Author: Charlie Marchant

Best Travel Backpack from Charlie on Travel's Eco-Friendly Travel Packing List

Berlin Green Travel Guide

Our Berlin green travel guide, for travellers who want to experience eco-friendly and sustainable Berlin.

When we arrived in Berlin, the first thing we saw was abandoned buildings and graffiti everywhere. This wasn’t the green metropolis I had been imagining and expecting at all. Then I realised, I had barely scratched the surface.

Berlin is a city that’s constantly being reconstructed, redesigned and re-purposed. You won’t meet a Berliner who doesn’t say: “You should’ve seen Berlin one year ago – it’s changed so much.” We heard that phrase over and over from different Berliners.

8 mins read
How Much Does It Cost to Travel in Bulgaria?

How Much Does It Cost to Travel in Bulgaria on a Budget? [Infographic]

Looking for cheap travel destinations in Europe for a winter break? Let me tell you how much it costs to travel in Bulgaria.

We booked our flights and set off on our winter adventure to Bulgaria after learning that there’s good skiing for bargain prices and that the cost to travel in Bulgaria is low. We weren’t disappointed by Bulgaria and travelling on a budget — even while skiing — was very doable. I have to be honest though and say that although the cost to travel in Bulgaria was good, it was even cheaper to travel in Macedonia.

6 mins read
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia

Sofia, Bulgaria – Travel Guide

Sofia was our first stop in Bulgaria. We’d planned on just passing through on our way to go skiing in Bansko, but as we slowly started to discover more and more historic sights and vegan restaurants, we slowed down.

Sofia isn’t a city like London, Paris or Rome though. It’s history is a cultural mesh of Eastern and Western influence. Churches, mosques and Soviet buildings all share the same small space of the city.

5 mins read

7 Simple Tips To Be a More Responsible Traveller

Responsible travel means making environmentally, socio-culturally and economically aware travel choices. Knowing how to plan a responsible travel trip can seem like an absolute mission though, especially if there’s not a lot of time to read and research or you’re not sure where to start.

If you bring up the topic of responsible travel, more often than not people wrinkle their nose or shrug it off. Over time I’ve learned that this isn’t because they don’t care about the environment, wildlife and local people, it’s because it’s hard to know what choices are best.

6 mins read
Travel in Macedonia - Bitola

Bitola in Macedonia (and My Big Travel Mistake)

Bitola wasn’t really part of our Macedonia travel plan. Actually, we didn’t really have a proper plan, which is what caused the mess in the first place.

After arriving in Skopje and working our socks off to catch up on freelance work, we jumped straight on a bus to Lake Ohrid – which is known as the place to go for travellers in Macedonia. We had four beautiful days in Ohrid, wiling away hours around the lake and exploring monasteries.

Then it was time to move on, except we had nowhere to go.

 

8 mins read
Slow Travel Instagram Accounts to Follow

11 Slow Travellers to Follow on Instagram

Looking for slow travellers to follow on Instagram? These slow travellers are all about experiencing local culture, getting their hands dirty out in the wild and taking it slow on the road. These slow travel bloggers and photographers have Instagram accounts that make you want to get out there in the world and experience local culture for yourself.

7 mins read

Lake Ohrid in Macedonia: A Beautiful Slow Weekend

Lake Ohrid is truly the jewel in Macedonia’s crown.

When we first made it past the town centre and scaled up the hillside through the old town, we looked out in wonderment over the lake and distant mountains. Lake Ohrid isn’t just any lake, this UNESCO World Heritage site is one of Europe’s oldest and deepest lakes. It is beautiful.

6 mins read

Matka Canyon in Macedonia in 1 Day

Matka Canyon is the ideal day trip from Skopje for anyone who loves nature, cool rocks and hiking. It’s hard to believe that this incredible canyon is just 15km away from the busy urban streets of Macedonia’s capital city.

4 mins read

Skopje, Macedonia – Travel Guide

Skopje was our first and last stop during our slow travels through Macedonia. We weren’t sure what to expect from Macedonia’s capital city and before arriving all we’d heard was that it was a bit bleak and wasn’t the best for vegan travellers.

We were pleasantly surprised by Skopje.

8 mins read
Travel in Macedonia - Mavrovo

Macedonia Travel Guide | Where to Holiday in Macedonia

A holiday in Macedonia hadn’t been our travel plan. But when the temperature in neighbouring Bulgaria dropped too low for us to bear, we made an unplanned detour to holiday in Macedonia. It was one of the best travel decisions we’ve ever made.

Macedonia is an incredible holiday destination. From the capital city of Skopje with its towering classical statues and buildings to the beautiful and serene Lake Ohrid and the pretty ski slopes of Mavrovo. 

7 mins read
Vegan Travel Breakfast in Macedonia

Our Vegan Travel Challenge Has Ended, Here’s What We Learned

This January, we took up a 31-day vegan travel challenge as part of Veganuary. We kicked off our vegan challenge in Luke’s home town of Brighton before travelling vegan in Bulgaria and then Macedonia.

True to our word, we didn’t change our travel plans to fit in with our new vegan lifestyle, but instead took unplanned trips to wherever we chose. While Bulgaria and Macedonia certainly aren’t the most vegan friendly countries in the world, we learned a lot from our vegan travel experiences there.

6 mins read
Vegetarian cooking at Thai Farm Cooking Class in Chiang Mai

Never Try, Never Know! Thai Farm Cooking Class in Chiang Mai (+ Vegetarian Green Thai Curry Recipe)

“Never try, never know,” rang out the cheery voice of our Thai farm cooking class teacher Benny. She was waving around fresh herbs and spicy roots from the organic garden attached to the cooking school and encouraging us to bite into galangal roots, lemongrass stalks and strong smelling leaves. Luke and I did so without protest, though not everyone in our cooking class was so adventurous – and with good reason, some of those raw roots packed a real punch.

6 mins read