Family travel bloggers share their memories

: Sand glorious sand in another corner of the world

Out of everything I’ve read on blogs in the last 12 months, Victoria Wallop’s evocative reports and dream-like photos from faraway shores may just have made the biggest impression.

Victoria supplied occasional dispatches for Ready for Ten and updated It’s a Small World After All as often as she could from a nine-month around the world trip with her husband and three children. Here, she sums up the highlight: So, what was your best bit? She also describes an experience so many of us would like to share: Elephants!

But Victoria isn’t looking back on her trip with rose-tinted glasses. On her last night, she says:

There’s other stuff. Stuff that’s not so comfortable to examine. How hard it’s been, what the point of it was, how it might not be easy to settle back home, whether it was a good idea in the first place. I’m not sure how I feel about any of that, and I think it’ll take a while before I do. For now, I know that people have been kind, we’ve been lucky on the disaster front and we’ve done some incredible things. It wasn’t half bad.

From a celeb chef to fun with Thomas

Globetrotter Trish at Mum’s Gone To can always be relied on to make me smile and her post about the posh inhabitants of a Portugal poolside is no exception. I’ll have what Trish is having. Thanks: Mum’s Gone to Portugal: Having dinner with John Torode.

On more familiar turf, the ever perky Joanne of Mallon has blogged about a cult TV tour of Wales. She likens Portmeirion to Disneyland – a Disneyland you can never leave, that is. Sounds like an ideal sci-fi adventure plot. Oh, hang on.

Carol from New Mummy’s Tips featured a great post from Nicki Cawood of Curly and Candid. I’m a big fan of budget holidays and Nicki and family managed to get away for three days for just £235, including meals. You can see where her family went, how many of them there were and what they got up to: Summer holidays on a budget.

Have you discovered Kath Horwill’s Parklover blog? I always love how well she features her photos, which make me wish I could come up with images to rival hers. Aint never going to happen. Here’s a case in point as she explores Devon: Lynton and Lynmouth. Here’s Kath reporting on a Good Beach Guide with more breathtaking pictures.

Wit and warmth

A heart-warming post from Rosie Scribble proved it may not where you go that counts, but just possibly who with. Rosie and daughter IJ visited her friend and fellow blogger, NotSupermum. There was a very welcome result. Tessie to the rescue: Overcoming a fear of dogs.

Englishmum went to Mexico earlier this year and stopped by at one of the seven wonders of the world. She has been nominated for an award for her reporting of the trip. My favourite part is when she says: “On the downside, human sacrifice was commonplace.” The Sensatori resort, Mexico, our final destination, Chichen Itza

Meanwhile, the inimitable Exmoor Jane won a trip to Cornwall. She spent it being scared of scarecrows, dreaming the sea was taking her away and talking to a man about reincarnation. With this itinerary, there was only one conclusion she could draw: Cornwall is weird.

With customary wit, warmth and a smidgen of surrealism, Laura at Are We Nearly There Yet Mummy describes what she learned on a visit to Holland. If you’re expecting a whimsy-filled missive on tulips and pleasant riverside bike rides, look away now. In Holland I discovered that.

…and taking a different type of trip

Finally, here’s a post about Liz Jarvis mistakenly going flying when she should have been going on a flying elephant. She assures us no small children were harmed in the making of this blog post: Me, Dumbo and pride really does come before a fall.

I hope you enjoy my selection of entertaining and thought-provoking posts from family travel bloggers. I’m always looking for new excellent reads or reminders about old favourites. If you have a blog post you’d like to recommend, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or comment below. I’m considering making these round-ups a regular feature and would love to be pointed in the right direction.