Travel reading from the Cavale editors and the people we work with. Written from the road, never from a desk.
Long Read
Seven trips in 2024. Bologna with old friends. A joint birthday celebration in France. Luxembourg to see my family. Hong Kong and Vietnam with Alex. Gran Canaria and New York with my mum. Chania for…
Long Read
We each maintain a master packing list in a Google Doc and tailor it for each trip. For a month in Asia, that means one checked bag and one cabin bag per person, twice…
Long Read
The first time we walked into Capella Hanoi, we were somewhere else. It was an opera house from the 1920s, designed by Bill Bensley. Two years later we booked another…
Long Read
Nine years of travelling together has taught us a few things. Split the planning day by day. Each person books what plays to their strengths. Build in solo time when…
Long Read
Living in London for more than a decade teaches you that cities are places you return to, not destinations you tick off. They change too quickly and there is always more…
Long Read
Nine years of motorbike rentals across Southeast Asia. Get a full UK category A motorcycle licence and an IDP before your first trip. 110-125cc for cities, 150cc minimum…
Long Read
Three beds in Vietnam. The Phoenix Hotel in Ha Giang. A homestay on the loop where the host's dogs slept under the dinner table. The Capella in Hanoi where the doormen…
Long Read
Every trip we take starts as a Google Doc that runs forty to eighty hours before we leave. Thesis, budget, itinerary, restaurant lists where the chefs eat. Sixteen of…
Review
The KTX from Seoul to Busan: 2 hours 42 minutes, no airport security, walk-on walk-off. Sit on the right for the Suwon rice-paddy corridor. Buy a Domosan bento in Seoul…
Review
For my 30th we rented a villa in the hills above Chania for four nights with ten friends. Two stone houses connected by a courtyard and a pool. A morning at Biolea, the…
Review
Two Hoxton stays compared. Paris in Sentier (€289/night, 18sqm Cosy room, DJ Friday, croissants included) and the Hoxton Lloyd in Amsterdam's Eastern Docklands…
Review
PADI Open Water in the UK costs £625 across two weekends: a pool day, then two half-days at Vobster Quay. Advanced Open Water in East Bali unlocks Nusa Penida's Manta…
Review
An overnight cruise in Halong Bay. The kayak hour through limestone karsts at sunset was the best part. The cabin was hotel-quality. The food was fine. The water was…
Food
Six days of eating in Lisbon: Loco for the 15-course tasting menu (book six weeks ahead), Coelho da Rocha for bacalhau à brás, Café de São Bento for midnight steak, Time…
Food
Six-stop Amsterdam breakfast crawl in five hours: Patisserie Kuyt for appelschnitt, Grammes for cured-fish toast on rye, Eetsalon van Dobben for broodje halfom, The…
Itinerary
Four days in Barcelona for a birthday. Sagrada Família at 3pm, a rented Vespa through the Eixample, Parc Güell from the upper gate, natural wines at Bar Salvatge, and…
Itinerary
A four-day, three-night liveaboard from El Nido to Coron on a wooden bangka outrigger. £450 per person all-inclusive: 20 passengers, tents on the deck, three meals a day…
Itinerary
Three weeks in Japan: 7 nights in Tokyo (Tsuta ramen, the Ghibli Museum, Fox Village), a Hakone ryokan with kaiseki, 4 nights in Kyoto by bicycle, Osaka, and 4 nights in…
Itinerary
Eighteen days across Hong Kong and Vietnam: Tim Ho Wan, Dragon's Back, the Ha Giang motorcycle loop, an overnight Halong Bay cruise where the kayak was the best part,…
Itinerary
Three countries, 23 days: Singapore for hawker centres, Cebu and Moalboal for the sardine run, Bohol for the Chocolate Hills, El Nido to Coron on a four-day wooden boat,…
Itinerary
Sixteen days, five Indian cities: Bangalore for dosas at MTR, Delhi for Karim's mutton burra, Jaipur's Pink City and Amber Fort, the Taj Mahal at sunrise, four days of…
BelemDay Trip
Belém is a 35-minute tram ride from central Lisbon on the 15E. Pastéis de Belém (sit in the back, skip the queue), Jerónimos Monastery (book online), skip the tower,…
Food
Four Taipei night markets, ranked: 1. Raohe (pepper buns at Fuzhou Shi Zu, 25-minute queue, 60 NTD, the best street food bite in Taiwan), 2. Shilin (giant chicken cutlet…
Chiang MaiFood
Chiang Mai's Old City is a 1.5km moated grid you can eat your way around in a day.Start at Khao Soi Khun Yai, walk the temples, eat sai oua at Chiang Mai Gate Market,…
PortoDay Trip
The Douro Valley is 80 minutes from Porto. The standout stop is Quinta das Carvalhas, where you taste six ports on a terrace overlooking the valley. Alternatively, take…
Food
Three days in Bordeaux for a Valentine's weekend, told through three meals: SOIF bistronomy dinner (€68/person four-course tasting with wine pairing, the steak tartare…
Food
Six days of Bangkok street food: Thip Samai pad thai, boat noodles at Victory Monument, Krua Apsorn crab omelette, Yaowarat after dark. Plus one tasting menu splurge at…
Itinerary
Ten days across Korea and the edge of Japan for £1,587 (two people): 6 nights Seoul (palaces, DMZ, Gwangjang Market), 3 nights Busan (Gamcheon Village, Jagalchi sashimi,…
Itinerary
Fifteen days in Portugal for £2,680 total (two people): 4 nights Porto (francesinhas, port cellars, Douro Valley), 6 nights Lisbon (Sintra, Alfama, Loco for Linda's…
Food
Four days of eating in Porto for €280 (two people): the francesinha at Cufra (€11 with chips and beer), grilled robalo at Mercado de Matosinhos (€52 for two, the best…
Food
Seven ramen shops in Tokyo, ranked: 1. Tsuta in Sugamo (truffle shoyu, ¥800, the former Michelin-starred one), 2. Rokurinsha at Tokyo Station (tsukemen dipping noodles),…
Food
Five days in KL, 23 meals, £385 for two: Wong Ah Wah chicken wings on Jalan Alor, Keong Kee coconut chicken soup, Lot 10 Hutong for dark Hokkien mee, Brickfields char…
Food
Singapore in 48 hours, meal by meal: roti prata at Mr and Mrs Mohgan's ($1.20/piece, 6am), kaya toast at Killiney Kopitiam ($5.50), Tian Tian chicken rice at Maxwell…
BusanDay Trip
Busan in one day: take the KTX bullet train from Seoul (2h42m, £41 each), then Gamcheon Culture Village at 9am, Gwangbokdong Food Street for milmyeon lunch (£3.80),…
MalaccaDay Trip
From Kuala Lumpur to Malacca: Two hours, four centuries.
SintraDay Trip
Sintra is a 40-minute train from Lisbon's Rossio station (€2.35 each way). Book Pena Palace online for 9:30am (€14), walk to the Moorish Castle, lunch at Nortada in…
Ha GiangDay Trip
Day one of the Ha Giang Loop covers 150km from Ha Giang to Dong Van through Vietnam's UNESCO karst plateau. Rent a Honda XR150L for £10/day, ride through Heaven's Gate,…
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