? Don’t underestimate how long it will take, there are a few thousand people trying to get to the same destination as you!
We learnt this the hard way when we decided to take the train from Copenhagen City centre to the port, by train. We thought it was only a 20-minute walk from the station to the port. We were wrong, very wrong, and it was only thanks to a lovely bus driver who saw we were in desperate need of a lift who pulled over and picked us up (6 of us!) and dropped us off at the port with 10 minutes to spare. Talk about stressful!
You might want also want to look at flying in the evening before to allow for any flight delays etc.
Research your shore excursions and each port
Our first cruise, we decided to book all of our shore excursions through the cruise company. This was because we didn’t know it was easy and possible to use other tour providers at each port. The excursions through the cruise company were excellent, and very well organised. However, they can often be quite a bit more expensive than booking your own.
Our second cruise, we decided to book our tours through local tour companies that were recommended on Trip Advisor or other cruise critic forums.
You can’t really go wrong with either – one just saves you a bit more money (but takes a bit more organisation).
What to pack
Take a look at the cruise itinerary. Is there a formal evening where you are required to wear a dinner suit or formal gown? You might be going somewhere tropical, but most restaurants on the ship won’t allow men to wear shorts. It is worth double checking the dress code prior to packing to make sure you aren’t limiting yourself!
If you’re on a cruise through the Med, the chances are you aren’t going to need a lot of different outfits. Perhaps pack a few swim suits, and a few dinner options but other than that – you probably won’t need much more! You can probably re-wear a couple of outfits twice and that way you can pick up a few things at each of your ports and you will have room to take it home!
You will need to remember to pack a hat and sunscreen, especially if you plan on enjoying your sea days lazing by the pool 🙂
TIP: Make sure you pack your swim suit in your backpack. Our first mistake was having this in our suitcase. This meant after we boarded the ship at lunch time, we had to wait several hours to receive our bags and then have a swim!
Now you’re all booked and ready to go. Make sure you have ALL of the documentation printed and ready to go!
For most cruise liners, if you haven’t completed your online check in and printed the necessary documents you will not be allowed to board your ship! That’s the last thing you want so just double check you have gone through their list of instructions of what you need, and get that sorted!
Check what currency the ship accepts
If you’re planning on paying cash for anything on the cruise or using the casino – it is best to double check what currency is accepted. On both of our cruises, it was US dollars so we needed to make sure we had some handy for those little casino dabbles!
Waterproof pouch case
This is something we picked up just before our first cruise, and I am so happy we did. When you’re onboard, you need your room key to pay for any drinks, when you arrive at dinner and getting on and off the ship. We found the waterproof pouch case perfect, you can have it next to you in the pool without the worry of your card and phone etc getting wet. You can pick these up for a few bucks online.
Giant towel pegs
Yep. Strange right? Well, within the first 10 minutes of boarding our first cruise, we saw a lot of people with these giant pegs, which clipped their towel to the deck chairs. I thought, that’s a bit strange… but then as our cruise departed and the wind picked up – it made perfect sense! Needless to say, we picked up a set of these before our next cruise! They are an absolute must have especially if you have a few sea days!
Drinks package
The cruise liners will offer you a variety of drink packages. All I can say is whether you get the soft drink package, or the full alcohol package you won’t be disappointed. Drinks can start to add up and the last thing you want when you settle your final bill is a massive drinks bill!
Most cruise liners allow guests to bring some water and soft drinks on board with them. So, if you’re not going with a drinks package, this might be good for you!
Pre-book your additional services
If you are wanting to get a massage, beauty treatment, hair cut etc then I would recommend booking this in as soon as you board if not before hand. Spots surprisingly get booked up super quickly!
Enjoy the sunset, at least one evening!
It is one of the most magical parts of being on a cruise, the amazing sunsets night after night!
Take your gym gear
You’re probably laughing at me for suggesting this… but the gyms often have amazing views, so what better way to work out? In all seriousness, you tend to eat so much on these cruise ships because there is always an unlimited food supply! Particularly on the sea days, you aren’t moving as much but continue to eat and drink as much as you can, just because you can! So, why not have a mid afternoon break from the pool, head to the gym and then finish your afternoon off with a nice swim? Not a bad way to ensure you don’t pile the kilo’s on while on your cruise!
WiFi
We’ve never purchased internet on the ships, mainly because it is so expensive but also we like to enjoy some down time away from social media! You tend to get plenty of wifi spots when you’re on shore anyway. But, if you’re away from family or the kids and need to keep in contact then this is probably something you should look at getting, just in case.
Get to know your dining options
I’m not sure about other cruise lines, but NCL had an incredible range of restaurants. We did only enjoy the restaurants that were complimentary and we weren’t disappointed! One piece of advice, avoid the buffet.. you only end up overeating. Stick to the amazing 3-course restaurants and try something different each night. Or, better still if you can’t decide on what to order – you can order both! Yep, it’s a thing and they don’t mind! Just be mindful not to waste food, so if you order it – eat it!
Pre-pay your gratuities
We arranged to pre-pay our gratuities before we boarded the ship. This just takes the hassle out of doing it throughout the stay or at the end. And this way, you can be sure that the staff that work behind the scenes, in the laundry, engine room etc are also given a tip for their hard work and it isn’t just going to those who are personally serving you each day. The staff all work extremely hard every day. It was so nice to have a different little animal made for us each day!
Onboard activities
There is so much happening on board, you really need to know what and when so you don’t miss out!
Take a look at the daily planner you’re given and particularly on your sea days, make the most of what’s on offer! Whether it is pool games, bingo, trivia or art auctions – either way, they are all a heap of fun and keeps your day interesting!
The most important thing to remember when you’re cruising – Have fun, relax and enjoy!!
Do you have travel insurance?
Before travelling, make sure you get a travel insurance policy – you never know when you might need it! Click here for information on travel insurance, what company we recommend and a link to get an instant quote.
The one question we’ve been asked over, and over again (and over..) is – What is your favourite destination? Well, as you can imagine that is probably one of the hardest questions anyone could ask.
Everywhere is so different, how is it possible to compare two completely different holidays and pick a favourite!
So, to make things easier we put together a list of our top 10 16 European destinations (we couldn’t limit it to 10!)! These are in no particular order…
Stavanger – Norway
This particular destination is up there in the top 3 for sure. It was incredible, we went twice in the space of 3 months! Most of you at this point are probably thinking, where on earth is Stavanger… I’ve never heard of it. Well, neither had we until one evening when we quickly checked Google Flights for an affordable weekend getaway, it was £50 return with British Airways for great flight times and exactly what we were looking for, not having been to Norway before we knew it was a winner and decided to do some research and typed Stavanger into Google images to see what popped up. Ahuh!! That’s where that giant cliff face that has been popping up ever so often on my Instagram feed! I might add here that it is a sheer 602m drop to the Norwegian fjord and this bucket list worthy place is called Pulpit Rock (or Preikestolen to the locals).
My only challenge was to convince Jenna (who is afraid of heights) to hike this gorgeous part of Norway with me. I digress, so rather than telling my story here, if you’re interested you should definitely read our Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) Sunrise Hike post which covers the hike and includes a short video. But in short – this is absolutely one of the best experiences of our lives and is something that I truly hope everyone can experience!
Zakynthos – Greece
When people think of Greece, Santorini springs to mind. Santorini was amazing, but Zakynthos for us was incredible! The coastal cliff drive, or the winding mountain drive – either way, this island has it all. The water is postcard perfect. The main attraction for people when visiting Zakynthos is, of course, Navagio Beach, or Shipwreck beach. For a very long time, this was the image used on the TripAdvisor home page! I don’t know about you, but every time we would hop onto TripAdvisor this image just tempted me so much! Ticking it off our bucket list was simply a must. Getting the amazing photo was difficult – it involved stepping over the safety barrier, standing on a small patch of dirt with a rocky base… who knows how thick it was underneath our feet! But, we got the shot and realised very quickly what a drop of 274m looks like when you have a tiny patch of dirt to stand on… Now, this spot was just to the left of the main platform the majority of the tourists (tour groups) go to, but if you have a rental car and a bit of time then you should definitely make your way around to the right and wander along where you actually get a great angle of Navagio. If you have even more time (which we did) then at the edge of the car park you can walk left down a dirt road, we were lucky enough to see a few people off the dirt road further down and decided to head down and see what the view was like – stunning – absolutely stunning. Even better, the people we ran into were actually setting up their gear and getting ready to cliff jump, so with their safety harnesses strapped in, I asked them if they wouldn’t mind holding our GoPro out over the edge – this photo below was the result!
You can read more about our Zakynthos holiday here!
Sardinia – Italy
Sardegna… People say we go on about Sardinia a lot. We do. That is simply because it is incredible! To be honest, I didn’t think we were going to get to Sardegna and almost took it off the list, flights from London were more hassle than one would like and the timing just never seemed to work out for us. Well, until we decided to head to Lago di Como and found great flights from Milan to Sardegna!
Some of the most incredible beaches I have seen are in Sardegna, and the food – amazing especially if you are a seafood lover! Again, I won’t bore you with the details here, so jump on over to our Sardinia post for more information.
Val Thorens – French Alps
When looking for a ski resort that is suitable for beginners, but had enough going on to not get bored, we decided to look at Val Thorens in the French Alps. We were absolutely not disappointed! The variety of piste and Après-ski was incredible. We were lucky and went over new years so the vibe was amazing, there was so much to see and do, including a massive new years eve party with fire works! I feel it is worth mentioning the waffles that you can get here – they are so delicious, and these quickly became our daily lunch stop! It is particularly fun if you go in a group 🙂
Click here to help plan your trip to Val Thorens with our recommendations!
Sicily – Italy
Sicily – another incredible Italian island holiday. Just like Sardinia, this is an island to hire a car and drive around. The food was amazing, typical Italian pasta, the water was lovely and the drive was lovely and scenic. The best thing about Sicily is that around 90% of the tourists are Italian, so the language spoken nearly everywhere is Italian and Italian only. So, if you want to order some food, best you know some Italian, enough to be able to read a menu and know what you do and don’t like! But, that’s what we enjoyed so much about it.
To check out our 5-day itinerary around the incredible island, click here.
To see some more amazing photos of Sicily, click here.
Mykonos – Greece
Greece makes another appearance! Mykonos… for us was higher on the list than Santorini! Simply because I got the true Greek feeling when walking through this gorgeous town, surrounded by white and blue houses with cobblestone pathways, amazing water, and a beach so you can cool off. Another awesome part about Mykonos is that you can buy beer (really cheap) from the vendors on the street and enjoy them (legally) while wandering through the picturesque streets. It’s perfect on a super hot day!
Saint Petersburg – Russia
A city filled with history and gorgeous buildings! We spent two days here as part of our Baltic cruise. We had a jammed packed two-day itinerary to make the most of our time and make sure we saw as much as possible. The highlights for us would, of course, be seeing the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood which is the typical Russian church – it is breathtaking! Catherine Palace and the gardens of Peterhof Palace were also beautiful.
Cinque Terre – Italy
Italy.. again… I know. But honestly, how could you ever get sick of this coastline! Cinque Terre was such an incredible experience. The villages set up into the rugged mountains is an experience. It is simply beautiful and breathtaking.
To read more about this amazing part of the world, take a look at our Cinque Terre blog.
Berlin – Germany
Europe is not complete without a trip to Berlin. Wow. The city, the history, the people and did I mention the history? I haven’t enjoyed a city break as much as Berlin. There is so much to do, so much to see and so much to learn. You get to see first-hand part of the incredible history that dates back to the World War. You get such a rush of mixed emotions here… One moment you’re having an amazing, happy time and next minute you’re standing in the Holocaust memorial and that’s when the reality of history sets in… To take a look at our Berlin in pictures post!
Santorini – Greece
Ok, so Santorini really does need to be on the list. It is one of those places that you do need to visit. The village of Oia is so beautiful and the views and sunset are incredible. It is really quite amazing that this city was built on the result of a volcanic eruption that happened in the 16th Century B.C.E. Click here to look at some more amazing photos from Santorini.
Amalfi Coast – Italy
The best parts of Italy are never simple to get to, but that’s what makes them so incredible! The Amalfi Coast is the perfect example. Having to fly into Naples, then either driving a couple of hours or taking several modes of transport to get there, it is certainly not something to do without planning involved. However, when you get there it just makes you speechless. The windy narrow roads that hug the rugged mountain ranges are something you only imagine until you see them for yourself. You can’t drive fast, nor would you want to!
The gorgeous pastel houses, access to the Isle of Capri and delicious Italian food are only a few of the reasons to visit. You don’t really want to visit for the swimming as the water isn’t the main attraction here! Check out of our Amalfi Coast in pictures post for more inspiration or our top 10 things to see on the Amalfi Coast post.
Lisbon – Portugal
This was one of the first city breaks we did while living in London. It was such an eye opening trip! Lisbon is beautiful, the tiled buildings and street art is what gives Lisbon such a unique character (even though the city is quite run down). There are some amazing vantage points in the city to watch the sunset and relax and enjoy yourself. We were lucky enough to jump on a day trip to visit Sintra Castle, the western most point in Europe, known as Cabo da Roca and the coastal town of Cascais. Definitely, a city to visit for a long weekend!
Stockholm – Sweden
Ah, turns out not only are the people beautiful but so is their capital city, Stockholm!
It seems like such a laid back city with plenty to see and do. The old town is gorgeous with the little laneways, churches, a palace with the extravagant changing of the guards. There is also the Vasa museum. This museum is so special, it displays the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. Another part of history that is incredible to see first hand.
One of the best ways to visit Stockholm is by cruise ship. This means you can see the Archipelago as you cruise into port. For those who don’t know what the archipelago is, it is thousands of tiny islands. Stockholm has the largest in Sweden and the second largest in the Baltic Sea.
The Dalmatian Coast, Croatia
The best way to see Croatia – sail from Split down to Dubrovnik on a yacht! An unforgettable experience.
You arrive in Split, explore and enjoy the town before sailing down the incredible Dalmatian coast exploring island after island before finishing off in Dubrovnik. We chose a company called Med Sailors and it was one of the best experiences we had. It was one perfect day after another and the best way to get down the coast. It is truly something you need to do while you’re based in the UK.
Click here to read more about sailing Croatia and to see a short video.
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
This is an interesting one. The town itself is gorgeous, but what makes this particular trip memorable was getting to and from Mostar! We took a day trip while in Dubrovnik, Croatia and drove out to Mostar with some friends. The thing to remember with Bosnia, not a lot of the locals speak English so if you’re needing to ask for any help outside of the main tourist area, then think again! The scenery to and from Mostar was beautiful and the village itself with Stari Most was worth the drive. To read more about this gorgeous town or to watch our videos, click here.
Paris, France
Last but by no means least, Paris! No visit to Europe is complete without visiting Paris a couple of times. I say a couple of times because it takes around 2 or 3 times before you can really enjoy Paris for what it is. It is more than just the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Élysées, it is about getting around the local area and walking around and exploring. It is really such a pretty city and well worth spending some time there. To read more about Paris, click here.
Do you have travel insurance?
Before travelling, make sure you get a travel insurance policy – you never know when you might need it! Click here for information on travel insurance, what company we recommend and a link to get an instant quote.
Alternative accommodation
If you’re looking for alternative accommodation to either save some money or share with friends or family, click here for information on Air B&B ($50 discount on your first booking), hotel price comparison websites etc.
Obviously, there is diversity, but Europe is a union of diversity – Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Getting around London is daunting… what tube to take, where to change.. oh no, the tube is closed for maintenance… what bus do I take? Yep, all sound familiar?
Our top 5 London phone apps
These apps came in so handy for us when living in London…
- Citymapper – This would have to be one of the best apps I’ve used… EVER. It is free and can help you find your way around London, whether you’re using public transport, walking or cycling. They even give you the approximate cost of a taxi compared to public transport and how many calories you burn if you walk it instead!
- Whatsapp – This app is massive pretty much everywhere, but particularly in London! Everyone has it, everyone uses it. Who sends texts anyway?
- Uber – When you don’t want to take a taxi, you can see the fare estimate, how far away they are and they usually always have a promo code to use! What’s even better is that you pay using your credit card via the app – no more cash payments!
- Skyscanner – We used skyscanner to search for all of our holiday flights! It compares each of the airlines ensuring you pick up the best prices!
- BBC Weather – Probably the most accurate weather app we used while being in London! Given how often the weather changes, it is worth getting this one!
“The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” – Anna Quindlen
“There’s nowhere else like London. Nothing at all, anywhere.” Vivienne Westwood
Honestly. Living in London certainly spoils you and there are so many things you realise you have learned from living there! Now clearly this is not going to be the most educational and there are plenty of other things we learned when living there, but these are no doubt the ones anyone who has lived there would have to agree with!
Let us know if you think we missed any!
Our top 44 things we learned after living in London..
- There is no correlation between the way words are spelled and how they are pronounced! I fondly remember trying to ask for directions to Southwark when in fact I should have been asking for directions to Sutherk…!
- People should be required to take lessons and have a licence for walking around London – there are no keep left or keep right and it’s very much every man for himself!!
- Standing on escalators, different story, this is strictly monitored and must stand on the right or face an angry mob!
- In fact, this will be one of the few times in London a stranger talks to you – and not in a nice way…
- Commuting around 3km takes around 30 minutes, at least… actually come to think of it everywhere in London takes at least 30 minutes!
- Actually, people who live in Brighton often have a quicker commute to London that you do from Clapham or Wimbledon.
- London parks are marvellous! Enjoy them
- Squirrels are everywhere! We love them, but any other animal that even resembles a Squirrel, not so much!
- You can take your dogs pretty much anywhere… shops, cafes, restaurants!
- Not only dogs, but you can also take alcohol pretty much anywhere!
- Everyone is in a hurry, always
- People don’t smile or say hello
- People don’t even look at each when on the tube. It’s like everyone is invisible.
- Londoners LOVE pubs, we very quickly learned to LOVE pubs!
- Pubs in London are nice.
- Gastro Pubs are even nicer!
- Summertime in London is amazing. The sun is up by 4 am and goes down at around 10.30pm!
- Summertime in London on the tube is awful, well for those non-air-conditioned tubes anyway! You do not want to be armpit height in peak hour… gross
- You walk a lot. Don’t underestimate the value of comfortable shoes!
- You will never have money. Ever.
- There is always something new opening up whether it be restaurants, bars etc – it never gets boring
- The world really is your oyster – you’ll never need to be on a flight for more than 4 hours again
- You spend more weekends out of the UK than you do IN the UK
- CityMapper app is the best app in the world. If you don’t have it, get it!
- To find a spacious flat close to London you will pay through the roof for! It is just the way it is
- Christmas time is amazing… the Christmas markets, stalls and not to mention the Nutella crepes!
- Marketing is a ploy. There is a reason those flights are only £10… yes, that’s right, you will be buying the most expensive train ticket and catch a train that takes longer than the flight you’re about to catch to get to the airport. Then, you’ll no doubt end up paying for baggage because your suitcase wheels don’t fit into those tiny little carry-on size checkers…
- You won’t go to the theatre as much as you thought you would. Cheap tickets aren’t that easy to come by…
- Standing at the front of the tube carriage in the summertime with the window down… you will appreciate it if you know what I’m talking about!
- There are thousands of people everywhere at any one time. The city is massive!
- Meeting someone at a specific store on Oxford street is never a good idea, Oxford street is never ending and many stores can be found more than once!
- Rooftop bars are amazing.. but you need to get there early if you want a spot!
- Going for a run at lunchtime along the Thames is impossible. Tourists walk too slow!
- Tube strikes are a thing, and they are disruptive!
- When the tube is running, you’ll never have to wait more than 3 minutes for the next train!
- Humans are sardines. Fact.
- Most black taxi’s don’t take credit card! Yep, be prepared to carry a wad of cash where ever you go!
- Oxford Street on the weekend or at Christmas time is a disaster (especially Hamleys!… only go in case of emergency!
- You learn where to stand on the tube platform so the doors open right in front of you
- You don’t need to wait for the barrier at the station to close before swiping your card
- It is often quicker to walk between stations than it is taking the tube (check the CityMapper app!)
- It is perceived to be a serious crime if you walk slower than 20kph or hesitate when you’re not sure which direction you’re headed
- You will only ever take the stairs at Covent Garden once… ONCE
- London bridge is not the bridge you had in mind!
This is part 2 to a series of posts that will take you through our journey of relocating from Australia to the United Kingdom, specifically the following:
Part 1: Our story
Part 2: Relocating from Sydney to the UK – planning and moving checklist!
Part 3: Arriving in the UK. Where to live? setting up your internet, utility bills, bank accounts, National Insurance Number
Part 4: Living & Working in London. How to find work, UK Doctors & NHS, Driving in the UK, day to day shopping & transferring money to and from the UK
Part 5: Travelling Europe and how to make the best of your available time, including many travel tips!
When it comes to preparing to move to the other side of the world, it can be very overwhelming when you start to think about everything you have to do. In this post, we provide a 90-day checklist to help you prepare for your upcoming move.
Both Jenna and I are very organised people, needless to say, we had lists prepared so we could mark off each step ensuring we didn’t miss anything!
Having everything well planned and thought out will help with a seamless move overseas. No doubt, there will be a hiccup or two along the way, but the majority of things should run relatively smoothly! The important thing to remember is not to stress out! Stress isn’t good for anyone and certainly, won’t help your move run smoothly! Just take a few deep breaths if it all feels a bit much and then keep going.
Please note, this list is a guide only, and each situation can be different depending on individual circumstances.
Do you have travel insurance?
Before travelling, make sure you get a travel insurance policy – you never know when you might need it! Click here for information on travel insurance, what company we recommend and a link to get an instant quote.
The best way to travel abroad is to live with the locals – Zach Braff
Berlin. So many things spring to mind when I think about our incredible trip to Berlin.
Here you will find 53 incredible photos of this amazing city.
Berlin Car at Trabi World
Amazing architecture
View from the TV Tower / Fernsehturm de Berlín
Deponie Nr. 3 – a very cool local bar in Berlin
Waiting for our river cruise
The iconic photograph capturing the famed embrace was snapped by Régis Bossu in East Berlin on October 7, 1979.
Reichstag building
Hans Grundig, a German artist was rumored as a prisoner at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. His work was discovered when refurbishing the kitchen
Berlin Beer
East Side Gallery – The East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom. It is a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall located near the centre of Berlin on Mühlenstraße in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. The actual border at this point was the river Spree.
Tiergarten, Berlin
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
View from the TV Tower / Fernsehturm de Berlín
The streets of Berlin
The Ampelmann Shop – The East Berlin Ampelmännchen was created in 1961 by traffic psychologist Karl Peglau
View from the TV Tower / Fernsehturm de Berlin with a local German beer
Delicious fruit punch at the Berlin Markets!
View from the TV Tower / Fernsehturm de Berlín
The Ferris Wheel as part of the Hyundai Fan Park for the 2014 Football World Cup
The East Berlin Ampelmännchen was created in 1961 by traffic psychologist Karl Peglau
Brandenburg Gate
Berlin River Cruise under some very low bridges!
Mauerpark Market
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Reichstag building
Brandenburg Gate
The Gendarmenmarkt is a square in Berlin and the site of an architectural ensemble including the Konzerthaus (concert hall) and the French and German Churches.
The Neptune Fountain
Reichstag building
Deponie Nr. 3 – a very cool local bar in Berlin
Berlin River Cruise to the East Side Gallery
Very interesting toilets in a local bar in Berlin!
Beer for sale at the local vendor at the train station
Hackescher Markt
Berlin Wall
Berlin River Cruise
TV Tower / Fernsehturm de Berlín
Checkpoint Charlie Berlin
Brandenburg Gate
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
Delicious fruit punch at Berlin markets
East Side Gallery – Berlin Wall Graffiti
Hotel Adlon – Michael Jackson dangled his then-infant son “Blanket” out one of the hotel’s windows
Berlin
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
The Hyundai Fan Park for the 2014 Football World Cup
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial
Berlin Wall
Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburg Gate
The Soviet War Memorial
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial
“Berlin combines the culture of New York, the traffic system of Tokyo, the nature of Seattle, and the historical treasures of, well, Berlin.” – Hiroshi Motomura
Sardinia Day Four, from now on will be known as 6 beaches, the flamingo-less lake, and a gorgeous little village.
Having enjoyed a fantastic stay and delicious breakfast at the THotel in Cagliari, we couldn’t wait to continue our journey around Sardinia. Our first beach stop was Spiaggia di Porto Sa Ruxi. Now, I’m not going to even attempt to talk the below up, they’re beaches, they’re all stunning beaches and it’s quite difficult to describe just how great these are so I can only hope that one day you’ll be fortunate enough to spend a week in Sardinia to experience these yourselves!
Day Four consisted of the following stops:
- Porto Sa Ruxi
- Spiaggia di Campulongu
- Villasimius village
- Spiaggia di Porto Giunco
- Timi Ama
- Punta Polentis
- Costa Rei
- Arbatax
If you were to drive from start to finish, it would take only 2 hours 15, but of course, we stopped at each to enjoy what was on offer!
Porto Sa Ruxi
The drive was pleasant, not much traffic and plenty of scenery along the coastline, it’s worth noting that the exit to the Spiaggia is very easy to miss as it’s soon after a bend and even with the GPS we certainly weren’t expecting it! After a quick u-turn and a bumpy dirt track in our rental, we found plenty of parking bays.
The beach is the only thing around here, yet it’s still well signed and after a short stroll, you’ll walk on what feels like this remote and somewhat exclusive sandy beach, surrounded by rolling hills and not a building in sight.
Sardinia’s ocean as you will realise by now, consistently consists of the entire spectrum of blues and greens, even on a cloudy morning such as this you cannot help but feel like you’re in paradise. Knowing we had a list of beaches and a decent drive to Arbatrax, we had a quick swim and relaxed on the beach for around an hour before our next stop.
Spiaggia di Campulongu
Our second stop for the day was at Spiaggia di Campulongu. This was a long stretch of white sand and gorgeous water with a few small waves close to the shore. There were plenty of umbrellas up here and heaps of holiday makers! It seemed to be a very popular beach! Suffice to say we didn’t stay too long as it simply couldn’t compare to what we just came from and what we knew we were heading to next (although I’m glad we popped by to see it as it is the main beach in the area).
Villasimius
Probably the nicest of the villages we passed through and perfect for a quick bite to eat. It’s around 35km away from Cagliari and is on the south-eastern tip of Sardinia. I’m not sure if these triangular flags are in town all year round but it certainly added to the village’s character!
Spiaggia di Porto Giunco
Having done some research – this was meant to be Flamingo central! We found plenty of photos online where this place was jam-packed with hundreds, if not thousands of Flamingos, unfortunately for us, you could count them on one hand and they were some distance away. Certainly worth a spot if you’re there at the right time of year but otherwise I would give this one a miss and head towards Timi Ama which is just around the corner.
Timi Ama
The beach was massive, yet had plenty of character and a small bay around a bend which provided some relief from the wind and was also away from the hotels and beach chairs for hire.
The beach sand was great, probably the finest we walked on during our time in Sardinia and there was also a great spot (just before you reach the small bay) to sit and watch the waves crashing up against the rocks!
After exploring the rocks and having a couple of swims to cool off, we were off to our second last beach stop for the day, Spiaggia di Punta Polentis!
Punta Polentis
Spiaggia di Punta Polentis was our second last stop of the day. This particular drive seemed a bit off the beaten track! Typically in Italy, you need to drive on some sort of dirt or rocky road to get anywhere! This was no exception, so off we drove on the extremely dirty and rocky road and we finally make it to a car parking attendant, there to take our money to park for the afternoon. We kindly explained to the parking attendant that we won’t be staying for long (as it’s €5 a pop, so it adds up!) and just wanted to quickly check it out, he was very kind and let us pass for free!
This beach is completely rocky – so make sure you wear your flip-flops or rock shoes! Particularly if you’re like Jenna and have ticklish feet!
Having had endless attempts at rock skimming and a short stroll along the beach, we felt bad staying longer given the attendant did let us park for free, so we decided to not top up our tan (not that we needed it!) and decided to head off to Costa Rei, our last beach stop for the day!
Costa Rei
Another long white sandy beach with scattered boulder rocks to play on!
This beach was also very popular with plenty of sun lounges and umbrellas. It was also a great opportunity to grab some snacks from a local convenience store before the last stretch of our journey to Arbatax!
Where to eat in Arbatax
It was then around a 1.5-hour drive to Arbatax where we stayed at the Arbatasar Arbatax. We checked in and decided to go and explore where to eat for dinner. After all, after the massive day, we had exploring and the 1.5-hour drive – we were starving! Arbatax is a very, very small town! There aren’t that many restaurants to choose from. We walked up and down the main street, checking Trip Advisor for restaurant tips, but it turns out that our hotel has the number 1 restaurant in the area! So, we decided to eat there! The service was fast, although the restaurant wasn’t that busy and the food came out fairly quickly.
There was a bit of confusion however as we asked about a couple of meals, so nearly ended up with 4 meals instead of the 2 we actually ordered – but aside from that, the food was delicious and certainly worth the top ranking on TripAdvisor. The hotel grounds and restaurant also provided a nice setting as there were plenty of candles scattered around the garden.
Where to stay
We stayed at the Arbatasar Arbatax Hotel. It was one of the nicer hotels to choose from in the area and they have free parking for guests which is helpful if you’re driving around the island like us!
For us, the 4-star hotel didn’t compare (not even close) to the 4 star THotel we had in Cagliari but in terms of hotels in Italy, it was pretty good. The room was spacious and it does have the on-site restaurant and a good breakfast.
As mentioned above, the dinner was delicious and the breakfast was a very typical Italian style breakfast. There were plenty of cakes, fruit, and bread. It is OK if you know you’re expecting such a breakfast!
Why visit Arbatax?
If you’re wondering why we stayed in Arbatax, you will have to wait to read our Day 5 blog as it will cover the incredible full day boat tour to the gorgeous beaches only accessible via boat! All I can say is that Day 4 was purely a precursor for us to reach what Day 5 had to offer!
Do you have travel insurance?
Before travelling, make sure you get a travel insurance policy – you never know when you might need it! Click here for information on travel insurance, what company we recommend and a link to get an instant quote.
Alternative accommodation
If you’re looking for alternative accommodation to either save some money or share with friends or family, click here for information on Air B&B ($50 discount on your first booking), hotel price comparison websites etc.
Check out our 7 Day Sardinian Love Affair blog for links to our other days!
“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck
Despite unfulfilled travel dreams, whether it’s seeing the northern lights, chasing down polar bears or relaxing on that remote island, many people remain, creatures of habit, preferring to visit the same destinations year on year. There could be many reasons, they simply ‘love’ the destination, the ‘budget’ doesn’t allow it, or it’s the ‘easiest’ because it’s closest to home.
Either way, Australians are certainly a nation of sun worshipers looking for that perfect tan line and for many, a beach is a beach.
For thewelltravelledwoman, Rainbow Bay and Snapper Rocks feels like home, having enjoyed the annual holiday with her family and friends since she was a baby and as she grew up, spending hours working on those tan lines!
Having returned to Australia, we took a trip down memory lane and spent a day over our Christmas and New Year break down at this glorious beach.
Getting to Rainbow Bay / Snapper Rocks
Rainbow Bay and Snapper Rocks is located right on the Queensland / New South Wales Border and easily accessible by car from northern NSW, the Gold Coast or Brisbane, or a short 8-minute drive from Coolangatta Airport.
What Rainbow Bay has to offer
Rainbow Bay is a sheltered beach which makes for a great swimming area and very popular with families. You will find that unlike many other beaches, this beach is patrolled all year round.
You also have views of Surfers Paradise, Australia’s entertainment playground, famous for its nightlife, events and atmosphere! Whilst Surfers Paradise is a great tourist destination with many hotels and great restaurants, the beach itself covers quite the distance and is not protected from the gushing winds which often provide some facial exfoliation. Many locals avoid Surfers Paradise.
From Rainbow Bay, you can walk to Snapper Rocks, Froggy’s Beach, Point Danger and Duranbah Beach.
Snapper Rocks: Famous for the annual Quiksilver Pro, Snapper Rocks Gold Coast which is from late February to mid March, however you will often see the pro surfers trying to get a few breaks before the tournament.
Froggy’s Beach: The secluded beach away from the crowds, named after a large, painted green frog on the hill! It is the perfect spot to relax and get some peace and quiet!
Point Danger: If you walk up to Point Danger Lookout, you will see the border of Queensland and New South Wales as well as incredible views of the ocean and surrounding beaches – it is definitely worth a photo stop!
Duranbah Beach: D-Bah is very popular with the surfers as it usually provides some good breaks! It is great place to sit and watch the surfers all year round.
Where to eat
The best place to grab a bite to eat is the Rainbow Bay Surf Club. The club is located with a perfect view overlooking both Rainbow Bay and Snapper Rocks. I can highly recommend the chicken parmigiana! The dish is referred to colloquially as ‘chicken parm’, ‘parmi’ or ‘parma’ and generally consists of breaded chicken breast topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella, parmesan or provolone cheese. There are variations of the dish, sometimes adding either ham or eggplant between the sauce and cheese (my recommendation would be to order it without either to enjoy the dish how it was intended).
Where to stay
If you’re looking at spending more than a day here, there are quite a few places to choose from. If you’re looking at something on the beach front, then you could look at Columbia, Rainbow Place or Bayview – these resorts offer perfect beach and ocean views! In peak season, similar to many ski resorts, it is not uncommon for the resorts requiring a week-long, Saturday to Saturday booking.
Do you have travel insurance?
Before travelling, make sure you get a travel insurance policy – you never know when you might need it! Click here for information on travel insurance, what company we recommend and a link to get an instant quote.
Alternative accommodation
If you’re looking for alternative accommodation to either save some money or share with friends or family, click here for information on Air B&B ($50 discount on your first booking), hotel price comparison websites etc.
Here are a few pictures we took from our recent day trip!
The ocean stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul. Wyland
“The Cinque Terre is a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline. In each of the 5 towns, colourful houses and ancient vineyards cling to steep traces, fishing boats bob in harbours and trattorias turn out seafood specialities along with the Liguria region’s famous sauce, pesto”.
Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is up there with one of the top 3 Italian holidays we’ve had. The word “Cinque” means five in Italian and “Terre” is the plural form of “Terra” which is land or earth.. so Cinque Terre is a direct translation for Five Lands.
The reason behind this name is because there are five towns or villages that make up this area. Now, if you’re like me you’re probably pronouncing Cinque Terre completely incorrect… Here is a brief lesson to help…
In Italian, a C followed by either an I or E has a ‘ch’ sound. Cinque is therefore pronounced CHEENkweh. Terre is easy since the E sounds the same both before and after the R’s – it is pronounced TEHRreh… don’t forget to roll your R’s if you can!! Sounds fairly straight forward??
If you’re looking for an Italian beach holiday, you may as well stop reading here as there is only one village that has an actual beach. Cinque Terre won’t give you that amazing Italian beach you’re looking for.. instead, you might want to visit Sardinia instead. However, if you’re looking to see the spectacular rugged coastline, postcard perfect colourful villages, coastal walks and hikes then keep reading!
How long do you need in Cinque Terre?
I would suggest at a minimum, 3 full days. That would give you time to explore each of the villages without feeling rushed and even get in a nice hike as well. If you are stuck for time, you could see everything you needed in 2 days, but you may need to look at the train options between some villages rather than the walking between them.
3-day itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Cinque Terre, probably towards the middle of the afternoon depending on train times. Explore your town and find somewhere nice to have a local meal. For us, this was Manarola.
Day 2: Try a hike between Manarola and Riomaggiore (with a map – see below!!). It will fill the most part of your second day. You can then spend the afternoon exploring Riomaggiore.
Day 3: Start your incredible coastal walk from Monterosso al Mare to Vernazza, and then have some lunch in Vernazza. Then, take a train to Corniglia and spend the afternoon exploring that village.
2-day itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Cinque Terre as early as you can, but again, this will most likely be mid afternoon. Explore your town in the afternoon and take a train to Riomaggiore to see that village and perhaps have some dinner there before taking the train back to your home village.
Day 2: Rise early and take the train to Monterosso al Mare which is where you will start the coastal walk to Vernazza. When you arrive in Vernazza, have a bite to eat before continuing via train to Corniglia to see what that village has to offer.
Getting to Cinque Terre
You can get to Cinque Terra from Pisa, Florence or Genoa. Once you have arrived at the airport, you then need to take a train to La Spezia, you then change trains and jump on the train that runs through the 5 villages. If you’re planning on visiting in peak time, I would highly suggest pre-booking your train tickets online beforehand so you are guaranteed to get on the train. In peak times, they ask to see your ticket with your allocated seat so remember to keep this in mind if you’re needing to get to the airport!
It is worth noting that you can’t actually drive a car in these villages (with the exception for part of Monterosso al Mare). So, the train is definitely the easiest way to get to and from the villages.
Deciding on which village to stay in
When I (well, let’s face it, Jenna) started looking at accommodation and where to stay, she came to a bit of a holt – which village? Why am I struggling to find hotels? Everything seems to be booked out? So, we had an initial struggle to work out what to do and where to stay. It really depends on what you’re after. Do you like to stay right in the centre of the tourist hustle and bustle? Or, do you like peace and quiet?
Vernazza – this is probably the most famous and most touristy village of them all. It is no doubt breathtaking (especially the view from the top of the mountain) but it is by far the busiest. You have plenty of restaurant choices and more accommodation choice, but it is pretty busy.
Manarola – We stayed in this village. It is a lovely village, with a few lovely restaurants to choose from. It isn’t too busy so you can stay relaxed and chilled out if you like.
Riomaggiore – This is also a fairly small village, but it has a nice range of restaurants to choose from in the main street which leads down to the water. If we were to go back, I would definitely consider staying in this village.
Corniglia – This particular village is quite big, but it isn’t set down on the water like the others. Instead, there is quite a trek up some stairs to get to the village. The views are incredible, but depending on what you’re after, the stairs are often the last thing you feel like doing to get back to the hotel!
Monterosso al Mare – This village has quite a long beach and swimming area with chairs and umbrellas. If that’s what you’re looking at doing for a couple of days then I would suggest staying here. However, there is so much more to Cinque Terre than that one beach. Monterosso is where you should start the incredible cliff coastal walk so you can always explore this city before starting your walk.
Getting around between the villages
Getting around between the villages is pretty simple. You can either take the coastal walks (but keep in mind that parts of the year, some of the walks are closed) or you can take the train between each of the villages, which is only a couple of minutes between each stop. The other option, if you’re up for it is hiking between the villages. As you can see from the below picture, the train offers incredible views of the ocean as you jump between each of the villages!
The coastal road between Manarola and Riomaggiore was closed when we were there. So, instead of taking the train we decided to take a 45-minute hike (according to the tourist information centre) and head to Riomaggiore, according to the sign, only 1km. Well, let’s just say that 45 minutes turned in to 3 hours!
We didn’t take a map, because who wants to pay a few euros for one? We have google maps after all! So, off we go to start our hike. It was pretty well signed for the most part and like I said, was a 45-minute hike to get to Riomaggiore. Jenna was wearing sandals, but that should be fine she said, it’s only 45 minutes! Little did she know we would get a little lost…
The picture below shows the village of Manarola, which is where we started, and we hiked all the way up the mountain!
The signs started to get confusing and it felt like we were weaving up and around the mountains but not actually getting close to the village. We passed a few people along the way, each were going to the other village… so they were no help for us.
Every now and then, we stopped along the way to check out Google maps, but as you can imagine the walking trails weren’t all marked up. At this point, the guide from the tourist information centre seemed like a good idea – a little too late for that now!
We kept seeing these signs (like the one below) but they stopped saying Riomaggiore… hmmm I am sure we’re still on the right track!
So, we continue walking.. and what do you know… It starts raining! Of course, it does. But, a bit of rain won’t hurt us so keep on walking. Then, we get to what appeared to be a dead end. There was no way we were walking back the way we just came.. so again.. we turned to google maps. We saw what seemed to be a walkway just a bit up the hill, through what looked to be private property. But we were desperate.. so off we went. We finally got to another walkway and continued our walk… in the rain…
After about 2.5 hours we could see the church we intended on visiting 2 house earlier. We knew we were nearly there! When we finally made it, it all seemed worth while. The view was incredible.
We then started the hike down to the village, which was a further 30 minutes.
Downhill with a slippery surface isn’t that easy to walk on, especially for Jenna who was wearing her sandals. But, we made it down to the village, injury free. It was a really fun experience, although at times we didn’t feel it was too fun!
The best part of finishing in the gorgeous village of Riomaggiore is that there are plenty of cafes and restaurants to choose from!
It seemed so well deserved after buying so many calories!
The view was certainly worth it!
I would suggest hiking, but definitely, buy a map from the information centre so you can work out where you need to go!
Coastal Walks
The coastal walks in Italy are like no other country and Cinque Terre is no exception. After quite a bit of research, Jenna had worked out that you need to start the coastal walk at Monterosso al Mare and walk through to Vernazza for the best experience.
Now, if you’re planning on doing this in summer, I would highly suggest starting your walk as early in the morning as you can. The initial 1/4 of the walk is up fairly steep stairs with minimal rest spots.
The paths at times can be quite narrow! There are railings… sort of so you’re pretty safe! We were just lucky the path was fairly quiet and everyone seemed to be going the same way.
When you get to the top, the view is amazing and the steps are totally worth it. Make sure you carry some water with you!
You continue the walk around the coast line and you eventually reach the lookout over Vernazza. It is THE photo you see when you google image Cinque Terre. It is absolutely breathtaking.
Here is a quick 3-minute video of our walk from Monterosso to Vernazza!
The walk down is fairly easy, we had some buskers along the way which was a nice touch. When you get to Vernazza, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from or grab some gelato, but not before walking through some pretty cool Italian laneways in the village!
That gelato I mentioned – absolutely delicious!!!
Now, it is worth noting that you do have to pay to enter the national park, but it isn’t too expensive and it is worth every penny. You’re best to buy a Cinque Terre Card. It includes access to all parks paths and facilities as well as transport amongst other things. You can read more here for an up to date price list etc.
Where to eat
On a whole, I was a little disappointed with the quality of the food in Cinque Terre, particularly the fact that they advertise some of their foods are frozen (such as pizza and some seafood). I would have expected it to be super fresh!! In saying that, there were a couple of stand out restaurants in our opinion.
Manarola:
Marina Piccola – On our first night we arrived late and were starving! We met up with our friends who were already at the restaurant and decided to order Tagliatelle al Ragu Bolognese (as recommended by our friend who had eaten it earlier that evening!) It was absolutely delicious. We both ordered it so it came out in a large serving dish with two side plates – safe to say we demolished it!
Bar La Plancia – We stopped here for breakfast one morning. The service was friendly although it did take a while for the food to come out. They have a pretty varied menu which means you can find something substantial here, like bacon and eggs!
Aristide – The morning of our hike, we stopped at Aristide for some breakfast. The staff were very friendly and the food came out pretty quickly. We also ate dinner at this restaurant one evening. This was little more disappointment, mainly for Jenna who ordered the lasagne. It did seem to be a reheated piece of lasagne and was only just warm. Was a shame as the rest of the food seemed to be pretty fresh.
Vernazza:
As mentioned above, the Gelato in Vernazza was delicious and something I would definitely recommend to everyone. We also had some lunch at a pizzeria, but we didn’t make a note of the name! It was a little off the main road, on a corner and they had an outdoor area to sit at. The key factor for us was that the pizzas were made in a wood fire oven – we were happy and they were delicious!
Riomaggiore:
Vice Muin Pizzeria -We ate at only this one restaurant in Riomaggiore and the food wasn’t anything to get excited about. The key lesson we learnt here is that you need to read the menu and the fine print – the pizzas were cooked from frozen! I feel I could have made something tastier at home and it certainly didn’t feel like traditional Italian pizza. The plus side of this place was that the hot chocolate was pretty much pure chocolate… so much so that the spoon stood still…
Where to stay
After realising that Air B&B would be our best option, we started looking into our options. Given there were 5 of us, we ideally needed 3 bedrooms. We came across this lovely Air B&B which advertised 3 bedrooms – perfect! We arrived to find out there were 2 bedrooms and a fold out lounge in the sitting room. This wasn’t ideal as the couple in the front bedroom, had to walk through the ‘third’ bedroom to get to the kitchen and bathroom! But, in Italy, it is classed as a bedroom as there are walls and a bed! Not to worry, we learnt our lesson there!
Our apartment was set high up in Manarola, which means plenty of stairs and walkways to climb before you get there!
However, it was all worth it for the view from the apartment.
Do you have travel insurance?
Before travelling, make sure you get a travel insurance policy – you never know when you might need it! Click here for information on travel insurance, what company we recommend and a link to get an instant quote.
Alternative accommodation
If you’re looking for alternative accommodation to either save some money or share with friends or family, click here for information on Air B&B ($50 discount on your first booking), hotel price comparison websites etc.
“Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” – Ray Bradbury
We have had so many people come up to us and ask us …
“How do you pack up everything and move across the other side of the world?”
I’m not going to lie, this was not easy. It took a few years to convince Jenna that it’s all possible, in fact, it took a move from our home in Brisbane to my new role in Sydney to realise just how easy, with the right attitude, it is to relocate to a new city, slot into that new job and make more (not replacement) close friends!
My point is, it really just depends from individual to individual as to how comfortable you will be with the thought of moving abroad. I enjoy being adventurous, trying new things and taking risks. I never want to regret deferring a decision or saying no. If it ends up being a mistake, you simply learn from it and follow another path.
This is part 1 to a series of posts that will take you through our journey of relocating from Australia to the United Kingdom, specifically the following:
Part 1: Our story
Part 2: Relocating from Sydney to the UK – planning and moving checklist!
Part 3: Arriving in the UK. Where to live? setting up your internet, utility bills, bank accounts, National Insurance Number
Part 4: Living & Working in London. How to find work, UK Doctors & NHS, Driving in the UK, day to day shopping & transferring money to and from the UK
Part 5: Travelling Europe and how to make the best of your available time, including many travel tips!
Our Story
The globetrotting really started as part of my career, which has been with one of the big 4 accounting firms. The firm has provided many opportunities which I believe triggered a love affair of exploring the world. I have worked in Brisbane (Australia), Sydney (Australia), London (UK), Budapest (Hungary) as well as Atlanta (USA). Living abroad can benefit your career, but more importantly benefits you personally. The people, the culture and things you see every day expands your thoughts and somehow creates a common connection with people irrespective of their cultural background or beliefs.
I put my agility down to my childhood, having moved homes and cities consistently throughout, I don’t think there was ever a house we lived in for more than 2 years, and when I was 16 my family decided to take the plunge and we moved from South Africa to Australia. But for Jenna, she grew up in the same house, went to the same school and went on the same annual holiday, until she met me that is! Now on one hand Jenna was very fortunate to have grown up in the same area, being involved in many team sports and having many life-long friends…
But we both really got itchy feet after my 3 month short-term assignment to London in 2010. Mind you, this was the longest Jenna and I had been apart and it was quite challenging given the 9 hour time difference, having to find and make time for a quick call either first thing in the morning or last thing at night. Time in general during the assignment passed very slowly as I refrained from exploring London as felt I needed to wait for Jenna to arrive, which is when we got a taste of Europe on an incredible 7 week European adventure!
Having had that taste of Europe, we simply needed to get back there and once we decide on doing something, there’s not a great deal that will get in our way! As for my feelings for making the decision … excitement for the unknown!
Relocation
Once you’ve made the decision to go, the rest comes naturally. You need to sort out a lot of admin… At the time, it feels like the never-ending list of things to do – to give you an idea…
- Create a checklist of what you need to do!
- Valid passport and relevant visas applications
- Visa’s generally need medical checks
- Booking flights and temporary accommodation
- Obtaining an international driving permit
- Buying travel insurance
- Notifying the relevant organisations, your bank, superannuation fund and so forth
- Registering as overseas voter with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)
- Redirection of your mail with Australia post
- Sorting out your finances, taxes, bank accounts
- Selling, storing and packing up your belongings!
- Saying goodbye!!
I’ve only included the most obvious and must do tasks! We’ll have a separate post focussing on much, much more that may be relevant to you and your family.
Having tossed up the idea of moving abroad independently, researching visa options, looking at job opportunities and investing countless hours we decided to move across with the firm that I was working for – this ended up being such as simple process, we literally just did what we were told, completed the documents and quickly sent them (to the Philippines!) to be processed. Now, clearly as we learnt, there are some downsides to these tricky Tier 2 (intra-company transfer) visas and something to be mindful of is that you’re sponsored, and very much linked to that organisation. If your circumstances change, or you simply want a change in your career, you’ll find it very difficult finding another employer that is willing to take over your sponsorship, and annoyingly if you want to re-apply independently, you will be required to return to your home country and start the process over from scratch!
In the meantime, we started looking at flights and decide when we would like to head over… we’ve never been skiing so needed to make sure we were there, settled and well prepared for the ski season in the Alps, so we decided to finish up work in September 2013, said farewell to our family and friends in Brisbane (as we were living in Sydney at the time) and arrived in London in October 2013 to start our adventure!
Our farewell at New Farm Park, Brisbane – my family
Farewell with Jenna’s family
Now, taking it back to the boring admin bits… once the visa and flights are sorted, you need sort the rest of your life out! For us, this meant finding a 8 month rental agreement to tide us over until we left the country… thankfully we got something (not great) fairly quickly, but to make it work, we had to move from a very spacious 2 bedroom apartment, down to a 1 bedroom apartment… Now, at the time we thought this was challenging, listing the spare bed and a few items that wouldn’t fit into a 1 bedroom apartment on Gumtree and eBay. The months quickly passed by and whilst I was sorted with my role abroad, Jenna also needed to look for a job in London. She managed to arrange a few video conferences and phone calls and at a massive relief got a gig before even leaving the country!
I’ve become a great delegator, certainly one of my strengths, so whilst I avoided it as much as possible, Jenna was frantically working on selling all of our remaining furniture, white goods, decorative items and a lot of our clothing as we couldn’t take it all with us. This could have been a full-time job! She spent every morning, evening and weekend advertising, taking photos, negotiating and arranging pick ups of items. The last thing to go was our fridge, washing machine and bed.. Soon, our place was filled with only a few boxes we wanted to store with our family in Brisbane, and the bare essentials (including our Christmas tree!) we needed to relocate with us to London. We had about a week left between the date of the removalists and our flight, so we thought we would rough it given our prior camping experience, and we were convinced we would be able to sleep on the floor of our apartment with some old blankets and pillows… It lasted a total of 2 nights before we booked a hotel in the city to get a good night’s sleep!
Now, I should say that the removalists were simply amazing. They literally packed all our remaining belongings for us, wrapped each individual plate, glass and ornaments. You’re not meant to pack your own boxes given the risk of damage – these guys certainly know how to pack and what not to pack when they loan your manifest of belongings into the steel containers, which in reality ends up bruised and battered along its journey on the back of the truck, moved again and again with the gantry crane to balance out the ship perfectly to make sure it withstands the brutal, yet perfect storms in its voyage across the world.
The thing you really struggle with is the fact that the voyage takes around 12 weeks for your goods to arrive, clear customs and get delivered to your new home. You need to take what you need during this time with you in your luggage or risk spending a small fortune.
Arriving in London
It all starts to sink in… you’re sitting in your allocated seat on your one way flight to thousands of miles across the other side of the world… You start to get butterflies in your tummy and wonder if you’re doing the right thing! The moment the plane starts to take off, the most incredible sense of excitement hits you… we were no longer nervous, but excited to go on this next chapter of our lives.
We landed at Heathrow Airport and it was buzzing, it was so incredibly busy with people going in every direction and all in a hurry. We headed straight to the luggage carousel only to find my luggage was mistakenly taken! That’s not what we needed on day 1! Having reported it to the Emirates lost baggage crew we disheartedly left for our hotel in London, by the time we arrived I received a call from Emirates to notify me that my luggage has been located and it was a simple mistake of a fellow passenger who also had a very inconspicuous grey suitcase… the only struggle here was that my luggage was now in Reading, a couple hours in the wrong direction! I honestly cannot fault Emirates, there were fantastic, my bag was collected and delivered to my hotel that same evening – problem solved!
London in October was a bit of a shock to the system! It was freezing cold (well, we thought it was!) and we weren’t dressed appropriately that’s for sure! But for Jenna, she was like a little girl, ecstatic about the fact that she could see her own breath each time she exhaled! This honestly remained a novelty for Jenna for the entire two years we lived there – haha.
We had booked a hotel for the first couple of nights before relocating to our pre-arranged (and paid for) 2 week temporary accommodation in St Albans (which is where my office was based). So, in the freezing cold and rain we took the express train to St Albans followed by a brisk 15 minutes walk to our temporary accommodation. The woman meeting us was over an hour late and didn’t answer her phone! We were cold, wet and very tired – not a good combination! Nevertheless, she finally arrived spent the evening in our very warm and cozy 1 bedroom apartment with an electric fireplace – it was exactly what we needed that night!
Living in London
Again, we were pretty lucky as we had a relocation agent arranged for us through the firm. We had to narrow down an area in which we wanted to live and she would focus her search and inspections in that area. We only had a half a day so we had to see as many as possible. Having spoken to a few people, we decided on West Hampstead as it was a 6 km jog away from Oxford Circus and has great access to public transport, the Jubilee line, overground, national rail and plenty of buses! Even with the notorious London tube strikes, we were never stuck without an alternative.
The relocation agent raced us through 10 flats, and after the first 5 we weren’t hopeful at all… They were awful, tiny, dark and I’m sure some parts of the flat certainly wouldn’t have been of legal height in Australian terms! However, we then came across two potentials properties… the first preference was withdrawn from the market and we were thankfully approved for our second preference. It was a nice, above our budget, 2 bedroom, spacious flat with plenty of cupboard space! The kitchen was tiny, but since we didn’t plan on spending much time cooking it didn’t bother us too much!
We were able to sign a 2 year lease which took the stress out of having to look after only being in the country for a year, so it worked out perfectly! The other positive is that the market in London can often mean you can offer less rent per week than the asking price! So we managed to save £30 per week on our rent!
Working in London
For the both of us, work was sorted out prior to arriving in London. This took a lot of stress out of the actual move. It let us focus solely on the move and getting settled in.
As I said earlier, I was based in St Albans, a city located in Hertfordshire and Jenna was working at More London near the tower of London. Of a morning, Jenna would jump on the Jubilee line to London Bridge and I would get on to the National Rail to St Albans. Quite simple actually!
Working in London certainly has its benefits…. but the culture and quirky customs can be tricky. But luckily there is always someone for everyone. You’ll no doubt find colleagues who have been in similar situations or know someone who has been, straight away you’ll have something to talk about, it’s just finding out who you ‘click’ with. The easy bit is to ensure you sign up to the social club, the hard bit is to make the effort to go to events and build that relationship! I have met people I normally would not have come across. These experiences have reduced my own animosity and in turn has made it easier to work with people who have different cultural backgrounds.
Working and living in London is a great base if you love to travel as you can see all of Europe. It is so easy to leave work on a Friday afternoon, jump on a flight to anywhere in Europe and fly back to London on the Sunday evening, giving you ample time to see most cities! For more information on this, read our blog on making the most of your available time!
I would recommend living in London to anyone that asks me!
It was the most incredible two years we’ve ever had. We were able to increase our country count to 38 countries with a total of around 226 cities. Something that never would have been possible without living abroad.
Watch this space for our upcoming posts specifically around the ins and outs of moving to London and getting yourself set up.
“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” – Anonymous
