Balkan Campervans

The Ultimate Guide to How to Plan a Road Trip

Planning a road trip can definitely feel daunting, especially if it’s a long one with many stops. But there are some ways to make things easier. And seeing as we’ve done tons of road trips over the years (we LOVE them!), we have lots of experience and advice to share.  So here’s our guide to … Read more

Running on Long Beach

5 trips to take in 2024

Looking for inspiration for places to travel in 2024? Here’s our round-up of best trips for 2024. We did a ton of travel last year, so some of these ideas are based on those trips, which you can easily copy from our itineraries. And I also dug into the archive for a few old favourites … Read more

Home Exchange in Blue Ridge near Smoky Mountains

The Ultimate Guide to Home Exchange

There’s something I don’t talk about enough on Bridges and Balloons, and that’s Home Exchange. We’ve being doing home exchanges since way back in 2015, and it’s our favourite way to travel. It taps into the sharing economy we love and offers an authentic opportunity to truly live like a local – often in a … Read more

Eye of the Desert Joshua Tree

25 Best Airbnb Alternatives: Where to Find Special Places to Stay

As you all know, I’ve always been a fan of Airbnb, but there are also plenty of other sites like Airbnb that I use to find special places to stay. As Airbnb has grown, it’s sometimes harder to find and book a unique and characterful place, so here’s the lowdown on my favourite Airbnb alternatives. … Read more

Pin Map from Hello Canvas

12 Creative Ways to Armchair Travel from Home

The start of 2020 has been the year that even the most avid traveller has had to lay down their passport and stay put for a while. So what do we do when our itchy feet are raring to go but travel isn’t an option? I’ve put together a new series on Bridges and Balloons … Read more

Vitalise holiday Southampton

The Disabled Traveller’s Guide to Planning a Long Holiday

From when I was about five, my Mum used a wheelchair. Despite this, we went on holiday around three times a year, and she never let her disability get in the way of doing the things she wanted. Some of my fondest memories are from the holidays we took together as a family to places like … Read more

Eguisheim, France – Real-life fairytale village

How to choose a backpack

How to choose a backpack? Finding the right backpack is a challenge. If, like us, you’re going to be travelling with it for years, it needs to be comfortable. You’ll be thankful for it as you traipse around looking for accommodation in the pouring rain, or you trek up mountains. Other things you need to … Read more

How to pack a backpack for all seasons: our packing list

From all this to a backpack?
From all this to a backpack?

What to pack for our trip was a questions that puzzled me for weeks. It’s tricky enough when you’re going away for a couple of weeks, let alone when you have no fixed time and your journey is likely to traverse all seasons from -30 to 40 degrees. On top of that, I was really keen to keep my backpack light and ideally be able to take it on buses with me or even as hand luggage on flights. I searched everywhere for tips on how to pack a backpack.

Read more