Andorra - A Good Alternative to the Alps

(Thank you to our client for writing this piece to help inspire you to visit alternative destinations around the world)

After a few years off the slopes, this year we bit the bullet and shelled out the necessary money to have a family ski holiday during February Half Term.

We chose Soldeu in Andorra, part of the large Grand Valira ski area in the Pyrenees. Soldeu is the larger of the two main resorts in the area, Pas de la Casa being the other. Andorra is well known as a good value ski destination and it didn’t disappoint. 

We flew into Barcelona, served by numerous airlines, and after a three hour coach transfer, arrived in resort at a decent 3 star hotel - Hotel Soldeu Maistre.  You can also fly to Toulouse for a slightly shorter transfer.  The three of us shared a pretty spacious family room on a half board basis. Although the hotel was fairly basic in terms of extra amenities, the beds were comfortable, there was plenty of hot water, ski lockers available and a short walk along the main street of Soldeu to the telecabine up the mountain.

Food at the hotel was buffet style; not gourmet dining but lots of choice and as much as you wanted. The format worked well for families especially those with hungry teenagers or picky eaters. Our room looked out over the mountains and being slightly set back from the main drag ensured a peaceful night’s sleep.

We picked up our hire gear at the shop right by the telecabine. Even with the large numbers coming through, the staff were efficient and friendly as they fitted our boots and set up the skis. Most tourists seemed to be English and all the staff were able to talk the basics in at least 2 languages. 

At the top of the lift we quickly found the ski school. Being a busy week, lessons were being run morning and afternoon. Our 7-year old was in the afternoon session but they put on taster sessions on the first morning free of charge to help beginners find their ski feet and learn the basics. Lessons were split into the different nationalities and taught by native speakers making it easy for children to understand instructions and feel at ease. Daisy quickly made friends with a couple of other kids in her group. She couldn’t wait to get rid of us after lunch each day.

We had lunch vouchers as part of our deal which meant there were very few extras to pay for during the holiday. Food up the mountain was fine - tasty baguettes, burgers, chips, chicken etc. The restaurants were busy but coped well with numbers during what is probably their busiest week of the season.

The Grand Valira ski area is vast with loads of pistes for all levels of skier and snowboarder. It seemed particularly well set up for beginners with easily accessible greens and blues across all areas of the mountain. There are also several snow parks, kids ski gardens and even a zip wire attraction!

Bluebird conditions all week meant fantastic skiing conditions and even without a hint of fresh snow the pistes were kept in great condition by the snow cannons and hard-working staff. Whether the same will be true by mid-March, I wouldn’t like to say. 

After a hard day’s skiing, the telecabine down is a quick 5 minutes ride or you can ski down an easy blue, or red, or black to start some much-needed apres ski back in Soldeu village. The village has a good choice of bars, hotels and restaurants including several live music venues and a nightclub. If you do self-catering there are two supermarkets with a good range of fresh food and other essentials. 

There isn’t much in Soldeu in terms of public swimming baths or ice skating but you can pay to use the Sport Hotel’s facilities or take a half day trip to the hot pools Caldea in the capital. 

For a great Alps alternative with a warm and friendly atmosphere, I would definitely recommend giving Andorra a try. After a full week’s skiing out of Soldeu, we still hadn’t skied the whole area. Meanwhile, the 7-year old is a new ski fanatic thanks to some great ski school lessons. We’ll definitely be back next year. 

Philippines Islands

The Philippines were one of the places we have been looking forward to most on our travels. Having no idea what to expect we booked a whole month here, flying into Cebu then a short flight to Coron got us to our arrival destination for the adventure of a lifetime. Before we left the UK we booked onto a boat tour for 7 days for our first week just to give us a running start.



Experience of a lifetime

The Tao experience is a fleet of traditional  Filipino boats setting out on their voyages on most days of the week for either 7, 5 or 3 days. We booked 7 days going from Coron to El Nido (you can also go the other direction).

Tao was set up for the locals to learn/better their English, improve quality of life and enable new skills to be learned. Everyone who works on the boats, islands, in the kitchens and behind the scenes has a story to tell and you can learn so much from these wonderful people. The lost boys who generally run the boats were so much fun to get to know and they seem to absolutely love their jobs and are so appreciative of what Tao has done for them and their families.

On your Tao experience you sleep in huts on the beach and travel around between islands on the traditional boat during the day. Breakfast lunch and dinner are all included on the trip with a few snacks thrown in too. The food is all freshly cooked in front of you, some of it is even caught in front of you too. Quiet possibly the best food we’ve had so far around South East Asia.

We had our first 2 nights at camp Ngey Ngey, one of their main camp bases and one of the largest ones also. Generally we stopped 2 to 3 times a day at different islands and reefs to explore the islands and snorkelling the underwater world (we finally spotted turtles here). Philippines is well known for its tremendous amounts of shipwrecks and we got to explore some of these too whilst on the Tao experience. In the evenings we would chill with some jungle juice (Rum and pineapple), card games, bracelet making, volleyball, relaxing massage by the ladies and of course dinner all with the locals who run this amazing operation.

Our last 2 nights on the trip were spent at the Farm Camp. The Farm is where all the staff go for frequent training days and the chefs teach each other new recipes using what they grow on their farm to cater from the incoming tourists needs.

If you’re not sure what to do in the Philippines make this your first thing on your list. If you don’t have that long I would suggest doing 5 days as it really does give you a wonderful view of these amazing islands. 


El Nido

Only having a few things on our list to do in El Nido we took a few R&R days here in El Nido after our very exhausting boat trip.

We booked ourselves onto a boat trip to see some of the main sights. We stopped off at the secret lagoon, a tiny lagoon surrounded by land and rocks, you have to crawl through the rocks and water to find this beautifully secluded lagoon. After a couple of snorkelling spots, 7 commandoes beach and a lunch stop the highlight of the trip was the Big Lagoon. Crystal clear waters you can kayak through to explore the caves, archways and beauty of this stunning lagoon. A must see in El Nido. 


**Warning**


We were pre warned by fellow travellers that the food and water in EL Nido had made them ill. We also fell ill in El Nido, we are still unsure of the cause but just be super aware of food vendors, and not using tap water even when brushing your teeth. 


Princess Port

After a 5 hour bus journey which at a normal pace I reckon would have taken about 7 hours we arrived in Puerto Princesa. Down beautiful winding coastal roads lies Peurto Princesa south of El Nido,

We spent a couple of nights here only to see the newly appointed 7 wonder of the world and the UNESCO approved site of the underground river. Unfortunately you have to book a whole day trip to do a 45minute tour due to queues for permits and a lot of faffing from what we could see, if you find another way of doing this I’d love to know. Finally, after leaving at 7am, we reached the boat to enter the caved river at lunchtime.

The River is over 8km long but only 1-2kms of this is open for tourists to view. You are guided through the winding river by a guide lead by just a headtorch. This mystical river still has researchers and scientist studying how it came to be and continue to research the river much, much further into the darkness. Bats and swallows have made homes here and looking up at points all you can see are the bats nesting just waiting for dusk to arrive to leave for hunting (remember to keep your mouth closed if you look up!)


Flying visit

We next take an early flight out to Siargao via Cebu. We found that if you chose to fly around the Philippines you generally have to make a stop in either Cebu or Manilla.

Flying via Cebu we landed in Siargao to rain! When it rains in the Philippines it really rains. Once the clouds separated this beautiful island homes luscious green landscapes with treasures all around. Like most places in the Philippines the best way to get around is either by hiring a motorbike or using the tricycle taxis.

We stayed in the general Luna area and took a tricycle to Maasin river where a famous tree slants over the river now complete with rope swing to jump into the river. Quite a tourist attraction now but a beautiful river nonetheless. We spent the rest of the day relaxing looking out to sea in the White Banana restaurant. There are so many restaurants and bars to choose from along the coastline due to the number of tourists that come here for the surfing. Siargao is supposed to be one of the best surf spots in the Philippines and lessons and instructors are in abundance for you to choose from.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to spend too long in Siargao as we are on a very tight schedule so we swiftly moved on. Taking a ferry from Dapa to Surigao (the island’s capital) we then took a flight to Cebu. From Cebu we hopped on a short boat ride to Bohol. 


Welcome to Island life.

Our first day on Bohol we took yourselves below the surface of the water to turtle point and scuba dived with the turtles and the technicolour corals. A truly magical experience. Bohol has some of the most amazing scuba areas so if you are a keen diver make sure you make a stop here.

We hired bikes again here on Bohol and it was truly worth it. We set out on a day’s adventure, below is our route we took if you fancy not having to think about it and use us a guide. It’s what we’re here for. The most time we spent on the bikes at one time was around 45 minutes, taking lots of scenic breaks, drinks stops and generally driving to enjoy the views.


Bike route of Bohol:


Leaving Panglao at around 8am -  We stayed in Panglao which is the island attached to Bohol by bridge. Panglao is the home of Alona beach, the most well-known part of Bohol, with tourist shops, restaurants and bars in abundance.


Stop off at the blood compact memorial – The site where a memorial lies to depict the blood compact to seal a friendship and the first treaty between the Spaniards and the Filipinos. A beautiful shrine to this piece of Filipino history with a beautiful backdrop. Not easy to spot so don’t miss it, its literally just off the road.


Tarsier sanctuary – Tarsiers are the smallest primate in the world and Bohol is one of the few places in the world where they live. They are an endangered species so here at the sanctuary they take care of these tiny creatures and keep tourist access to a minimum ensuring a safe distance and noise levels the whole time. When you spot these tiny animals you will never want to leave. Be sure to treat these animals with respect and ensure you pick the Sanctuary to visit not any random sign posted place – some are much more of a tourist attraction than somewhere safe for these beautiful creatures to live.


Chocolate Hills (for lunch time) – We arrived at the chocolate hills after driving through the most beautiful scenery and empty roads I’ve ever seen. It truly was a wonderful drive.

The road that leads up to the view point to the hills is a panoramic view that you won’t want to miss. The hills are a natural phenomenon that attract tourists from all over. If you choose to there are ATV tours, walking tours and restaurants at view points throughout the hills. Take your time here on this road trip pit stop.

Pahangog waterfalls – The road to Pahangog waterfalls is not one for the timid, it’s a track road with steep hills and turns however the road is totally worth the final destination. The twin falls are stunning. Take a dip, jump in and enjoy the beautiful picturesque views. You can even hire a little cabin to sit and have a drink. 

Mahogany Forest – man made forest – Drive through this amazing forest, there is wide ‘hard shoulders’ to stop over and take the array of colours in.

Bamboo bridge – These bridges cross the Lomboc river, they are rickety and wobbly so not one for the faint hearted but the views are beautiful and great to see these traditionally made bridges in use.


Arrived back to hotel around 6pm – After a long day of driving we were exhausted and ready for a nice dinner and cold drink in town. Make sure you take lots of water with you, take your time, make unplanned stops and enjoy the fresh air through your hair as you explore this beautiful island.



The Filipinos and there government are working hard to keep their beautiful islands clean and environmentally friendly, so please help them by keeping plastic to a minimum and leave nothing behind. Environment taxes are charged on most islands and generally most tours or trips you do you will be expected to pay these.

Filipino people are quite possible some of the happiest, friendliest and kindest people I’ve met and they are doing everything in their power to keep the Philippines as authentic and traditional as practically possible. Naturally with tourists coming in this is becoming a challenge but after speaking to some locals they are determined not to let their country turn into a tourist trap like some of the Thai islands.

Unfortunately due to the current Covoid-19 epidemic we were unable to make stops at all our planned visits but it gives us a very good excuse to return to this beautiful country. I’m so glad we managed to come here and experience the culture, sites and people even if it wasn’t for the amount of time originally planned.

In this time of world crisis and chaos don’t let it ruin your travel dreams, we can still help, you can still dream and in no time at all the world will be your oyster once again.

Dream big, Stay safe and keep fit and healthy.

Thailand’s South Islands

As you have been reading we have been travelling in a big circle around South East Asia we now find ourselves in South Thailand ready to explore the beautiful islands.

Flying from Siem Reap to Phuket we planned to see roughly 5/6 islands whilst working our way back to Phuket for our next flight. We decided to spend time in Phuket on our return trip so we jumped on a boat to Krabi and spent one night here merely as a stop over to reach the eastern islands, First stop Koh Samui.

Koh Samui.

We stayed off Lamai Beach in Koh Samui a beautiful sandy beach filled with tourists and water sport activities. In my opinion Koh Samui is one of the more expensive and touristy islands. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a beautiful island however I’m not sure I would rush back as there are plenty of other beautiful places to see. As per all the islands the best way to get around is hiring a scooter (generally around 200baht per day), take yourself around the island past Chaweng beach the main tourist beach on the island along to the big buddhas, beautiful monuments built for worship. They truly are a spectacle towering meters above you looking over the island. Please ensure to be respectful and cover your knees and shoulders, In some places they offer shawls at a cost for you to wear but you should always have something with you just in case.

Naturally there are some beautifully secluded sunset viewpoints on the island, some of which are mapped others you will just stumble across. Go Explore!

At one of the viewpoints is the grandmother grandfather rock, based on an island myth of grandparents setting out across the seas to arrange a marriage for their granddaughter and came across a storm and fell shipwrecked, they came returned to earth as rocks on the island to watch over their family. Use your imagination when you see the rocks, or just enjoy the beautiful views.

A vision underwater.

After a few days spent on Koh Samui we headed to the pier for our next stop, Koh Tao the diving island.

Whether it’s your first time diving or you are an experienced diver you will find a dive centre for you. I can highly recommend Buddha View dive centre where we spent a week achieving our open water Padi qualification.

The centre was understanding to all our needs, let us take our time if we needed to take a day out and just generally cared for us perfectly with the most wonderful instructors. Generally staying on site at dive centres and taking a course you get discount for accommodation which is what we did or of course you can stay elsewhere and travel in each day for your course or dives.

If you have never been scuba diving before, which I hadn’t, once you reach the depths of the ocean it truly is a magical world, however if diving isn’t for you there are plenty of snorkelling bays and trips which will ensure you see the underwater magic like everyone else.

Take yourself on a rocky walk up to John-Suwan view point for the most breath taking views of the island and all that surrounds. I stood up here taking it all in for some time before heading back down to earth for a snorkel back to base. Time really does stand still here on the islands and you can end up staying for a lot longer than planned if you’re not careful.

Our last stop in Koh Tao was on Sairee beach, we stayed at a little place 10 minutes inland. Sairee beach is the more touristy area filled with bars restaurants and the infamously Thailand alcohol buckets (not for everyone), you can also find some amazing food restaurants down these little alleys, I would recommend the Mexican/grill restaurant called the Flaming hog, it seemed to be two restaurants attached but the food was unreal if you need a break from local food.

If after all that you need even more excitement take yourself to one of the many island Muay Thai gyms for either a group session or a private session. We booked in for a private hour and a half session and it was amazing. Truly shows the hard work and effort these sportsmen and women put into the craft.

Full Moon

The only island people head to for the infamous full moon party is Koh Pha-nang and is really the only reason people now go there. We stayed a few nights here to head to the warm up Jungle party with live music and food and drink stands all around with a Glastonbury feel to it. It cost 700baht for the ticket of which you can stay as long as you please and if you chose stay up to see the sunrise.

The main event on the island is the full moon beach party – however most regulars and locals prefer and find the lead up parties more enjoyable. As you can imagine the full moon beach party is very much filled with tourists drinking in the various bars along the Haad Drin beach. There is all kinds of music playing down the different venues from RnB to House music. Take your pick, get right in there or find a spot to sit on the beach and take it all in.

Naturally after all this partying you have done you may want to head to somewhere to chill... and that’s exactly what we did.

From Koh Pan-nang we took another ferry taking us to Krabi and then onwards by minibus all the way to Koh Lanta for our next stop.

Koh Lanta

Koh Lanta is what I imagine all of Thailand to have been like a far few years ago, very laid back, very back to basics and generally sums up ‘island life’.

Koh Lanta is a province of Krabi and is very easy to get to by either boat or car from Krabi, as soon as you enter the island you can sense the change of lifestyle. ‘No rush no hurry’ sums up general life in South East Asia but even more so here on the Island. Embrace it, Relax!

I had no idea that Koh Lanta was a mainly Muslim island so instead of our regular viewings of the stunning temples we now see and hear the gorgeous mosques calling for daily prayers.

Koh Lanta is home to Mu Ko National park which will cost around 200baht per person to enter. You can easily get here by renting a bike (you will have to pay for the bike to enter also). We spent the most part of the day wandering around the white sandy beaches, walking up to the view points and taking a beautiful walk, albeit very sweaty, round the natural trail. Also part of the national park are the surrounding islands of which you can take a day boat trip and snorkel around the hidden caves, islands and beaches. The array of corals and underwater life here are breath-taking, we even had a turtle sighting which was extremely exciting!

Whilst on Koh Lanta you must visit the old town, originally the main trade port of the island and inhabited by sea gypsies has now transformed into a trade village. Beautiful buildings on stilts out in the water remain there now housing the restaurants, cafes and local shops. Take a moment to have lunch or a drink in one of the restaurants over looking the sea and surrounding islands. Take it all in…

Koh Phi Phi

Phi Phi is such a beautiful island with amazing viewpoints and beaches giving you that typical picturesque Thai landscape you see on postcards.

We took a traditional long boat trip around the main sights including monkey beach, shark point and long beach which included a snack breakfast and a packed lunch. On this boat trip we also made a stop at the famous Maya beach where Leonardo DiCaprio starred in ‘The Beach’, due to so many tourists visiting over the years the beach itself has been closed off so the land and wildlife can rejuvenate but if you want to see it still the tours take you as close as you can for a few minutes.

Other boat trips will take you to the national park beaches which will cost around 400baht to step onto land. The beaches are beautiful but you can see many gorgeous beaches without paying to go on them so it’s up to you.

Unfortunately for Phi Phi it has turned into a tourist hub for party goers, with numerous beach clubs, pool parties, bars and even a bar for tourist to take part in a Thai boxing match against a fellow intoxicated punter. Difficult to steer clear of however there are many lovely hotels, hotels and home stays to continue a relaxing stay on another beautiful Thai paradise.

Take a walk for sunset one day up to one of the many view points all of which now have information boards of the tsunamis that have hit over the years and you can truly take in the devastation that hits this small islands.

Phuket- floating villages

We didn’t stay in Phuket too long as cities aren’t really the one for us and we had heard that Phuket is just very resorty. So we stay about half an hour from the airport in the old town and booked straight onto a boat trip to head to an island that I’d been wanting to go to for a long time.

Koh Panyee is a floating village with schools, shops, restaurants and a wonderfully pleasant community, Made famous for its floating football field and the players this island did not disappoint. I would definitely recommend spending the money to take a trip here.

Finding a trip to Koh Panyee wasn’t all that easy, in fact we couldn’t find one that would take us just to this island alone so we had to stop at several stops on the way. We made stops at ‘James Bond island’ a tourist trap where the famous ‘Man with the golden gun’ was filmed, ‘ice cream cone cave’ a cave off an island that homes stalactites and stalagmites which are so beautiful and a lovely edition to our tour, we also stopped at a little beach on our way back to the main land which was slightly underwhelming after some of the other islands we have seen on our southern Thailand adventures but a welcome dip in the sea to cool off.

Who to choose?

The Cheapest boat company we found to hop from island to island seemed to be Songserm. Just be prepared these boats run on Thai time. Generally they run around 30-45 minutes late, have no system of where luggage will go in accordance with what stop people are getting off at, but you will eventually make it to you next stop, even if it may not feel like it.

Say NO!

On our way round South Thailand and South East Asia as a while we have noticed that there are more and more signs about regarding litter and preserving the environment however there is still an unimaginable amount of litter around the streets and oceans. Plastic bags and packaging are completely overused in Asia so please try to carry a reusable bag around with you when out and about and always Say No to Plastic!

General animal abuse in South East Asia is getting addressed however there are still tourist attractions that require animals to live and work outside their natural habitat, please Say No to riding elephants, watching monkey tricks or anything that has you paying for animal abuse, please do not promote this awful businesses.

Although my final few words were not necessarily positive South Thailand has been the most beautiful adventure and I would recommend to anyone who is thinking about travelling here to stop thinking and just book your flight. You will not regret it, experiences new foods, cultures, scenery and so much more.


Get in touch with us at Big Blue Travel and we can make those dreamy thoughts come true.


Stop thinking. Just book it!