Each year, I reflect on my travels and write a round-up of the year. In 2024, there were some obvious highlights, including South America, but11 also some not-so-obvious highlights, including various trips around the UK with friends and family, and different parts of Portugal, including the Azores, which had been on my bucket list for years! The first quarter of the year started slow, but quickly ramped up as the year progressed.
January - The New Forest, UK
For Christmas 2023, my brother and I gifted our parents a weekend away in the New Forest, as my parents love travelling and specifically staying in Handpicked Hotels. My parents then offered for us to join them for the weekend, so I spent a weekend exploring the New Forest with my family in late January. It was very relaxing, with trips to the spa, delicious food and many forest walks.
February - Bletchley Park, UK
After reading The Rose Code (one of my top books of 2024), my boyfriend and I visited Bletchley Park, which is where some of the greatest code-breakers spent their time during WWII and where Alan Turing cracked the Enigma code. We only spent a day there but it was very enjoyable.
March - East Sussex, UK & Portugal
For my boyfriend's birthday, I treated him to a weekend in a shepherd's hut. It was our first weekend away and was one of our favourite memories to date. The hut was located in East Sussex, where we drove through 1066 Country, an area of outstanding natural beauty. We got very lucky with the weather and visited a couple of National Trust sites, which was lovely. The only odd thing of note was that we saw various members of a cult, which was definitely unexpected.
Separately, I also spent a long weekend road-tripping across Portugal with my family for Mother's Day and my brother's birthday. My brother and parents drove down from London, while I flew over and visited some family in Porto at the same time. We rented a house in the Algarve for the weekend but passed through a significant amount of the country, including the river Douro, which was gorgeous. Again, we were very lucky with the weather and I was lucky to spend some time celebrating with my family.
April - Ecuador & Peru
Anyone who has read this blog within the last year will know that I spent several weeks travelling across South America over April and May (and loved it). In April, I visited Ecuador and Peru, with Peru especially being a highlight of my trip. In Ecuador, I visited the equator and Quito but as it had been in a State of Emergency until only days before I visited and I was solo travelling, I did not travel much further than that. Nonetheless, I had a great time, making friends with a black labrador in a coffee shop and treating myself to a fancy hotel (before the series of hostels and Airbnbs to come).
I then headed to Peru, where I was joined by two close friends. We started in Lima, which was interesting but did create a dependency on imodium for me, and then we joined a tour group for Cusco, Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain, which was absolutely awe-striking. That week was one of my favourite, with astounding views and great company. One friend then had to go back to London, whilst the other continued journeying with me, and we took coaches across Arequipa, Puno and Lake Titicaca. In Arequipa, I tried white water rafting for the first time, which I enjoyed, and we had a lot of memorable moments in Lake Titicaca (including lugging my large suitcase up 200m at very high altitude on a freezing island). Peru is one of my favourite countries I've visited to date and I look back on it extremely fondly.
May - Bolivia, Chile, Argentina & Uruguay
In May, I visited parts of Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. I visited Bolivia and Chile with my friend, and then my family flew out to meet me for Argentina and Uruguay. This meant that I had a varied trip, doing some parts solo, other parts with friends, and the remainder with family, which I loved.
I visited Lake Titicaca, La Paz and the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia, which were all incredible. That said, Bolivia was probably the country in South America which was the most testing, as so much went wrong (including us climbing to 5.4km in jeans and trainers in hail, sleeping in winter coats due to the horrific cold, our tour guide getting bitten by a stray dog, and having no communication with the outside world for several days). Nonetheless, it also offered some of the most magical moments, including one of my favourite memories - approaching a cactus island in the salt flats as one of my favourite songs (Vienna by Billy Joel) played on the radio.
Chile offered some warmth following a week of cold, which was much appreciated, and we visited the Atacama desert and Santiago whilst there. The desert was much nicer than anticipated, as we managed to reconvene with people we'd met throughout our travels, although we also almost missed our flight and had to trust a random man to get us to the airport in time. Santiago was an odd vibe and I still can't figure out whether I enjoyed it or not, but my friend's mum joined us out there, which was lovely, and we went wine-tasting one afternoon, which was dreamy.
Although I was sad for my friend to leave, I was very excited to see my family and experience some small luxuries, and Argentina did not disappoint. We visited Mendoza (the wine region), Patagonia and Buenos Aires, and all provided incredible experiences. In Mendoza, we met a gaucho and it unexpectedly snowed; in Patagonia I witnessed one of the most breath-taking views (Perito Moreno Glacier) I've ever seen; and I was entertained watching a tango show in Buenos Aires.
Finally, I visited Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo with my family in Uruguay. I didn't know what to expect from Uruguay but it was pleasant and everyone was lovely. We drank a lot of maté tea and learnt about Portugal's influence in Colonia del Sacramento, which was unexpected. Overall, May was an incredible month full of moments I look back on fondly.
June - Leeds & Camber Sands, UK
I did the Otley Run for the first time in 2024, which may sound like a 5k or 10k, but is actually a pub crawl in Leeds. I went with a couple of mates and joined a big group, most of whom I didn't know initially but got along well with and it ended up being a very fun weekend.
In addition, I spent another June weekend in Camber Sands with some school friends, which was very wholesome and enjoyable, comprising walks on the beach, board games, delicious food, and a lot of wine. We drove down there together and spent a solid amount of time together, which has become more scarce and precious as we get older.
July - The Azores, Portugal, Hampshire & Manchester, UK
As aforementioned, one of the destinations that I was most excited for this year was an island in the Azores called São Miguel. I went with my parents and it surpassed all of my expectations - the landscapes were gorgeous, the people friendly and the food delicious - what more could I ask for! We rented a car so managed to explore a lot of the island and went swimming, bathed in hot springs and saw dolphins. It was incredible and I'd highly recommend the island (although the weather can oftentimes be unforgiving so I'd suggest going in summer!). Fun fact: my blog post about this trip was my 150th blog post!
I also visited a few places in the UK in July, included a day trip to Eastney Beach in Hampshire with my boyfriend, Box Hill and Leith Hill in Surrey, and a weekend in Manchester with friends. Eastney Beach is a little known sand beach not far from London, which my boyfriend and I visited when it was 30°C and it became one of my favourite memories with him, as my favourite place to be is by the sea and it was our first time swimming together. We also did yoga in Box Hill one morning and went on a walk in Leith Hill as the weather was nice. I'm all about the little things, and although these day trips may not stand out amongst some other destinations in this travel round-up, they brought me a lot of joy and being able to explore the UK easily is one of the things that I love about living in London.
One of my friends lives in Manchester at the moment, and although her birthday is in August, a group of us decided to throw a surprise party for her one weekend. It was a lot of fun and I met many new people, which is always good. I am a fan of Manchester generally, and managed to explore some parts of it that I hadn't previously.
August - Prague, Czechia, Wales & Forest of Dean, UK
I spent a long weekend in Prague with my boyfriend in early August and it was a highlight of my year. Again, I knew that I'd enjoy this trip but it surpassed my expectations and was my perfect trip. I'd been over a decade ago but couldn't remember much, however we managed to see everything we wanted to and try all of the dishes we'd been recommended. We had time to visit an Aperol Spritz terrace and a robot bar, cycle along the river, play board games and mini golf, as well as seeing all of the classic sights. It felt relaxing, and yet we managed to pack so much in; I couldn't have planned it better if I'd tried.
As aforementioned, Billy Joel is one of my favourite artists and I'd been longing to see him live for years, but as he rarely performs in the UK, I hadn't yet had the opportunity - until this year. Billy Joel was playing only one concert in Europe in 2024, which was in Cardiff, Wales, so of course I got some tickets to go. I took a day off work and headed with my parents to Cardiff. Since we were travelling out there, we decided to make the most and spend the entire weekend in Wales. The concert was amazing, and we spent the remainder of the weekend driving along the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, which was gorgeous, although the weather wasn't playing ball so we couldn't go for a swim. Historically, I always preferred the North of Wales to the South, but this trip definitely made me rethink my stance.
I spent the late August bank holiday in the Forest of Dean with my boyfriend, visiting Puzzlewood, Bristol and the forest itself. We spent the weekend relaxing, playing games, and exploring the area. It was a lot of fun and a nice way to spent the bank holiday.
September - Madeira, Portugal, Canterbury, UK & Mont Saint Michel, France
My parents are from Madeira so I try to visit at least once a year in order to see my distant relatives. It is my one of my favourite places in the world and I was lucky enough to spend a week there in September, eating delicious food, spending time with family, and lounging on the beach. I always love being on the island and this trip was no exception.
I spent a day in Canterbury with my boyfriend, where we did a "Mystery Guide", a tradition of ours when visiting new places in the UK. Canterbury is, is course, gorgeous, however I did start to feel very queasy towards the end of this trip so we left earlier than anticipated, which was a shame.
I had been wanting to visit Mont Saint Michel ever since I read "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr (one of my favourite books of 2021). It's an island in the North of France and is the country's most visited attraction outside of Paris. My parents, my brother and I drove down from London one weekend since it isn't too far and my car needed a good spin, and it did not disappoint. The island is striking and the town picturesque, I cannot recommend this place enough.
October - The Algarve, Portugal, Dungeness & Kent, UK
My parents spent a week in the Algarve in October, and whilst I initially hadn't planned on joining them, I then learnt that an aunt of mine and a close cousin were going to be there for the weekend, so I booked a last minute flight bound for Faro. It was a nice, relaxing weekend.
The last trip of the year with my boyfriend was to Dungeness. I hadn't heard of this place until he put it on my radar but it was formerly the only desert in Britain and has an eerie atmosphere to it. We stayed in an Old Dairy, which was very cool and Dungeness itself was a lot better than I'd expected. I enjoyed having tea and cake in an aircraft-themed café and a roast in a proper British pub, as well as walking along the beach and through the Wye Downs. It was a great way to spend the weekend and I would recommend!
Last but not least, I spent a couple of days in Kent for my parents' anniversary, at Brandshatch Handpicked Hotel. It was very relaxing, made up of many swims and delicious meals, so there were no complaints from me.
November - Barcelona, Spain, Devon & The Cotswolds, UK
November was another fairly busy month, with three small trips, starting with a Christmassy weekend in Devon. One of my uni friends had recently moved to an adorable cottage in Devon so the rest of us planned to spend a weekend there, doing Secret Santa, playing board games, and making Christmas-themed cocktails. It was a wholesome, wonderful weekend and I always leave catch-ups with those friends feeling very positive and with a "full cup" as they say.
For my dad's birthday, we spent another long weekend in the Cotswolds. I'm a big fan of the Cotswolds, and went last year with friends, which was also wonderful. I will never forget this trip, as although we had a great time visiting Burford, dining in Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons, and enjoying the snow, the absolute highlight of the trip was getting our first family dog, Chilli. I've dogsat a couple of dogs in my time, as I love dogs a lot, but it's different having a dog of your own and this was the best present we could've wished for and a trip for the memory books.
I also had an Away Day for work in Barcelona, Spain in November. I'm a fan of Barcelona and hadn't been since 2020, where I experienced my first ever lockdown. This meant that we hadn't been able to see Park Güell at the time, so my one aim this time round was to see it. Unfortunately, I didn't make it this time either due to timings, but the trip was much funner than anticipated and I met a lot of great people, so it flew by.
December - Yorkshire, UK
Finally, I spent Christmas in the Yorkshire Dales with my family. Most years we go skiing, however as our new member of the family didn't have a passport, we were UK-bound. Nonetheless, we all love the North of England so no one was disappointed, and we rented a beautiful cottage (with a Christmas tree) between the Dales and the Lake District, offering plenty of beautiful landscapes and entertainment. We played board games, went on many a walk, did a puzzle, built a Lego car, and ate several delicious meals. Since we'd driven up, we could bring presents and there was a Chrstimas tree and fireplace, so it felt like a proper Christmas, and at night I could see the star-filled sky through the skylights in my bedroom. It was a very cosy Christmas, and the first as a family of five.
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