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One of the best Croatia travel books you will find

If you are planning a trip to Croatia, Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, this poignant memoir, My family and Other Enemies, by Mary Novakovich (published by Bradt Guides), about travels to her native lands in Lika, Croatia, is a must read. I have just put it down, watery eyed and feeling just a teeny fraction of the loss that Mary must feel every time she has to part company with this incredible piece of the world. 

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Top ten sustainable tourism companies for post-pandemic travel

There is a lot of talk of the new normal in travel. How we are all going to be sustainable, savvy and sensitive when we are allowed out of our cages again. I have always believed that sustainability is normal in tourism, and so this isn’t new for me. It isn’t new for the following sustainable tourism companies either, who have been flying the fantastic flag of fair and fun tourism for many years. 

So, if you are revving up to travel again but want to not only keep things responsible but also remote, here are some beauties in my book. These ten sustainable tourism companies are led by pioneering people who will look after you, your loved ones, their own communities and environments. I don’t like top ten type round ups, because ranking leaders like this is just nonsense, so they’re in alphabetical order. 

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Magnetic North Travel’s philosophy cries freedom

Seeing the Northern Lights in Norway

Friluftsliv and Free Air Living on wilderness holidays in Scandinavia

I like companies that are based on a sound philosophy, and Magnetic North Travel was set up by Laura Greenman, a green travel writer and eco entrepreneur, after she travelled extensively in Scandinavia, and discovered the Norwegian philosophy of Friluftsliv. Although this sounds more like something you might buy in Ikea, it actually translates as Free Air Living. And, unlike the Swedish indoor retail therapy, this philosophy is based on the idea that spending time outdoors, in nature, can really help us recuperate as individuals.

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Hiring an electric bike on a cycling holiday in Ireland

I was a bit nervous of the potential uncool factor of hiring an electric bike on a cycling holiday in Ireland, until I sped up my first hill on Mayo’s stupendously gorgeous Great Western Greenway and realised I wasn’t even out of breath. In fact, when I first saw the bike, a sophisticated Kalkhoff model, supplied by Electric Escapes, I was relieved that it looked pretty much like any hybrid bike, and that I was actually going to get to pedal, having been naively worried that I might just have to sit on it and be shimmied sloth-like all the way from Westport to Achill. In fact, the opposite is the case – the more you pedal, the more speed you generate from the battery’s power supply, so you can give it as much welly as you can muster basically, and trick those you overtake into thinking you’re  breezing it.

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