Charlie Marchant https://charlieontravel.com/author/charlieontravel/ UK Travel Blog Sat, 10 Oct 2026 20:16:02 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://charlieontravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cropped-Charlie-on-Travel-Favicon-32x32.png Charlie Marchant https://charlieontravel.com/author/charlieontravel/ 32 32 Where to Stay in Munnar: 6 Tea Country Hotels & Estate Stays https://charlieontravel.com/where-to-stay-munnar/ https://charlieontravel.com/where-to-stay-munnar/#respond Sat, 10 Oct 2026 20:13:28 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17389 Where to stay in Munnar makes all the difference to how much you enjoy this beautiful tea country stop in Kerala itinerary. Munnar town itself is a scruffy, traffic-filled junction. The reason you’ve come, the rolling tea estates and the cloud forest above them, starts a few kilometres outside of the town. That’s where the […]

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]]> https://charlieontravel.com/where-to-stay-munnar/feed/ 0 Windermere Estate Munnar Review: 3 Nights on a Cardamom Estate https://charlieontravel.com/windermere-estate/ https://charlieontravel.com/windermere-estate/#respond Sat, 10 Oct 2026 18:32:07 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17401 The Windermere Estate in Munnar is one of the most special places we’ve stayed. For us, it made our two-week trip to Kerala magical and showed us what Indian hospitality really means. We stayed for three nights at the Windermere Estate and it’s the place we would recommend to every traveller. This is our review […]

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]]> https://charlieontravel.com/windermere-estate/feed/ 0 Best Things To Do in Munnar: 10 Tea Country Experiences We Loved https://charlieontravel.com/things-to-do-munnar/ https://charlieontravel.com/things-to-do-munnar/#respond Sat, 10 Oct 2026 17:52:56 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17395 The best things to do in Munnar all come back to the rolling tea fields, wildlife and mountain air. At 1,500 metres up in the Western Ghats, the hills roll away in that bright, clipped green for as far as you can see, and after the heat of the coast it feels like a different […]

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]]> https://charlieontravel.com/things-to-do-munnar/feed/ 0 Where to Stay in Varkala: Odayam, South Cliff or North Cliff? https://charlieontravel.com/where-to-stay-varkala/ https://charlieontravel.com/where-to-stay-varkala/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2026 20:15:18 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17391 Where you stay in Varkala decides what kind of trip you have. Stay on the North Cliff and you’re in the middle of the restaurants, the shops and, at the weekend, the party zone. Stay in Odayam or on the South Cliff and you’re a short walk from all of it, with rice paddies or […]

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]]> https://charlieontravel.com/where-to-stay-varkala/feed/ 1 12 Things To Do in Varkala: Kerala’s Cliffside Beach Town https://charlieontravel.com/things-to-do-varkala/ https://charlieontravel.com/things-to-do-varkala/#respond Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:29:28 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17385 Varkala is the beach bit of Kerala: a red laterite cliff with a ribbon of cafés and shops along the top, surf breaks below, and a yoga studio on every other rooftop. We spent a week here at the end of our two weeks in Kerala and came to love it. Our first impression of […]

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]]> https://charlieontravel.com/things-to-do-varkala/feed/ 0 Where to Stay in Kumarakom: 10 Backwater Resorts & Homestays (2026) https://charlieontravel.com/where-to-stay-kumarakom/ https://charlieontravel.com/where-to-stay-kumarakom/#respond Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:48:18 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17332 We chose Kumarakom over Alleppey on purpose. Alleppey is the houseboat capital, with the biggest fleet and the biggest crowds. Kumarakom, across Vembanad Lake, is quieter, more villagey and the reason our backwater days felt peaceful rather than processional. We spent two nights on the Kerala backwaters in November. This guide covers where we stayed, […]

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]]> https://charlieontravel.com/where-to-stay-kumarakom/feed/ 0 Walking the South Downs Way in Stages: Route Guide & Where to Stay https://charlieontravel.com/walking-south-downs-way/ https://charlieontravel.com/walking-south-downs-way/#respond Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:25:27 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17316 The South Downs Way is a 160-kilometre National Trail along the chalk ridge from Winchester to Eastbourne, usually split into eight stages. It is one of the few long-distance walks in England you can do without a tent, without a car and without taking a week off work, because the trail crosses railway lines at […]

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]]> https://charlieontravel.com/walking-south-downs-way/feed/ 0 South Downs Way Winchester to Exton & East Meon: Stage 1 Walk Guide https://charlieontravel.com/south-downs-way-winchester/ https://charlieontravel.com/south-downs-way-winchester/#respond Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:43:12 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17314 The South Downs Way starts at the old City Mill in Winchester and runs 160 kilometres east to Eastbourne. Stage 1 officially finishes at Exton, a small village in the Meon Valley about 19 kilometres in. If you are planning the whole route, start with our South Downs Way stage-by-stage guide. We extended Stage 1, […]

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]]> https://charlieontravel.com/south-downs-way-winchester/feed/ 0 Boston vs New York: Which City Should You Visit? https://charlieontravel.com/boston-vs-new-york/ https://charlieontravel.com/boston-vs-new-york/#respond Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:53:12 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17302 Boston and New York are around 230 miles apart, they are nothing alike and I loved them both. If this is your first trip to the USA, go to New York. If you have been before or you want a smaller, friendlier city and you like old streets and history, go to Boston. I must […]

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]]> https://charlieontravel.com/boston-vs-new-york/feed/ 0 Trader Joe’s Tote Bag: In Defence of a $4.99 Souvenir https://charlieontravel.com/trader-joes-tote-bag/ https://charlieontravel.com/trader-joes-tote-bag/#respond Sun, 20 Sep 2026 19:08:38 +0000 https://charlieontravel.com/?p=17285 Why is everyone wearing Trader Joe’s tote bags? I bought four Trader Joe’s tote bags in Boston. The classic big cream canvas one with the navy straps and the red logo. One for me, and three as gifts for my mum, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law. They were $4.99 each. A great value souvenir. Just […]

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