Lauren - Not Just Travel

Lauren - Not Just Travel Tailor-made trips, planned with care. Travel made simple. [email protected]

Our final stop , sparkling a little bit of magic ✨ who doesn't love Disneyland!! 😍The journey from Yangshuo to Hong Kon...
09/09/2026

Our final stop , sparkling a little bit of magic ✨ who doesn't love Disneyland!! 😍

The journey from Yangshuo to Hong Kong was super easy, just a 3.5hr high speed train away , although this was after the two hour drive to get to the train station 🤣

The train ride itself was another experience, I didn't pack any snacks in advance and let's just say the offering was interesting .. chickens feet anyone?! We did make friends with a lovely little girl wanting to practise her English though which was cute 🥰

We decided to stay onsite at Disneyland so didn't actually see any of Hong Kong sadly (there is always next time) but staying onsite was 100% the best idea for us. It made getting to the park super easy and meant we got to skip the entrance queue although no magic hour here unless you pay 😭. We also really enjoyed the hotels facilities, swimming pool with slide, games room and of course character dining on site!! Possibly the best meal we had all trip 😍

The park itself reminded me a lot of paris with very similar but different rides. Favourites were hyperspace mountain, RC racer and Enzos number 1 - it's a small world!! There were parades, shows and plenty Disney treats around the park so all the usual shebang .... I did notice a difference with some of the characters and missed being able to meet some of our favs especially Donald and Daisy!!

We did the two day tickets so we were able to comfortably tick off every attraction and some twice ... It wouldn't have been possible in one day with the queue times and racing round try to see all the parades 😊

Queue times were higher than I expected as I'd had heads up queues weren't as bad but they weren't anywhere near times I have seen at Orlando / Paris. The longezt we queued was for parachute drop of all things that took 60 mins but the rest were 30 mins or under 🎉

A fantastic trip and I highly recommend adding it to your China or Hong Kong itinerary 🤍

Turns out a month later I am still talking about our crazy trip to China 🇨🇳🌎Our final stop in China was Yangshuo , this ...
07/09/2026

Turns out a month later I am still talking about our crazy trip to China 🇨🇳🌎

Our final stop in China was Yangshuo , this was our relaxing stop and if you have been reading along up to now you will understand how much we needed it 😂 the trip so far was non stop! Although funny enough from the moment we arrived the kids were saying 'what are we doing next' I don't think they got the relaxing memo!!

Yangshuo saw us stay at a beautiful riverside hotel , the views were stunning. The hotel had lots of children friendly activities including soft play, arts and crafts, candy floss making, petting zoo, fishing , football, archery, play park and of course various swimming pools. In all honesty we were here for 2 days and we only left twice once to visit the city to explore and once to go bamboo rafting the rest of the time we enjoyed the hotel facilities 🧘🏻

We had some interesting food experiences in Yangshuo , just a heads up, if the menu says it's chicken bones it genuinely is a bowl of chicken bones and it is not lost in translation or a typ 😂 when I asked how we should eat said bones, we were told to chew slowly 🫣

Oopsy daisies , I just realised my last post came across as a little bit of a sob story, I didn't mean for this, absolut...
04/09/2026

Oopsy daisies , I just realised my last post came across as a little bit of a sob story, I didn't mean for this, absolutely everything is fabulous and I am so so grateful for every enquiry and booking so thankyou 🤍

Have a great weekend guys 🌎

I am at my laptop all weekend so any outstanding emails please don't think I have forgotten you ☺️

03/09/2026

When you send me an enquiry, there's often a lot that happens behind the scenes before you receive a quote.

I might spend hours researching the right destination, comparing hotels and itineraries, checking flight schedules, looking at transfers, checking availability and making sure everything actually works together for your trip.

And sometimes, after all that work, you might find the same holiday cheaper somewhere else.

Of course, I completely understand wanting to get the best price — I'd want that too!

But if you've found an option elsewhere, please come back to me before booking it. I'm always happy to compare it properly and make sure you're actually comparing like-for-like. Quite often, the cheaper option isn't quite the same package, flights, room type, board basis or level of flexibility.

And if I genuinely can't beat it, I'll tell you honestly.

I'd much rather you give me the opportunity to explain the difference than spend hours putting together your perfect trip only to find out afterwards that you've booked elsewhere. ❤️

Using a travel advisor isn't just about finding a holiday. It's about having someone on your side before, during AND after your trip.

Thankyou for your continued support 🤍

🏰✨ DISNEYLAND PARIS IS NOW ON SALE! ✨🏰If Disneyland Paris has been on your family’s wish list, this is your sign! 🎀Dates...
02/09/2026

🏰✨ DISNEYLAND PARIS IS NOW ON SALE! ✨🏰

If Disneyland Paris has been on your family’s wish list, this is your sign! 🎀

Dates are now available to book right through to March 2028, so there’s plenty of time to start planning your next magical getaway. Whether you’re dreaming of a first Disney trip, a special birthday, or just want to experience the magic again, I can help you put it all together.

And there’s even more choice now with the new Disney Meal Plans, giving you more flexibility when planning your stay. 🍽️✨

📅 March 2028 is now available to book!

If you’re thinking about Disneyland Paris for 2027 or early 2028, drop me a message and let’s get planning! 🏰✨

Next up was Zhangjiajie ..... wow what a place. Straight from the movies , it was definitely a wow moment 🏞️This is the ...
30/08/2026

Next up was Zhangjiajie ..... wow what a place. Straight from the movies , it was definitely a wow moment 🏞️

This is the destination we spent the longest in , 5 nights. Longer than most however this was strategic as it was half way through and I didn't want the kids to tire trying to move round too quickly. I am so glad we did it this way as it meant we had plenty time for all the sightseeing without feeling rushed. Zhangjiajie attractions are spread out and it was nice to be able to do a couple of half days rather than non stop everyday.

Our hotel here was a highlight, we got a sneaky upgrade at the Pullman and managed to bag ourselves a refurbed room. This literally never happens to us and we always end up with views of car parks so this was such a treat.

Our stops here were

The glass bridge 😍 sadly this day a storm was passing through so we did get pretty drenched but the views were amazing and kind of mysterious in the clouds. We did so much walking as Enzo was not big enough t o zip line down but luckily it was a gorgeous walk.

2 days in Zhangjiajie national park , ticking off the ten mile gallery including toy train which was a big hit with the kids. Golden whip stream for the 🐒 Tianzi mountain for the cable car and the bailong elevator for the breath taking avatar mountains. The tickets for the national park are super confusing and the queues can be very chaotic so a top tip would be to plan this carefully and do lots of research or ask an expert!

Tianmen mountain , this is completely separate to the national park , and another complex mountain. Here we saw 999 steps to heaven, experienced 99 bends in the road to get there, rode 7 escalators to the peak all for it to be too cloudy to see anything 😂 I would say because of weather , maintenance work and queues this day was disappointing and a bit of an anti climax. A shame but reasons out of our control.

We also went to the local park and attempted stepping stones across the river, watched a water fountain show, ate copious amounts of ice-cream and bought way too many souvenirs.

Zhangjiajie was my favourite stop 🤍

Next up was Chengdu 🐼🤍It took us 7 hours on the train from Beijing to Chengdu — the alternative was a 3-hour flight! In ...
28/08/2026

Next up was Chengdu 🐼🤍

It took us 7 hours on the train from Beijing to Chengdu — the alternative was a 3-hour flight! In all fairness, the train journey started super early and went by so quickly, so before we knew it, we were in our hotel in Chengdu!

This stop gave us our wildlife fix, as well as our China city experience. Think 3D billboard-style screens everywhere 😂 Of course, with city life comes city traffic and a huge population, so it was super busy and quite chaotic!

We’re not really city people, so 2 nights was definitely enough for us.

We spent our one full day with the pandas, of course 🐼 I had never seen a real-life panda before, and I’m so grateful that my first time was in their home country. China owns all of the giant pandas around the world, so there are only a handful of countries that currently have them in their zoos. There aren’t any in the UK at the moment after Edinburgh Zoo returned theirs to China a few years ago.

I was honestly shocked by how small and lazy they are! 😂 We got there super early to try and catch them at their most active, but even then, we only saw 3 pandas moving — the rest were snoring! 🤣

The rest of our time in Chengdu was spent swimming at the hotel pool, wandering the streets and, of course, eating! We even found a gorgeous Korean restaurant here 😍

Have you been to Chengdu? What did you think? 🇨🇳

Taking an evening break from blabbering on about China China China to see if you heard the amazing news??Abu Dhabi Grand...
27/08/2026

Taking an evening break from blabbering on about China China China to see if you heard the amazing news??

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been given the green light , after a difficult year for the UAE this is fantastic news and is extremely exciting! Packages start from £1699pp. There are also lots of amazing acts confirmed!

[email protected] 🌎☀️

First up was Beijing 🇨🇳🐲For me this had to be the place our China trip began, the great wall has been on my 'list' for m...
25/08/2026

First up was Beijing 🇨🇳🐲

For me this had to be the place our China trip began, the great wall has been on my 'list' for many years and I was so excited to tick it off. Flights wise it also made the most sense for us to start here :)

We stayed for 4 nights and packed in as much as we could aswell as swimming everyday at the hotel pool 👙

We arrived mid morning so but the time we got to the hotel and checked in, took the kids for a swim , it was mid afternoon. We headed straight to Beihai park for a wander and to hire a boat. The kids loved this and we sped round the lake with dragons for company.

Our first full day we tackled The Great Wall, research told me to opt for Mutianyu section , not the closest to Beijing but in search of less people and of course the toboggan down!! This was lots of fun and a big highlight for the children, I am not sure it was worth the 2 hour queue but we will debate that another time 😂

Next up was Forbidden City and Jingshan park for the hike / views of the Forbidden City. The park went down a lot better than the city, turns out my kids are not historians. We tried lots of yummy Chinese treats today along the way from all the stalls.

We then had a decision, more history, more parks of a fun filled morning at the olympic water park - we chose this and enjoyed a morning of sliding, seeing the famous birds nest stadium from the Olympics followed by a dumpling making class which we all thoroughly enjoyed especially the taste testing 🥟

Two of our favourite meals of the whole holiday were in Beijing, one being famous Peking duck 🦆 was extremely good!!

Beijing was a whirlwind and we packed a lot in , our hotel choice was perfect location for exploring and minimising taxi use ☺️🇨🇳

We are home from an amazing holiday in China / Hong Kong and what a fantastic learning experience it was , we stayed at ...
23/08/2026

We are home from an amazing holiday in China / Hong Kong and what a fantastic learning experience it was , we stayed at 5 different hotels in 5 very different locations, each one was chosen for specific reasons and the route was planned out perfectly 🌎

Lots of people have asked me about the trip and are intrigued about China holidays so I thought I would share a little bit about each place we went to over the next couple of weeks ☺️

This was our itinerary -

Manchester to Beijing via Abu Dhabi ✈️

Beijing for 4 nights for our history and city vibes 🦆

7 hour train to
Chengdu for 2 nights for our wildlife 🐼

4 hour train to
Zhangjiajie for 5 nights for our scenic outdoorsy time 🏞️

6 hour train and 2 hour drive to
Yangshuo for 3 nights for our relaxing days💆🏻

4 hour train to
Hong Kong for 2 nights for our Disney fix 🐭

Hong Kong to Manchester via Abu Dhabi ✈️

If you are interested at all in hearing more about each place in depth or how it is to travel with young children then do keep an eye on my page for more in depth info 🤍

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