Browsing Tag

travelling with kids

Lifestyle

Where we stayed, what we did and where we ate in Cairns

22nd October, 2021

Now that travel is once again on the cards I’m on the hunt for great travel destinations for families. I’m sure many of you are in the same boat, particularly when it comes to the long Christmas school holidays at the end of the year. Earlier in the year we took a trip up to Far North Queensland and paid a visit to Port Douglas, followed by Cairns and I can’t recommend both highly enough. With any spot we are planning to visit as a family I like to make sure that there’s plenty of things for the girls to do, activities that the four of us will enjoy together and something fun for the adults whether it’s a great restaurant or luxe day spa. If you’re looking for a tropical holiday close to home, check out my travel guide to Cairns below.

Where we stayed

We stayed at Bailey which opened in 2019, and it’s a gorgeous hotel located in the heart of Cairns’ CBD. We found it to be a really central location from which to base ourselves. We always try to be within close proximity to amenities such as cafes and restaurants whenever we stay somewhere as when travelling with kids it’s important to make getting from A to B as easy as possible. The rooms are fresh and modern, and I loved all the cool art around the hotel and in the rooms, Bailey also plays host to different exhibitions and activations. One of the things I loved about Bailey is their focus on sustainability. All the bathroom amenities are recyclable or compostable, there are also no plastic water bottles or straws and things such as room key cards and accessories are made from recycled wood.

The girls enjoying the lobby at Bailey

Heading out as a family

Enjoying the pool

What we did

We always love destinations that have lots of things for kids to do and this trip we were able to check out a range of different locations. We went to Cairns Aquarium which is only a few minutes’ walk from Bailey. It’s a great spot and something that I’m sure most kids would love to check out. Another fun place to visit is Cairns Zoom and Wildlife Dome. It’s a wildlife sanctuary which plays home to crocodiles, koalas and more. Plus there’s also an indoor ropes course which features everything from climbing walls to swings and even a zipline. It’s great if you’re after a bit of an adrenaline rush!

If however you just want to take things easy, definitely take a walk along the Esplanade Boardwalk. It’s quite picturesque and the perfect place to take a leisurely stroll. The kids loved the big stingray sculpture, which as you can see, they couldn’t resist taking a picture on.

If you want to explore a little further afield then you most definitely cannot miss seeing The Great Barrier Reef. We did a day tour and it was incredible. Pictures just don’t do the Reef justice. We ended up snorkelling which was a lot of fun. We weren’t able to do it from Cairns this trip but one thing to definitely add to your list is a day trip to see Daintree National Park. We went there from Port Douglas which is where we were before Cairns, but we would visit again as it’s just beautiful. The kids had a great time exploring and swimming.

Doing the ropes course at Cairns Zoom and Wildlife Dome

Taking a stroll along the boardwalk

Where we ate

When we discover a place we like to eat while we’re on holiday we tend to be repeat customers. And it was no different this trip. We went to dinner at Rocco and Paper Crane, both restaurants at Riley, a lovely hotel that’s across the road from where we were staying and really rated the food there. Rocco is a Mediterranean restaurant with rooftop bar. The view is great and the food even better. While Paper Crane is an Asian Fusion restaurant, with a Japanese, Korean, Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese inspired menu. Both delicious and both menus the kids really liked.

Sampling the local fare

One of the many delicious meals we enjoyed

This one too!

 

This post was produced in collaboration with Crystalbrook

Lifestyle, Lifestyle & Social

An easy family beach getaway that you don’t have to leave Australia for

11th July, 2019
Going on a walk around the resort with Sophia and Grace

As most parents will attest, the words ‘holiday’, ‘easy’ and ‘kids’ don’t always go hand in hand. From the mammoth packing challenge ahead of you to travelling to your destination and finding enough family-friendly things to do, there’s a little more effort involved compared to just going on holiday sans little ones. So when you find a place that’s ideal for a getaway with kids it’s your public duty to let parents everywhere know…and that’s exactly what I’m doing! We recently spent some time at the newly renovated Daydream Island and it was such a great vacation with kids and here’s why.

1. It’s easy to get to

I always take travel logistics into consideration whenever we’re going on a family holiday and Daydream Island definitely ticked that box. You can fly straight into Hamilton Island and then get a 30-minute ferry ride to Daydream Island.

2. There’s lots of entertainment for kids

A holiday with children requires loads of entertainment so we were quite pleased with the facilities available. There were several pools for the girls to play in plus we could also go to the beach. Not only that they had an aquarium where kids can play with sea creatures and a living reef where you could watch the stingrays and baby sharks go past as you ate breakfast. Also there’s a marine biologist on site who the kids could direct all their questions to about the animals. We also did an additional activity where Sophia and Grace were able to feed the baby stingrays. And there’s also a great kids’ club on site which is ideal for days of inclement weather or you just want to spend a few hours doing other activities like water sports or relaxing by the pool and reading a book.

Sophia and I walking around the resort
Sophia and Luke at breakfast

3. Wildlife aplenty

My kids are five and three and just love animals so they were excited that as soon as we got to the island there was a wallaby just hanging out! Not only that, it wasn’t uncommon to see a kangaroo hopping past as you walked to breakfast, not to mention all the sea creatures in the aquarium and the living reef.

4. You can easily island hop

It’s really easy to check out the neighbouring islands. Hamilton Island is close by if you want to check it out. We decided to go on a helicopter ride to beautiful Whitehaven Beach and were able to have a picnic there with the kids.

With the girls on Whitehaven Beach
Seeing the sights in the air

5. The climate’s great

It was 25 degrees in the middle of winter when we were there so you can expect the temperature to be alright most of the year. If you wait till later in the year however, I imagine the weather will be gorgeous and balmy and perfect beach temperatures.

6. A range of activities for adults

It’s not just about the kids! One day we popped the girls into kids’ club and decided to go on a jet skiing tour of the nearby islands. The girls were able to enjoy themselves and Luke and I were able to take a little break which was a win-win situation for everyone when you’re on a family holiday.

Happy parents!
Fashion & Beauty, Lifestyle, Lifestyle & Social, Social

My week on Instagram

16th June, 2019

There are worse ways to spend a week than jetting off to a tropical island but that’s exactly how I’ve spent the last few days. I was lucky enough to be invited to spend a week at Daydream Island with Luke and the girls. Along with being able to enjoy the beach and sunshine, I was also thrilled to work on an exciting shoot to coincide with my new ambassadorship for the resort. I had a great time shooting around the beautiful property and can’t wait to reveal more. It’s safe to say this has definitely one of the more fun and relaxing weeks I’ve had on the job!

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByuSbGXAJdr/
Lifestyle

Our family holiday to Trisara in Thailand

16th August, 2018

We’ve been wanting to go on a family holiday for awhile and while most of my family decided to make the epic trip to Europe we wanted to go somewhere a little closer to home. While we were still keen to go on an overseas trip, we also knew that there’s only a finite number of hours we could spend on a plane with the kids in tow, so somewhere in Asia seemed a great option. We finally decided on Phuket as we could fly there direct and it’s less than 10 hours in transit (every little hours counts when you’re travelling with little ones!). Also the idea of being able to enjoy the sun and just relax (as much as you can with two very active children anyway) and not have to rush around sounded like heaven.

Where we stayed

As it’s an island destination you’re spoilt for choice as far as places to stay go but bearing in mind that we had the girls, we wanted to stay at a resort with great amenities and in close proximity to the beach. Trisara was a great option. It ticked all the boxes as far as things to do, places to eat and spacious and comfortable rooms that would accomodate the four of us.

We stayed in a villa suite which had a little private pool. It ended up being the perfection option because both our girls still nap in the day so we could put them to sleep and then sit by the pool rather than waiting in a dark room, which is often the case on holidays!

The service at the resort was also fantastic and the staff were always so helpful and accomodating.

Where we ate

Places to eat are always really important to us when we’re on a family holiday. We found that the food at Trisara was always really great, whether we were eating at one of the restaurants or having lunch by the pool. Plus there were lots of good kid friendly meals so the girls were happy.

We really loved the authentic “Mama” cuisine at Seafood at Trisara which was not only delicious but the whole vibe of the restaurant was so relaxed so we were able to really enjoy dining there with the girls. Also one of the other places we tried at the resort was PRU, which was a farm-to-table European cuisine restaurant which offered really amazing food. Another place we would really recommend is Sauy restaurant which had a Thai set menu that was so good we went back a second time. Also don’t miss out on Sunday brunch at Trisara. Even if you don’t stay at the hotel definitely make the effort to go as it’s incredible, I highly recommend it.

What we did

The kids loved every minute of our stay. They’re water babies so they were pretty much in the pool from morning until noon. Also they had a kids club which the girls enjoyed and also gave Luke and I a bit of downtime. They were able to do lots of arts and crafts activities which Sophia and Grace really loved.

One of the highlights of the trip was that Luke and I were able to squeeze in a couples massage at the hotel spa. It was absolute heaven and we walked away feeling very relaxed.

The one thing that we all enjoyed doing as a family was visiting the Elephant Retirement Park Phuket for retired and rescued elephants. You get to feed and swim with the elephants which the girls were so excited about. We all had a thoroughly great time and couldn’t recommend it enough. It takes a half day to do the trip though so be sure to set aside plenty of time for it.

We were lucky enough to enjoy eight nights in Phuket and everything was ideal for a family holiday: there was plenty to see and do, the food options are endless and the weather was just heavenly. Also being able to call Trisara home for over a week was pretty special. This trip was so great for the four of us and we definitely had plenty of happy memories to take home.

This post was created in collaboration with Trisara

For more details check out Trisara and Divine Destinations

Lifestyle

Travelling with kids: how to survive with your sanity in tact

13th November, 2017

Enjoying our family vacation in Bali

As most parents can probably attest, when it comes to travelling with kids you can’t ever really be too prepared. Expect the unexpected is my motto. You’ll inevitably end up with a curve ball being thrown your way whether it’s a bout of vomiting or losing a beloved toy along the way, and you’ve just got to try and find humour in the situation and take it all in your stride. Whilst you can’t plan for absolutely everything, I do believe in preparing as much as possible to mitigate potential issues. We’ve travelled with the girls in Australia and internationally and it’s taught me a few things about how to handle travel with children in tow. Yes, travel will never be as straightforward as it was pre-kids days but it’s oh-so worth it for the amazing memories you build as a family along the way. If you’re about to embark on a trip with your kids then read on for some of my best tried and tested tips…

Choose flights around sleep times

If you’re flying it pays to try and book flights around sleep times. When I’ve done this, most of the time I’ve been lucky and have been able to get the girls down for a bit of a sleep. Whether it’s 30 minutes or two hours, a napping child is invaluable when you’ve got to kill time on a plane.

Book essentials in advance

I never leave anything to chance when I’m travelling with the girls. For example if we require transfers from the airport to the hotel I always request car seats and confirm prior to departure that everything is locked in. I can’t think of anything worse than getting off a long flight, with two tired kids and having to deal with the fact we can’t get to our accommodation.

Give yourself plenty of time to pack

I like to have all the girls’ things packed well in advance as I know I’ll forget something crucial if I do it at the last minute. I normally make a list of everything the kids will need and then I pack a few days before we leave. This gives me plenty of time to get any last minute things washed or take out things I don’t think they’ll need anymore. I normally like to have outfits and nappies for each day sorted and take a few extras just in case.

Bring lots of entertainment

It is a lot easier to travel with Sophia now because she’s three and most of the time she’s excited to watch movies on the plane. But Grace is at that tricky age of being in between a baby and a toddler and wants to be on the move all the time. This is why I always like to bring plenty of entertainment with me to keep the girls occupied. I bring an assortment of games, toys and books with me and make sure to have a few new books or toys with me as I find it keeps them entertained just that little bit longer. If you don’t want to buy anything new just round up a few of your child’s favourite toys and keep them out of sight for a few days so when you pull them out again they’re excited and interested to play with them. (You can find a few more of my in-flight essentials here).

Come armed with plenty of food

On our recent trip to Bali we had to take into account that we were flying during the girls’ morning tea time to lunch then afternoon tea to dinner. I had to bring all the right amount of food with me as I wasn’t sure what we’d get on the plane. I also packed plenty of snacks just in case we had delays on either side and I needed to give the girls something to eat. Also this came in handy when we were in the hotel room and the girls woke up early and we weren’t able to go anywhere for breakfast yet. I was able to pull out a few snacks from my suitcase to tide them over.

I think with the right preparation you can make a family holiday as close to stress-free as possible. And if a few little things do go awry, just take a few deep breaths and think that one day you’ll be able to laugh about it with your kids!

What are some of your tips for travelling with kids?